Gizmodo 
Enter your username and password.
Tip your editors:
tips@gizmodo.com
Editorial Director:
Brian Lam | Email | Twitter
Editor:
Jason Chen
Email | AIM | Twitter
Features Editor:
Wilson Rothman
Email | Twitter
Senior Contributing Editors:
Jesus Diaz
Email | AIM | Twitter
Mark Wilson, Reviews
Email | AIM | Twitter
Contributing Editors:
Matt Buchanan
Email | AIM | Twitter
Adam Frucci
Email | Twitter
Sean Fallon
Email | Twitter
Jack Loftus
Email | Twitter
John Herrman
Email | Twitter
Dan Nosowitz
Email
Chris Mascari
Email
Danny Allen
Email | Twitter
Rosa Golijan
Email | Twitter
Chris Jacob
Email
Columnist:
Brendan I. Koerner
Interns:
Don Nguyen
Email
Kyle VanHemert
Email
Comment Intern:
Nick Ellenoff | Email
Comment Account Questions:
Comments@gizmodo.com
Original material is licensed under a Creative Commons License permitting non-commercial sharing with attribution.
11/13/09
11/13/09
11/13/09
Here's the real issue. Over free, public wifi networks, it's virtually impossible to find out who is committing the piracy. The MPAA is scared sh*tless that the trend towards public municipal networks like those proposed for big cities (New York, L.A., Las Vegas etc), some of which are currently under construction, will provide a safe haven for pirates, shielding them from any legal actions.
So we look at the MPAA's playbook. Find the most vunrable target and bring charges. Get a compromise ruling from a low level judge and build on the precident set by that case. This buys some time while they push for legislation requiring users of a public network to register to access the service, making them easier to ID.
Small town with only a few users... They have an ideal target there. The town officials decided to fall on this grenade for the rest of us. They'll comply with requests and back down from the fight, keeping it out of the courts for as long as they can. Rather than fight back through the courts, (where they may very well lose), they'll stall long enough to wage a PR war. Once the public is sufficiently outraged and the local jury pool influenced, their poised to win any legal battle. The MPAA will back down, declaring it a victory for themselves, but in reality, they won't get what they want. #wifi
11/15/09
11/13/09
While industry cabals and multinational corporations hire think analysts and consultants to find new and exciting ways to figuratively, if not literally rape every man, woman and child. And, as corrupt and inefficient as it can be, "big government" is the only thing that comes close to stopping them. And in this case, it seems to have failed.
What I don't understand is why the city would listen to the MPAA at all. What terrible precedent does this set? Who gave the MPAA this sort of power over government?
Furthermore. How does the MPAA actually know about the download? There is zero information concerning how the MPAA became aware of the download. #wifi
11/13/09
11/13/09
"The MPAA focuses most of its efforts on catching the source of the [pirated] movies." -- Heh, sure.
""We target piracy at its source," she [the VP of corporate communications for the MPAA] said. "We really focus on keeping the product out of the market in the first place."" -- I'll say.
"LaVigne has done some homework and found a program that would prevent the illegal downloads from happening in the future; however, it would cost the cash-strapped county about $2,900 to implement, $2,000 for equipment and then $900 annually for the filtering program." -- I'm sure that's a sacrifice the MPAA is more than willing for you to make.
Good read if you wanna see what everyone else outside our little tech circle is hearing. #wifi
11/13/09
@Kirkaiya:
@not_a_virus.exe.vbs:
The MPAA don't have the power to do this, likely they just bullied the administration into doing it. They don't have the ability to actually pull the plug though. If the town administration stood up to them and said no this wouldn't have happened. #wifi
11/13/09
As much as I like Boing Boing, and as much as I hate the MPAA, this strikes me as a very misleading article. #wifi
11/13/09
11/13/09
11/13/09
11/14/09
11/13/09
Unless he used a laptop with solar panels...
Alright everybody, time to shut down the sun. #wifi
11/13/09
11/13/09
Read the article linked in the one on Boing... They got a letter telling them to stop sharing the movie and in response the owner shut it down.
11/13/09
We must not forget, as cool as he may be, Cory Doctorow (and boingboing) is prone to the most extreme hyperbole that the universe has ever witnessed, ever. #wifi
11/13/09
And - worse - doesn't this just open the door to a new form of vandalism, where bored miscreants with laptops can drive around any town (or airport, whatever) with free WiFi, and *intentionally* download something, with the intent of pissing off the entire town.
In fact... I have a car. And a laptop. And those people over in Shelbyville really suck!
11/13/09
Even better,
People around the states should start downloading stuff in wireless networks around MPAA and RIAA people.
Make the downloads extra nasty in content to sic cops on them too! #wifi
11/13/09
11/13/09
It was a Hannah Montana movie! #wifi
11/13/09
10/14/09
10/15/09
10/14/09
Don't put illegal crap on or in anything you hand over as collateral.
Really it's that simple.
10/14/09
10/14/09
10/14/09
10/15/09
[en.wikipedia.org]
10/14/09
A+ for you good sir. Enjoy defending pedophiles.
10/14/09
That even they receive protection from the law should provide you comfort in the knowledge that you too are guaranteed those protections.
Moreover, keeping the government honest and on their best behavior is what my mother devoted her life to. The government has the burden to prove the defendant's guilt and to do so within the confines of the law.
By defending those charged with crimes - even horrible crimes - a defense attorney seeks to ensure that those tasked with enforcing the law follow the law. When, and only when, a defendant's guilt has been proven beyond a reasonable doubt within those bounds, we as a society can be reasonably certain that justice has been done, that the guilty will be punished, and that the dangerous elements of our society neutralized.
There is no moral nor practical benefit to taking short cuts with the law. It creates skepticism in the public, mistrust of the law, and fosters sloppiness in those who enforce and prosecute the people's interest. And when this happens, the innocent may be jailed while the guilty walk free.
By making the government meet its burden - especially when heinous crimes are involved - we can assure ourselves that our imperfect system is still the best of all those available.
The defense attorneys watch the watchers.
10/14/09
10/14/09
10/14/09
10/14/09
10/14/09