If he really wants to read my email, I'm going to sign up for all the pr0n spam I can get. Let that puritanical a$$hole freak show and his Christian Soldiers(TM) sort through all the live cams, teen fetishes, fisting sessions, and goatse.cx pics they can get:)
If you agree, but the software. If not, put it back on the shelf.
It would be incredibly amusing to see opened boxes piling up on store shelves. How long would it take before the manufacturers modified their behavior? Of course, you'd probably get arrested as for some newfangled USA PATRIOT cyber terrorism offense if you did that at Comp USA...
...it better be, with all the subsidies Lucas is getting from the City and COunty of San Francisco. Free water, sewer, fire, and police protection. They're basically paying Lucas to relocate to the Presidio.
Fiber can deliver many services (not just internet access) to the home. If we had a publicly-owned fiber infrastructure, you could have 50 cable companies competing to give you service over the fiber instead of a local monopoly. You could have 20 ISPs offering internet access instead of two or three. You could have dozens of phone companies offering phone service over the pipe instead of a local quasi-monopoly and several "competitors" that use its lines.
Instead, Michael Powell has decided that unregulated monopolies (and probably a good deal of subsidies) are what's needed to build fiber infrastructure.
I guess the execs at MTV no longer need to rely on force-feeding the VJs qualudes to get them to push Britney Spears and other crap.
How long before the Republicans use this to make a composite of Clinton or Gore endorsing all of Bush's policies...oh, wait, they don't need to do that. Clinton and Gore already do endorse most of Bush's policies...
...I resent all this talk about my ancestor not being the innovative pioneer that he was. And I resent all those royalties that...oh, wait, I've never actually received a royalty. Nevermind.
ClearChannel signed a deal with the city of San Francisco a few years back that should make any self-respecting civil libertarian cringe.
The city board of supervisors (then controlled by mayor Willie Brown) passed an ordinance to prohibit newspapers from putting their own vending boxes on city streets. All newspapers would have to be sold through city-sanctioned newspaper racks or city-sanctioned newspaper kiosks. No newspaper would be allowed to place its own rack on the streets. They then contracted with ClearChannel to place and run these news racks, allowing CLearChannel to determine which papers could exist in them. Some newspaper publishers have filed suit to block the law, but I'm not sure how effective that will be. No matter what the outcome, the city will be obligated to pay ClearChannel for the "administration" of these racks.
I despise telemarketers. I also despise evangelicals. It's fun to use one against the other. Here's how my typical solicitation call goes:
[Telemarketer]: Good evening, sir! I'm calling from -insert company here- and we'd like to tell you about an amazing new offer on our new -insert product here-!
[Me]: Well, I'd certainly be interested in your -insert product here- but first, I'd like to talk to you about the Lord Jesus Christ(TM) and your future in the Kingdom of Heaven(TM).
[Telemarketer]: huh?
[Me]: Now, sir, are you absolutely sure that your soul will go to Heaven(TM) when you die?
[Telemarketer]: Um, well,...
[Me]: Because, you know, Jesus(SM) died for your sins, and those who know Him(TM), I mean the True Him(TM) are guaranteed a place in God's(TM) Kingdom(TM) when the Rapture(TM) arrives.
[Telemarketer]: Well, I never, um...
[Me]: And it's a documented fact that the Bible(TM) guarantees that the children of Jehovah(TM) have a place in that Holy Domain(TM). Now sir, do you go to church regularly?
By this time, the telemarketer is so damn disturbed that s/he usually hangs up and I never get a call from them again.
I suppose you could use a telemarketer spiel on the Mormons(TM) and Jehovahs(TM) that come to your door, but they've stopped bugging me since I got my "No Bible Thimpers" sticker from darwinfish.com.
Sony loves to make eye candy. I have the N760C and it's not a bad device. Then again, you should pray that nothing goes wrong with it. The memory stick holder often breaks in these things, requiring you to send the unit back to Sony (without a temporary replacement like Palm offers) for several weeks. They also don't officially support syncing with Outlook/Exchange (don't even start with the religious wars here) so you may be SOL if you run into synchronization problems (as I frequently do).
I can see it now. You have a jam session and some lawyer shows up on your porch: "Sir, that note you played last week is the copyrighted property of the RIAA. You can either pay us $50,000 for infringing or we'll see you in court." Or, better yet, your amp will now pre-empt when you try to play any RIAA-owned notes. Those would be the notes in the range ABCDEFG, including sharps, flats, majors, and minors. Yes, all your tonal range are belong to us! After all, we've just got to plug that analog hole somehow!
