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1626

Living Room / Re: Supreme Court Invalidates Software Patent...

« Last post by 40hz on June 20, 2014, 02:29 PM »

If you're below 125% of the poverty level, they get you an attorney. For criminal charges, there's the public defender's office (not bad here actually) which often means some sort of plea deal.

-Stoic Joker (June 20, 2014, 02:22 PM)

They have something like that in every state, and every single one of them has the same problem.

   If you live in a box in the park...you're covered.

   If you live in a mansion...you're covered.

   If you fall between these two groups...(and you really need counsel)...you will either end up living in a box in the park, or going to prison.

That's called: capitalism at work. 

FWIW it's not quite that bad where I am. But you may have different experiences "which will vary from state to state" as some people so dearly love to say. I have a relative who moved from CT to Pensacola some years back. He said FL is nothing like CT. Characterized the FL government's attitude as "generally spiteful" and "somewhat vindictive." Says his neighbors mostly consider him (in a nice way) a "northern liberal." Which is funny. Because up here we always thought of him as an right-wing conservative.

Go figure...

I guess everything's relative. And it's a big country. 

1627

Living Room / Re: Supreme Court Invalidates Software Patent...

« Last post by 40hz on June 20, 2014, 01:32 PM »

But if you don't have the money...

-wraith808 (June 20, 2014, 01:14 PM)

We have a thing called Legal Aid in our state. If you're below 125% of the poverty level, they get you an attorney. For criminal charges, there's the public defender's office (not bad here actually) which often means some sort of plea deal.

And I go so far as to say that deals had been made behind the scene... which was something found out only later.

FWIW Most criminal cases in my state seem to end up with some kind of a deal. Likely because our prosecutors apparently hate having to go to trial. I think that's becoming the norm in most places for anything less than a class-A felony.

It pays to remember:

"The quixotic desire to do good, be universally fair and make everybody happy is understandable[...]There is only one problem with this approach. We are a court." - Justice Janice Brown, California Supreme Court

"Young man, let me remind you that this is a court of law and not a court of justice." - Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes, U.S. Supreme Court

 

1628

Living Room / Re: Supreme Court Invalidates Software Patent...

« Last post by 40hz on June 20, 2014, 01:06 PM »

I wasn't in the court to hear in what context that remark got made.

But the simple truth is our legal system is extremely complex. Especially with regard to procedure and rules of evidence. If you're in trouble, you need an attorney. Even attorneys are usually smart enough to not represent themselves in court.

So was that a sarcastic remark I wonder - or just a pointed if uncomfortable bit of good advice?

I was in court where a 19 year-old was up on a DUI charge. When the judge asked if he was represented by counsel, this kid said "I didn't think I needed one for something like this, your honor." The judge looked at him blankly for a minute, then said "I don't think you fully appreciate the degree of trouble you're in right now young man. Since the records show this is your first time in court, I'm going to do you a really big favor. I'm postponing your case. Go get yourself some legal counsel. I expect to see you back in this court in...(glances at his clerk who mutters "Six.") ...six weeks from today. And when you return I strongly suggest you bring an attorney with you."

Some people would consider that snarky. But I thought he was doing this kid a big favor too. Because certain factors surrounding his DUI arrest (additional minors in vehicle, alcohol possession by a minor, expired license, expired registration, failure to stop) taken together could have netted him to some jail time under our state's laws.

I've seen a lot of "tough love" like that shown in courtrooms.

1629

Living Room / Re: Supreme Court Invalidates Software Patent...

« Last post by 40hz on June 20, 2014, 11:47 AM »

Excellent first step.

But since the SC's many IP rulings are still being ignored by a certain federal circuit and appeals courts (esp. the notorious Eastern District of Texas court) it's becoming increasingly obvious that patents and IP need a separate court system that rules in a consistent manner - and on the national level.

The US already has "special jurisdiction" courts set up for things such as bankruptcy, claims, military matters, and tax disputes. So it wouldn't be introducing any major changes in the current US court structure to do this. (Immigration would be another logical candidate for a separate court btw. But that's a discussion for a separate thread.)

There's far too much influence peddling and politics surrounding IP on the regional circuit and appeals court level in the federal system. Having a centralized IP court system would go a long way towards eliminating the "venue shopping" and "rogue judge" problems we're experiencing today.

Just my anyway.

1630

Living Room / Re: Switzerland-based ProtonMail, yet another secure email service

« Last post by 40hz on June 20, 2014, 11:16 AM »

 

     

1631

Living Room / Re: Switzerland-based ProtonMail, yet another secure email service

« Last post by 40hz on June 20, 2014, 11:09 AM »

Indeed, both of your posts indicate what I was thinking of when I posted.  I didn't want to be too cynical in my posting, however.

