A new law in Ontario, Canada has banned the use of handheld devices while driving. This includes cellphones, GPS devices, MP3 players, etc. Slight problem: the law is broad enough that you can construe it to include doing things like changing the radio station or reaching for a cup of coffee. → Read More
A well-meaning law, yes, but one that just misses the mark. I refer to, of course (as if you have any idea what I’m talking about), the Road User Amendment Rule 2009 in New Zealand. It would make it illegal to use a cellphone as a navigation device while inside a car. → Read More
Yup, France is now one step closer to that vicious anti-piracy bill becoming law. Legislators there approved the provision that would kick pirates off the Internet for up to a year following the illegal download of copyrighted material. The PS didn’t like the provision, nor did the EP, but none of that matters now. Onward to the National Assembly for a vote! → Read More
It’s wrongheaded legislation gone wild! Monday saw a law passed in Mexico that will establish a national register of mobile users. Everyone who buys a cell phone from now on will be fingerprinted. Why, you ask? Because gangs use cell phones. Therefore, if you buy a cell phone, you may be a gang member. It’s all perfectly logical. → Read More
Oh for the love of God, don’t we have better things to do than legislate whether or not kids are playing video games that feature “stereotypical” characters? Apparently not in New York state we don’t! → Read More
Bloomberg reports that Canada’s Prime Minister will be allowing telecoms industry regulators to “ban fees for unsolicited text messages on mobile phones and other ‘unfair charges.’” While that seems like a pretty narrow scope, consider that (with history as a guide) “unfair charges” is an extremely flexible term. It could spell the end of outrageous… → Read More
To the girl who almost slammed into me as she was texting away on her phone while driving last week: regardless of the crazy face you made and the nasty words you mouthed through your windshield, that was your fault. California agrees with me. Just yesterday, California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger signed legislation outlawing the reading or writing of text messages while driving. Starting… → Read More
US Lawmakers are sick of people sitting on airplanes, talking about all sorts of private matters while waiting for the plane to taxi. After a round of story-telling on conversations they’ve overheard in the past, the House of Representatives has voted to upgrade the FAA’s ban on in-flight cell phone usage to “Permanent” status. On one hand, I’ve felt their pain: a few… → Read More
Details are scarce right now, but New York’s Governor David Patterson just signed a bill into law that could lead to restrictions in video game violence. Good to see that with the worldwide economy collapsing around us New York’s governor is fighting for what New Yorkers are really concerned about. The law would create some sort of video game violence board, and would require content… → Read More
Far be it for the simple gadget bloggers here at CrunchGear.com to comment on legal issues concerning fair use and quoting other news sources, but if you’ve been following the Associated Press brouhaha over the past week or so, you’ll know that plenty of people are pretty riled up. If you haven’t been following the debate, the short version is that the Associated Press now wants to charge… → Read More
A student in Coto de Caza, California has done what each and every one of us has only dreamed of doing; he broke into his school’s computers and changed his grades. Gather ‘round children, and I’ll tell ye of the time that your old buddy Doug failed his fourth grade geography test. See, I mistakenly labeled Pennsylvania as New York and all hell broke loose as I filled in the remaining states… → Read More
Mother of god. I’m supportive of the handheld ban while driving, but while walking? Well, if Representative Kenneth Duncan of Illinois gets his way, you’ll have to hang up at every crosswalk. How unbelievably idiotic is that? He even has a backer for the bill, Illinois’ Secretary of State, who thinks it should be softened to being a secondary offense, only applicable to… → Read More
[photopress:games_for_guns_mexico.jpg,full,center] If there’s one thing we’ve learned over and over again, it’s that you can’t tax people into changing their ways. They’ll still buy cigarettes, gas, and booze, but instead of buying less, they’ll just curse the government and vote for Ron Paul. New Mexico, though, hasn’t learned, as some of its lawmakers… → Read More
The IFPI (basically the worldwide RIAA) must have been riding high when it got Denmark’s Tele2 ISP to block access to The Pirate Bay. However, according to the Pirate Bay blog, traffic is up about 12 percent in Denmark thanks to all the media hoopla surrounding the Tele2 fiasco. From the blog, So what has happened in Denmark now the past days? Actually, the number of visits from Denmark has… → Read More
So it seems that you can carry batteries, extra batteries, spare batteries, and other, presumably, Leyden jars on flights. The TSA warnings only mention banning “large, palletized shipments” of lithium-ion batteries on flights whereas other batteries are fine. They recommend covering the battery terminals, however. On the other hand, the Department of Transportation says you are… → Read More
If you live in the state of Washington, as I do, you’ve a scant six days left to legally drive whist text messaging, as a new law forbidding just that practice goes into effect on the first. Egads. Thankfully it’s a secondary violation, you can’t get pulled over for it, but really, we all know if a Washington state trooper sees you initiating a booty call at 60MPH on I-5… → Read More
The other day at the subway station, a Frenchman asked me if I could spare him a dime so he could buy a bottle of pop. Soda. Whatever you call it from wherever you are right now. Anyway, I didn’t have any cash on me so I couldn’t help him out. But it got me to thinking. This guy probably would have had that dime if he didn’t have to pay full price for books all the time because… → Read More
In Australia, the land down under where everything is somehow deadly, the latest casualty just might be plasma TVs. As TVs get bigger and brighter, they naturally use more energy. Australia is on the cusp of adopting a new energy-rating system for electronics in a six-star system. Plasma TVs, however, wouldn’t make the cut. So the Australian Broadcasting Company is trying to either work them… → Read More
For many people, myself included, airplane time is quiet time. Time for a nap, time to listen to some music, time to tell whoever’s on the other end of your phone that you have to let them go because you’re getting on the plane. So it comes as a great relief that the FAA has decided against lifting its ban on in-flight cell phone use "for the ‘foreseeable… → Read More
At what point are video gamers, of which I am only nominally these days, going to tell their oh-so-concerned elected officials to stop fiddling with their hobby? Here in New York, our esteemed state legislature had a bill on tap that would make selling a violent video game to minors a Class E felony. (I just bought the Wii edition of Resident Evil 4 on Sunday and was rather bemused to find out… → Read More
New Jersey is already corrupt enough. I grew up there and truth be told, some of the laws the state has are ridiculous. A few years ago, a law was passed that allows police to pull you over and fine you just for talking on a cellphone. Now Corzine & Co. are kicking it up a notch by proposing a law that would allow police to pull you over and fine you for texting. The fine would be between $100… → Read More
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