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Way To Go Florida: Governor Signs Law That Accidentally Bans All Computers & Smartphones

They must put something in the water in Florida. The latest is that the state has effectively banned all computers, tablets and smartphones. Yes, all of them. Apparently there was a hastily passed law, CS/HB 155: Prohibition of Electronic Gambling Devices, which as you might guess, is supposed to be about banning electronic gambling devices. Apparently, the bill was written quickly in response to a political controversy:

In April Florida Governor Rick Scott approved a ban on slot machines and Internet cafes after a charity tied to Lt. Governor Jennifer Carroll was shut down on suspicion of being an Internet gambling front — forcing Carroll, who had consulted with the charity, to resign.

But, here’s the problem. The bill’s definitions section is a complete mess. You can see the full text (pdf) which contains cross outs and additions, but what comes out in the end is the following:

As used in this chapter, the term “slot machine or device” means any machine or device or system or network of devices… that is adapted for use in such a way that, upon activation… such device or system is directly or indirectly caused to operate or may be operated and if the user, whether by application of skill or by reason of any element of chance or any other outcome unpredictable by the user him or her, may….

(a) Receive or become entitled to receive any piece of money, credit, allowance, or thing of value, or any check, slug, token, or memorandum, whether of value or otherwise, which may be exchanged for any money, credit, allowance, or thing of value or which may be given in trade; or

(b) Secure additional chances or rights to use such machine, apparatus, or device, even though the device or system may be available for free play or, in addition to any element of chance or unpredictable outcome of such operation, may also sell, deliver, or present some merchandise, indication of weight, entertainment, or other thing of value. The term “slot machine or device” includes, but is not limited to, devices regulated as slot machines pursuant to chapter 551.

Note that I took out chunks of that definition to try to make it more readable and it’s still a mess. The short version is that a slot machine or device is any machine or device by which someone can play a game of chance. That’s any device with a web browser connected to the internet. Any one.

Almost immediately, around 1,000 internet cafes shut down, and now one of them, called Incredible Investments, is suing, seeking declaratory relief on a number of issues related to the law, which shut down their cafe. They go through one by one the problems with the law (and they are many), including the definition of the slot machine:

The definition of “slot machine or device” now contained in Fla. Stat. § 849.16, as amended, fails to adequately describe the prohibited machine or device such that a person of common understanding cannot know what is forbidden.

[….] As amended, Section 849.16, Florida Statutes includes a presumption that any device, system, or network like the Plaintiff’s computers that displays images of games of chance is an illegal slot machine.

The newly-enacted section 849.16(3), Florida Statutes, creates an evidentiary presumption that relieves the State of Florida of its burden of persuasion beyond a reasonable doubt of every essential element of a crime

There’s a lot more in the actual lawsuit (embedded below). Can we just have lawmakers recognize, once and for all, that they’re really bad at legislating technology?

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via Techdirt. Way To Go Florida: Governor Signs Law That Accidentally Bans All Computers & Smartphones

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Zombie Reader Browses Your Archived Google Reader Data

Whether you’re feeling nostalgic for the bygone era of Google Reader, or you legitimately need to read through your RSS feeds, Zombie Reader is a tool that lets you do just that.

Zombie Reader works with the previously mentioned Reader is Dead, and gives you a chance to read the archives you downloaded before. It doesn’t function as a working RSS reader, but as an archive of your Google Reader days it works fantastically well. Follow the link below for installation instructions.

Zombie Reader | Persistant.info via Lilputing

via Lifehacker Zombie Reader Browses Your Archived Google Reader Data

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Flip Steaks Multiple Times for Faster, More Even Cooking

Flip Steaks Multiple Times for Faster, More Even Cooking

Everyone’s got an opinion on the best way to cook a steak. In the great debate over whether to flip or not flip your steaks, though, science proves multi-flippers get better results.

Well, specifically, Kenji at Serious Eats uses his food science mastery to demonstrate why flipping your steaks often (rather than leaving it on the grill or pan undisturbed) is a very good thing:

The idea sort of makes sense at first glance: flipping it only once will give your steak plenty of chance to brown and char properly on each side. But the reality is that flipping a steak repeatedly during cooking—as often as every 30 seconds or so—will produce a crust that is just as good (provided you start with meat with a good, dry surface, as you always should), give you a more evenly cooked interior, and cook in about 30% less time to boot!

The reasons why flipping results in steaks on your plate quicker? With faster flips, both sides of the steak are exposed to the high heat, without giving them time to cool down—almost like cooking both sides at once. Perhaps more importantly, frequently flipped steaks cook more evenly because, Kenji writes:

By allowing each side to cool for a few moments after being heated for a few moments, the intense temperature gradient that can build up near the surface of the steak has time to dissipate. Some of that heat energy is released back into the air, while some of it dissipates into the steak. In either case, it rescues the outer layers from cooking more than they absolutely need to.

This also holds true when cooking burgers.

It takes more work standing by a hot grill or oven, but the time savings and better results may be well worth it. Check out the post on Serious Eats for more steak science.

The Food Lab: Flip Steaks Multiple Times for Better Results | Serious Eats

Photo by bitslammer.

via Lifehacker Flip Steaks Multiple Times for Faster, More Even Cooking

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New Florida law accidentally bans all computers, smartphones

The state of Florida, already the butt of many jokes because of its penchant for news-making citizens, reviled governor and incompetent state government has taken another one on the chin with the news that a poorly-worded law intended to ban Internet cafes and slot machines has overreached and declares any electronic device capable of playing a “game of chance” on the Internet to be illegal. The law is being challenged in court by an Internet cafe owner who was forced to shut down her business following a scandal involving the lieutenant governor….

    



via MacNN | The Macintosh News Network New Florida law accidentally bans all computers, smartphones

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AT&T Considers Selling Your Browsing History, Location, And More To Advertisers. Here’s How To Opt Out

dataGood news, everyone! Wait, no. Not that one. The other one.
Bad news, everyone!
AT&T is considering selling your usage data (location, web browsing history, etc.) to advertisers, having seemingly decided that it’s been too long since everyone was mad at them. Here’s how to opt-out of the program before it begins.

via TechCrunch AT&T Considers Selling Your Browsing History, Location, And More To Advertisers. Here’s How To Opt Out