I think for barratry the lawsuits would have to be generally without merit. These copyright infringements seem perfectly real. There might be a defence against them in cases where the copyright material has been posted in user forums. Safe harbour defence would work. But where a blogger has posted a news story from the paper, in full, and the blogger is the one being sued, then there seems nothing legally wrong with persuing them in order to extract recompense.
Except that the way the system is set up, RightHaven isn't relying on actually having a legitimate case. They're relying on a defense against even a flimsy case being even more expensive than settling, and on the cost of losing being ruinous.
This wasn't a free nationwide internet plan. This was a spectrum grab with the nationwide internet plan added to sweeten the deal for the FCC.
M2Z's trick was going to be to use a spare bit of the radio spectrum, the 2GHz "AWS-3" band, and earn itself cash by embedding ads in its free Net service as well as licensing out part of the spectrum it would then be controlling for other commercial uses.
The second part is the key thing; they would have gotten the AWS-3 band, nationwide, for free, and then leased it back out.
It's gonna be "funny", when China will be the new safe haven for western values, such as liberty.
That would be funny. But it isn't going to happen. Instead, there will be NO safe haven for liberty. Just a boot, stomping on a human face, forever, as Orwell would have it.
Not to get too political here, but those of us in the know knew that this sort of thing was going to come up when we voted for Obama since we were well aware of Biden's industry-friendly attitude. Unfortunately, it was this or some of the worst, laughable "politicians" you could ever consider to be put into a Presidential Office. Either way, I'm still glad that the alternative did not make it into office.
Particularly since the alternative would have done exactly the same thing.
They can be learnt as hobby that overlaps a portable trade (auto or truck mechanic, weldor, electronic service tech) or acquired through continuing education (most any field you like, for what one enjoys one is more likely to be good at). Interest in things geekish can translate into different jobs, particularly if one has enthusiasm for electronics.
It's unlikely, as a 40-year-old unemployed computer programmer, that you'll be able to get a job in a trade that will pay the bills. You have to start at the bottom, and even then, how many tradesmen are going to want to hire a superannuated, overeducated go-fer? Going from an aircraft mechanic to an auto mechanic isn't such a leap; it's no worse than going from programming on mainframes to Windows machines. Changing fields entirely is a different proposition, and there are few avocations which can help you.
Cuba is an example of a revolution that went right. The only people who lost were Batista and his murderous thugs (who incidentally seized power in a coup in 1952, sparking MANY popular uprisings, including Castro's July 26 Movement) -- They fled the country with as much of the state's coffers as they could carry just before Che took Santa Clara. The only way that Cuba could have done better would have been if the Americans hadn't instituted a 50 year blockade.
Fidel, stop reading Slashdot; you're not a nerd and despite the tagline, this really isn't a news site.
I don't believe that is the only reason (clearly, censorship is a big one - I had to censor many things in the name of "lack of bandwithd" even after I proved that it would have a negligible effect). But the "official" reason, by itself, is enough to restrict nearly as much as Cuba does. It's also disgustingly hypocritical that the US gives the Cuban government such a perfect justification for their censorship.
Castro blames all the ills of Cuba on the US embargo; that's probably one thing which has kept him (and his brother) in power this long. I don't know if it's really hypocritical that the US continues it, but it sure as hell is stupid. It's been decades since it became clear that it doesn't work, and it's long past time to give it up.
Uh, first of all he is ex-president. What threats of his powers are you talking about? Secondly, the cuban laws are about spreading (ie. writing) information that harms the social norms or national security. Ah, national security. Isn't that why US also wants to take down Wikileaks?
The US has its flaws. Censorship of information harmful to national security really isn't one of them, no matter how much certain presidents and ex-presidents would like it to be. There is no equivalence between Cuba and the US on this front.
$25/day? How much is a Nevada speeding ticket? Best I can tell, max fine is $1000. When I was driving every day, I was speeding every day, and only got caught once every few years. Even at $1000 per incident (which I imagine is not the typical fine), it still makes sense to take the risk. Especially limited to a puny 90mph.
What OTHER skills did you invest time and effort in acquiring during those two decades?
Specialization is wonderful when specialists are in demand, less so when that demand drives a bunch of people to flood the labor market for that specialty, even less so when (normal, periodic) economic cycles shrink that market.
