I suggest we next apply a vice tax to anything related to professional sports. Tickets, merchandise, PPVs, you-name-it. Considering how much bad behavior professional sporting events elicit from fans, it only seems fair.
Indeed. I've seen this leveled as a criticism against using "the cloud," but really, only a complete moron would keep their only copy of anything important in the cloud. Even Google could somehow die tomorrow. You just never know.
But with GeoCities, there was ample warning. There really wasn't in this case, though the writing was on the wall. I never handed one red cent over to MU considering I saw their service was used predominantly for copyright infringement--just too dicey a proposition for me.
Exactly. Some people paid for this service and used it to store legitimate files. From what I've read, there's little question that MU employees and management knew their service was being used to trade a lot of infringing material, and even went so far as to play shell games with download links to avoid complying with the DMCA, but what of the people who used it legitimately, paid for the privilege, and are now going to have their files wiped? It's not like MU will have any assets to go after once this whole mess shakes out.
It's also incorrect to put your comma outside of the quote!:)
As a programmer, I hate putting things inside quotes that aren't actually part of what I was quoting, so I can understand the habit. Even so, it is grammatically incorrect!
They can use browser fingerprinting--which does not depend on cookies--to uniquely track you. So, unless you're specifically disabling all the JavaScript and user agent reporting that makes this possible, they will still know those accounts are all the same person (or at least all using the same browser on the same computer.)
Actually, this case doesn't resolve much of anything.
The question before the court was, "Is attaching a GPS device to someone's car a search as defined by the Constitution?"
The court said, "Yes, it is."
But because the question as to whether it was a reasonable search was neither asked nor answered, which means whether it requires a warrant it still up in the air. For now, SCOTUS has said it is definitely a search, which means doing it at all is off-limits unless steps are taken to ensure it is a reasonable search (meaning you get a judge to sign off.) It is still possible to attach a GPS device to someone's car without their consent and without a warrant, but it may not be admissible in court without a warrant.
Shared hosting services often stipulate that you can't use them as file storage services--you have to actually be serving websites with them.
But really, if you are paying Mediafire to host your files, what's wrong with that? I just wouldn't use them as my only copy--only a fool would trust a cloud service with their one and only copy of anything.
Exactly right. Under the DMCA, no one is required to take down infringing material proactively--in fact, if it's found you do this, you can be in more trouble for what you don't catch. Instead, you take a reactive approach and take things down when you get DMCA notifications. Then, you can be in compliance with the law without having to devote vast resources to policing your site, as others are policing it for you.
The first GFWL game I was exposed to was BioShock 2. The very first time I ran it, it would not even let me play the game until I went through the stupid GFWL activation and was then forced to sit through a patch download (about 2 gigabytes, if I recall.) Though I have no doubt it's mainly about stopping piracy (even though they can't), the fact that they manage patches this way is just asinine. Maybe I don't want a fucking patch right now. But no, you don't get the choice.
I pirate either as a "try-before-you-buy" (and that means I delete games I don't end up buying), or use it for games I bought but the retail version is known to have some kind of nasty DRM in it.
I have a couple games on Steam that have the godawful Games for Windows Live crap on them, and I assume it's just a matter of time before I'm not allowed to play them due to some SNAFU on Microsoft's part. I am fully prepared to pirate said games at that point.
Not to mention, some Steam games come with DRM like "Games for Windows Live", so while you may be able to install the same game via Steam any number of times, it has a finite number of GFWL activations to it.
I buy a lot of games, but I've become very careful in my purchase choices over the past couple years because of this crap. Has there ever been any single-player game that was effectively prevented from being pirated? It's easy enough to track keys and so forth for multiplayer, but with SP it doesn't seem like they can ever fully prevent cracking. At this point, why even bother? Do they think they can fully thwart piracy at some point in the future? Good fucking luck.
Just throw in a disc check for games on disc, and a Steam check for Steam games. Screw all this other crap. All it does is piss off customers and--more importantly--breaks things on their systems. Why the hell aren't they legally liable for that? I doubt a click-through EULA can be found to give them carte blanch to screw up your PC's functioning.
Modern, Western-style civilization is the best population control found to date. Secular society, freely-available contraception, and good medical care all combine to produce plummeting birth rates. We don't really have to do anything about population control. That problem solves itself as a society's focus moves away from having children to personal fulfillment.
Yeah, I'd heard about Texas, and what a joke their "economic boom" is. Leading the country in low-wage jobs is nothing to be proud of.
Really nothing I can argue with in what you said, either. Workers have so little protection in this country. Unions are vilified as little more than legalized Mafias, and people have bought into the lie that all you have to do to succeed is work hard, and when the government gets involved they just prevent you from being successful.
Maybe those people should go talk to the folks working 2 or 3 jobs and still barely surviving.
There's no shortage of politicians looking out for the best interests of American corporations. Where are the ones who are willing to stand up for workers? Anyone who even tries get branded a socialist.
Wow, that's pretty crappy. I'm not sure that's even legal when you're an hourly employee--the company doesn't "own" you on your off hours, so how can they give you grief for having another job (or three)?
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I suggest we next apply a vice tax to anything related to professional sports. Tickets, merchandise, PPVs, you-name-it. Considering how much bad behavior professional sporting events elicit from fans, it only seems fair.
Really? I've never seen it done in a dead-tree published book--American or or British.
Indeed. I've seen this leveled as a criticism against using "the cloud," but really, only a complete moron would keep their only copy of anything important in the cloud. Even Google could somehow die tomorrow. You just never know.
But with GeoCities, there was ample warning. There really wasn't in this case, though the writing was on the wall. I never handed one red cent over to MU considering I saw their service was used predominantly for copyright infringement--just too dicey a proposition for me.
