Streaming is now the most popular way to watch TV, yet many are unaware of what they’re buying. As Reingold's lawsuit points out, paying for content in the streaming era is different from buying media from physical stores. Physical media nets control over your ability to watch stuff for years. But you also had to have retrieved the media from a store (or website) and to have maintained that physical copy, as well the necessary hardware and/or software for playing it. Streaming services can rip purchased content from customers in bulk, but they also offer access to a much broader library that's instantly watchable with technology that most already have (like a TV and Internet).

We can debate the best approach to distributing media. What's clearer is the failure of digital content providers to ensure that customers fully understand they’re paying for access to content, and that this access could be revoked at any time. //

galvanash Seniorius Lurkius
17y
14
Subscriptor++
Is it really that controversial to expect that the word "buy" should have a legally binding meaning? Seems like a pretty simple and straight forward concept to me.

I give you money, you give me a thing. Maybe there are terms binding me as to what I can do with the thing, but assuming I never violate those terms if you can then take the thing away from me I never bought it.

Can we please get a judge to just settle this after like 50 years of this nonsense??? //

SimonRev Ars Praetorian
10y
434
You know, as long as I "bought" a digital asset, I have no ethical compunctions about creating/obtaining a more convenient copy for personal use. I don't do that with rentals.

If Amazon et al tried to provide a "non-fixed term lease" (and yes, I know that is what they really mean with the "buy button"), I would expect to pay roughly 1/2 to 1/3 vs purchasing the physical media. //

Check Listening Ports with netstat

netstat is a command-line tool that can provide information about network connections.

To list all TCP or UDP ports that are being listened on, including the services using the ports and the socket status use the following command:

sudo netstat -tunlp

The options used in this command have the following meaning:

-t - Show TCP ports.
-u - Show UDP ports.
-n - Show numerical addresses instead of resolving hosts.
-l - Show only listening ports.
-p - Show the PID and name of the listener’s process. This information is shown only if you run the command as root or sudo user.

The problem was that the new motherboard's BIOS created a host protected area (HPA) on some of the drives, a small section used by OEMs for system recovery purposes, usually located at the end of the harddrive.

ZFS maintains 4 labels with partition meta information and the HPA prevents ZFS from seeing the upper two.

Solution: Boot Linux, use hdparm to inspect and remove the HPA. Be very careful, this can easily destroy your data for good. Consult the article and the hdparm man page (parameter -N) for details.

The problem did not only occur with the new motherboard, I had a similar issue when connecting the drives to an SAS controller card. The solution is the same.

I was able to access the pool a couple of weeks ago. Since then, I had to replace pretty much all of the hardware of the host machine and install several host operating systems.

My suspicion is that one of these OS installations wrote a bootloader (or whatever) to one (the first ?) of the 500GB drives and destroyed some zpool metadata (or whatever) - 'or whatever' meaning that this is just a very vague idea and that subject is not exactly my strong side... //

I think I have found the root cause: Max Bruning was kind enough to respond to an email of mine very quickly, asking for the output of zdb -lll. On any of the 4 hard drives in the 'good' raidz1 half of the pool, the output is similar to what I posted above. However, on the first 3 of the 4 drives in the 'broken' half, zdb reports failed to unpack label for label 2 and 3. The fourth drive in the pool seems OK, zdb shows all labels. //

This did take a while indeed. I've spent months with several open computer cases on my desk with various amounts of harddrive stacks hanging out and also slept a few nights with earplugs, because I could not shut down the machine before going to bed as it was running some lengthy critical operation. However, I prevailed at last! :-) I've also learned a lot in the process and I would like to share that knowledge here for anyone in a similar situation.

This article is already much longer than anyone with a ZFS file server out of action has the time to read, so I will go into details here and create an answer with the essential findings further below. //

Finally, I mirrored the problematic drives to backup drives, used those for the zpool and left the original ones disconnected. The backup drives have a newer firmware, at least SeaTools does not report any required firmware updates. I did the mirroring with a simple dd from one device to the other, e.g.

 sudo dd if=/dev/sda of=/dev/sde

I believe ZFS does notice the hardware change (by some hard drive UUID or whatever), but doesn't seem to care. //

As a last word, it seems to me ZFS pools are very, very hard to kill. The guys from Sun from who created that system have all the reason the call it the last word in filesystems. Respect!

Stc is a command line tool for Syncthing. It can be used to quickly check status of Syncthing from a terminal / command line without need of a Web Browser. For example on a remote machine over ssh, without port forwarding or if you have large number of machines to query. Also run from a script, crontab, scheduled task, etc.

sed is a stream editor. A stream editor is used to perform basic text transformations on an input stream (a file or input from a pipeline). While in some ways similar to an editor which permits scripted edits (such as ed), sed works by making only one pass over the input(s), and is consequently more efficient. But it is sed’s ability to filter text in a pipeline which particularly distinguishes it from other types of editors.

