The Microsoft Surface Laptop (refurbished) delivers incredible performance with its 2.5 GHz Intel Core i5 processor and 8GB of RAM. It offers an improved 13.5″ PixelSense display. It has either a 128GB or 256GB hard drive capacity. You can be productive anywhere you go. Its compact size makes it perfect for travel or taking to […]
Legal battles have been fought for most of a decade now over access to the full CIA Torture Report. A limited release at the tail end of 2014 — the 525-page, heavily redacted “Executive Summary” — is all the general public has been given access to. What was in the summary was horrifying enough. But […]
This FCC this week formally announced it had finally started gathering more accurate broadband mapping data from U.S. ISPs after more than a decade of complaints about mapping accuracy. “On June 30, the Federal Communications Commission opened the first ever window to collect information from broadband providers in every state and territory about precisely where […]
At this point, we probably have enough stories about companies trying to bury leaked information or content that hasn’t been publicly released via DMCA takedowns that it warrants its own metatag. It’s both amazing and frustrating that this is still a tactic companies, particularly tech companies, think somehow works. It doesn’t. Once a leak is […]
The US government passed the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act in 1986, years before computers became something everyone had at home and carried around in their pockets every day. The CFAA had a purpose, but its value declined as computing advanced. The abuse it was written to address tended to take a backseat to abuses […]
The EU Copyright Directive contains one of the worst ideas in modern copyright: what amounts to a requirement to filter uploads on major sites. Despite repeated explanations of why this would cause huge harm to both creators and members of the public, EU politicians were taken in by the soothing words of the legislation’s proponents, who even went […]
Current Los Angeles County sheriff Alex Villanueva campaigned with the promise he would clean up the literally gang-infested Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department (LASD). Once he took office, however, he just became part of the problem. Rogue units of deputies continued to freely operate, resulting in federal lawsuits, a bunch of whistleblowing, and [re-reads report] the […]
Disneyland can be a fun experience for kids (and potentially a frustrating one for parents), but it’s a very controlled environment in which everything is set up to bend over backwards to be welcoming to children. And that’s great for what it is, but the world would kinda suck if everything was Disneyland. I mean, […]
Sporting a full-sized 9.7″ LED-backlit Retina display with a resolution of 2048×1536, this refurbished 5th Gen iPad lets you surf the web, watch videos, or view files on a clearer, wider screen. Powered by a dual-core 1.8GHz Apple A9 processor, with 4GB of RAM and 128GB of flash memory storage, this iPad gives a smooth […]
The Saudi government is decidedly unconcerned that other nations may have concerns about its censorship efforts. I mean, if need be, it will murder and dismember critics who prove unwilling to be silenced by less drastic efforts. Having some of the keys to the oil kingdom helps, providing leverage against foreign governments that may want […]
When it comes to manhandling US regulators and gutting telecom industry oversight, the nation’s biggest telecom monopolies have had an impressive five year run. Under Trump, they managed to lobotomize FCC consumer protection authority, dismantle federal net neutrality rules, dismantle media consolidation rules and get all of their planned megamergers approved, kill off broadband privacy […]
It seems anti-cheat technology is the new DRM. By that I mean that, with the gaming industry diving headfirst into the competitive online gaming scene, the concern over piracy has shifted into a concern over cheating making those online games less attractive to gamers. And because the anti-cheat tech that companies are using is starting […]
No matter how expensive law enforcement is, it can always get more expensive. Most agencies demand outsized portions of local budgets. That’s just the ground floor. Cops want more money and less accountability. Perpetually. The cost of keeping bad cops on the payroll is far, far more than their paychecks. Bad cops generate lawsuits, which […]
It’s been seven years since Congress last introduced a federal anti-SLAPP law (and that was six years after the previous attempt). So here we are, and once again we’ve finally got a federal anti-SLAPP law introduced in Congress, this time by Rep. Jamie Raskin, who recently held a hearing focusing on SLAPP lawsuit attacks against […]
You might recall that Elon Musk claims that he hates taxpayer subsidies. They should all be “deleted.” Except for the subsidies given to his companies, apparently. You might recall that Musk’s Starlink gamed the Trump FCC Rural Digital Opportunity Fund (RDOF) to grab $886 million in taxpayer dollars. It was a deal consumer groups noted […]
The “Constitution-free zone” — the area within 100 miles of any border crossing, port of entry, or international airport — now apparently covers the entire country in perpetuity. Border agencies — mainly Customs and Border Protection (CBP) — have steadily increased the number of device searches they do every year. Sometimes the search is limited […]
Go anywhere and stay connected with 4G LTE (unlocked, must provide own SIM) on the refurbished Galaxy Tab A (8.4″”, 2020). With a long-lasting battery, you can stream your favorite music, shows, and movies for over 10 hours on a single charge. Whether you’re traveling, unwinding, or enjoying a quick break, Galaxy Tab A’s compact, […]
A story made the rounds recently about how Airbnb effectively banned Bethany Hallam for life. Hallam, an Allegheny County, Pennsylvania councilperson received a notification from Airbnb that a third party it used for background checks had noted a “criminal records match” in doing a background check, and she would not be able to use Airbnb […]
During the COVID crisis, the FCC launched the Emergency Broadband Benefit (EBB program), which gives lower income Americans a $50 ($75 for those in tribal lands) discount off of their broadband bill. Under the program, the government gave money to ISPs, which then doled out discounts to users if they qualified. But (and I’m sure […]
This week, our winners on the insightful side are a pair of responses to the fearmongering CS professor who insisted that California’s protect-the-kids code is nothing to worry about. In first place, it’s an anonymous comment about misleading claims regarding Instagram and body image issues in teen girls: Why do those worried about body image […]
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