Exactly. Some people paid for this service and used it to store legitimate files. From what I've read, there's little question that MU employees and management knew their service was being used to trade a lot of infringing material, and even went so far as to play shell games with download links to avoid complying with the DMCA, but what of the people who used it legitimately, paid for the privilege, and are now going to have their files wiped? It's not like MU will have any assets to go after once this whole mess shakes out.
It's also incorrect to put your comma outside of the quote! :)
As a programmer, I hate putting things inside quotes that aren't actually part of what I was quoting, so I can understand the habit. Even so, it is grammatically incorrect!
That's like saying "once we master warp drive, travel to other solar systems should be no problem."
Once you've done 99% of the work, sure, that last 1% ain't much. :-p
But if you are a regular customer of a restaurant and they don't have huge staff turnover, they will know who you are and get to know your tastes.
They can use browser fingerprinting--which does not depend on cookies--to uniquely track you. So, unless you're specifically disabling all the JavaScript and user agent reporting that makes this possible, they will still know those accounts are all the same person (or at least all using the same browser on the same computer.)
I have no mod points so I'll settle for an "attaboy"!
But radio spectrum is a public good, licensed by the government, and those using it can be thus regulated.
Actually, this case doesn't resolve much of anything.
The question before the court was, "Is attaching a GPS device to someone's car a search as defined by the Constitution?"
The court said, "Yes, it is."
But because the question as to whether it was a reasonable search was neither asked nor answered, which means whether it requires a warrant it still up in the air. For now, SCOTUS has said it is definitely a search, which means doing it at all is off-limits unless steps are taken to ensure it is a reasonable search (meaning you get a judge to sign off.) It is still possible to attach a GPS device to someone's car without their consent and without a warrant, but it may not be admissible in court without a warrant.
(IANAL but I have friends who are. YMMV.)
Shared hosting services often stipulate that you can't use them as file storage services--you have to actually be serving websites with them.
But really, if you are paying Mediafire to host your files, what's wrong with that? I just wouldn't use them as my only copy--only a fool would trust a cloud service with their one and only copy of anything.
Exactly right. Under the DMCA, no one is required to take down infringing material proactively--in fact, if it's found you do this, you can be in more trouble for what you don't catch. Instead, you take a reactive approach and take things down when you get DMCA notifications. Then, you can be in compliance with the law without having to devote vast resources to policing your site, as others are policing it for you.
I'm convinced GFWL is the most massively retarded online profile/DRM bastard child ever devised.
The first GFWL game I was exposed to was BioShock 2. The very first time I ran it, it would not even let me play the game until I went through the stupid GFWL activation and was then forced to sit through a patch download (about 2 gigabytes, if I recall.) Though I have no doubt it's mainly about stopping piracy (even though they can't), the fact that they manage patches this way is just asinine. Maybe I don't want a fucking patch right now. But no, you don't get the choice.
I pirate either as a "try-before-you-buy" (and that means I delete games I don't end up buying), or use it for games I bought but the retail version is known to have some kind of nasty DRM in it.
I have a couple games on Steam that have the godawful Games for Windows Live crap on them, and I assume it's just a matter of time before I'm not allowed to play them due to some SNAFU on Microsoft's part. I am fully prepared to pirate said games at that point.
Not to mention, some Steam games come with DRM like "Games for Windows Live", so while you may be able to install the same game via Steam any number of times, it has a finite number of GFWL activations to it.
I buy a lot of games, but I've become very careful in my purchase choices over the past couple years because of this crap. Has there ever been any single-player game that was effectively prevented from being pirated? It's easy enough to track keys and so forth for multiplayer, but with SP it doesn't seem like they can ever fully prevent cracking. At this point, why even bother? Do they think they can fully thwart piracy at some point in the future? Good fucking luck.
Just throw in a disc check for games on disc, and a Steam check for Steam games. Screw all this other crap. All it does is piss off customers and--more importantly--breaks things on their systems. Why the hell aren't they legally liable for that? I doubt a click-through EULA can be found to give them carte blanch to screw up your PC's functioning.
Unless you are living in the midst of a large city, an $80K salary and $300K house is living pretty damn large in Indiana.
Much more common would be a $40K salary and a ~$100K house.
In a perfect world, users wouldn't be able to do anything, because everything would be 100% secure!
Step 0: Be born a retard like jellomizer.
I think you missed the memo. Being a nerd is cool now. Turning your kids into nerds means they're gonna get laid more, not less.
Obviously, the solution is to make sure your kids are jocks and as non-nerdy as possible.
Modern, Western-style civilization is the best population control found to date. Secular society, freely-available contraception, and good medical care all combine to produce plummeting birth rates. We don't really have to do anything about population control. That problem solves itself as a society's focus moves away from having children to personal fulfillment.
Well, things are FUBAR in the US. If your employer sees pics of you drunk on Facebook, they can fire you for that, too.
Yeah, I'd heard about Texas, and what a joke their "economic boom" is. Leading the country in low-wage jobs is nothing to be proud of.
Really nothing I can argue with in what you said, either. Workers have so little protection in this country. Unions are vilified as little more than legalized Mafias, and people have bought into the lie that all you have to do to succeed is work hard, and when the government gets involved they just prevent you from being successful.
Maybe those people should go talk to the folks working 2 or 3 jobs and still barely surviving.
There's no shortage of politicians looking out for the best interests of American corporations. Where are the ones who are willing to stand up for workers? Anyone who even tries get branded a socialist.
Wow, that's pretty crappy. I'm not sure that's even legal when you're an hourly employee--the company doesn't "own" you on your off hours, so how can they give you grief for having another job (or three)?