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Comment Re:FSF maybe ? (Score 1) 19

Closing the GitHub repo is probably against some OSS licenses, and then, illegal, right ?

The code is AGPL'd. If they don't have another mechanism for distributing the code to anyone entitled to receive it then kinda: closing the repo isn't illegal, but not observing the license is unlawful, and grounds for legal action.

Comment Re:You need this for an emergency (Score 2) 165

People escaping the Palisades fire or a tornado don't benefit from having a fucking AM radio.

People evacuating benefit from information on evacuation, like which routes are viable. This can change while in transit, and the cell phone network goes to shit when it's leaned on at all so you need a broadcast radio information source. So yes, they fucking well do.

Comment Re:How does Claude and GPL make sense together? (Score 1) 126

To my mind, nobody wants this to get to this supreme court, because the outcome could be anything someone is willing to pay for. But it's going to wind up there eventually. If it does get there under this administration the most likely outcome is something beneficial to AI service providers, quite possibly allowing GenAI to wash away copyrights. But will it do so enough to allow someone else to copyright the result, or will it be basically uncopyrightable and therefore (in the case of code or other, similar output like instructions) protectable only with secrecy? That would be an interesting outcome.

Comment Re:You need this for an emergency (Score 1) 165

They didn't want to include the radio claiming most people do not want it, and also claiming those who do can add it after-market.
The response was there is still too much interference to add it later.

Right, they're arguing that they should be allowed to knowingly sell products which produce radio interference which affects FCC-licensed use there, devices with a public safety interest no less. Also, if their lack of shielding is affecting AM radio, then it's almost certainly affecting other things as well. That was a weird argument.

But the whole thing is weird all over for the reasons stated. Getting the radio signal into the car isn't expensive or difficult. Practically any one of us could do it with an off the shelf module which costs twenty bucks with e-tail costs and profit baked in. They're already shielding the PCB in the antenna. It's got to cost them a few dollars per unit at the absolute most to add AM even if they put a whole receiver in there. Their arguments are crappy even from a distance.

Comment Re:You need this for an emergency (Score 1) 165

I wouldn't be surprised if the all-in COST of making an AM radio work decently in an EV was at least into the hundreds of dollars.

I doubt this very, very heavily. If it were so they would have told us so already as their excuse. These days the typical radio antenna is an amplified module mounted to the roof, this is now cheap and it gives better reception without the sticking-up aerial or with just a short one.

Comment Re:How does Claude and GPL make sense together? (Score 1) 126

Can anybody explain? So we can use the plagiarizing genAI backend to generate software, then we label it as GPL,

Can a person apply a license to code they don't have the copyright to? The answer is no. This code is either infected with a mishmash of copyright from its original sources, or it's not copyrightable at all, and courts haven't decided which but they are both bad.

Comment Re:Perhaps of interest (Score 1) 80

San Francisco has good mass transit

It has basically functional mass transit, but last time I lived there my commute was 15 minutes by car or 1 hour and 15 minutes by two buses linked by subway. I could probably have walked faster. Now I would dread parking in either neighborhood but then it was feasible.

Comment Re:First responder perspective (Score 1) 165

This is an incredibly short sighted argument for someone calling someone else short sighted. Someone might need updates while evacuating, and their car's radio will have better reception than the portable they are using inside of the car. AM radios work OK inside of cars, but still not as well as a car stereo using the external antenna. It's easier to use and hear while driving. It's a small addition to the cost. Yes, people should have a portable radio for emergencies. Having the car stereo pick up the AM broadcasts is still also useful in emergencies.

Comment Re:You need this for an emergency (Score 1) 165

AM is good for sending out information during a disaster which includes power outage, when the cellular network will crater whether it's affected by the outages or not. And it will be, because some sites' generators won't work, or they don't have much fuel to begin with. Everyone can have solar and hand crank generators for their phones and still have them be worthless.

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