Hard News by Russell Brown

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Hard News: Get yer avatars out

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  • jon_knox,

    the primary social role of a good government is to keep people happy.

    something makes me a little uncomfortable with that statement.

    Belgium • Since Nov 2006 • 464 posts Report Reply

  • mark taslov,

    I'm sorry about that jon. 'Happy' may be to slaphappy a word, basically I wrote that with an eye towards their basic mandate to govern vis à vis the habitual inclintions of those who give it to them,as opposed to whatever this is that they have going on, from my 'happy' perspective somewhere, where it's a non-issue.

    Te Ika-a-Māui • Since Mar 2008 • 2281 posts Report Reply

  • Corin H,

    Don't really wish to be a negative nancy, but wouldn't it be prudent to at least wait until March 27 before declaring "victory"?
    The TCF policy is still in draft form, so the implementation of 92A was always going to have to be delayed by the Government to protect the large telcos until they sort their shit out.

    Since Jan 2007 • 14 posts Report Reply

  • Stephen Judd,

    TracyMac: for sure, you can do that, but not with the low-end kit that most consumers and small businesses will buy or the sysadmin time/skill they can afford. Eg my tiny router at home in its default state will hand out addresses happily without any logging or login process in its default state.

    Wellington • Since Nov 2006 • 3122 posts Report Reply

  • Mark Harris,

    Don't really wish to be a negative nancy, but wouldn't it be prudent to at least wait until March 27 before declaring "victory"?

    Maybe, but getting any movement at all from the Government, is a significant step, after the resolute stonewalling from officials and elected members.

    The TCF policy is still in draft form, so the implementation of 92A was always going to have to be delayed by the Government to protect the large telcos until they sort their shit out.

    No, no, no. You're applying logic. The Government (both Labour and National) has repeatedly said that implementation would occur on the 28th, so that means regardless of whether the Code of Practice was complete. It was particularly WTF that the closing date for submissions was always after the implementation date.

    While the Code may act as a de facto regulatory framework, it has no status in law at present, which is a major chickenshit move by government officials in that they should have been drawing up real regulations for this Act.

    Waikanae • Since Jul 2008 • 1343 posts Report Reply

  • Rich Lock,

    the primary social role of a good government is to keep people happy.

    something makes me a little uncomfortable with that statement.

    Sounds like someone needs a gramme of soma. Remember citizen, a gramme is better than a damn!

    While the Code may act as a de facto regulatory framework, it has no status in law at present, which is a major chickenshit move by government officials in that they should have been drawing up real regulations for this Act.

    Correct.

    back in the mother countr… • Since Feb 2007 • 2728 posts Report Reply

  • Paul Campbell,

    I was trying to exp,lain to a 'merkin friend that "we'd won!, well we got a postponement, and maybe a seat at the table" - he responded "Sometimes it works -- in a creaky, Brazil sort of way"

    Dunedin • Since Nov 2006 • 2623 posts Report Reply

  • Don Christie,

    RIANZ says its evidence is “highly reliable, well-tested and accepted worldwide”.

    Later in TFA we read this:

    RIANZ does not want the notices sent out to users accused of infringement to include evidence that would be admissible in court.

    You see, as Stephen so rightly said, they *know* their evidence doesn't stack up. If this is not a reason to oppose a deal with these guys I really don't know what is.

    Wellington • Since Nov 2006 • 1645 posts Report Reply

  • Bruce Grey,

    This article is very interesting, those of a more technical mind may be able to offer some comment on it:

    http://209.85.173.132/search?q=cache:SXrxaep9jdIJ:dmca.cs.washington.edu/uwcse_dmca_tr.pdf+p2p+DCMA+detection&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=1&gl=nz

    Auckland • Since Oct 2007 • 28 posts Report Reply

  • Stephen Judd,

    Bruce: spot-on. This excerpt from their concluding paragraph is exactly what I was thinking:

    Although content providers are increasingly relying on systematic monitoring of P2P networks as a basis for deterring copyright infringement, some currently used methods of identifying infringing users are not conclusive. Through extensive measurement of tens of thousands of BitTorrent swarms and analysis of hundreds of DMCA complaints, we have shown that a malicious user can implicate arbitrary network endpoints in copyright infringement, and additional false positives may arise due to buggy software or timing effects.

    Also, their paper suggests that the logical next step for recording companies is to pressure ISPs to start intrusive logging. I think they're right, and the next big policy thing in this space, probably in conjunction with aligning with ACTA, will be requiring network operators above a certain size to keep detailed records of user behaviour.