Polyraphs are generally inadmissible as evidence in criminal cases. I believe this is because polygraphs are not widely accepted as science. The same case could be made here, I imagine.
A relevant quote from the first Mad Max...
on
New Mad Max Film
·
· Score: 2
The chain in those handcuffs is high tense metal steel. It will take you ten minutes to hack through it with this. Now If you're lucky... you could hack through your ankle in 5 minutes.
I believe this case (United States of America vs. ElcomSoft Ltd.) is a civil case, whereas the skylarov case was criminal. In civil cases there is no constitutional guarantee of a speedy trial (the guarantee of due process still exists).
No one likes commercial spam. It is irrelevant and untargeted and can be highly intrusive and even offensive.
...and political spam (especially from a right wing fundamentalist zealot like Bill Jones) isn't irrelevant, untargeted, and highly intrusive?
True, we can just hit the delete key, set up a spam filter, etc...but the fact that spam is cheap is exactly what makes it untargeted, and the sheer volume makes it highly intrusive. And I pay for that internet service, damnit.
The CEO certainly was trying to do right by shareholders and employees. Unfortunately, corporate boards (which are usually controlled by CEOs) tend to have a lot of power.
Regarding your questions, the best way to prevent these types of shenanigans is to file shareholder lawsuits. It's very hard to win a criminal conviction, since these types of crimes (when they are illegal) are perpetrated by very savvy individuals who often make sure not to leave a paper trail. It's organized crime at it's best: lobby the hell out of government to make your actions legal, then cover up all evidence of your crimes if that doesn't work. That's where shareholder suits come in. The burden of proof in a civil trial is simply a preponderance of the evidence (rather than "beyond a reasonable doubt"). That makes shareholder suits (or the mere threat of them) the best defense against these types of executive transgressions. Unfortunately, intense lobbying and massive bribes, er, campaign contributions during the last two decades have strictly limited shareholder suits. In fact, Ken Lay's ill-gotten gains are all sitting in annuities which, under Texas law, are immune from shareholder suits.
Sure, I'd like nothing more than to see the Kenneth Lays of the world living in 5x8 cells and being punked by bald-headed inmates named Debbie, but it's just not going to happen. In many ways, it's better to hit them where it really hurts: their pocketbooks. Let's get rid of shareholder suit-proof annuities and other vehicles that allow execs and board members to keep their pilfered dollars. Let's allow shareholders to sue when boards of directors do this. Hell, let's turn shareholders into creditors for these loans and let them get paid first.
True, Tivo has been good about this in the past. But then again, without our government to look after our privacy it's imperative that we do so ourselves. I just wanted to point out how easy it would be to sneak something like this by users. It goes to the need for comprehensive, opt-in only privacy legislation...something we're not going to get without educating your everyday consumer about tricks like this.
So maybe I am cynical, especially given the behavior of many corporations on the subject of privacy. I can't help it.
Sure, they're asking us now, but remember those clauses in the privacy policies of various companies that say "we can change our privacy policy without notice"? Tivo could (a) indicate to its current customers that it's changing it's privacy policy (per their current policy) to one that allows them to make changes to the policy without notice, then (b) six months later, it changes its policy again to allow for opt-out data collection (instead of the current opt-in version).
Actually, you can do that now with the V-Chip signal. That signal is broadcast during shows so that Tipper Gore types can set their TV up to block their kids from seeing evil things like TV news and keep them focused on the healthy stuff like Marilyn Manson and Barney. The signal is not broadcast during ads.
You can try this at home if you have a V-Chip TV. Just set it to some prudish PMRC-level setting and try to watch something. The program will be blacked out but the ads will show just fine.
The word monopoly can be used in a plural context by referring to firms with "monopoly power". Yes, the correct noun for such a situation might be "oligopoly" (which can be just as bad or worse than a monopoly) but in general allowing a firm to have monopoly power is bad.
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If he really wants to read my email, I'm going to sign up for all the pr0n spam I can get. Let that puritanical a$$hole freak show and his Christian Soldiers(TM) sort through all the live cams, teen fetishes, fisting sessions, and goatse.cx pics they can get :)
- Go to CompUSA (or other retailer)
- Find the section for the software you want
- Locate shrinkwrapped software box
- Open shrinkwrapped box and RTFEULA
- If you agree, but the software. If not, put it back on the shelf.
