im_mac - Slashdot User

Modded Xbox Bans Prompt EFF Warning About Terms of Service 254

Posted by Soulskill on Friday December 04, 2009 @01:19AM from the by-reading-this-you-bequeath-me-all-your-possessions dept.

Last month we discussed news that Microsoft had banned hundreds of thousands of Xbox users for using modified consoles. The Electronic Frontier Foundation has now pointed to this round of bans as a prime example of the power given to providers of online services through 'Terms of Service' and other usage agreements. "No matter how much we rely on them to get on with our everyday lives, access to online services — like email, social networking sites, and (wait for it) online gaming — can never be guaranteed. ... he who writes the TOS makes the rules, and when it comes to enforcing them, the service provider often behaves as though it is also the judge, jury and executioner. ... While the mass ban provides a useful illustration of their danger, these terms can be found in nearly all TOS agreements for all kinds of services. There have been virtually no legal challenges to these kinds of arbitrary termination clauses, but we imagine this will be a growth area for lawyers."

Comment Re:It's the chemicals!? Bollox to that! (Score 1) 614

by im_mac on Sunday November 15, 2009 @08:19PM (#30110458) Attached to: Environmental Chemicals Are Feminizing Boys

It's important to note that polycarbonate is *not* used to line food cans; that is normally done by epoxy resins. It is true that epoxies are often made using BPA, but equating the risk of BPA from polycarbonate to the risk from epoxies, is simply an incorrect knee-jerk reaction.

Comment Verizon Ad? (Score 1) 272

by im_mac on Saturday July 25, 2009 @01:07PM (#28819715) Attached to: The Irksome Cellphone Industry

Anyone else get a Verizon Wireless ad when trying to read the article?

That's delicious irony.

Comment Re:Business focus, not consumer focus... (Score 1) 913

by im_mac on Saturday April 18, 2009 @11:01AM (#27626723) Attached to: To the extent there are taxes, I mostly favor ...

Where do you live?

Most places I've been to in the US have no tax on unprepared food (ie grocery stores), and always have taxes on books.

Also, in some states (like PA), there is no tax on clothes since they are necessities.

So 1 for 3 isn't that bad... in baseball.

Comment Re:Iliad Reader (Score 1) 469

by im_mac on Thursday December 20, 2007 @05:49PM (#21771030) Attached to: Which eBook Reader is the Best?

The Iliad is pretty sweet. The eInk people came by last year to give a seminar and brought a Sony eReader, an Illiad and a prototype color eInk display. The sony version was the least cool.

Submission + - A&P sues brothers over YouTube video 1

Submitted by im_mac on Wednesday August 29, 2007 @04:06PM

im_mac writes: Supermarket chain A&P has sued two brothers for $1million after they posted a parody entitled "Produce Paradise" on YouTube. The video "prompted at least one complaint by a 'disgusted and distressed' customer who said she will no longer shop at A&P thanks to the 'repulsive acts' in the video. Though how they knew it was A&P is questionable since the brothers took care not to feature any A&P logos or mention it in their lyrics. Trying to get $1million out of a couple of college students whose source of income was working at A&P until they were fired, might be rather difficult. More info is also posted on the pair's website: FakeLaugh, including their belief that the complaint that brought the video to the management's attention was prompted by some sort of personal vendetta.

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