The basic key points: 

10 inch 1U size rack system with 1 insert slot
19 inch 1U size rack system with 2 insert slots
modular insert system for easily push-in and pull-out
some pre-modeled inserts available at launch
2 blank inserts for customization: https://makerworld.com/en/models/1032228

The Elias Law Group is suing again – this time to kill an Ohio law aimed at blocking foreign nationals from voting in U.S. elections.

Certbot uses a number of different commands (also referred to as “subcommands”) to request specific actions such as obtaining, renewing, or revoking certificates. The most important and commonly-used commands will be discussed throughout this document; an exhaustive list also appears near the end of the document.

The certbot script on your web server might be named letsencrypt if your system uses an older package.

Designed for the pilot on the go, this 3-in-1 backpack has space for all the essentials without an overwhelming footprint. It’s ideal for pilots who prefer backpacks but don’t carry as much gear.

A D.C. grand jury has refused to return an indictment against a man accused of assaulting federal law enforcement during a confrontation in Washington, D.C. //

Compare and contrast this with the alacrity with which D.C. grand juries handed out felony indictments for people merely walking into the Capitol on January 6. Had either Dunn or Reid committed those acts on January 6, 2021, they would have been facing a decade or more in prison. //

The reluctance of DC judges and juries to support President Trump in tamping down violence in D.C. Former RedStater Bill Shipley, who goes by the handle @shipwreckedcrew on X, has a solid idea.

Shipwreckedcrew @shipwreckedcrew
·
The case is building for eliminating the District Court for DC, and making it part of the District of Maryland.

You cannot have a District Court that has a juror pool so extremely partisan that objective evidence is simply disregarded based on politics.

Ed Whelan @EdWhelanEPPC
·
The old saying is that a grand jury will indict a ham sandwich. But somehow this one didn’t indict the DOJ lawyer who threw sandwich at federal agent. https://nytimes.com/2025/08/27/us/politics/trump-sandwich-assault-indictment-justice-department.html
10:08 AM · Aug 27, 2025

Geoengineering can also be unbelievably stupid. The British government is planning to fund high-altitude geoengineering to block sunlight. This is a pet project of some very rich people who consider themselves geniuses, and it is a real thing – I have directly heard their discussions on similar projects from people who can pay for them. It is based on the interesting conviction that while all previous episodes of global warming were due to some natural phenomena, the current one is solely due to the work of man, and that somehow dimming sunlight by setting up a reflective layer in the upper atmosphere is therefore a good thing (i.e. not interfering with nature, but saving it…).

There is irony here. We now have 9 billion people on earth, and have defied all previous predictions of Malthusian catastrophe and starvation, partly because vegetation (i.e., our crops) grows faster and uses water more efficiently than it did 50 or 100 years ago. The reason for this is higher carbon dioxide (CO2). Plants need mainly CO2, sunlight, and water to grow. Whether CO2 is the main cause of global warming is irrelevant here. It is a reasonable theory, but anthropogenic emissions do not explain past warming periods. CO2 has doubled from previously very low levels, but it was much lower in the Middle Ages when the Norse grew crops in Greenland.

So, whether or not sun-blocking will reduce global temperatures, it will certainly reduce sunlight and plant growth. This will reduce harvests, both in yield and in some places in frequency. Mass starvation will be much more likely – all apparently for the greater good. It may even be better for investors in failing fake meat companies and other factory foods, which may explain some interest in sun dimming. A clever commercial approach, but likely to be fairly widely fatal. While the British government is embracing this, it is almost certainly happening already, at least experimentally. There are no rules, just stupidity. //

So, perhaps we should concentrate on the industrial and political stupidity that is endangering us all through stuff that is proven and readily demonstrable. Labeling nature or air travel as evidence of evil will gain likes on social media, but also help the cause of those who would own and control our atmosphere and food supply.

Many applications create and manage directories containing cached information about content stored elsewhere, such as cached Web content or thumbnail-size versions of images or movies. For speed and storage efficiency we would often like to avoid backing up, archiving, or otherwise unnecessarily copying such directories around, but it is a pain to identify and individually exclude each such directory during data transfer operations. I propose an extremely simple convention by which applications can reliably "tag" any cache directories they create, for easy identification by backup systems and other data management utilities. Data management utilities can then heed or ignore these tags as the user sees fit.

TargaGTS | August 27, 2025 at 8:22 am
The New World Screwworm is yet another pestilence/disease that was once eradicated in the United States only to be reintroduced by poor border control. Back in the 1950s, a massive project to interrupt the life-cyle of the pest by introducing a critical mass of sterile flies, was surprisingly effective. By the mid-1960s, NWS was no longer a thing in the US & Canada (although they still persisted in parts of Mexico for another 40+ years)….until Joe Biden’s tenure.

In one of his amendments, Moulton proposed a clause that he said would have reaffirmed the US military's long-standing doctrine of nuclear deterrence known as "Mutually Assured Destruction" (MAD). In other words, an adversary should think twice about a nuclear strike against the United States because the US would launch an overwhelming nuclear attack in response.

