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Law.. sausage.. ugly either way. This is not going to be pretty. On the other hand, at least Sonny Bono isn’t around anymore…

about 16 hours ago on 'Free speech doesn't mean free stuff': Congress begins copyright reform with a plea for civility

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You know – in every case like this there always seems to be two major camps who voice their opinions:

1. The Pessimists/Haters who will point out every possible failure point in the product both reasonable and irrational… and
2. The Optimists/Fanbois who will counter by pointing out every failure of the Pessimists/Haters’ previous predictions (while ignoring the predictions that actually came true) or by countering with what can be distilled down to ’It’ll get better’ (I mean – they ARE optimists, after all).

In the end, the reality is always somewhere between the two – better than the haters expected, but not as good as the fanbois believed. The haters will crow about the ‘failures’ and the fanbois will trumpet the ‘successes’.

And around it goes.

about 16 hours ago on Will Google Glass create information heroes or new-wave Bluetooth dorks?

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With Folded Hands…By Jack Williamson

about 23 hours ago on The horrifying (and fictional) wonders of Google Island

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Here’s the thing.. US citizens are expected to pay taxes on money even if it’s earned while they’re working outside the US… even if they’re dual citizens living in their other natural country.

And, corporations are ‘people’ (ie: citizens) for legal purposes (like taxes).. sooo…

Why can’t the government simply apply the tax rate to the earnings or monies held offshore EXACTLY as they do to the rest of us?

“Why Jim, we’d love to do that but think of the jobs.. think of the children.. those companies would just up roots and go somewhere else!”

“So.. you’re saying that as citizens, these companies are basically freeloading off our system and really have no loyalty or sense of citizenship – the only reason they’re here is because we keep doting on them and if we don’t – they’ll go somewhere else. You realize, you’re also saying that other than cheap taxes, there’s absolutely nothing about America that makes it a good place to be. Is THAT what you’re saying?”

“Uhmmm… THE CHILDREN!!! THE JOBS!!!”

“Right.”

2 days ago on Tim Cook defends Apple ahead of Senate hearing, reveals more about US manufacturing plans

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Meanwhile, in other news: Congress asks the chairs of Exxon, Mobile and BP “Is drilling for oil off the coast good for America?” and Humana Corp if “Competition is the best model for health care.”

2 days ago on Congress asks Google CEO if Glass infringes 'on the privacy of the average American' 1 reply 4 recommends

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Riiiiight… And Microsoft does everything for free out of the goodness of their hearts.

Sheesh.

2 days ago on Leaked Scroogled video sees Microsoft parody Google's Chrome ad 1 reply 4 recommends

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And suddenly – everything went very quiet… and you could see that ‘OMG.. I’m trapped’ look on the face of the guy on the stage… :)

3 days ago on Google turns the Samsung Galaxy S4 into a Nexus phone, coming June 26th for $649

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And corporate America wants to say “We love people like you who think in the now. We make most of our money off people like you. So THANKS! (Shakes keys in front you) That’ll be $650, please.”

3 days ago on Google turns the Samsung Galaxy S4 into a Nexus phone, coming June 26th for $649 4 recommends

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Ok.. it’s like this – you know all those cool personal lifestyle accessories iOS gets and Android doesn’t? Like Nike Fuel, various Fitbit things, tons of sensors… Android doesn’t support them because they’re based on BT LE. There a ton of new stuff coming out and they all use it to conserve power and have ‘pair free’ connections.

3 days ago on Google adopts Bluetooth Smart, hints of a new Android version within two months 5 recommends

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About freaking time.

