Two New Piracy Warnings To Punish Legit Customers
You know what’s awesome? Punishing your paying customers for buying instead of pirating material.
We’ve seen it before with intrusive DRM, and now DVD buyers are getting another dose.
The US Government is mandating that two unskippable anti-piracy warnings appear at the start of movies. These warnings will stay on-screen for 10 seconds each.
Why’s This A So Dumb You Ask?
Because if someone is ripping the movie, they can edit these stupid warnings out! Never-mind if the warning makes sense… The people who are supposed to receive the message won’t (and if they did, they still wouldn’t care). While those of us who do buy DVDs will now be subject to a 20 second threat that doesn’t pertain to us.
I feel like I’m back in elementary school, and the teacher is scolding the whole class for something that a few of my classmates did.
To hell with Hollywood. It’s bad business to make it hard for people to buy your product, and it’s pathetic to punish, chastise, and threaten your paying customers.
(Via Ars Technica)
The House Made CISPA Worse, Then Passed It (Goodbye 4th Amendment)
The House of Representatives added an amendment to their Cybersecurity bill CISPA, and then passed it 248-168. Those 248 people need to take a high school civics course are get a refresher on the Bill of Rights.
The bill will annihilate our 4th Amendment rights on the Internet by creating a loophole whereby the authorities can pretty much establish cause to search any files you’re sharing with another web service – Email, Google Docs, Dropbox, Facebook, Twitter, banking, medical databases, websites, Google Search, you name it, if it isn’t hosted on your own server, you’re screwed.
Previously, CISPA allowed the government to use information for “cybersecurity” or “national security” purposes. Those purposes have not been limited or removed. Instead, three more valid uses have been added: investigation and prosecution of cybersecurity crime, protection of individuals, and protection of children. Cybersecurity crime is defined as any crime involving network disruption or hacking, plus any violation of the CFAA.
Basically this means CISPA can no longer be called a cybersecurity bill at all. The government would be able to search information it collects under CISPA for the purposes of investigating American citizens with complete immunity from all privacy protections as long as they can claim someone committed a “cybersecurity crime”. Basically it says the 4th Amendment does not apply online, at all. Moreover, the government could do whatever it wants with the data as long as it can claim that someone was in danger of bodily harm, or that children were somehow threatened—again, notwithstanding absolutely any other law that would normally limit the government’s power.
CISPA is now a completely unsupportable bill that rewrites (and effectively eliminates) all privacy laws for any situation that involves a computer. Far from the defense against malevolent foreign entities that the bill was described as by its authors, it is now an explicit attack on the freedoms of every American.
I’m choosing to believe that 248 of our Representatives are just incredibly stupid, because otherwise they are evil. This is one of the most oppressive bills I’ve ever heard of. Bunch of savages.
Hopefully Obama comes through with a Veto, and it holds up.
(Via Techdirt)
War on Drugs is Stupid: Teens Getting Drunk on Hand Sanitizer
Here’s an off topic post for you.
There should be no doubt that the War on Drugs is unimaginably stupid, and a waste of tax money.
Why you ask?
If a person wants to feel high, they’re going to find a way. Making it illegal just makes it more dangerous.
Case-in-point: Teens Getting Drunk on Hand Sanitizer
This is idiotic behavior, but it’s been my observation that addiction and desire circumvent logic.
You can’t protect people from themselves. A person who is willing to guzzle a disinfecting alcohol gel to get drunk is going to find a way to get drunk no matter how many roadblocks you put in front of them. Maybe, just maybe that person doesn’t need to go blind too.
Did Video Games Kill 77 People in Norway? And Bloomberg Businessweek Ethics
Correction: the piece was published by The Associated Press
Anders Behring Breivik, the evil bastard who murdered 77 people (69 of them kids) in Norway testified today that he played the video game, Modern Warfare to sharpen his aim. He also explained that he was inspired by al-Qaida to decapitate the Prime Minister of Norway; took steroids; meditated to “de-emotionalize” himself; and that he’s a “Knights Templar.”
Julia Gronnevet and Karl Ritter of Bloomberg Businessweek The Associated Press wrote a piece on the testimony titled, “Norway killer sharpened aim on computer games.” It’s 1,099 words long, and of those 1,099 words only 152 of them are even remotely about Breivik’s use of video games. And of those 152 words, 77 of them cast a ton of doubt on the claim that video games helped him at all. Here’s all 152 words:
In a chilling summary, the far-right fanatic claimed Thursday that he sharpened his aim by playing computer games for more than a year before Norway’s worst peacetime massacre.
Breivik said he played the computer game “Modern Warfare” for 16 months starting in January 2010, primarily to get a feel for how to use rifle sights. In 2006 he devoted a full year to playing “World of Warcraft,” for 16 hours a day, he said.
Christopher Ferguson, of Texas A&M International University, said there is no link between violent video games and violent behavior. Though some research suggests that action games can improve “visuospatial cognition,” he said it’s difficult to say whether Breivik could have improved his accuracy by playing “Modern Warfare.”
“Let us keep in mind too that he was shooting kids on an island from which they could not escape easily,” Ferguson said. “That does not require great accuracy.”