Moulton argued that a missile shield like the Golden Dome would change the decision-making of a potential adversary. If another country's leaders believe the United States can protect itself from widespread destruction—and therefore remove the motivation for a massive US response—that might be enough for an adversary to pull the trigger on a nuclear attack. Inevitably, at least a handful of nuclear-tipped missiles would make it through the Golden Dome shield in such a scenario, and countless Americans would die, Moulton said.

"If nations know that they will get obliterated if they use nuclear weapons against us, they are never going to use them," Moulton said in the House Armed Services Committee's markup hearing.

Rep. John Garamendi, D-California, put it succinctly: "If you're playing defense, you're likely to lose... somebody out there is going to figure out a way to get around it."

Moulton's Republican counterpart on the strategic forces subcommittee, Rep. Scott DesJarlais of Tennessee, had a different view of the matter. The US military's existing missile defense system is limited in reach. It's designed to take down a small number of missiles launched at the United States from a "rogue state" like North Korea, not a volley of hundreds of missiles from a nuclear superpower.

"The underlying issue here is whether US missile defense should remain focused on the threat from rogue states and... accidental launches, and explicitly refrain from countering missile threats from China or Russia," DesJarlais said. He called the policy of Mutually Assured Destruction "outdated."

RUBIO: Mr. President -- first of all, everybody's made this comment already, it needs to be echoed again: you were elected as president of working Americans. And that's why this Labor Day is so meaningful.

For me, personally, this the most meaningful Labor Day of my life, as someone with four jobs. //

Rubio, of course, has taken on a few side gigs to complement his main role leading the State Department (he was the first Cabinet secretary to be confirmed, with his nomination having passed the Senate on Inauguration Day). Here's what else is currently on his resume:

Interim National Security Advisor;
Acting Administrator of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID); and,
Acting Archivist of the United States. //

Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy also moonlights as Interim Director of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). Russ Vought is Director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) by day and leads the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) by night. And Jamieson Greer does double duty as acting Director of the Office of Government Ethics and acting Special Counsel of the Office of Special Counsel.

A few non-Cabinet-level appointees are also pulling extra weight, with Daniel Driscoll serving as both Secretary of the Army and acting head of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), and Todd Blanche holding the positions of Deputy Attorney General and acting Librarian of Congress.

In the past few years, many environmental and academic activists have been undermining the work of Norman Borlaug and the successes of the Green Revolution by publishing false information. The environmental activists behind these headlines claim that the Green Revolution failed. Here is a random sample of examples of these activists lying to the public. //

Fortunately, evidence easily refutes the misinformation spread by such activists’ claims. Wheat yields rose dramatically in the late 1960s and throughout the 1970s. By lying to their audience and the public, these groups are ignoring that wheat yields in India more than doubled between the period of 1967 and 1972.
https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0111629

There’s no “new research” as claimed by the above activist headlines. The evidence is clear: the Green Revolution resulted in higher crop yields that contributed to preventing one billion deaths from starvation. Dr. Borlaug made an amazing contribution to improving global food security. In 1970, he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his work.

The customization marketplace for Windows and programs. Customize your programs with available code snippets or create your own customizations.

Windows 11 replacement for 7 Taskbar Tweaker

A few weeks ago, Windhawk, the customization marketplace for Windows programs, was released. You can read the announcement blog post for more details and for the motivation behind creating it. One of the sections of the blog post was dedicated to 7+ Taskbar Tweaker.

Regarding the future of 7+ Taskbar Tweaker: It will keep existing as a separate program which supports Windows 7 to Windows 10. As mentioned in a recent blog post, most parts of the taskbar were reimplemented in Windows 11, and 7+ Taskbar Tweaker can’t be made to work with the new taskbar without a huge amount of work. My plan, at least in the short term, is to implement the most demanded customizations for Windows 11 as Windhawk mods.

Below is a table with features that are available in Windows 10 but are missing in Windows 11. Some of the features are part of Windows 10 (marked with the Windows icon icon) and some are part of 7+ Taskbar Tweaker (marked with the Tweaker icon icon).

You’re probably wondering what’s going to happen with 7+ Taskbar Tweaker as a result of these changes in Windows 11. I see three options going forward:

1. Fix the incompatibility by reimplementing and/or adjusting the code to work with the new taskbar implementation of Windows 11.
2. Create a new tool (11 Taskbar Tweaker?) or come up with a new solution to achieve the customization that 7+ Taskbar Tweaker provides for Windows 10 and below.
3. Do nothing and give up on taskbar customization for Windows 11.

I’ll do my best to go with option 1 or 2, not 3. I need to get more familiar with the new technology and implementation, and I also want to wait and see whether new customization options are added to the new taskbar in newer builds. For now, I lean towards option 2, but I don’t promise feature parity, and currently I can’t tell when I’ll have something to show.