31. According to the record companies, Ms. Andersen's personal computer was invaded by MediaSentry after she was identified with a nine digit code (an Internet Protocol Address ("IPA")) obtained from the anonymous information farming lawsuits. MediaSentry did not have permission to inspect Ms. Andersen's private computer files. It gained access only by illegal acts of subterfuge.
That looks a lot like an admission of illegal hacking activity to me. Isn't that classified as terrorism these days?? Maybe Ms Andersen should be engaging Homeland Security to harass the record companies...
Yep, that's what I was thinking . Same as with taxing Internet purchases - the buyer may not make the purchase locally, he might use a mail order catalogue, a phone-call for something on TV, or in some other town on the home from work. The city "loses" sales tax on all those scenarios too.
Still, some local officials, such as Santa Clara County tax assessor Larry Stone, say such a setup would cost local taxing bodies like schools, nearby cities and the county up to $3 million in annual property tax revenue.
Now, see, that's the bit I have trouble with - it's going to cost Santa Clara $3M?? The land/buildings/whatever wasn't being used anyway, right?? If NASA went out and acquired the land specifically to rent it to Google, then OK, I'd see their point. If NASA's owned the land for a long time, it's entirely up to them who uses it.
Even if Google was going to give up some other property in Santa Clara county to make this move, that other property would still exist and garner property taxes for the county.
WAh, wah, wah, bitch, whine, moan. We have a right to that money. It's ours, and Google's stealing it by using NASA property. Moan, bitch whine.
I realise that, but if you don't enforce it, how easy is it to convince a judge that *this* time, you really care about an infringer, when previously you let it slide??
And don't forget that the map is already being freely distributed in paper form. If they were selling it, OK, but giving it away and then complaining that someone is helping them??
On the other hand, I suppose it's a bit like trademarks - protest every unsanctioned use, or (possibly) lose it.
Yes, but this is a private company coming up with the plan and the software, then trying to get enough states to use it so that the remainder can be forced into using it. It's not the several states meeting together and agreeing on a way to screw more money out of consumers.
In Oklahoma, there's a handy, dandy table included with the tax return, where you look up your income and write down the amount of use tax the IRS thinks you probably owe.
Talking of making the labels look bad, I don't see how this *isn't* a blatant attempt at illegal price fixing. Is it simply because it's right out in the open, instead of being a conspiracy between two or more companies??
Thanks. I was shooting for the worst case - once the contract expires, the phone absolutely is yours, and you really ought to be able to use it with another provider. Or they should tell you you're just renting it... Maybe the lock code ought to expire after 2 years??
If you have a working SIM card (from your previous phone), theoretically you just slap it in and start dialling. I don't have $200 spare right now to try that theory, though...:)
I got my son's old phone unlocked for $20 at a local phone repair shop. It was an AT&T phone, and I wanted to use it on a Cingular calling plan... Never mind that they're the same damned company now, I couldn't get an unlock code from them, so I went private. Works just great, especially since Cingular replaced the SIM card for free - that should have cost $25, so I figure I'm ahead of the game...
Exactly!! You're stuck with the contract, or you pay them to get out of it early. How do they lose??
They lose if, at the end of the contract, you take your business, and your phone, elsewhere. Never mind that you piad back more than the phone cost during the contract...
A lot of people get their phone with their service contract rather than buying the phone itself.
I submit that, once the one (or maybe two) year contract expires, you *do* own your phone. Whenever my contract expires, AT&T (now Cingular) are keen to get me to "upgrade" my phone, with a contract extension. I can pick a $0 phone (i.e. just becoming obsolete) or pay maybe $50 for a super deluxe phone with knobs and bells and whistles. They don't ask for the old phone back because it's *really* obsolete, being one of the $0 dollar phone they gave away last time. Is the old phone mine?? Hell yes!!
Think about it - how much does it *really* cost to produce a bottom-of-the-line phone?? $20?? $30?? I'm easily paying that back over a 1 (0r 2) year contract, especially if I don't use all my minutes every month...
Best Buy (for example) will sell you a phone without a calling plan. My daughter wanted one - the tag said "$69 with calling plan, $200 without" (the numbers are not accurate, but in the ballpark). Presumably you then just slap in any activated SIM card and start dialling. She didn't get the phone...
