Recent Posts

726

Living Room / Re: Giving personal identifying info . . . to credit protection companies?

« Last post by app103 on August 20, 2014, 05:09 AM »

Unless you know for sure that you have been a victim of a data theft, there really is not too much need for this kind of service, and accepting a freebie from a 3rd party you don't know if you can trust could make you more likely to become a victim, not less likely.

And if you are ever the victim of such a data theft (such as something like this), wherever the breach took place, that company would likely pay for the service on your behalf for a number of years, and usually through a reputable monitoring company, just to cover their own legal butts.

I know, because my daughter's personal and medical info was stolen.  A local hospital worker was transporting it on a hard drive, in the back seat of their personal vehicle, to a hospital owned lab in the next town. They left their car unattended (to go grab lunch), and it was broken into...and the hard drive was stolen. The hospital contacted my daughter to inform her about this, told her exactly what data was on the hard drive, sent her a copy of the police report, and offered her 5 years of free credit monitoring through Experian (one of the Big Three credit bureaus).

727

Living Room / Re: High School Student Laptop Policy

« Last post by app103 on August 20, 2014, 04:29 AM »

I expect any laptop provided by a school to come with the same privacy rights as the computer use in the classroom...pretty much none, with full logging and monitoring of everything the computer is used for.

Therefore, my instructions to my child, concerning the use of that laptop would be to use it as little as possible and only for school related things, and assume the privacy is equal to having their teacher standing over their shoulder watching everything they do, including watching what keys they type in as passwords on websites.

And as a precaution, when you are not using that school provided laptop, you will place it inside this box, to prevent eavesdropping on your private life (via microphone & webcam) when the laptop is not in use.

Furthermore, if you want to do anything that could be considered personal use, even something as trivial as looking up local weather info before heading off to school, you are to use your regular computer that was not provided by the school. (You know, that one provided by your parents, for such purposes.)

In fact, you may use that computer for your school work, as well, if it is allowed by your teacher, keeping that school provided laptop stored in that box the entire time that you are at home.

 

Children are never too young to learn good computing habits, including good security and privacy protection habits. If they are old enough to understand how to start a web browser, type in a URL, and log in to a website, they are old enough to learn this stuff. I don't believe in keeping kids naively innocent and turning them loose among wolves, completely unprepared.

I would also contact the state school board in writing via Certified Mail, return receipt requested (cc: local school board, principal of child's school, president of PTA, child's teacher, local Congressmen, editor of local newspaper, TV news reporters, etc.) and ask them what their provisions are for covering the costs of the insurance on this unwanted, costly laptop, that the responsibility for it is being forced upon you, considering that every child is entitled to a free public education, and free doesn't mean $50 for insurance, nor does it mean accepting responsibility for a costly piece of equipment that could make your child the target of a robbery on the way to/from school.

I would also ask about what additional security provisions they planned to provide for my child, from home doorstep to school doorstep, to ensure their safety while traveling to/from school, to prevent them from becoming a victim of violence, due to having to transport this unwanted, expensive laptop. And if anything were to happen to your child as a result of having this laptop in their possession, who exactly is going to take full responsibility for it. (it, referring to any injury to the child, not the laptop)

 

728

Living Room / Re: Free eBooks

« Last post by app103 on August 18, 2014, 11:01 PM »

I think the different countries mentioned as being supported may have more to do with licensing, than anything else. Even if a book is temporarily free, it doesn't mean the publisher wants it distributed globally, for free, and may exert some control over it, allowing it in some countries, but not others.

As far as taxes are concerned, it may all depend on why an item's final cost is $0, as to whether there are any taxes due on it.

I can only speak from the perspective of where I live, since I am not a global tax expert.

In my home state of New Jersey, there could be taxes due on a $0 purchase, depending on how it ended up that way. If, for example, Amazon marked down the price for clearance or just a sale, then it enters my shopping cart already priced at $0, and no taxes would be due on it, because 7% of $0 is $0.

But if it entered my cart at $2.99 and the use of a coupon or gift certificate reduced that price to $0, there would be taxes due on the original price at which it entered my cart, because 7% of $2.99 is $0.21, which is more than $0.

So, the online merchant, if they are required to collect the tax, would have to do so and then turn it over to my state's government.

729

Adventures of Baby Cody / Re: A Genuine Baby Cody Sighting

« Last post by app103 on August 18, 2014, 04:39 PM »

You're with Learnable? Awesome! I really like those folks.

-40hz (August 18, 2014, 12:02 PM)

After 40 posted something about them, I actually signed up

-wraith808 (August 18, 2014, 12:47 PM)

Yup, I will have been working for them for a whole year, next month.   

