http://www.techdirt.com/ Easily digestible tech news.... http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130517/13573923121/retired-lt-col-violent-media-has-bred-generation-killers.shtml#c849 Tue, 21 May 2013 10:18:04 PDT http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130517/13573923121/retired-lt-col-violent-media-has-bred-generation-killers.shtml#c849 In the 80's I played Dungeons and Dragons so I guess that makes me a mass killer.

I don't remember the mass killer part. People who used to ridicule me about D&D said it was antisocial, devil worshiping, and made me susceptible to killing myself, but I'd always laugh because they obviously never played themselves and didn't have a clue.

It will be sad when enough people start believing this bull and put some bad laws in place.

Unfortunately, and it may be my cynicism, but that is likely the expected outcome (for the children.)]]> http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130520/12190223151/prendas-paul-hansmeier-asks-appeals-court-to-delay-sanctions-appeals-court-says-no-try-again.shtml#c2 Mon, 20 May 2013 13:46:18 PDT http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130520/12190223151/prendas-paul-hansmeier-asks-appeals-court-to-delay-sanctions-appeals-court-says-no-try-again.shtml#c2
"Welcome to the big leagues, govern yourself accordingly."

Nice.]]> http://www.techdirt.com/blog/casestudies/articles/20130508/06065623001/new-hope-how-going-free-to-play-brought-redemption-to-star-wars-mmo.shtml#c495 Mon, 20 May 2013 11:44:35 PDT http://www.techdirt.com/blog/casestudies/articles/20130508/06065623001/new-hope-how-going-free-to-play-brought-redemption-to-star-wars-mmo.shtml#c495 I don't think our friend Blue understands how important those 70% 'freeloaders' are for a f2p MMO (I'll give him a hint--MMO = massively MULTIPLAYER online). If only a very few are playing, the game becomes almost impossible to play because you can't find anyone to play with (almost all the content worth playing needs multiple people to experience it--especially endgame content and PvP). With every MMO I've played, the main reason I quit was the lack of decent people playing at the time of day I was playing it. Those 'freeloaders' are providing a service in the game by creating a large player base which makes the game more valuable to the ones who are willing and able to pay. This is why their revenue doubled. At the rate things were going, if they didn't go f2p the game would have been dead in a year (and it's kinda hard to get any profit from a dead MMO).

Even EvE, where every moment you spend in LowSec/NullSec you wish there were less people playing the game at that particular moment, wouldn't be awesome without the number of players it has.

The only reason EvE hasn't gone F2P is that there is still a bunch of folks willing to pay $35 for two months to play it (and considerably less considering you can pay in advance or with ISK.]]> http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130512/20494523050/bakersfield-ca-law-enforcement-follow-up-beating-possibly-intoxicated-man-to-death-seizing-witnesses-cell-phones.shtml#c495 Mon, 13 May 2013 13:10:50 PDT http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130512/20494523050/bakersfield-ca-law-enforcement-follow-up-beating-possibly-intoxicated-man-to-death-seizing-witnesses-cell-phones.shtml#c495 If they aren't already, then cops should be held accountable for every single bullet shot, every tazer cartidge.

It depends on the department policy. Most of the departments I am aware of (which is actually a very, very small sample,) require use of force forms for anything above talking/yelling. Use of a baton or physical force, less than lethal force, and lethal force all are required to be logged by the officer, and in some cases, may be investigated by detectives from internal affairs and/or independent third party reviewers (Police Oversight Committees, the DA, and lawyers.)

The problem is who they are accountable to...they may be required by policy to complete use of force forms, but those forms can disappear within the bureaucracy or may be tampered with, and they may just ignore policy and not file a use-of-force form if they think they will get away with it.

It is important to note that any use of force, even those called "non-lethal" (I wish they'd stop calling it that, because any use of force could be lethal. It is less than lethal, if used properly against a healthy individual, but there is always a chance, and sometimes a pretty high chance that any use of force may result in a death.) People have been known to have extreme reactions to pepper spray, and tazers could kill. And a baton against the head or chest is likely to severely injure or kill just like any other hard, blunt object. And even "choke holds" (carotid holds/arm-barred holds) can kill.]]> http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130507/12200522979/will-wright-says-simcity-launch-was-inexcusable.shtml#c459 Wed, 8 May 2013 10:49:29 PDT http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130507/12200522979/will-wright-says-simcity-launch-was-inexcusable.shtml#c459 Blizzard's fix was to not allow single player, which 100% got rid of that problem.