3 days ago on Google adopts Bluetooth Smart, hints of a new Android version within two months 1 recommend

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“with little to no regard for who it affected or the ultimate outcome”

I believe that’s the main component of being a thug…

3 days ago on US DoJ calls Apple's ebook antitrust defense 'unconvincing,' presents Steve Jobs email as evidence

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It didn’t – but forming a pact with publishers to come to Apple’s bookstore exclusively to get a higher price per book, specifically with the intent to shut out Amazon and damage their business is pretty much a threat to Amazon’s business…

3 days ago on US DoJ calls Apple's ebook antitrust defense 'unconvincing,' presents Steve Jobs email as evidence

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You’re making a flawed analysis. The value of a book isn’t the paper – that’s a tiny fraction of the cost of a book. There’s marketing and of course the actual payment to the author. Books are valued by market value just like everything else. A popular book is more expensive not because it has more paper, but because it’s is in higher demand.

It can be argued that value is demand / supply and since ebooks have, essentially, infinite supply – that ebooks always have zero value (which is how a lot of people see it), but the truth is that was pretty much just as true for regular books – very few books completely sell out of their paper copies.

Books and most mass market ‘art’ works by setting a high expected market price, then adjusting down until it sells. That’s how eBooks work. Apple changed the model for music by setting a fixed per-track price. It could be argued that this is … well, by definition… a form of price fixing.

3 days ago on US DoJ calls Apple's ebook antitrust defense 'unconvincing,' presents Steve Jobs email as evidence 1 recommend

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On what grounds do you base that opinion? That email sounds pretty damning. It’s pretty much Jobs saying exactly what the DOJ is claiming he was saying.

3 days ago on US DoJ calls Apple's ebook antitrust defense 'unconvincing,' presents Steve Jobs email as evidence 1 reply 2 recommends

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The right thing for Apple and the publishers to have done would be to go to the DOJ and register complaints about Amazon for price fixing and selling at a loss with intent to create a monopoly – which is illegal.

Turning around and colluding with the publishers to create a market that shuts out all other ebook sellers is ALSO trying to create a monopoly and is ALSO illegal/

Assuming that Apple did this, then they did something as illegal, if not moreso.

3 days ago on US DoJ calls Apple's ebook antitrust defense 'unconvincing,' presents Steve Jobs email as evidence

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“It calls Apple’s defense “untethered from both precedent and logic.”"

So.. nothing new there…

3 days ago on US DoJ calls Apple's ebook antitrust defense 'unconvincing,' presents Steve Jobs email as evidence 2 replies 2 recommends

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Just a note – the comic prequel to the first movie which – like this movie – which was released by IDW Press in conjunction with Abrams’ production company, established that in fact, the new Star Trek isn’t an altered timeline – it’s a parallel universe. (Strictly speaking – it’s both – Spock goes back in time to a parallel universe – but since we had no idea what their future would have looked like without Spock and the Romulan interference – it’s kind of a moot point…)

It’s kind of a nitpick – but to me, it makes all the difference. This isn’t ‘our old Star Trek’ tweaked – it’s a wholly new – but kind of related Star Trek, literally a reboot. And with this idea firmly in mind – I don’t mind at all when they do big changes (like blowing up Vulcan) because I know our original Star Trek universe is still there – one over – carrying on as before.

What we’re watching is sort of like the Mirror Universe – and in the same way, knowing that Spock kills Kirk in that universe isn’t distressing – because it’s a different universe..

Still – one thing that both universes have in common: The Enterprise will get destroyed in all even numbered movies. :)

3 days ago on ‘Star Trek Into Darkness’ review: boldly going back to the future 1 reply

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They cancelled Futurama – and revived this????

(yes, yes – I know different networks – but still…)

5 days ago on '24' is back: Fox reviving hit series for 12 episodes in summer 2014 (update)

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slap

5 days ago on Verizon pushes up Samsung Galaxy S4 release date to May 23rd 1 reply 5 recommends

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A huge problem with this analysis is that it’s one sided. A chart that also measured the positive statements about these groups and then represented them as a ratio would give a better sense of whether these people are representative of their region or if they’re vocal anomalies.

6 days ago on 'Geography of Hate' maps racism and homophobia on Twitter 1 recommend

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Mmm. unless that bear can use elevators or climbs a LOT of girders – in the middle of a cosmodrome filled with support staff and security guards… then no.. it’s not a roughly equal chance at all.

