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Comment Re:I don't understand.. (Score 1) 81

This line of reasoning is tired and incorrect.

Nothing was being taken that was supposed to be paid for. The account was being paid for. The increased number of screens was being paid for. Netflix tacitly (and in some cases more overtly) encouraged families to share accounts, and to upgrade accounts to allow for more sharing across more simultaneous devices.

Netflix changed their rules to increase profits and now people are annoyed. Nothing illegal has happened. You might argue that something unethical was happening (either Netflix changing the rules or customers breaking the rules). But whatever happens, customers (whether direct or indirect) have a right to complain about a product without being accused of being part of some "entitlement culture".

I'm sure that Netflix's PR department can handle the bad press without blanket accusations of entitlement (unless you're part of Netflix's PR department, in which case I suggest that entitlement-shaming critics probably isn't a great sales approach).

Comment Re:They're not wrong (Score 3, Insightful) 75

The "no one is forcing anyone" argument is tired and unhelpful.

In most web services, we understand that users are the product, sold to ad agencies. We're not getting anything for free, there is an implicit contract by which we pay for their services by allowing them to attempt to sell things to us. When Google or any other big provider renegotiates the terms of that contract, we are allowed to voice our displeasure, rather than just walking away. That's how this all works. And that's how things change for the better.

Comment Re:Oh look, serial abuse of moderation (Score 1) 60

You got modded troll because your ranty diatribe was a bit... Trolly..

Your UID is low enough that you have no excuse for not knowing what trolling is. Yet you still don't. I meant what I said. The definition of troll is not "something I don't agree with". It's "something I cooked up just to piss people off". How do you not know that?

To misuse Clarke's 3rd Law: "Any sufficiently advanced assholery is indistinguishable from trolling”. :)

Comment Re:Open Source shouldn't mean "no ethics" (Score 1) 101

If Hitler wanted to use my software to exterminate the Jews, I want the right to say "Hell no."

If using Open Source means I don't have that right, then Open Source software does not respect human ethics, nor human rights. I'd rather it be proprietary.

You can put anything you want in the license, and people may or may not argue with you whether it's still "open source". But I think what TFA is talking about is not the RIGHT to specify who can use open source software or for what purposes, but vigilante ENFORCEMENT (in this case, via data wiping).

Next thing you know, former open source developers are creating the next Sony rootkit, for all the "right reasons".

The full version of the extraordinarily-poorly-summarized-because-this-is-slashdot-so-of-course-it-is article makes some worthwhile points. And it's short. It's worth a read.

Comment A couple of corrections... (Score 3, Interesting) 375

"after spending the last four seasons in the titular role of The Doctor" - no, it was only three. The British do TV different than the Americans but there were only three "seasons" (including the current one) with Smith.

"where he will star alongside a majority of the other actors who have taken on the character" - That was the fan theory ages ago, but the casting has long since been confirmed by the BBC and David Tennant is the only other former doctor to appear in the special.

Regardless, Smith had a great run. I was skeptical at first at the "youngest ever doctor" but I was thrilled with the result.

Cellphones

Submission + - New Research Could Mean Cellphones That Can See Through Walls (utdallas.edu)

suraj.sun writes: Comic book hero superpowers may be one step closer to reality after the latest technological feats made by researchers at UT Dallas. They have designed an imager chip that could turn mobile phones into devices that can see through walls, wood, plastics, paper and other objects. The team’s research linked two scientific advances. One involves tapping into an unused range in the electromagnetic spectrum. The other is a new microchip technology. “We’ve created approaches that open a previously untapped portion of the electromagnetic spectrum for consumer use and life-saving medical applications,” said Dr. Kenneth O, professor of electrical engineering at UT Dallas and director of the Texas Analog Center of Excellence(TxACE). “The terahertz range is full of unlimited potential that could benefit us all.”

Using the new approach, images can be created with signals operating in the terahertz (THz) range without having to use several lenses inside a device which could reduce overall size and cost. “CMOS is affordable and can be used to make lots of chips,” Dr. O said. “The combination of CMOS and terahertz means you could put this chip and receiver on the back of a cellphone, turning it into a device carried in your pocket that can see through objects.”

Biotech

Submission + - Regenerative medicine can cure anything...in mice (nature.com)

scibri writes: We're well on our way to using regenerative medicine to cure all mouse diseases. Three studies published this week show that introducing new cells into mice can replace diseased cells — whether hair (abstract), eye (abstract) or heart (abstract) — and help to restore the normal function of those cells.

The hair study used follicular stem cells to re-grow hair on nude mice. The eye study restored vision to mice with congenital stationary night blindness using rod precursor cells. The heart study used a retrovirus to deliver three transcription factors that reprogrammed cardiac fibroblasts into beating cardiomyocytes.

DRM

Submission + - Judge Grudgingly awards $3.6 Million in DRM Circumvention Case (techdirt.com)

Fluffeh writes: "The case involves an online game, MapleStory, and some people who set up an alternate server, UMaple, allowing users to play the game with the official game client, but without logging into the official MapleStory servers. In this case, the people behind UMaple apparently ignored the lawsuit, leading to a default judgment. Although annoyed with MapleStory (The Judge knocked down a request for $68,764.23 — in profits made by UMaple — down to just $398.98), the law states a minimum of $200 per infringement. Multiply that by 17,938 users of UMaple... and you get $3.6 million. In fact, it sounds like the court would very much like to decrease the amount, but notes that "nevertheless, the court is powerless to deviate from the DMCA's statutory minimum." Eric Goldman also has some further op-ed and information regarding the case and judgement."

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