Got rid of Blizzard's problem...for the players, especially those who have spotty internet coverage...not so much.]]> http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130504/19001322948/timecnn-poll-shows-increasing-number-americans-wont-give-up-civil-liberties-to-fight-terrorism.shtml#c893 Mon, 6 May 2013 13:18:44 PDT http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130504/19001322948/timecnn-poll-shows-increasing-number-americans-wont-give-up-civil-liberties-to-fight-terrorism.shtml#c893 Because we're living in a Brave New World, not in 1984.

And me without my soma...]]> http://www.techdirt.com/blog/casestudies/articles/20130429/10230922882/hitchhikers-fan-site-started-douglas-adams-shows-why-authors-shouldnt-panic-over-derivative-works.shtml#c251 Wed, 1 May 2013 16:48:27 PDT http://www.techdirt.com/blog/casestudies/articles/20130429/10230922882/hitchhikers-fan-site-started-douglas-adams-shows-why-authors-shouldnt-panic-over-derivative-works.shtml#c251 Exactly. I love the fact there are six books in the trilogy...

Especially from an author who said in an interview with the BBC before his untimely death that he hated writing and would miss deadlines on purpose because he liked the sound they made when they whooshed by.]]> http://www.techdirt.com/blog/casestudies/articles/20130429/10230922882/hitchhikers-fan-site-started-douglas-adams-shows-why-authors-shouldnt-panic-over-derivative-works.shtml#c205 Wed, 1 May 2013 14:36:53 PDT http://www.techdirt.com/blog/casestudies/articles/20130429/10230922882/hitchhikers-fan-site-started-douglas-adams-shows-why-authors-shouldnt-panic-over-derivative-works.shtml#c205 We have a white towel signed by Douglas Adams. My husband, in Chicago for college in the mid 80's, went to a book signing and Adams was happy to oblige.

Now I am envious, all I have is a signed copy of Starship Titanic.]]> http://www.techdirt.com/blog/casestudies/articles/20130429/10230922882/hitchhikers-fan-site-started-douglas-adams-shows-why-authors-shouldnt-panic-over-derivative-works.shtml#c197 Wed, 1 May 2013 14:34:05 PDT http://www.techdirt.com/blog/casestudies/articles/20130429/10230922882/hitchhikers-fan-site-started-douglas-adams-shows-why-authors-shouldnt-panic-over-derivative-works.shtml#c197 I listened to the radio version, then watched the tv mini-series. I should have avoided the movie.

I read the books when I was in junior high, had a "borrowed" copy of the radio play from BBC (did I just admit to being a pirate?,) the original miniseries from the BBC on video, all six books in both paperback and hardcover (and now in e-book format,) as well as all of Adams other books.

I don't understand why people didn't like the movie. It wasn't at the same level as HHGTG, but it also wasn't written by Adams either. It had a lot of the original work, and a couple "new" things from Adams (the point of view gun was awesome Adams,) but for the most part it was written by an American who, like myself, missed a lot of the original English Comedy when we read the book (it took me five years to get the joke about moving little green pieces of paper around, and that wasn't particularly English humor.)

I enjoyed the movie, knowing full well it was called Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy but was really little more than a homage piece to Adams.

And Blue, there were five original books written by Adams for HHGTG, six if you include Mostly Harmless (which I do.)]]> http://www.techdirt.com/blog/casestudies/articles/20130424/16513222825/how-eas-silent-treatment-pushed-simcity-story-into-background.shtml#c699 Fri, 26 Apr 2013 12:57:41 PDT http://www.techdirt.com/blog/casestudies/articles/20130424/16513222825/how-eas-silent-treatment-pushed-simcity-story-into-background.shtml#c699 I would prefer 2.

Me too, but I've been yelled at before for doing 2, because 1 is faster?!? I seem to remember a teacher once telling me (back when I cared,) about how 1 was chosen as correct by MLA, only to have a judge in a court case come along and say that 2 was more correct because 1 added ambiguity to the sentence, as in two could be another name for one, etc..