Or did you think Soyuz are launched from a garage connected to someone’s forest dacha?

8 days ago on Panic in space: Alfonso Cuaron returns with terrifying 'Gravity' teaser 1 reply

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Rotation isn’t an ‘inertial frame of reference’.. you’re constantly accelerating and at different rates along your body – so you’d definitely feel it.

8 days ago on Panic in space: Alfonso Cuaron returns with terrifying 'Gravity' teaser 2 recommends

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That’s kind of arbitrary. It’s not like a pole. It has several floors of offices and restaurants in it.

8 days ago on Is One World Trade Center really the tallest building in the West? 1 reply 2 recommends

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Even if you include the spire – at 1,776ft, it’s still shorter than the CN Tower in Toronto which is 1,815 feet. So, the answer to the headline – no matter how you slice it, is no.

I do, however realize that to most Americans – ‘The West’ means ‘USA’…

8 days ago on Is One World Trade Center really the tallest building in the West? 3 replies 4 recommends

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And the obvious counter argument is that you can get guns right now at fairly low prices. How they’re manufactured is irrelevant.

The only arguments for 3D printed guns are: availability and anonymity.

Thing is, guns are already pretty darned easy to get – and the ‘gun control will take away our guns’ argument isn’t really supportable when you look around the world at other countries with gun control laws – you can still own guns in most of them. Americans have an extremely weird relationship with their government – they believe they’re the ‘shining beacon of democracy’ and yet live in terror of their government acting as if it were some detached alien creature rather than the people of their own country (Of the people, BY the people, FOR the people… remember?)

So rather than doing the logical thing: getting involved – becoming the government – they cower in their basements with arsenals waiting for the day the ‘jack booted thugs’ come to take away their freedoms.

Instead of trying to figure out a way to reduce crime, they’d rather be cowboys and sit in waiting to be robbed so they can be John Wayne and blow away the bad guys. You worry about rising crime when all stats show that crime has been declining steadily for over 20 years.

In the end, I think you guys watch way too much TV and movies – and your news media really has to start reporting more facts and less opinion. Because they seem to be scaring the wrong people.

8 days ago on 3D-printed gun files pulled offline at State Department's request 1 reply

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Dirt cheap???

You need an $8,000 (used) printer! Not to mention the plastics.

You can buy a gun for a few hundred. One that won’t blow up in your face and can fire more than one bullet. And it’s not like they’re hard to get.

8 days ago on 3D-printed gun files pulled offline at State Department's request

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I loved Shaun of the Dead – it was a brilliant comedy that was actually unnervingly serious at the same time. Hot Fuzz.. not so much.. but this looks more like Shaun of the Dead, so I too await it eagerly. :)

10 days ago on 'The World's End' trailer reveals the final adventure from Edgar Wright and Simon Pegg

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You realize this one was kind of obvious. :)

11 days ago on Caesars Palace confirms ban on Google Glass-wearing gamblers 1 reply 1 recommend

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Hmmm.. I get very nervous when a lot people like something because it’s ‘beautiful’ – since beauty is so very subjective… I liked Primer – but it didn’t change my life or anything. I didn’t find it that complex or hard to follow. If anything, it seemed pretty straightforward… Still, it wasn’t a bad movie by any stretch of the imagination, so perhaps Upstream Color might be worth a shot.

11 days ago on 'Upstream Color,' the new film from 'Primer' director Shane Carruth, available online now 1 reply

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I don’t know the ratios in the US, but up here in Canada almost 90% of households are either cable or satellite. A growing percentage are using Internet based systems like Telus Optik which essentially delivers cable over Internet.

Of the 10% who aren’t, a large portion aren’t in OTA covered areas.

Dropping OTA would affect a small number of people

In the US, the switch to digital probably did more damage to OTA than anything else.

15 days ago on Time Warner Cable CEO says it could copy Aereo's business model in the future