It would be incredibly amusing to see opened boxes piling up on store shelves. How long would it take before the manufacturers modified their behavior? Of course, you'd probably get arrested as for some newfangled USA PATRIOT cyber terrorism offense if you did that at Comp USA......it better be, with all the subsidies Lucas is getting from the City and COunty of San Francisco. Free water, sewer, fire, and police protection. They're basically paying Lucas to relocate to the Presidio.
wow...government actually did something in consumers' interest? That's odd.
Fiber can deliver many services (not just internet access) to the home. If we had a publicly-owned fiber infrastructure, you could have 50 cable companies competing to give you service over the fiber instead of a local monopoly. You could have 20 ISPs offering internet access instead of two or three. You could have dozens of phone companies offering phone service over the pipe instead of a local quasi-monopoly and several "competitors" that use its lines.
Instead, Michael Powell has decided that unregulated monopolies (and probably a good deal of subsidies) are what's needed to build fiber infrastructure.
...I thought Carson Daly was a robot.
I guess the execs at MTV no longer need to rely on force-feeding the VJs qualudes to get them to push Britney Spears and other crap.
How long before the Republicans use this to make a composite of Clinton or Gore endorsing all of Bush's policies...oh, wait, they don't need to do that. Clinton and Gore already do endorse most of Bush's policies...
...I resent all this talk about my ancestor not being the innovative pioneer that he was. And I resent all those royalties that...oh, wait, I've never actually received a royalty. Nevermind.
ClearChannel signed a deal with the city of San Francisco a few years back that should make any self-respecting civil libertarian cringe.
The city board of supervisors (then controlled by mayor Willie Brown) passed an ordinance to prohibit newspapers from putting their own vending boxes on city streets. All newspapers would have to be sold through city-sanctioned newspaper racks or city-sanctioned newspaper kiosks. No newspaper would be allowed to place its own rack on the streets. They then contracted with ClearChannel to place and run these news racks, allowing CLearChannel to determine which papers could exist in them. Some newspaper publishers have filed suit to block the law, but I'm not sure how effective that will be. No matter what the outcome, the city will be obligated to pay ClearChannel for the "administration" of these racks.
Here's an article on the subject.
I despise telemarketers. I also despise evangelicals. It's fun to use one against the other. Here's how my typical solicitation call goes:
...
[Telemarketer]: Good evening, sir! I'm calling from -insert company here- and we'd like to tell you about an amazing new offer on our new -insert product here-!
[Me]: Well, I'd certainly be interested in your -insert product here- but first, I'd like to talk to you about the Lord Jesus Christ(TM) and your future in the Kingdom of Heaven(TM).
[Telemarketer]: huh?
[Me]: Now, sir, are you absolutely sure that your soul will go to Heaven(TM) when you die?
[Telemarketer]: Um, well,
[Me]: Because, you know, Jesus(SM) died for your sins, and those who know Him(TM), I mean the True Him(TM) are guaranteed a place in God's(TM) Kingdom(TM) when the Rapture(TM) arrives.
[Telemarketer]: Well, I never, um...
[Me]: And it's a documented fact that the Bible(TM) guarantees that the children of Jehovah(TM) have a place in that Holy Domain(TM). Now sir, do you go to church regularly?
By this time, the telemarketer is so damn disturbed that s/he usually hangs up and I never get a call from them again.
I suppose you could use a telemarketer spiel on the Mormons(TM) and Jehovahs(TM) that come to your door, but they've stopped bugging me since I got my "No Bible Thimpers" sticker from darwinfish.com.
So if you get caught in an avalanche of this snow, you're truly in a world of shit...
Sony loves to make eye candy. I have the N760C and it's not a bad device. Then again, you should pray that nothing goes wrong with it. The memory stick holder often breaks in these things, requiring you to send the unit back to Sony (without a temporary replacement like Palm offers) for several weeks. They also don't officially support syncing with Outlook/Exchange (don't even start with the religious wars here) so you may be SOL if you run into synchronization problems (as I frequently do).
I can see it now. You have a jam session and some lawyer shows up on your porch: "Sir, that note you played last week is the copyrighted property of the RIAA. You can either pay us $50,000 for infringing or we'll see you in court." Or, better yet, your amp will now pre-empt when you try to play any RIAA-owned notes. Those would be the notes in the range ABCDEFG, including sharps, flats, majors, and minors. Yes, all your tonal range are belong to us! After all, we've just got to plug that analog hole somehow!