I like 2, because, I love commas. See, Blue, this is how you properly derail a topic!]]> http://www.techdirt.com/blog/casestudies/articles/20130424/16513222825/how-eas-silent-treatment-pushed-simcity-story-into-background.shtml#c546 Fri, 26 Apr 2013 10:47:19 PDT http://www.techdirt.com/blog/casestudies/articles/20130424/16513222825/how-eas-silent-treatment-pushed-simcity-story-into-background.shtml#c546 One two three and four.

I said rarely necessary.

But riddle me this, Batman; which of the following is the most correct use of commas and why?

1. One, Two, Three and Four
2. One, Two, Three, and Four
3. One, Two, Three, and, Four

I suspect if you asked three different grammer nazis, you'd get three different answers.]]> http://www.techdirt.com/blog/casestudies/articles/20130424/16513222825/how-eas-silent-treatment-pushed-simcity-story-into-background.shtml#c360 Fri, 26 Apr 2013 08:50:27 PDT http://www.techdirt.com/blog/casestudies/articles/20130424/16513222825/how-eas-silent-treatment-pushed-simcity-story-into-background.shtml#c360 What did WC3 do wrong? The game wasn't loaded with DRM, you could play offline, you could play via LAN, it had great online support, was well-balanced, it was the best RTS I had ever played (and probably still is).

There isn't anything wrong with it. I still play it, though it does have DRM in the form of a CD key. BNETD was a server platform, coded by volunteers reverse engineering the BattleNet communications protocols that allowed anyone to set up a BattleNet like server to play Blizzard games. The user had to type a CD key on installing the game, but the game would play fine if the user didn't type in the key associated with their game (thus there were a lot of Serialz for the game.) Battlenet verified the CD key and allowed the user to play online. Since BNETD didn't have this functionality, people who didn't have a valid CD key were allowed to play on BNETD without issue.

In February 2002, Blizzard filed a DMCA request to take down BNETD because it violated Blizzard's sacred copyrights. They later sued BNETD, which BNETD lost. Nevermind it had perfectly legal uses, Blizzard shut down BNETD because it was in direct competition with their service and because it couldn't include the CD checking capabilities of their system. PVPGN replaces BNETD, and apparently Blizzard/Vivindi-Universal hasn't gone after PVPGN yet (probably because it supports their older games which they have already moved on from.)]]> http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130423/23502622814/us-marine-corp-provides-music-response-to-foia-request-warns-that-publishing-it-may-infringe-copyrights.shtml#c360 Fri, 26 Apr 2013 08:16:21 PDT http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130423/23502622814/us-marine-corp-provides-music-response-to-foia-request-warns-that-publishing-it-may-infringe-copyrights.shtml#c360 If you want to talk about waste, why does the Marine Corps have a band?

Tradition. There was a time where the bands were only military, as nobody could afford to have a non-military one.

And for the most part, they are cheap (beyond the initial investments,) as payroll isn't as huge as a professional musician (not that they aren't professional, the Navy enlisted MU is usually a college graduate, and they tend to be the highest educated enlisted personnel.) And Marine musicians, like every other Marine, is a rifleman first. But having them pay to give out their music to you for free is a little too much.]]> http://www.techdirt.com/blog/casestudies/articles/20130424/16513222825/how-eas-silent-treatment-pushed-simcity-story-into-background.shtml#c103 Fri, 26 Apr 2013 07:41:36 PDT http://www.techdirt.com/blog/casestudies/articles/20130424/16513222825/how-eas-silent-treatment-pushed-simcity-story-into-background.shtml#c103 Yes, you 14 year olds think it's vital, but most have gone on to the fun of playing.

I'm nearly 3 times that age, Blue, and yet I am still interested in it.

PS: missing comma, should be "tweeted me, out of the blue." I'z famous, ya know.

Nope. You can put a comma in there, but it isn't necessary. Commas show "breaths" in written language and are rarely necessary. They certainly aren't necessary at the end of a sentence, because the reader will take a breath at the period anyway. As someone who likes commas, I wouldn't have even used one there.