As someone coming upon 20 years professional programming real soon now... what sort of skills are you referring to? What sort of skills could a person versed in the computer-related specialties learn which will provide him a job which will pay the mortgage should the entire industry pack up and move overseas? Because from where I'm sitting, I don't see much.
I *am* a business major, and one of the most consistent themes from my professors is that responsible behavior is supposedly financially better in the long run anyways, in addition to whatever ethical/moral claims involved.
Ah, but as John Maynard Keynes pointed out, in the long run we're all dead.
Sure, you can bind them, but you'll have to delivery your license by courier or some such. It's a simple fact that, when you buy a product, you're getting something physical from them, but they don't get anything physical from you./blockquote.
When I buy a product at retail, I get something from the retailer. Not from the manufacturer of the product. If I were to write some sort of purported contract on one of the dollar bills I paid the retailer, it sure wouldn't be enforceable against the next person to get that dollar in change, even thoug they "got something physical" from me.
The poor guy who ran our last footy tipping competition had to show up at with his bank statements for a loan he was applying for. Of course his statement was full of payments for dildos, gay sex, escorting etc etc...
You think that's bad? A guy I know ran one of those, and had to get a loan from an American bank. And you know what everyone put in the memo line? "Footy-tipping competition", that's what.
Now, if, on the other hand, you had paid for the software with a sealed envelope that had a contract wrapped around it, THEN you've got a chance it would be binding to them... The only problem being "them" is just some retail store, and not the makers of the game, who you really want to bind.
Wait... so if I buy software from a retail store, the manufacturer of the software can bind ME (despite the fact that I've never actually had contact with them), but I can't bind them (for exactly the same reason)?
Screw that. Getting past the EULA is just part of the game.
1) Google has trucks where they give out free ice cream in your favorite flavors. 2) Eric Schmidt is either a Terminator or Robocop. 3) Apparently someone was bored one day and did a 3D rendering of the suburb in Paperboy.
Ah. Well, you can't help that much stupid. Probably a good rule of thumb for taking down the telco network is about the level of "Will it prevent the destruction of at least one major city if I do so?" If not, don't do it.
Who are you talking about? I've never seen anyone that objects to clean, efficient, and renewable energy sources.
Oh, no, not in the abstract, not usually, anyway. I have seen a few who claim that energy itself is the problem and we should learn to live without either fossil fuels or substitutes. But usually it's more like "Yay wind!" until someone proposes to build windmills, then it's "Dammit, you're killing birds and spoiling the view". Or "Yay Solar!" and then "But we'll need a 20 year environmental study on whether it's a good idea to reduce the albedo of the desert, and oh, watch for those threatened desert species". And forget about hydro (kills fish) or geothermal (kills geysers)...
The story was that people had downloaded a March Madness smartphone app that delivered scores and such in March, but now its April and it's sending out large amounts data, and making useless calls, that's overwhelming the cellular networks and running up people's bills. Round two was that this unknown data was actually waking up a bot net, and now the Internet's overloaded. Round 3... an explosion at a power station has downed power on the East Coast. However, nobody knows where the problem is to fix it, because their smartphones are dead and so is the Internet and phone systems.
And why is the telco wireline network down? How about various corporate internal networks, including those at the power companies? Nobody at the ISPs are doing anything to stop the botnet? This sounds like it was intended as a no-win scenario.
What? Are you saying that the people opposed to using oil are opposed to using clean, efficient, and renewable energy sources?
Yes. Most of them will say they aren't, but when you actually have any sort of practical project to harness those resources, they immediately move to block.
Or, they know better than to object publicly. Or the news agency made sure to print only comments favorable to the policy -- a practice not, alas, restricted to China.
Woodward and Bernstein are declared "not journalists", "Deep Throat" is unmasked and secretly prosecuted, the Watergate Hotel remains just another uninteresting building in the District of Columbia, and Richard M. Nixon, after successfully driving to repeal the 22nd Amendment to the Constitution, goes on to third and fourth presidential terms.
Slashdot Mirror
Except that the way the system is set up, RightHaven isn't relying on actually having a legitimate case. They're relying on a defense against even a flimsy case being even more expensive than settling, and on the cost of losing being ruinous.