Polyraphs are generally inadmissible as evidence in criminal cases. I believe this is because polygraphs are not widely accepted as science. The same case could be made here, I imagine.
The chain in those handcuffs is high tense metal steel. It will take you ten minutes to hack through it with this. Now If you're lucky... you could hack through your ankle in 5 minutes.
Microsoft actually sponsored this study:. htm. Of course, we all know Microsoft to be a bastion of integrity...
http://news.zdnet.co.uk/story/0,,t269-s2126953,00
I believe this case (United States of America vs. ElcomSoft Ltd.) is a civil case, whereas the skylarov case was criminal. In civil cases there is no constitutional guarantee of a speedy trial (the guarantee of due process still exists).
No one likes commercial spam. It is irrelevant and untargeted and can be highly intrusive and even offensive.
...and political spam (especially from a right wing fundamentalist zealot like Bill Jones) isn't irrelevant, untargeted, and highly intrusive?
True, we can just hit the delete key, set up a spam filter, etc...but the fact that spam is cheap is exactly what makes it untargeted, and the sheer volume makes it highly intrusive. And I pay for that internet service, damnit.
The CEO certainly was trying to do right by shareholders and employees. Unfortunately, corporate boards (which are usually controlled by CEOs) tend to have a lot of power.
Regarding your questions, the best way to prevent these types of shenanigans is to file shareholder lawsuits. It's very hard to win a criminal conviction, since these types of crimes (when they are illegal) are perpetrated by very savvy individuals who often make sure not to leave a paper trail. It's organized crime at it's best: lobby the hell out of government to make your actions legal, then cover up all evidence of your crimes if that doesn't work. That's where shareholder suits come in. The burden of proof in a civil trial is simply a preponderance of the evidence (rather than "beyond a reasonable doubt"). That makes shareholder suits (or the mere threat of them) the best defense against these types of executive transgressions. Unfortunately, intense lobbying and massive bribes, er, campaign contributions during the last two decades have strictly limited shareholder suits. In fact, Ken Lay's ill-gotten gains are all sitting in annuities which, under Texas law, are immune from shareholder suits.
Sure, I'd like nothing more than to see the Kenneth Lays of the world living in 5x8 cells and being punked by bald-headed inmates named Debbie, but it's just not going to happen. In many ways, it's better to hit them where it really hurts: their pocketbooks. Let's get rid of shareholder suit-proof annuities and other vehicles that allow execs and board members to keep their pilfered dollars. Let's allow shareholders to sue when boards of directors do this. Hell, let's turn shareholders into creditors for these loans and let them get paid first.
True, Tivo has been good about this in the past. But then again, without our government to look after our privacy it's imperative that we do so ourselves. I just wanted to point out how easy it would be to sneak something like this by users. It goes to the need for comprehensive, opt-in only privacy legislation...something we're not going to get without educating your everyday consumer about tricks like this.
So maybe I am cynical, especially given the behavior of many corporations on the subject of privacy. I can't help it.
Sure, they're asking us now, but remember those clauses in the privacy policies of various companies that say "we can change our privacy policy without notice"? Tivo could (a) indicate to its current customers that it's changing it's privacy policy (per their current policy) to one that allows them to make changes to the policy without notice, then (b) six months later, it changes its policy again to allow for opt-out data collection (instead of the current opt-in version).
Just imagine: you go to 123greetings.com, send a card to your sysadmin, and he starts getting even *more* spam!
Yeah, but I dare you to come up with a SourceForge theme song that parodies the Underpants Gnomes! Maybe something like this:
Time to go to work
Work all night
Search for open source fame
We won't stop until we kill Micro$oft
Yum-tum-tummy-tah-tey
That was hillarious, though.
Actually, you can do that now with the V-Chip signal. That signal is broadcast during shows so that Tipper Gore types can set their TV up to block their kids from seeing evil things like TV news and keep them focused on the healthy stuff like Marilyn Manson and Barney. The signal is not broadcast during ads.
You can try this at home if you have a V-Chip TV. Just set it to some prudish PMRC-level setting and try to watch something. The program will be blacked out but the ads will show just fine.
This is cool and all, but I wonder if those people with platinum teeth would buy into this. I can just see MasterP with one of these.
Of course, these things might provide cover for people who simply talk to themselves...
The word monopoly can be used in a plural context by referring to firms with "monopoly power". Yes, the correct noun for such a situation might be "oligopoly" (which can be just as bad or worse than a monopoly) but in general allowing a firm to have monopoly power is bad.