-wraith808 (June 20, 2014, 10:57 AM)

Oh, go ahead! Voice your most cynical thoughts freely! You're in good company here. DC is one of the most optimistically pessimistic (or pessimistically optimistic if you prefer) communities you'll ever have the pleasure of conversing with.  

That's why I keep coming back. (That and they haven't kicked me out yet. )

1632

General Software Discussion / Re: TrueCrypt alternative

« Last post by 40hz on June 20, 2014, 09:31 AM »

@IainB - thx for sharing that. For once I find myself almost entirely in agreement with WindowsSecrets about something important.

(Note: I do however have a problem with Cryptainer's tiered pricing scheme. In the past I've always had trouble recommending it (as in not) because of that. But that's likely more just me being me.  )

1633

General Software Discussion / Re: Good bye. (originally About buying books, etc., especially at amazon's)

« Last post by 40hz on June 20, 2014, 09:01 AM »

^That much at least I did get.

Oh well. So it goes I guess. 

1634

Living Room / Re: Switzerland-based ProtonMail, yet another secure email service

« Last post by 40hz on June 20, 2014, 08:53 AM »

^I also have trouble accepting another "we had no idea the demand would be so great" excuse from a startup.

If true, it indicates a dangerous and unacceptable degree of naivety on the part of these folks. In the wake of the Snowden revelations, and the shuttering of Lavabit, they had no idea? Seriously?

And if not true, then IainB's suspicion about a potential scam in progress inches closer to a certainty in my book.

1635

General Software Discussion / Re: Good bye. (originally About buying books, etc., especially at amazon's)

« Last post by 40hz on June 20, 2014, 08:43 AM »

Am I the only reader here who is utterly confused by this entire thread?

1636

Living Room / Re: Switzerland-based ProtonMail, yet another secure email service

« Last post by 40hz on June 18, 2014, 10:11 PM »

Yet again more arguments for decentralised systems that are guaranteed to freak out a lot of people who are very much attached to centralised models (which we know are fragile and catastrophic when they fail). But, y'know... screw logic because tradition.

-Renegade (June 18, 2014, 07:35 PM)

It's an interesting idea. Sorta like the old Discordian principle which states that Discordian cabals need to "stand apart with each" other if the day of liberation is ever to come - or the eschaton immanentized - whichever comes first.

That said, I'm not ready to say that DAOs (and all the other decentralized/double-blind/distributed/neocurrency/cryptography and network ideas) by themselves will bring us into Paradise. No matter how well-designed a system, ways can be found to game it. And somebody inevitably will.

Which brings us back to the "people problem" and the need for "men/persons of goodwill" to really make it happen.

The thing that makes me wonder how likely that will be is listening to the people you usually find involved in launching these "new" systems. They're hardly men of goodwill. Their attitude towards others is not very cordial. They love to casually refer to the general population as fucktards, sheeple, clueless, and stupid - secure in an unshakable belief in their own intellectual and moral superiority. Most I've met or talked to are unapologetically out for themselves - although they'll cloak it somewhat under the banner of "enlightened self-interest" and argue that "a rising tide floats all boats." Funny how much that way of thinking mirrors that of the old "trickle down" economic argument.

So...instead of the benefits trickling down, under the new system they'll now trickle up?

Hmm...not getting warm fuzzies over any of this.

With multi-signature in Bitcoin, you no longer have that same single point of failure. Sure, you can turn over your private keys, but that won't help when more than 1 key is needed.

So the thugs then need to go out and kidnap someone else and get their private keys as well.

-Renegade (June 18, 2014, 07:35 PM)

Um...how is that a significant problem or challenge with the resources the average national government has at it's disposal?  Arrest one person or sweep up a hundred. Sign an order to waterboard one person (or twenty) - it's all in a day's work for some apparatchik.

Talking about doing things that would make life more difficult for thugs tells me (on some level) that the person saying it still believes there are enforceable rules in effect. Well..I got some bad news for him/her: There aren't.

1637

Living Room / Re: Ignorance is Strength - Censorship just got VERY real

« Last post by 40hz on June 18, 2014, 06:54 PM »

BC can make laws about California all they want. But they don't have the authority/power to enforce those laws in California. The only way those laws would make a difference is if Google/California/USA chose to follow them.

-Deozaan (June 18, 2014, 02:39 PM)

Unless there is a cash incentive. Because for the right price the corporate types would put their own mothers in a fire without blinking.

-Stoic Joker (June 18, 2014, 06:32 PM)

Some don't even need that much. Terry Pratchett once said it's amazing the terrible things people will do for money - but even more amazing are the terrible things they'll do absolutely free.

