Feldie47 's Techdirt Comments

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  • On the post: HP Tries Desperately To Make ‘Printer As A Subscription’ A Thing

    Feldie47 ( profile ), 07 Mar, 2024 @ 11:59am

    Many, many, many years ago when I was a teenager I met David Packard, one of the most brilliant innovators of the 20th century. I loved HP electronic gadgetry as a kid and saved up to buy whatever I could. He'd surely turn over in his grave if he could see what these jokers have done to his company. I wouldn't buy an HP product today if it came packaged in gold foil. Sad, truly asd.

  • On the post: As Predicted, Judge Dismisses Nearly All Of Sarah Silverman, Michael Chabon, And Other Authors’ Lawsuits Against OpenAI

    Feldie47 ( profile ), 16 Feb, 2024 @ 05:34am

    Lawyers gotta law?

    The A.I. analogy -conundrum You the developer take a half million books, scan, ocr, and then write a program that gramatically parses and statistically predicts the occurance of each successive word. Then the program composes sentences and paragraphs based on the data set it has accumulated and the question being posed. Now someone sues you, the developer of the program, for copyright infringement because it used one or more of their books? Analogy: A brilliant person does the same thing; reads, interprets, parses, and then responds to questions based on those skills. The person has even learned to predict what you will likely ask next. Are you really going to sue the person for copyright infringement? Welcome to the 'Brave New World'.

  • On the post: Josh Hawley Rages Ignorantly And Misleadingly In Trying To Push Encryption-Destroying STOP CSAM Bill

    Feldie47 ( profile ), 07 Feb, 2024 @ 01:20pm

    This is the only industry in the country that can make a product that will literally kill you and, if it does, you cannot do anything about it. If it kills your child, you can’t do anything about it. If it harms you, you can’t do anything about it. Just think about it for a second. Whoa! I thought this was the firearms industry.

  • On the post: Investigation Exposes Yet Another Small Town That Is Little More Than A Law Enforcement Honeypot

    Feldie47 ( profile ), 02 Dec, 2023 @ 05:06am

    speedtraps

    Decades ago when you would request a triptik from the AAA they would mark off the speed traps for you in green and advise you to be extra cautious when travelling through that road. What's needed now is for WAZE and GOOGLE Maps to build in a similar function to their GPS apps. I would call it the 'Bumblefuck USA' function which would warn you of the same. You could turn it on and off just like the other options. Towns would begin to be known as 'Bumblefuck' towns and people might choose other routes.

  • On the post: Tennessee Teen Sues School For Suspending Him After He Posted Memes Mocking His Principal

    Feldie47 ( profile ), 08 Aug, 2023 @ 02:44pm

    Jury Trial

    A jury trial in Tennessee might develop into something unexpected. Go watch 'Inherit the Wind'.

  • On the post: The Electric Car Could Finally Put AM Radio Out To Pasture

    Feldie47 ( profile ), 18 Dec, 2022 @ 07:57am

    Stream it. WiFi >> Streaming >> Whatever.... AM Radio? Ask 100 people randomly. Surprise. It's dead.

  • On the post: John Stossel Loses His Pathetic SLAPP Suit Against Facebook And Fact Checkers

    Feldie47 ( profile ), 17 Oct, 2022 @ 06:43am

    Yep, that there science stuff they teach in middle school really can come in useful. But only if you pay attention.

  • On the post: Much Like Cord Cutting Itself, Big Media Execs Think TikTok Is A Fad That Will Just Fade Away

    Feldie47 ( profile ), 26 Jun, 2022 @ 04:01pm

    Tik Tok ubiquity

    These media companies have no clue what's about to hit them. As a teacher for over half a century I can state without hyperbole, the student body of America, middle school, high school & college is mesmerized by TikTok. I jokingly walk through the halls whispering 'Tik Tok Tik Tok as I pass my students who are oblivious to everything but the video they are looking at. They smile and then proceed to bump into everything.

  • On the post: Senators Launch Full On Nuclear War Against Encryption: Bill Will Require Broken Encryption, Putting Everyone At Risk

    Feldie47 ( profile ), 25 Jun, 2020 @ 06:58am

    As someone who has taught mathematics for over half a century I can find no parallel to this and am a loss to find similar foolishness. It seems vaguely analogous to our flailing attempt(s) to control the pandemic, without consulting Mother Nature, as wildly far-fetched as that may be.

    We seek an unbreakable asynchronous method to hide a quantity, but then want to be able, only in the most strident of circumstances, to break that very method? And, of course, it should only be unbreakable by 'good' people with 'good' intentions?

    Any student of mine who came to me with that objective, challenge, or call it whatever the hell you wish, would not pass my class.

    Perhaps I should retire?

  • On the post: Big Pharma Companies Accused Of Conspiring To Inflate Prices Of Over 100 Generic Drugs By Up To 1000%

    Feldie47 ( profile ), 20 May, 2019 @ 04:34pm

    Jail, Jail, Jail

    Would I love to see some of these characters sent away to Leavenworth. I think I'd actually vote for anyone who exhibited the fortitude to go after these crooks.

  • On the post: Florida College Asked Local Sheriff To Declare Faculty Member's Artwork Obscene

    Feldie47 ( profile ), 20 Mar, 2019 @ 07:07am

    A few things seem to me to be appropos:

    1) As an educator, I feel I can no longer write student recommendations for admission to this college(?) should I be asked to do so.