This wasn't a free nationwide internet plan. This was a spectrum grab with the nationwide internet plan added to sweeten the deal for the FCC.
The second part is the key thing; they would have gotten the AWS-3 band, nationwide, for free, and then leased it back out.
That would be funny. But it isn't going to happen. Instead, there will be NO safe haven for liberty. Just a boot, stomping on a human face, forever, as Orwell would have it.
Particularly since the alternative would have done exactly the same thing.
It's unlikely, as a 40-year-old unemployed computer programmer, that you'll be able to get a job in a trade that will pay the bills. You have to start at the bottom, and even then, how many tradesmen are going to want to hire a superannuated, overeducated go-fer? Going from an aircraft mechanic to an auto mechanic isn't such a leap; it's no worse than going from programming on mainframes to Windows machines. Changing fields entirely is a different proposition, and there are few avocations which can help you.
Fidel, stop reading Slashdot; you're not a nerd and despite the tagline, this really isn't a news site.
Castro blames all the ills of Cuba on the US embargo; that's probably one thing which has kept him (and his brother) in power this long. I don't know if it's really hypocritical that the US continues it, but it sure as hell is stupid. It's been decades since it became clear that it doesn't work, and it's long past time to give it up.
The US has its flaws. Censorship of information harmful to national security really isn't one of them, no matter how much certain presidents and ex-presidents would like it to be. There is no equivalence between Cuba and the US on this front.
$25/day? How much is a Nevada speeding ticket? Best I can tell, max fine is $1000. When I was driving every day, I was speeding every day, and only got caught once every few years. Even at $1000 per incident (which I imagine is not the typical fine), it still makes sense to take the risk. Especially limited to a puny 90mph.
Hence the quip that Keynes is dead, it's the long run, and we're left holding the bag.
9 x 13 = 10 x 13 - 13, so you really don't need the calculator.
As someone coming upon 20 years professional programming real soon now... what sort of skills are you referring to? What sort of skills could a person versed in the computer-related specialties learn which will provide him a job which will pay the mortgage should the entire industry pack up and move overseas? Because from where I'm sitting, I don't see much.
Ah, but as John Maynard Keynes pointed out, in the long run we're all dead.
You think that's bad? A guy I know ran one of those, and had to get a loan from an American bank. And you know what everyone put in the memo line? "Footy-tipping competition", that's what.
Wait... so if I buy software from a retail store, the manufacturer of the software can bind ME (despite the fact that I've never actually had contact with them), but I can't bind them (for exactly the same reason)?
Screw that. Getting past the EULA is just part of the game.
1) Google has trucks where they give out free ice cream in your favorite flavors.
2) Eric Schmidt is either a Terminator or Robocop.
3) Apparently someone was bored one day and did a 3D rendering of the suburb in Paperboy.
Ah. Well, you can't help that much stupid. Probably a good rule of thumb for taking down the telco network is about the level of "Will it prevent the destruction of at least one major city if I do so?" If not, don't do it.
Nonsense. If you'd bought a new, luxury, laptop, it would be all shiny and have no stickers on the palm rests. Just an Apple on the back.
Oh, no, not in the abstract, not usually, anyway. I have seen a few who claim that energy itself is the problem and we should learn to live without either fossil fuels or substitutes. But usually it's more like "Yay wind!" until someone proposes to build windmills, then it's "Dammit, you're killing birds and spoiling the view". Or "Yay Solar!" and then "But we'll need a 20 year environmental study on whether it's a good idea to reduce the albedo of the desert, and oh, watch for those threatened desert species". And forget about hydro (kills fish) or geothermal (kills geysers)...
If my mom ever wins the lottery, I'm asking her for a basement done by THAT guy.
And why is the telco wireline network down? How about various corporate internal networks, including those at the power companies? Nobody at the ISPs are doing anything to stop the botnet? This sounds like it was intended as a no-win scenario.
Yes. Most of them will say they aren't, but when you actually have any sort of practical project to harness those resources, they immediately move to block.
Or, they know better than to object publicly. Or the news agency made sure to print only comments favorable to the policy -- a practice not, alas, restricted to China.
Wasn't that the setting of _Watchmen_?