There are plenty of covert channels left - blogs, eBay ads, etc. Instead of calling an accomplice to say, "bomb the mall tonight", just make a journal entry with prearranged keywords - "party at my place tomorrow".
if he didn't promote it, and if he didn't distribute eDonkey with the expressed intent of promoting illegal filesharing, then he would not lose the case.
Except that, as we're all well aware, these days it doesn't matter so much whether you're technically legal; it matters more that you have the bankroll to go the distance against a faceless corporation that can afford to field a dozen lawyers and spin the case out for years. In that situation, your only hope is that you can convince the judge early on that the case has no merit, otherwise you can kiss your house and your lifesavings goodbye. Even if you win, you probably won't get them back.
As for the politicians, I tell them I'm British, I'm not allowed to vote here, that I'm paying taxes anyway, and I'll make a donation to any politician who makes a firm commitment to fight "taxation without representation". I think I can apply for citizenship just in time to miss the next election, so I can see which id10t gets in and decide if it's worth the expense.
I tell the blood bank I'm British, and that by their own rules they're not allowed to take a donation from me. That's the only useful outcome of Mad Cow Disease.
I work on a Do-Not-Answer policy. The phone rings 3 times, then the answering machine gets it. If a live voice I recognise says "hey, pick it up" I will. That takes care of blocked caller-id.
I think you may be a bit optimistic about the amount of trouble "they" would get into if found abusing the system. It wasn't so long ago that we were all bitching about the FBI granting themselves the right to invade privacy whenever they felt like it, with no judicial oversight, and a gag order on anyone involved. They can violate your privacy and if you squeal about it, you're jailed until a new administration changes the rules, or hell freezes over, whichever comes first.
The way Germans over-engineer things, that jacket will probably last long enough to become a family heirloom. You could probably tow your car with it, and still play tunes afterwards...:)
In my case, when the company was taken over and our new employer came along with the employee agreements, if I hadn't signed I'd have been shipped out of the country...
Lawyers are really expensive if you didn't know already, and may not be worth the cost.
Except in the case of a fixed-fee interview, where you slap down some cash and discuss your situation for a certain length of time. Or don't they do that where you live??
Do the research up front, write up a tentative contract, or maybe several to cover different provisions, then see the lawyer. For maybe $200 you walk away with a contract and a reasonably secure feeling that you haven't left any loopholes for the company to screw you through later.
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And I was *so* sure you were going to mention "a Beowulf cluster of..." in there somewhere... Oh well... :)
That looks a lot like an admission of illegal hacking activity to me. Isn't that classified as terrorism these days?? Maybe Ms Andersen should be engaging Homeland Security to harass the record companies...
Yep, that's what I was thinking . Same as with taxing Internet purchases - the buyer may not make the purchase locally, he might use a mail order catalogue, a phone-call for something on TV, or in some other town on the home from work. The city "loses" sales tax on all those scenarios too.
Now, see, that's the bit I have trouble with - it's going to cost Santa Clara $3M?? The land/buildings/whatever wasn't being used anyway, right?? If NASA went out and acquired the land specifically to rent it to Google, then OK, I'd see their point. If NASA's owned the land for a long time, it's entirely up to them who uses it.
Even if Google was going to give up some other property in Santa Clara county to make this move, that other property would still exist and garner property taxes for the county.
WAh, wah, wah, bitch, whine, moan. We have a right to that money. It's ours, and Google's stealing it by using NASA property. Moan, bitch whine.
I realise that, but if you don't enforce it, how easy is it to convince a judge that *this* time, you really care about an infringer, when previously you let it slide??
And the iPod map would get out of date faster than the printed copy?? How many new subway tunnels are they digging anyway??
On the other hand, I suppose it's a bit like trademarks - protest every unsanctioned use, or (possibly) lose it.
Yes, but this is a private company coming up with the plan and the software, then trying to get enough states to use it so that the remainder can be forced into using it. It's not the several states meeting together and agreeing on a way to screw more money out of consumers.
In Oklahoma, there's a handy, dandy table included with the tax return, where you look up your income and write down the amount of use tax the IRS thinks you probably owe.
