It wasn't just that by itself. There was a list of several undisclosed data tweaks and manipulations. None were particularly fraudulent or anything, but once you have them all included in the paper, as the former author was complaining, it seems more likely that they just manipulated the theory and data as needed to make them match. There's a big difference between predicting something and demonstrating it in experiment, versus showing your theory can be made to fit some data you have been given when you can pick the right adjustments and subset of data.
If you don't know the value of what you are buying you are most likely to get even less than what you payed for. In the story they basically got scammed by overseas shops who probably pocketed most of the money and farmed out the effort to minimally-skilled and minimally-paid developers who were in way over their heads.
They probably just combined all phoning home information into one. Usage monitoring includes version used, which leads to automatic update when needed (or when bugged...).
As I read that, "more than a screwdriver" was to make a point about how hard it is to even fulfill the requirements for "assembled in the USA". "Made in the USA" is even stricter. And they were going beyond that and claiming secure supply chains with western distribution. It did seem a little like a marketing pitch since it focused on what they did versus what the final gap really was, but apparently they sell it to the govt for that big markup. Presumably you don't want to try and sneak things past such a customer.
If you're just thinking of price, the farther down the supply chain you go the less impact of tariffs.
I do kind of recall the last US airport I went through internationally that there was weirdly no customs lanes or anything after baggage claim, just big one-way doors.
Not that you can reach that point without stating your declarations on the record. I think it was one of the kiosk stages.
You always need to be careful when it comes to customs really. Some minor things like certain foods and OTC medicines can have big ramifications in many countries, including losing your visa. If you're a business person counting on using a multi-year visa to do your job, you can screw up your career by getting it revoked.
Of course I think people should get second chances, especially naive students. The professor should also have been mindful of this risk and made sure she complied with the rules too.
Completely agree, I think that an abundance of caution is extremely important to practice when engaging with these systems, especially given the political climate. I just think that discussing counterfactuals in this particular case is unproductive and the original comment needlessly insensitive.