1638

Living Room / Re: Ignorance is Strength - Censorship just got VERY real

« Last post by 40hz on June 18, 2014, 06:51 PM »

That's what I mean. BC can make laws about California all they want. But they don't have the authority/power to enforce those laws in California. The only way those laws would make a difference is if Google/California/USA chose to follow them.

-Deozaan (June 18, 2014, 02:39 PM)

Same goes for anywhere and any government however. For example: The US has decided (under a law it wrote) that US laws are enforceable all over the world. But while this gives the US broad "legal authority" - in practice it's just bombast and bluster. Doable if the enforcement action takes place in a country that lacks the military might to stop it (e.g. Panama). Also doable in countries that traditionally toady up are allies of the US (e.g. NZ, Britain, Canada, etc.). Not so doable in countries that piss the US off but have a strong military and police agencies of their own (e.g. Russia, China).

In the end it comes downn to the age old adage: Might makes right - and ultimately determines how much you can get away with. A truth every bully who ever lived has taken to heart.
 

1639

Living Room / Re: Switzerland-based ProtonMail, yet another secure email service

« Last post by 40hz on June 18, 2014, 06:34 PM »

My problem is that something like this makes it so easy for all the world's intelligence services to be able to target a single nexus for e-mails that actually might have something worth hiding in them. Why not just paint a bullseye on the server farm while they're at it.

Zero access? End to end encryption? Great on a technical level - and in theory.

Unfortunately, here's how signal intelligence tends to work in the real world.



It's a whole different world now. Governments no longer play by the rules or respect the law. Not even their own when it doesn't suit them.

Reminder: this is not a tech challenge we've got here. It's a people problem.

1640

Living Room / Re: "English" <> "German" translations

« Last post by 40hz on June 18, 2014, 06:22 PM »

I'd call steps 1-3 "Software Installation and Setup"

1) Initial setup. The setup program will create directories, extract and install the necessary files to your harddrive, and also perform some initial configuration of the installed software.

2) User configuration. Once the application is installed you will want to customize program features and setting for the user.

3) Check installation. Once user configuration is completed you will want to open the application and check the settings to be sure the application is working the way you wish it to.

I'd call steps 4-7 "Hardware Setup and Configuration.


(Am I confusing you even more?  )

1641

What's the Best? / Re: What's the best Journal (Diary) software?

« Last post by 40hz on June 18, 2014, 06:07 PM »

Has anyone ever considered using a local install of Wordpress with WampServer/XAMPP for this purpose?

You could make the pages look however you like with whatever theme you want to add to it, if you don't like the included themes. And there are plenty of free themes available. And additional functionality can be added with plugins.

It's already searchable, out of the box, you can post images to it, and for a spellchecker, you'd use the one in your browser.

And since it is not being published online, and would not be running all the time, as long as you don't allow internet access to it from within WampServer/XAMPP, it would not have a lot of the vulnerability worries that a normal Wordpress blog might have.

-app103 (June 18, 2014, 05:38 PM)

Clever idea!

(For a straightforward diary app, RedNotebook is pretty nice. Cross-platform too! )

For diaries however, I'd think one of the wiki apps might also be a possibility.

If you're just running locally, I'd be more inclined to use Softalicious's freebie AMPPS stack which has the ability to auto install just about any web app you could think of. It's a great way to set up and try dozens of blog/wiki/portal/framework/whatevers. They had 322 app installers ready to go last time I looked. A little easier than WAMP/XAMP to work with too IMHO. Find it here. (It runs Wordpress too!)

 

1642

DC Gamer Club / Re: Magrunner FREE on GOG for 24 hours! (June 18, 2014)

« Last post by 40hz on June 18, 2014, 03:42 PM »

Seems like it. Which makes for two of my favorite flavors on one box!

I'm gonna have to at least try it...

1643

Living Room / Re: Google's new "Hey Indies! Pay or your video won't play!" subscription service.

« Last post by 40hz on June 18, 2014, 10:18 AM »

Vimeo has its own problems. It has been known for taking down videos of "gameplay" (for videogames) simply because Vimeo considers itself a website for artistic videos and they don't consider videogames artistic enough... or something.

-Deozaan (June 18, 2014, 12:34 AM)

Oh...I'm not saying Vimeo is anything wonderful. I'm just saying look how YT is now so much the default share source that it has support in a huge number of places while so many other sharing sites still don't.

I also don't have a problem with some reasonable level of curation - even if it can all too easily become a slippery slope.

In Vimeo's case, however, I think it was more motivated by a desire not to go down the same "trash submissions" route YT has gone down. Vimeo doesn't have the same market penetration as YT. So in order to lure the content creators Vimeo wants to see on their site, they need to offer something better than just free hosting. Because YT already provides that plus more eyeballs.

So offering a more selective (and dare I say it?) grown-up site with a (hopefully) more sophisticated and appreciative audience is one way to get there.