And if you know me, any job that comes with free ebooks as a perk, is a dream job.

730

Living Room / Re: Free eBooks

« Last post by app103 on August 18, 2014, 04:32 PM »

Oh, I don't know. Maybe you should stick to NoiseTrade, then. 

731

Adventures of Baby Cody / A Genuine Baby Cody Sighting

« Last post by app103 on August 18, 2014, 11:50 AM »

Of all the photos my boss could have picked to put on the company website, he chose this one, which clearly shows Baby Cody peeking to see who needs help with learning web development.



https://learnable.zendesk.com/hc/en-us

This is the 2nd company I have worked for that has selected a DC related photo to display on their official website. The other chose a photo of me holding up a NANY mug. 

732

Living Room / Re: Free eBooks

« Last post by app103 on August 18, 2014, 02:40 AM »

Another nice one is BookBub.com. They have both free and cheap ebooks, and you can select categories of interest and specific retailers, and they will only email you when they have something that matches your preferences.

So, you can configure it to only notify you when they have cheap/free sci-fi and cookbooks to recommend on Amazon, if you want. 

733

General Software Discussion / Re: Frustrated Mom Creates ‘Ignore No More’ App To Get Teen Kids To Return Calls

« Last post by app103 on August 18, 2014, 02:05 AM »

My daughter is 28, and she doesn't call me back when I call her. She won't even listen to the voicemail. She drops everything and rushes home to find out what is wrong. 

She knows I would never call her unless it was some sort of emergency. She knows this from years of living with me, just how much I hate phones and won't use one unless I have to.

See, if you pester your kids (or anyone else) too much, it's like crying wolf, and they stop responding. Save it for when it really counts.

Just because your kids and you are so well connected through technology, doesn't mean you can't give them the space and trust they need. Yeah, sure they will do dumb stuff. You can't stop that. Better that they do the dumb stuff while they still have you around to help them learn not to do it again, than to have you hovering over them every moment of every day, removing every opportunity for them to learn how to be independent, mature human beings, because you are afraid they will do all the stupid things you did. You learned your lesson, and they will too...in time...but only if they are allowed to make mistakes and learn from them.

734

Living Room / Re: silly humor - post 'em here! [warning some NSFW and adult content]

« Last post by app103 on August 18, 2014, 01:09 AM »

What happens when non-techies discover web dev tools.

ha! 

-mouser (August 16, 2014, 04:42 PM)

There could well be a lot of those comments happening now, ever since Firefox started to use the hotkey combo Ctrl+Shift+V to pop up that window...

-IainB (August 18, 2014, 01:05 AM)

Ah, yeah. Anybody that fat-fingers a paste will have that happen now. 

735

Living Room / Re: silly humor - post 'em here! [warning some NSFW and adult content]

« Last post by app103 on August 16, 2014, 06:03 AM »

What happens when non-techies discover web dev tools.

736

Living Room / Re: Gadget WEEKENDS

« Last post by app103 on August 16, 2014, 01:23 AM »

a cheap, small paint brush might be better, but yes - definitely an idea.

-Renegade (August 15, 2014, 08:47 PM)

Please be sure not to buy anything synthetic for the job, and only those bristle types that are naturally anti-static (badger, black sable, boar). And don't reuse brushes that have been previously used for paint or other substances.

-app103 (August 16, 2014, 12:22 AM)

The calligraphy brush we have is natural hair. For paint brushes, I wasn't thinking of synthetic as they build up static charges, but good point to bring that up.

-Renegade (August 16, 2014, 12:55 AM)

Not all natural hair is anti-static, which was part of my point. Don't chance it if you don't know specifically what kind of hair it is.

737

Living Room / Re: Gadget WEEKENDS

« Last post by app103 on August 16, 2014, 12:22 AM »

a cheap, small paint brush might be better, but yes - definitely an idea.

-Renegade (August 15, 2014, 08:47 PM)

Please be sure not to buy anything synthetic for the job, and only those bristle types that are naturally anti-static (badger, black sable, boar). And don't reuse brushes that have been previously used for paint or other substances.

738

Living Room / Re: silly humor - post 'em here! [warning some NSFW and adult content]

« Last post by app103 on August 15, 2014, 08:07 PM »

739

Living Room / Re: Gadget WEEKENDS

« Last post by app103 on August 15, 2014, 01:25 PM »

There's got to be a site out there that does repurposing...

-Renegade (August 15, 2014, 07:32 AM)

Speaking of repurposing, buy yourself another one of those shave brushes and use it exclusively for this.