Talking of making the labels look bad, I don't see how this *isn't* a blatant attempt at illegal price fixing. Is it simply because it's right out in the open, instead of being a conspiracy between two or more companies??
Thanks. I was shooting for the worst case - once the contract expires, the phone absolutely is yours, and you really ought to be able to use it with another provider. Or they should tell you you're just renting it... Maybe the lock code ought to expire after 2 years??
If you have a working SIM card (from your previous phone), theoretically you just slap it in and start dialling. I don't have $200 spare right now to try that theory, though... :)
I got my son's old phone unlocked for $20 at a local phone repair shop. It was an AT&T phone, and I wanted to use it on a Cingular calling plan... Never mind that they're the same damned company now, I couldn't get an unlock code from them, so I went private. Works just great, especially since Cingular replaced the SIM card for free - that should have cost $25, so I figure I'm ahead of the game...
They lose if, at the end of the contract, you take your business, and your phone, elsewhere. Never mind that you piad back more than the phone cost during the contract...
I submit that, once the one (or maybe two) year contract expires, you *do* own your phone. Whenever my contract expires, AT&T (now Cingular) are keen to get me to "upgrade" my phone, with a contract extension. I can pick a $0 phone (i.e. just becoming obsolete) or pay maybe $50 for a super deluxe phone with knobs and bells and whistles. They don't ask for the old phone back because it's *really* obsolete, being one of the $0 dollar phone they gave away last time. Is the old phone mine?? Hell yes!!
Think about it - how much does it *really* cost to produce a bottom-of-the-line phone?? $20?? $30?? I'm easily paying that back over a 1 (0r 2) year contract, especially if I don't use all my minutes every month...
Best Buy (for example) will sell you a phone without a calling plan. My daughter wanted one - the tag said "$69 with calling plan, $200 without" (the numbers are not accurate, but in the ballpark). Presumably you then just slap in any activated SIM card and start dialling. She didn't get the phone...
There are plenty of covert channels left - blogs, eBay ads, etc. Instead of calling an accomplice to say, "bomb the mall tonight", just make a journal entry with prearranged keywords - "party at my place tomorrow".
Except that, as we're all well aware, these days it doesn't matter so much whether you're technically legal; it matters more that you have the bankroll to go the distance against a faceless corporation that can afford to field a dozen lawyers and spin the case out for years. In that situation, your only hope is that you can convince the judge early on that the case has no merit, otherwise you can kiss your house and your lifesavings goodbye. Even if you win, you probably won't get them back.
As for the politicians, I tell them I'm British, I'm not allowed to vote here, that I'm paying taxes anyway, and I'll make a donation to any politician who makes a firm commitment to fight "taxation without representation". I think I can apply for citizenship just in time to miss the next election, so I can see which id10t gets in and decide if it's worth the expense.
I tell the blood bank I'm British, and that by their own rules they're not allowed to take a donation from me. That's the only useful outcome of Mad Cow Disease.
I work on a Do-Not-Answer policy. The phone rings 3 times, then the answering machine gets it. If a live voice I recognise says "hey, pick it up" I will. That takes care of blocked caller-id.
I think you may be a bit optimistic about the amount of trouble "they" would get into if found abusing the system. It wasn't so long ago that we were all bitching about the FBI granting themselves the right to invade privacy whenever they felt like it, with no judicial oversight, and a gag order on anyone involved. They can violate your privacy and if you squeal about it, you're jailed until a new administration changes the rules, or hell freezes over, whichever comes first.
The way Germans over-engineer things, that jacket will probably last long enough to become a family heirloom. You could probably tow your car with it, and still play tunes afterwards... :)
In my case, when the company was taken over and our new employer came along with the employee agreements, if I hadn't signed I'd have been shipped out of the country...
Except in the case of a fixed-fee interview, where you slap down some cash and discuss your situation for a certain length of time. Or don't they do that where you live??
Do the research up front, write up a tentative contract, or maybe several to cover different provisions, then see the lawyer. For maybe $200 you walk away with a contract and a reasonably secure feeling that you haven't left any loopholes for the company to screw you through later.