Surprise! Big Data doesn’t care about your right to Free Speech

Alphabet SoupIn a shocking revelation that simply re-affirmed what everyone already knew, the 9th US Circuit Court of Appeals again ruled that internet platforms have nothing to do with the First Amendment because they’re private corporations.

Well, duh!

In a ruling on February 26th, the court said that, “merely hosting speech by others is not a traditional, exclusive public function and does not alone transform private entities into state actors subject to First Amendment constraints.”

Can’t say I didn’t see that one coming – again…

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Scottie’s Holiday 2019 Tech Not-Shopping Guide

Holiday 2019 Techie GiftsIt’s that time of the year again!

Time to try to figure out what to buy everyone for Christmas – er, I mean, “The Holidays.”

Naturally, techie toys are highly valued gifts.

But ya know, I have a better idea: Don’t buy anything!

Instead, give the gift that’s becoming increasingly rare in this day and age: yourself. Preferably with a bow on your head.

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Big Tech shoots itself in the foot, vows to get therapy

Facebook eyes crossedThis week, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg confused everyone (and especially himself) with a speech at Georgetown.

You see, now Facebook is all about free speech. He says we need to let politicians lie on Facebook without censoring or controlling their speech in any way.

Unless you’ve been dead recently, you’re no doubt aware that Big Tech essentially declared itself the Arbiter of Truth & Justice in a stunning effort to put Orwell’s 1984 to shame.

Unfortunately, this led to a few problems – including legal ones…

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Are Big American Tech companies a dying breed?

TechWarsOh dear God, make it stop.

There was a time when American Big Tech was the end-all and be-all.

It seems those days are rapidly going the way of the dodo.

For sure, there will be many companies that survive – and even flourish.

But it’s becoming painfully obvious that certain political, social, and cultural influences are starting to crush innovation, cripple sales, and piss off a whole lot of ordinary folks…

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Why most video games these days suck

Game OverBack in my day, video games were simple.

You typed in some cheat codes, kicked butt, and you were done.

My favorite, of course, was Wolfenstein 3D. I remember playing Wolfenstein as a wee young man. There was just something about wiping out Digital Nazis that was sooo satisfying.

Then again, perhaps I should have gotten out more…

Anyway, nowadays, things are different.

You’re not allowed to cheat. Everything is an “open world”. And people get so addicted to video games that they ACTUALLY DIE while playing them for days on end!

So, what exactly went wrong?

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Censored on Social Media? What else is new…

Here we go again! From Alex Jones to Diamond & Silk to Telesur, suddenly social media is penalizing certain voices rather dramatically.

The majority of the people I talk to think that the whole thing’s ridiculous, and I tend to agree.

Most people are even afraid to say anything, or if they do, they excuse themselves by also declaring that they don’t necessarily agree with everything the censored person is saying.

But that’s totally messed up!

You either have free speech, or you don’t. Whether or not we agree is irrelevant.

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Why “Big Brother” can never win

Well, it’s that time again.

Some recent news items – and people’s reactions to them – have once again compelled me to foam at the mouth about Big Brother.

Every time one of these “revelations” like the Facebook data breach occurs, everyone gets all fired up…

And then many people usually do exactly the wrong thing in response!

Sure, the privacy thing is a problem. It’s prolly going to get worse before it gets better.

But here’s the thing: YOU help to decide how and when that happens.

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