The rest of their story is filled with substantive and non-sensationalistic things like:
Breivik told an Oslo court he took steroids to build physical strength and meditated to “de-emotionalize” himself before the bombing and shooting rampage that left 77 people dead.
His lack of remorse and matter-of-fact description of weapons and tactics — he even considered using a flame thrower — was deeply disturbing to families of the victims, most of whom were teenagers.
The 33-year-old Norwegian was ice cold when he once again described his victims as “traitors” for their links to Norway’s governing Labor Party.
The government building he tried to blow up was “the most attractive political target in all of Norway,” he said.
Breivik said he had planned to capture and decapitate former Norwegian Prime Minister Gro Harlem Brundtland while filming it, but she had left Utoya earlier that day.
The self-styled crusader said he was inspired by al-Qaida’s use of decapitation, but noted that “beheading is a traditional European death penalty.”
But no. Video games get top billing, because video games are clearly the villain in this horrific story.
Let’s take this apart.
Can Video Games Help You Shoot Better?
Absolutely not.
I’m saying this with a fair amount of authority. I’ve been shooting since I was a boy, and worked for three years as a shooting instructor. I’m great with guns, and even better with a bow and arrow. I’m also bad at Modern Warfare. Mastery of shooting skills in real life have no connection to shooting skills in first person shooters, and vice versa.
Similarly, Guitar Hero and playing a real guitar have nothing in common.
For the record, I’ve never even gone hunting, let alone shot at a human being.
World of Warcraft Player = Violent Maniac?
While the name may sound menacing (I guess), World of Warcraft is best described as the video game love child of Disney and Lord of the Rings. It’s got plenty of action, but it’s also pretty whimsical. Have a look at World of Warcraft’s upcoming expansion Mists Of Pandaria and I think you’ll understand what I mean.
Felicia Day is another World of Warcraft player. She’s actually famous because of World of Warcraft (Spoiler Alert – Blacksmithing is a lot harder in real life than it is in a video game):
Stop the Gamer Bullying
That’s what this is, in addition to being horrible journalism.
Every once in a while someone kills people and they played video games too. They also exercised, ate food, took showers and probably had sex, but video games are blamed. Every single time. You know what no one ever writes about? The millions of avid gamers who get up in the morning; go to work; spend time with loved ones; play video games; and don’t murder anyone.
Less than 10% of Bloomberg Businessweek’s The Associated Press article claims any correlation between this evil bastard’s killing spree and gaming. They subsequently cast doubt on the claim, and then give their article a title definitively stating that video games helped him kill. That’s wrong, and Julia Gronnevet and Karl Ritter know it. This is unproductive, and manipulative link bait, and I just won’t stand for it.
If Bloomberg Businessweek The Associated Press has any ethics they will rename that article with a title that actually reflects its content.
Facebook Password Protection Law Fails: It’s Good
Yesterday’s amendment to a larger FCC reform bill that would make it illegal for employers to ask for employee’s social media passwords failed to garner the votes it needed.
This is a good thing.
Don’t get me wrong, my montra remains the same: “Don’t give your passwords to anyone.” By anyone I include boyfriends, girlfriends, spouses, children, or employers. That being said, I don’t see this as the kind of issue that must be transformed into law as there is nothing inherently dangerous about giving away a Facebook password, and there are other ways of getting at the information in one’s Facebook profile beyond demanding access.
Personally I won’t work with obviously unethical people. I rather like the idea of telling a potential employer to piss off because they demand something that they have no business asking for. I see the fact that an employer can ask for my passwords as a layer of protection for me. It’s a simple red flag system, as I will loathe working for or with people like that.
It’s fine if they ask me for my password, and it’s my right to tell them that I don’t work with unethical people.
The Other Side of the Argument
Now some of you are already thinking, “David, you don’t have a family to think about.” And you’re damn right. I don’t. At that point, you’re putting a value on your privacy. It’s your choice. We place a value on our privacy every time we signup for an online service like Google or Facebook. What’s wrong with doing the same for employment? With regards to your potential employer, ask yourself:
- How badly do you want that job?
- Do you honestly believe that the (largely imagined) job security you seek is really going to come from the jerk who demands your passwords?
- Are you ok with working for a micromanager? Because that’s who asks for your passwords.
What To Do If You Turn Over Your Password
- Tell the potential employer that your password will change by the end of the day. This is a personal security issue, and you can’t knowingly have a compromised password in the wild for more than a day.
- If you reuse passwords (which you shouldn’t), you need to change the password on all accounts that use that compromised password. Do it as soon as you get home.
(PC Mag)
TEDxKoeln – Adriana Lukas: How to avoid Hierarchies
I’m very excited to share this TED video featuring Adriana Lukas. Adriana’s presentation is regarding her research on hierarchies, and alternatives to them.
Adriana’s a dear friend, and I’ve been fortunate enough to discuss hierarchy, heterarchy, and a great many other interesting things with her over the years.
If you’re feeling threatened by the idea of heterarchy, please remember that it is an alternative to hierarchy in situations of abundance. Heterarchy is not an outright replacement of traditional organizational structures.
