That wouldn't be solved by restricting the distribution by Ip address. It's fantastically easy to go through any of numerous proxies available on the internet.
And even easier to download the complete episode as a high quality AVI file, with no advertisements, and watch it in high def on your TV.
That's how I watch most TV shows, rather than wait 2 years for the local stations to broadcast it, if ever.
Anyway, a minimal effort will block most casual freeloaders, and fulfil their obligations to licensees.
No thanks. I'll stick with BitTorrent, if only because I live outside the US, and it won't be available outside the US, for some reason.
That reason is copyright law...which, unless I'm mistaken, CBS doesn't control.
No, CBS certainly does control the copyright. No law prevents them broadcasting (via Internet or any other method) to the entire world. They choose to limit it to the US, probably because the advertisements are targetted to the US, and they have sold distribution rights in other countries to other companies, who would be unhappy at the competition.
Look at all the videos released on Youtube by the creators (eg recently, Monty Python) with no such restrictions.
I am a bit annoyed they don't just say they are blocking other countries insead of giving a misleading error message "The video you have requested is unavailable".
you do realize very few USB ports provide enough power for hard drives
I have a cheap IDE/USB cable that certainly works with 2.5" (laptop) drives on USB power.
(It also has a larger connector for 3.5" drives, for these you do need a separate power cable.)
Show that they are looking out for the little guy by going after the rich white dude.
The rich white dude who was using the occasion to raise money to help the world's poorest people. What was that again about "looking out for the little guy"?
Some jerk could try a civil suit, of course, but would have no chance of success in his lifetime.
This willful act could be considered assault by one of the attendees and BillG arrested.... Some people are allergic to mosquito bites even if the mosquitoes are disease-free.
I bet they were mosquitoes that don't bite at all, eg ones that just eat nectar. In any case only the females suck blood. (Pause for jokes...) If anyone had been bitten I'm sure we would have heard of it pretty quickly -- who wouldn't like to sue Bill Gates?
And you weren't reading my post. I was distinguishing between pirated software you bought, and stuff you downloaded "free". I did say the latter was more likely to be infected.
Do you honestly believe the standard of living of the average Chinese is anythng approaching that of an American? Maybe in 50 years, if they keep going up and America keeps going down.
but don't kid yourself the US owes China a TON of money
True. So what? The discussion was not balance of payments but standard of living.
If, among a list of 30+ countries that includes China you can only identify Australia and New Zealand and therefore claim that he is some how wrong then at best it isn't the OP who is demonstrating his ignorance.
No, it was an attempt by the original poster either to use some buzzword acronym, or perhaps to avoid seeming to be racist by using the word "Chinese". Certainly APAC includes China but it also includes many other countries where patronising its people by giving them a lecture about "how we do business in the USA" would be both unnecessary, inappropriate and offensive. (Of course Chinese would probably also find it insulting, but I'm just speaking as an Australian.)
Well if everything costs like 1/10th of what it costs in America then China is about equal with the US... Remember GDP isnt the show stopper, its cost of living as well.
Duh. That's why I referred to the "purchasing power parity" list. The plain GDP per capita list is higher.
You're confusing the people who sell the stuff on the street/malls/markets with the people who crack the software
This is how I see it, please tell me where the "confusion" is:
Vendor sells crap, he gets problems from his customers. He gets a different supplier. Much more money can be made by selling clean software than from some unnamed evil conspiracy wanting to hack PCs at random. People in China get viruses, Trojans the same way everyone else does, by using MS software and installing stuff they find online for free -- where there is a motive for the supplier to add "evil bits" even if it only earns him a few cents a copy. Even then there is a reputation system the non-braindead use to check out quality and safety.
Can't be that many of them... I reckon half an hour on Google and I can work out who you are...
I always assume that these "Ask Slashdot" topics are entirely fictional. Most seem to be crafted like a TV movie of the week to hit a bunch of hot buttons and provoke controversy. Even if the company is real, (and having personal experience in China, the attitudes are quite expected) the person posting is not necessarily who he says he is, perhaps a former employee or junior staff trying to make trouble.
I was up at Cradle Mountain one Christmas (summer), it was over 30C. And then on New Years' Day it snowed. People wander up there in shorts and T-shirts and die of exposure when a storm hits.
Bollocks. Never seen it, or heard of it, except from software vendors trying to scare people. And I live in Hong Kong and have seen a fair sample of pirated software. Pirates are actually pretty good at customer service, most give full refund or exchange on demand. They have no interest in selling infected software, it would just rebound on them. Can't say it never happens, but there has been plenty of infected factory fresh legal software. The risk is not larger, in my experience.
