Locking down phones, other devices, media content, and software restricts freedom. People are then not able to use it except how the companies want them to use it.

As for when the government gave us more choices, in 1984 they broke up a little company called AT&T, remember that? Antitrust stuff gives us more choices. It’s not the same thing here, but it does answer your question. Personally, I don’t think these companies would stop doing business or stop competing if the government required them to respect consumer freedom. I do think they would comply though.

If you can point to a legislation that defines something as “intellectual property” or gives someone rights to something named “intellectual property,” you let me know.

As for the hate crime thing, protecting minorities from bigots is in the best interest of freedom. Giving folks stiffer penalties for harming out of hatred makes sense to me, but please do try to stay on topic.

It’s interesting how you can easily say “there’s no such thing” as “illegal immigrant” and “intellectual property” while you tell me when I say there’s either no such thing as hate crime, or even if there was, it shouldn’t be punished more or less, you say I’m retarded.

The T-Mobile hotspot for your home that was recently released in the US has been available in other countries for a while now. Being able to have a more clear signal at home without having to pay for minutes is a great idea.

Copyright laws and patent laws are pretty simple. It’s all based on the mentality that just because someone creates something that society finds useful, they now have the ability to tell everybody else what to and what not to do with it, even after they’ve sold it to someone else.

You may own the phone, but you can’t do much with it other than what the network allows you to, exactly. Or, you can’t use it for purposes other than what they’ve set it up for (ok, unless you’re good at reprogramming).

Maybe I’m too stupid to know the difference between IP and copyright, patent, so you can explain to me, but it can be another discussion for another day.

The service–which is the network–is not in my physical possession. I didn’t pay to purchase it, but I did pay to purchase the phone.

Furthermore, there’s no such thing as “intellectual property.” That term is used to intentionally blur and confuse a series of laws such as copyright laws, patent laws, and trademark laws. These laws have some unjust applications, namely restricting the freedom of people for the sake of profit.

You seem to have no problem with corporations restricting people, but when the government restricts the corporate restrictions you’re up in arms. Maybe you really are a republican.

You’re confusing property as an object and property (specifically intellectual)as a means communication.

You didn’t BUY the rights to anything in Verizon, only to use it the way they allow you to. The same way you don’t own your paper money bills and coins, you’re only authorized to use it in ways they allow it. You’ve taken for granted what they’ve given as a service, that’s your misunderstanding of what their terms and conditions are.

Josh: I do see something wrong with restricting someone else’s property. If you sold something to somebody, it ceases to be your work and becomes their property. Sure we can keep the trademarks in place so that consumers don’t get confused, but once they purchase it they should be able to do anything with it. There is no excuse for restricting freedom for the sake of profit, and that is exactly what locked networks and locked phones are all about.

This FCC rule I advocate because it is one that is for the people, and it serves the best interests of the people. Future rules I’ll have to think about when we get there.

Do you see the difference? You can keep things private in the beginning if it’s going to allow choice and hurts nobody but your own profits, but if you’ve released it into the wild, you’ve allowed it to grow beyond your intentions (and your intentions may in part be to make it public), by that time, it’s no longer your property.