Just a somewhat periodic reminder: publicly-funded colleges are government entities. Almost every public university is. Sometimes, they seem to forget what they are and act in ways governments can’t — not without violating rights. That inability to remember constraints imposed on it by inalienable rights is causing problems for Texas A&M University. And its arguments […]
For many years, we’ve written about the myth — that is still believed by many, including many policymakers and journalists — that big companies always win out by simply copying smaller more innovative companies, and just grabbing the market from them. While there are a few examples of this happening, it is much, much more […]
The GameCreators Mega Maker Pack Bundle will help you develop your own dream video game, and publish it on multiple platforms with thousands of royalty-free, 2D and 3D assets. You get AppGameKit Studio, a fully featured game development toolset with two asset packs. The bundle also has GameGuru, a non-technical and fun game maker that offers an […]
Between COVID relief and the new infrastructure bill there’s a massive, historic, $50+ billion taxpayer subsidy headed for the broadband industry that should do a lot of good in shoring up access in underserved locations. But we’ve also noted how the government still doesn’t have a great idea of where that money should be spent, […]
It should not be this hard to stamp out a bad idea, but here we are, with the JCPA continuing to haunt the country like a zombie that simply refuses to die. The JCPA, for those just tuning in, is a bill designed to create a link tax. Its supporters sometimes blanch at that description, […]
Normally when we talk about trademark disputes, they tend to look fairly similar. Some entity is upset and/or sues over a trademark they have and we spend some time analyzing whether the trademark itself ever should have been granted, whether there is true customer confusion to worry about, whether the plaintiff is simply bullying, etc. […]
We’re still waiting to see if California Governor Gavin Newsom will sign the California Age Appropriate Design Code (AB 2273) into law, though all indications are that he will. However, he has now signed a different bad bill into law. He has happily signed what he calls the “nation-leading social media transparency measure” AB 587 […]
Government officials may say acceptable things when pressed for comment by journalists, oversight, and members of the public. But if you really want to know what an agency thinks, just keep your eye on the rank-and-file. So, when the West Texas branch of the Customs and Border Protection (CBP) started retweeting one of the Trump […]
Matt Levine, over at Bloomberg, whose coverage of the Elon Musk/Twitter saga has been excellent (his coverage of most things has been excellent, but especially the Musk/Twitter stuff), recently wrote that he was coming to the conclusion that Elon Musk simply does not know what a merger agreement means. As he explains, if you want […]
In 2016, Arizona state senator John Kavanaugh tried to make it much more difficult to record police officers. He authored a bill that would create a 20-foot “no recording” zone around cops, supposedly in the interest of officer safety. That bill went nowhere. It contained obvious First Amendment problems and reeked of protectionism that armed […]
The Complete 2022 Java Coder Bundle has 9 courses to help you kick-start your Java learning, providing you with the key concepts necessary to write code. You’ll learn about Java, Oracle, Apache Maven, and more. From applying the core concepts of object-oriented programming to writing common algorithms, you’ll foster real, employable skills as you make your way […]
We’ve been writing a bit about the JCPA — the Journalism Competition and Preservation Act — the very bad bill from Senator Amy Klobuchar that would create all sorts of problems, from allowing news orgs to demand money for links (breaking the fundamental nature of how the web works), to creating a “must carry” provision […]
During a heat wave last summer, some Texans were shocked to wake up and find that their local energy company had turned up their thermostats in the night to save energy. Houston locals weren’t exactly thrilled to wake up sweating in the night to the sound of dehydrated, crying infants. As it turns out, consumers has participated […]
I really cannot believe we’re back here. Way back in 2016 we wondered aloud who gets to trademark the word “Iceland”. Confused? Well, Iceland Foods is a grocery in the UK that’s been around since the 1970s. Iceland is also the name of a sovereign nation established in the early 1900s. In 2016, Iceland Foods […]
Summer is nearly over, but, for many politicians, destructive tech regulations are always in season. Congress is back from recess, and the American Innovation and Choice Online Act (AICOA) is once more under consideration. Senator Amy Klobuchar’s “antitrust” pet project would crack down on the five biggest tech giants — Amazon, Apple, Facebook, Google, and […]
The explosion of AI-generated art has taken the internet by storm, and is poised to continue growing for a long time. In turn, that’s sparked a lot of conversation (and a lot of backlash) about the impact on artists — but much of the controversy seems misguided or overblown. This week we’re joined by Rob […]
It’s a tale as old as time. Two companies look to merge, and promise regulators that the new super-union will create unlimited, untold synergies. They insist repeatedly the consolidation most certainly won’t raise prices, and that the megadeal will absolutely in no way result in layoffs. Regulators rubber-stamp the deal, then, like clockwork, all of […]
Given the inalienable protections this country has determined are essential to democracy, the United States has only tolerated limited violence against journalists. Most of this violence is perpetrated by law enforcement officers who feel a fully functioning democracy demands they greet documentation of their acts with force or unjustified arrests. This calculus shifted during the […]
Aspiring filmmakers, YouTubers, bloggers, and business owners alike can find something to love about the Complete Video Production Super Bundle. Video content is fast changing from the future marketing tool to the present, and in these 10 courses you’ll learn how to make professional videos on any budget. From the absolute basics to the advanced shooting […]
It’s often kind of amazing at how much moral panics by adults treat kids as if they’re completely stupid, and unable to do anything themselves. It’s a common theme in all sorts of moral panics, where adults insist that because some bad things could happen, they must be prevented entirely — without ever considering that […]
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