    2) Is there a method by which I can help fund exhibition of this work?

    3) Is there a reproduction of this work for sale? I'm sure I can't afford the original, but I'd love to have a copy.

  • On the post: FBI Director Chris Wray Needs To Shut The Fuck Up About Encryption

    Feldie47 ( profile ), 07 Mar, 2019 @ 01:47pm

    We ABSOLUTELY need encryption

    Of course we need it. It's in the constitution - the 28th amendment. That's the encrypted one, the one encrypted by B. Franklin. Here's the actual text:

    832ndouhcu9ay7hri23ndih8dhq3ouindiph80qwj3dij3idjw80h79eucneakmipscuheijqwixjuwhcuaicjaidjwqijd931dj9-2jdiwJCIAHCUEABUDNWidjiwqjd8q3jd92j9e38ry732yr8jdiwjipwnciadncipdmncidajcieajf8ehf8qjd9qjwdicajcipmaicmeijviewjf8whf8qjd9-j3q9ei0=ie0lml934837536823j2ihnjlnjl3nrejnbuosh79chuoasnduqed8031jskNJOUDHUWHDWIQJDIPWQHDUQWND

  • On the post: Stupid Patent Of The Month: A Patent On Using Mathematical Proofs

    Feldie47 ( profile ), 01 Dec, 2018 @ 09:29am

    My name is Pyth A. Goras. I have discovered that the squares of the two legs of a right triangle are equal to the square of the third side. I am requesting the U.S. patent office issue me a patent.

    Now I'm going to sue everyone who constructs right triangles: Lego, architects, artists, contractors...

    All right triangles are MINE! MINE! MINE!

    Idiocy rules!

  • On the post: Apple Sued An Independent Norwegian Repair Shop In Bid To Monopolize Repair — And Lost

    Feldie47 ( profile ), 23 Apr, 2018 @ 04:16am

    Hypocrisy beyond the outrageous! Apple itself was founded by two hackers -Jobs and Woz. 'Mecca for Hackers' indeed. That was Apple itself.

  • On the post: FBI Director Says It's 'Not Impossible' To Create Compromised Encryption That's Still Secure

    Feldie47 ( profile ), 09 Mar, 2018 @ 06:29am

    Problematic at its core.

    The real problem here is truly a lack of mathematical understanding by not just politicians, but people in charge of major security agencies. An analogy here might be:

    Is 2+2 ALWAYS equal to 4? Can't we just have it equal to 4.1 when we need it to? But we have smart people; why can't they make it equal to 4.1, or maybe 4.05? We pay them a lot. They're really smart. Why can't they do this for us? Why must they be unpatriotic? We know they can do this, so why must they be so stubborn?

    This comes from a serious lack of mathematical education that goes way, way back to elementary and middle school.

    You cannot cure this without fundamental changes in our educational system.

  • On the post: HP Brings Back Obnoxious DRM That Cripples Competing Printer Cartridges

    Feldie47 ( profile ), 20 Sep, 2017 @ 06:08am

    Why would anybody buy HP anything? IMHO: they've become a second rate printer-ink vendor. I once owned a really nice HP oscilloscope, but that was 50 years ago, when they made great electronic equipment. Now, I wouldn't buy anything with an HP name on it.

  • On the post: Aussie Prime Minister Says The Laws Of Math Don't Apply In Australia When It Comes To Encryption

    Feldie47 ( profile ), 15 Jul, 2017 @ 03:13am

    Let's get historical and REAL

    Google this:

    Indiana + pi + 1897.

    The last time I know of that morons tried to legislate math.
    Had they been successful, it would not have ended well.
    Certainly not for bicycle or ball bearing manufacturers.

  • On the post: Chicago Agrees To Make Red Light Camera System Barely Less Corrupt By Increasing Grace Period By 0.2 Seconds

    Feldie47 ( profile ), 28 Mar, 2017 @ 01:23pm

    Y'aint seen nuttin yet

    Got a problem with these redlight moneymakers? Take a ride on the Mass. Pike. Everything is now cashless, EZ Pass and license plate readers. Here's what that means when no one is around to take your cash:

    1) Passage through the tolls is time stamped.
    2) Passage from one to the other is calculated.
    3) Your average speed s recorded.
    4) In the future ( a year?, 2?) when you get your bill in the mail you'll get your s-p-e-e-d-i-n-g surcharge with it.
    5) No more option of avoiding the electronic monitor.

  • On the post: The Cord Cutting The Cable Industry Says Isn't Happening, Keeps Happening

    Feldie47 ( profile ), 09 Mar, 2017 @ 08:48am

    'Cut Da Cord - RECIPE'

    Recipe ( my own personal) for cord cutting:
    1. Start out paying $250+ per month for 5-set top boxes and all the premium channels.

    2. Purchase 30 foot antenna mast and top quality HD antenna and install (cost

  • On the post: Intel Community To Institute Actual Whistleblower Award For 'Speaking Truth To Power'

    Feldie47 ( profile ), 01 Oct, 2016 @ 01:52pm

    Re:

    Yes. It is an Orwellian trap. Would be whistleblowers come forward and are awarded a scenic jail term under the Espionage Act - but only after being told they just didn't qualify under the conditions.

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