Normally I would agree with you, but you do realize that the US has this gigantic trade deficit with China, don't you? Maybe you could be more clear about who is the rich and who is the poor guy here.
Why? If my bank, a private entity, is (for my convenience) member of a network of banks, which allows me to conduct international transactions with my credit card, at what point is this "US jurisdiction?"
If the banks and credit card companies are incorporated in the US, using US dollars, they are. Which covers most transactions. You can evade it if you use a Swiss bank or send gold coins to a mailbox, of course.
Here's the question: what's the difference between me going to Mexico and buying the item, vs. ordering it online from a Mexican vendor?
IANAL, but I believe the latter is illegal, because it's being imported to the US.
Anyway, the idea is not to stop trade where the customer knows what's up and what they're getting, but scammers.
Sure they won't get them all. But there are plenty they could. And any money transfer, credit card, whatever HAS to go through US jurisdiction. If you block such transfers, even if you can't prosecute, that will also remove the incentive.
In any case, 90% of the spam I get is selling stuff from the US. Most of it is obviously illegal, fake or fraudulent. They COULD be prosecuted if the government gave a damn.
The problem with spam is that there is no accountability. If you can't find the guy who sends the mail, you can't punish him,
Most spam is motivated by profit: trying to sell something to the recipient. There is therefore a money trail. Law enforcement could simply respond to a small proportion of spam and track where the money goes, and then prosecute for fraud, selling unregistered drugs, tax evasion -- it;s a good bet they are breaking some existing laws, no new "cyber laws" are needed. But they don't because governments really don't care about it. Each spam is a fleabite, and below the threshold for which they take action (I've heard at least $5000 for the FBI). And various business lobby groups have made sure that there are plenty of loopholes so their marketing material can get through.
My point is that they CAN find the spammers. They don't even try. Slashdottes foam at the mouth and talk about lynching. We imagine the rest of the world shares our hatred for spammers. But really, most people don't care. Governemnt leaders don't care, if they use email at all it's filtered by their staff and they never see spam.
PS: checked out forgemil.com: It's registered at Godaddy. Great. Are we sure this isn't some Nigerian scam? (I think the Chinese or Russians would be more subtle.)
Slashdot Mirror
And even easier to download the complete episode as a high quality AVI file, with no advertisements, and watch it in high def on your TV.
That's how I watch most TV shows, rather than wait 2 years for the local stations to broadcast it, if ever.
Anyway, a minimal effort will block most casual freeloaders, and fulfil their obligations to licensees.
That reason is copyright law...which, unless I'm mistaken, CBS doesn't control.
No, CBS certainly does control the copyright. No law prevents them broadcasting (via Internet or any other method) to the entire world. They choose to limit it to the US, probably because the advertisements are targetted to the US, and they have sold distribution rights in other countries to other companies, who would be unhappy at the competition.
Look at all the videos released on Youtube by the creators (eg recently, Monty Python) with no such restrictions.
I am a bit annoyed they don't just say they are blocking other countries insead of giving a misleading error message "The video you have requested is unavailable".
I have a cheap IDE/USB cable that certainly works with 2.5" (laptop) drives on USB power. (It also has a larger connector for 3.5" drives, for these you do need a separate power cable.)
The rich white dude who was using the occasion to raise money to help the world's poorest people. What was that again about "looking out for the little guy"?
Some jerk could try a civil suit, of course, but would have no chance of success in his lifetime.
I bet they were mosquitoes that don't bite at all, eg ones that just eat nectar. In any case only the females suck blood. (Pause for jokes...) If anyone had been bitten I'm sure we would have heard of it pretty quickly -- who wouldn't like to sue Bill Gates?
Thanks for actually reading my post and not just flaming me.
And you weren't reading my post. I was distinguishing between pirated software you bought, and stuff you downloaded "free". I did say the latter was more likely to be infected.
I'm tempted to make a crack about your family, but I'll just repeat I said "on the whole". And my own anecdotal evidence is otherwise.
Do you honestly believe the standard of living of the average Chinese is anythng approaching that of an American? Maybe in 50 years, if they keep going up and America keeps going down.
but don't kid yourself the US owes China a TON of money
True. So what? The discussion was not balance of payments but standard of living.
Not only reasoning by analogy, but a disgustingly offensive one.
Fuck you. Discussion over.