Or so it seems to me.

1644

Living Room / Re: The Onion launches new site: Clickhole

« Last post by 40hz on June 18, 2014, 10:03 AM »

As a religious person, I figure I can believe in just about anything. With much faith.

-Fred Nerd (June 18, 2014, 08:45 AM)

You're doing better than me Fred!

As a cynical person who has studied history and follows the news, I can believe in just about anything too - no faith required!

1645

Living Room / Re: Ignorance is Strength - Censorship just got VERY real

« Last post by 40hz on June 18, 2014, 06:13 AM »

Erm... How can a province of Canada tell a U.S. company what to do?

What about that thing called jurisdiction? Or that other thing called sovereignty?

-Deozaan (June 18, 2014, 12:30 AM)

The problem is that virtually every government is looking to clamp down hard on the Internet right now. So any situation where somebody else gets to play the 'bad guy' while the mutual beneficiaries all stand around wringing their hands moaning "But there's nothing we can do!" is a double win for them.

Laws are laws. And treaties are treaties. But the heavyweight nations (China, Russia, USA) have no problem saying "screw that" when they disagree with something. Bullies only play by the rules when it suits them to do so. And 'situational ethics' are the rule these days.

The only way BC (who is not even a minor player on the world stage) will ever see a decision it made apply to the US is if the US chooses to be bound by it. Q: Which rules does an 800-lb gorilla play by? A: The ones it wants to.

1646

General Software Discussion / Re: New Here

« Last post by 40hz on June 18, 2014, 06:00 AM »

Welcome and well met. Many minds make for greater shared wisdom.

1647

Living Room / Re: Knight to queen's bishop 3 - Snowden charged with espionage.

« Last post by 40hz on June 17, 2014, 09:47 PM »

And then they arrest you for something they find on the hard drive ... That they felt was questionable.

-Stoic Joker (June 17, 2014, 07:50 PM)

Yep. One "borrowed" software title, book, movie, or song downloaded from a share site, disk rip, or given to you by a helpful friend is enough to get you busted. And you don't even need to break an actual law. False arrests and abuse of police powers are so widespread they no longer anger judges enough that our sonambulent judiciary feels motivated to do anything about it. Even when such abuses come up in the course of trial - assuming it ever gets that far.

Nowadays making a plea deal to a lesser offence - or signing away your right to sue - in order to avoid prosecution for a heavily trumped up charge is also becoming the norm.

1648

Living Room / Re: Stuff We Feel Like Bitching About

« Last post by 40hz on June 17, 2014, 09:09 PM »

Nobody using Ghostery for blocking ads? Although the source of this browser plug-in (all the main ones, except IE) might be considered questionable, I am using it to my satisfaction. it's the only blocker in my browser (FF) and even on the more...adult sites, it blocks beyond belief.

-Shades (June 17, 2014, 07:33 PM)

I'm using it. f0dder gave me the heads up on this puppy quite a while ago and I've been using it ever since. It's one of several blockers I employ regularly.
 

1649

Living Room / Re: Recommend some music videos to me!

« Last post by 40hz on June 17, 2014, 09:01 PM »

This one is for Superboy. Alison Moyet (with that lovely contralto of her's) doing Cry Me a River. Ms Moyet comes the closest to Julie London's definitive version of this classic. Truth be told, I like some of Moyet's phrasing and her less affected delivery (plus the overall band arrangement) just a tiny bit better.

Silky smooth bass and drums plus some excellent piano accompaniment, marred only by that clueless twit who is playing the most un-jazzlike of all guitars, the dreaded Gibson SG! (WTF? Seriously. WTF?)

Alison is just one of the many fine indie musicians soon to disappear from YouTube if Google goes ahead with some of its recently announced plans.

1650

Living Room / Re: Knight to queen's bishop 3 - Snowden charged with espionage.

« Last post by 40hz on June 17, 2014, 06:26 PM »

Surveillance technology use is more addictive than crack AFAICT.

One reason why I never participated in any project that involved monitoring people was because I have seen what this technology does to the people who use it.
 (see attachment in previous post)

-40hz (June 14, 2014, 01:31 PM)

Do you feel the same about home surveillance of your own pad?

-superboyac (June 17, 2014, 02:18 PM)

Yes I do. Even with pets at home and me being out a lot.

It's not completely rational I know. But I'm sort of where Mark Twain was when he told his doctor he couldn't moderate his smoking or drinking habits. Twain said while he could give up a bad habit completely, he didn't think he could moderate one indefinitely.

Probably I could. Maybe I couldn't. But why even go there to begin with?

Lead us not into temptation...and all that.  

Like a certain lady said: "I will diminish, and go into the West and remain Galadriel."