740

Living Room / Re: silly humor - post 'em here! [warning some NSFW and adult content]

« Last post by app103 on August 14, 2014, 02:22 AM »

Chemistry department with a dry sense of humor.

741

Living Room / Re: silly humor - post 'em here! [warning some NSFW and adult content]

« Last post by app103 on August 12, 2014, 03:10 PM »

742

Living Room / Re: silly humor - post 'em here! [warning some NSFW and adult content]

« Last post by app103 on August 11, 2014, 11:47 AM »

Little Johnny asks his Dad: "I have this homework on politics and economy and I'm not if I understand it"
Dad says: "Use the family as an example. I make the money so I'm the Capitalists, your mother deals it out, so she's the Government, we look after you, so you're the People, the baby is the Future, and we pay the maid so she is the Working Class"

That night Johnny is woken up by the baby crying, so he checks it and it needs changing. So he goes to tell his parents, but only his mother is there and she doesn't wake up. He goes to tell the maid, but finds that she's 'busy' with his dad.
He goes back to bed.

Next morning his dad asks how he is going with the homework. Johnny says: "I think I understand it. The Capitalists screw the Working Class while the Government is asleep. The People are ignored and the Future is full of sh*t"

-Fred Nerd (August 10, 2014, 06:53 AM)

Of course that leaves only the People to change the Future, but they don't want to roll up their sleeves and get their hands dirty. They would rather forget about it and go back to sleep, hoping someone else will come along and clean it up.

743

Living Room / Re: silly humor - post 'em here! [warning some NSFW and adult content]

« Last post by app103 on August 09, 2014, 05:50 AM »

These machines are too slick, it has to look all weird with duct tape and spoons on servo motors.

-Fred Nerd (August 09, 2014, 02:13 AM)

I'd like a Johnny 5 waiter to come rolling into my bedroom in the morning, holding a tray with a full breakfast, complete with a rosebud in a vase. Now that would be "too slick". 

744

Living Room / Re: silly humor - post 'em here! [warning some NSFW and adult content]

« Last post by app103 on August 08, 2014, 01:36 PM »

(see attachment in previous post)
This Coffee-Brewing Alarm Clock is a Dream Come True

-Arizona Hot (August 08, 2014, 12:52 AM)

The original automatic coffee maker:



Or you could do like I do and brew it before you go to bed, directly into a thermal carafe. It keeps it hot for 6-8 hours, and I only sleep about 4.

745

Living Room / Re: Wikimedia refuses to remove animal selfie because monkey ‘owns’ the photo

« Last post by app103 on August 08, 2014, 12:40 PM »

@app103 - So what about the tourist case? How would any fallout be handled? Random strangers owning pictures on your camera? This still seems odd. The case isn't the same as your daughter borrowing your camera.

-Renegade (August 07, 2014, 08:18 PM)

So, in addition to giving them a dollar to take the photo for you, you would likely have to also get them to sign a contract where they agree to relinquish copyright to you, as a work for hire.  

-app103 (August 07, 2014, 06:02 PM)

-app103 (August 08, 2014, 03:18 AM)

That merely dodges the issue.

I would argue that there's a reasonable expectation that the subjects of the photo own the photo, and that the photographer is merely being asked for an act of charity.

-Renegade (August 08, 2014, 09:47 AM)

There is also a reasonable expectation that the subjects will use that photo for personal use only, and won't sell the photo to Time magazine.

But if that could end up being their intention, the photographer might have a leg to stand on in court, in the absence of a contract.

And if you think that the photo having a real market value seems far fetched, consider what kinds of things could accidentally be captured in the background of such a photo. What if some tourists to NYC had some random stranger take their picture on 9/11, and in the background you could clearly see a plane hitting the WTC. A photo like that could have had a market value.

Or what if in 3-5 years, one of the subjects became a famous celebrity? Or the photographer did? Or it ends up being a celebrity photobombing?

746

Living Room / Re: Wikimedia refuses to remove animal selfie because monkey ‘owns’ the photo

« Last post by app103 on August 08, 2014, 03:18 AM »

@app103 - So what about the tourist case? How would any fallout be handled? Random strangers owning pictures on your camera? This still seems odd. The case isn't the same as your daughter borrowing your camera.

-Renegade (August 07, 2014, 08:18 PM)

So, in addition to giving them a dollar to take the photo for you, you would likely have to also get them to sign a contract where they agree to relinquish copyright to you, as a work for hire. 