No, it was an attempt by the original poster either to use some buzzword acronym, or perhaps to avoid seeming to be racist by using the word "Chinese". Certainly APAC includes China but it also includes many other countries where patronising its people by giving them a lecture about "how we do business in the USA" would be both unnecessary, inappropriate and offensive. (Of course Chinese would probably also find it insulting, but I'm just speaking as an Australian.)
You're still confusing the street vendors with the people who make the warez
No.
Seems to me that Brits writing "Bollocks" at the start of a (usually flawed) assertion
As true as any of your other assertions about what I am or believe. (Clue: I'm not a Brit.)
Basically, on the whole, people who use warez are a lot more aware of the "dark side" and take more precautions than upright citizens.
No.
Seems to me that Brits writing "Bollocks" at the start of a (usually flawed) assertion
Basically, on the whole, people who use warez are a lot more aware of the "dark side" and take more precautions than upright citizens.
Duh. That's why I referred to the "purchasing power parity" list. The plain GDP per capita list is higher.
This is how I see it, please tell me where the "confusion" is:
Vendor sells crap, he gets problems from his customers. He gets a different supplier. Much more money can be made by selling clean software than from some unnamed evil conspiracy wanting to hack PCs at random. People in China get viruses, Trojans the same way everyone else does, by using MS software and installing stuff they find online for free -- where there is a motive for the supplier to add "evil bits" even if it only earns him a few cents a copy. Even then there is a reputation system the non-braindead use to check out quality and safety.
First learn what "APAC" means. Australia, New Zealand, for a start. Try not demonstrating your ignorance when giving your patronising "speech".
I always assume that these "Ask Slashdot" topics are entirely fictional. Most seem to be crafted like a TV movie of the week to hit a bunch of hot buttons and provoke controversy. Even if the company is real, (and having personal experience in China, the attitudes are quite expected) the person posting is not necessarily who he says he is, perhaps a former employee or junior staff trying to make trouble.
I was up at Cradle Mountain one Christmas (summer), it was over 30C. And then on New Years' Day it snowed. People wander up there in shorts and T-shirts and die of exposure when a storm hits.
Bollocks. Never seen it, or heard of it, except from software vendors trying to scare people. And I live in Hong Kong and have seen a fair sample of pirated software. Pirates are actually pretty good at customer service, most give full refund or exchange on demand. They have no interest in selling infected software, it would just rebound on them. Can't say it never happens, but there has been plenty of infected factory fresh legal software. The risk is not larger, in my experience.
List of countries by GDP (PPP) per capita
China, People's Republic of: $5,325, rank: 100
United States: rank: $45,725, rank: 6
Clear enough?
If the banks and credit card companies are incorporated in the US, using US dollars, they are. Which covers most transactions. You can evade it if you use a Swiss bank or send gold coins to a mailbox, of course.
Here's the question: what's the difference between me going to Mexico and buying the item, vs. ordering it online from a Mexican vendor?
IANAL, but I believe the latter is illegal, because it's being imported to the US.
Anyway, the idea is not to stop trade where the customer knows what's up and what they're getting, but scammers.
Sure they won't get them all. But there are plenty they could. And any money transfer, credit card, whatever HAS to go through US jurisdiction. If you block such transfers, even if you can't prosecute, that will also remove the incentive.
In any case, 90% of the spam I get is selling stuff from the US. Most of it is obviously illegal, fake or fraudulent. They COULD be prosecuted if the government gave a damn.
Leave the Nigerians for Phase II.
Most spam is motivated by profit: trying to sell something to the recipient. There is therefore a money trail. Law enforcement could simply respond to a small proportion of spam and track where the money goes, and then prosecute for fraud, selling unregistered drugs, tax evasion -- it;s a good bet they are breaking some existing laws, no new "cyber laws" are needed. But they don't because governments really don't care about it. Each spam is a fleabite, and below the threshold for which they take action (I've heard at least $5000 for the FBI). And various business lobby groups have made sure that there are plenty of loopholes so their marketing material can get through.
My point is that they CAN find the spammers. They don't even try. Slashdottes foam at the mouth and talk about lynching. We imagine the rest of the world shares our hatred for spammers. But really, most people don't care. Governemnt leaders don't care, if they use email at all it's filtered by their staff and they never see spam.
Photos at The Star.
It's pretty crude, but there wasn't just one "axe" there. They're man-made.
PS: checked out forgemil.com: It's registered at Godaddy. Great. Are we sure this isn't some Nigerian scam? (I think the Chinese or Russians would be more subtle.)