    Wellington • Since Nov 2006 • 3122 posts Report Reply

  • Rich of Observationz,

    Why so uncommunicatively (?) long?

    Disney made a lot of classic films and bought the rights to various books, like Winnie The Pooh, starting in the 1930's. With a 75 year (or 50 years after the author's death for the book rights) copyright term, these would now have expired and thus their movies would be in the public domain.

    Disney, as a large corporation and owner of the ABC TV network, was able to pressure the US Congress into extending copyright terms.

    Back in Wellington • Since Nov 2006 • 5550 posts Report Reply

  • giovanni tiso,

    Disney, as a large corporation and owner of the ABC TV network, was able to pressure the US Congress into extending copyright terms.

    Hence the nickname of the bill, "Mickey Mouse Protection Act" ("The Goofy Clusterfuck" was already taken).

    Wellington • Since Jun 2007 • 7473 posts Report Reply

  • JackElder,

    "The Goofy Clusterfuck"

    Is that any relation to the legendary wrap party after one of Disney's most famous movies, the Snow White Orgy?

    Wellington • Since Mar 2008 • 709 posts Report Reply

  • Juha Saarinen,

    In addition to what Stephen Judd said, it's worth noting that IP address forgery or spoofing is trivial to accomplish.

    An IP address doesn't identify users in the same way a registration plate on a car leads to the driver of the vehicle (and even that can be easily faked).

    Imagine what fun script kiddies will have from now on, putting other people's IP addresses into the totally reliable detection systems used by the entertainment industry surveillance contractors, and firing up those downloads...

    Since Nov 2006 • 529 posts Report Reply

  • Bruce Grey,

    Juha - I wonder if that function will become part of the bittorrent clients sometime soon.

    I have another article link (for those interested), that describes some innovative ways that some record labels are using to combat the piracy problem:

    http://www.fastcompany.com/resources/marketing/manners/112904.html?page=0%2C0

    Auckland • Since Oct 2007 • 28 posts Report Reply

  • BenWilson,

    Juha, IP spoofing is not that trivial. Not for any conversation longer than one IP packet, as a download almost certainly will be. It can cause trouble, but I imagine the trouble would mostly be on the spoofer, not the spoofed.

    Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 10657 posts Report Reply

  • Kyle Matthews,

    I wonder if that function will become part of the bittorrent clients sometime soon.

    Exactly. Last year I switched to a bittorrent client which used encoding, as my ISP was strangling my old client.

    The demand is there, the technology will move ahead.

    Since Nov 2006 • 6243 posts Report Reply

  • Rich of Observationz,

    You can send IP packets with any source address, but a well configured router will reject them. You won't of course get any packets back, so like Ben says, it's no good for messages that are longer than 1500 bytes or require a reply.

    I'm unconvinced you could register as a torrent host that way.

    BitTorrent encryption is a different beast, but does run into the issue of how you share keys between host and downloader.

    Back in Wellington • Since Nov 2006 • 5550 posts Report Reply

  • Don Christie,

    I am now officially Sean Plunket's biggest fan...

    http://podcast.radionz.co.nz/mnr/mnr-20090224-0721-Controversial_copryright_analysis-048.mp3

    Quote du jour:

    "are you going to leave this law on the books even though it is, ah, rubbish?"

    Wellington • Since Nov 2006 • 1645 posts Report Reply

  • Bruce Grey,

    I just listened to that clip - and I second that statement.

    Auckland • Since Oct 2007 • 28 posts Report Reply

  • BenWilson,

    As I understand it, spoofing TCP/IP conversations is only possible on the Hollywood OS

    Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 10657 posts Report Reply

  • Rich of Observationz,

    Hollywood OS

    All computer dialogs, especially Virus Detected or Access Denied are displayed full screen.

    Back in Wellington • Since Nov 2006 • 5550 posts Report Reply

  • Don Christie,

    Rich

    You missed the tags:

    <blink></blink>

    Wellington • Since Nov 2006 • 1645 posts Report Reply

  • BenWilson,

    All computers can be hacked remotely whether they are connected to a network or not. Once hacked, the hacker has total control, including locking out anyone actually using the machine.

    Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 10657 posts Report Reply

  • Lyndon Hood,

    Did we notice that Dylan Horrock's cartoon is now leading on the Pirate Bay?

    Wellington • Since Nov 2006 • 1115 posts Report Reply

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