-app103 (August 07, 2014, 06:02 PM)

747

Living Room / Re: Wikimedia refuses to remove animal selfie because monkey ‘owns’ the photo

« Last post by app103 on August 07, 2014, 06:02 PM »

You're out at a typical tourist destination when a couple hands you their camera and asks you to take a picture of them up against a background. You say yes, then snap a nice picture of them.

You own the copyright? On their camera?

-Renegade (August 07, 2014, 06:58 AM)

I borrow my daughter's camera and take a few amazing photos with it. I own the copyright? On her camera? Or does she?

- I do.

What if she borrows my camera and takes pictures with it? She owns the copyright? On my camera?

- Yes, she does.

If you write poetry in a text editor installed on a computer at the library, do you own the copyright? Or does the library, who owns the computer you used to do it?

- You do, of course.

If you walk into a music store, pick up a display guitar and compose a piece of original music, right there, in the store...do you own the copyright? Or does the store, who still owns the guitar?

- You do, of course!

Being the owner of a piece of equipment does not automatically entitle one to all of the copyrights for everything produced with it, by anyone or anything.

That would be like saying that the owner of a paintbrush automatically owns the copyrights to all of the paintings made with it, without ever having to use that paintbrush themselves, without having to have any skill or talent, or any investment of time, work, and creativity.

Merely shopping for art supplies at a A.C. Moore can not net you a ton of copyrights, for works you never created.

Copyrights are granted to the creator of a work, not the owner of the equipment used to create the work.



But in the case of the monkey, who is the actual photographer/creator, that monkey would have been the copyright holder, except for 2 things.

1. Copyrights can only be held by humans.
2. Copyrights for things created by a trained animal may be held by the animal's owner/trainer, but in this case it is an untrained, wild animal... without an owner.

So, who owns the copyright on the works of art created by this elephant?

This elephant is painting what it was trained to paint. It didn't make the decision to paint, or decide what to paint, nor did it decide how to do it or what colors to use. The trainer did. The trainer is the real creator of the artwork and is merely using the elephant as a tool to do it. It would be pretty much the same as taping a brush to a remote controlled toy helicopter and using it to make a painting. You wouldn't give the credit or copyright to the helicopter.

Now, if the trainer is the owner of the elephant, then they would hold the copyright on that elephant's paintings. But if the trainer works for a zoo or other similar organization and was hired to train the elephant, then most likely the copyright would be held by his employer, and it would be considered works for hire.

Now, on the subject of works for hire...

^Just hand them a dollar for doing it. Then you have offer, tender, and acceptance and it becomes "work for hire."

-40hz (August 07, 2014, 10:11 AM)

Merely paying someone to take pics of/for you doesn't automatically make it a work for hire and you as the copyright holder.

Most professional portrait photographers that own their own studio retain the copyright on the photos they create, even though they are being paid to do it. As a commissioned artist, it is usually not treated as a work for hire.

But if they hire a photographer to take the photos on behalf of their business, then they hold the copyright on any photos produced by their employees...those are treated as works for hire.

And if I sign a contract to take photos for someone and the contract states that I agree to assign that person or company all copyrights for any photos I take for them, in exchange for a set amount to be paid by them for those photos, then the person or company gets the copyright, as works for hire.

So, in addition to giving them a dollar to take the photo for you, you would likely have to also get them to sign a contract where they agree to relinquish copyright to you, as a work for hire. 

748

Found Deals and Discounts / Re: Zen Magnets are still attracting...

« Last post by app103 on August 06, 2014, 09:47 PM »

All of these companies need to fight back by making a BIGGER set, something about this size (or slightly larger):

Those balls also come in a solid variety, which could easily contain a magnet and get around the whole ban on steel ball magnets. As long as the balls are too large to pass through a standard toilet paper tube, the CPSC wouldn't have a leg to stand on. 

749

Living Room / Re: My first 408...

« Last post by app103 on August 06, 2014, 01:10 AM »

Let me know when you get your first 570 Authentication Failed (I used to get them all the time).

750

Living Room / Re: Does anybody seriously think an e-book is still the better option most times?

« Last post by app103 on August 01, 2014, 08:25 PM »

After reading the story earlier, though, an evil thought popped into my head - I know, hard to believe. I'm sure all of Scholastic's executives own homes. Since sale can equal rental, whoever sold them their houses should be allowed to change their mind and take them back without any repayment.

I'm not saying it's reasonable, but that doesn't mean it wouldn't be fair.

-Vurbal (August 01, 2014, 04:54 PM)

You mean like when a bank forecloses? Yeah, you don't actually own your home until you have finished paying the bank for it, plus interest. In essence, as long as you still have a mortgage, you are renting the house from the bank, who is the real owner.