Not everything is about you blue. Actually, nothing is about you. Get some help, your delusions of grandeur are showing.]]> http://www.techdirt.com/blog/casestudies/articles/20130424/16513222825/how-eas-silent-treatment-pushed-simcity-story-into-background.shtml#c74 Fri, 26 Apr 2013 07:31:36 PDT http://www.techdirt.com/blog/casestudies/articles/20130424/16513222825/how-eas-silent-treatment-pushed-simcity-story-into-background.shtml#c74 As for me, I didn't buy DIII

I was a very big fan of everything Blizzard until Vivindi-Universal bought them. Warcraft III and BNETD destroyed them in my eyes, and I discontinued purchasing anything from Blizzard. No Diablo III, no World of Warcraft (and that was probably the best decision ever, given my history with EvE.) Someone came along with a perfect tool for those who wanted to play Blizzard games with their friends, and the company trounced on them because they bypassed DRM (for the record, everyone who played on the BNETD server with me bought their copies when they were released, and some of us multiple times.) I've never even had an urge to pick up DIII off the discount bin.

EA has completely destroyed the Command & Conquer series with DRM. I bought C&C Patriots, which wouldn't install because I had the wrong CDROM drive. The only way I could play it was to download the nocd crack and break the game I legally purchased. Then came C&C3, which I bought, and had the same problems with. The game would play for a while, then I'd get to one level where everything would blow up before the game started. Found out that was a DRM feature, but unlike Patriots, they wanted you to get into the game before it would happen, so you'd go out and buy the game. I had already bought the game, so I downloaded the nocd crack, and voila, game worked fine.

At some point, EA lost me in their DRM battle. I now buy all my games from GoG (and sometimes steam, when I know that it is only Steam DRM I am purchasing.)

What will be interesting is when all this is said and done, how many people did what I did with DIII? How many people would have bought SimCity 5, but chose not to because of EA? I was interested in SimCity 5, as I have 1-4, but the moment I heard DRM and always-on, I wanted nothing to do with it. How many "lost sales" did they lose by being douches?]]> http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20101110/19012411804/dailydirt-exercise-right-way.shtml#c67 Thu, 25 Apr 2013 18:21:35 PDT http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20101110/19012411804/dailydirt-exercise-right-way.shtml#c67 All this advise is bollocks with the sole goal of making money.

Exactly. Of course, the best take-home advice in all of this is to get out there and be active. Sitting in front of the TV and the computer is what is killing us.]]> http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130423/23502622814/us-marine-corp-provides-music-response-to-foia-request-warns-that-publishing-it-may-infringe-copyrights.shtml#c306 Thu, 25 Apr 2013 16:25:31 PDT http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130423/23502622814/us-marine-corp-provides-music-response-to-foia-request-warns-that-publishing-it-may-infringe-copyrights.shtml#c306 Yes, but the Marine Corp. has the clout and money to get people to negotiate with them. That option is wide open for them, although they still can't offer the work as true public domain material.

Why does the Marine Corps, which should be spending money frugally on stuff they need to remain the best in the world militarily, have to spend their money to distribute copyrighted material to the citizens for free? Quite frankly, as a taxpayer, I am quite appalled at the suggestion. The military should spend its money doing what it is mandated to do, and stop wasting it on pet projects.

If they could, through influence, get the copyright owner to release it for free, then fine. But them paying so that the public gets it for free, the GAO audit on that one would be frightening.

Nope, the best way to handle this was the way they handled it...comply with the FOIA, with the caveat that publishing it may infringe on copyrights.

The better way to solve this would be to tackle copyright instead of throwing more money at something they aren't even mandated to do in the first place. Why someone should get imaginary rights to someone elses' work needs to be fixed. If I pay you for a hammer, I don't have to keep paying you each time I hit a nail. The composer already got their pay when the Marine Corps licensed the music, and thus should be free to distribute the results of their labor. If I copy your work, fine...(though I'd prefer we figured out a better way of you getting paid,) but if I take your work on paper and transform it into vibrations of air molecules due to my skill and effort, why should you get paid again if I want to distribute that work?]]> http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130423/23502622814/us-marine-corp-provides-music-response-to-foia-request-warns-that-publishing-it-may-infringe-copyrights.shtml#c200 Thu, 25 Apr 2013 12:03:03 PDT http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130423/23502622814/us-marine-corp-provides-music-response-to-foia-request-warns-that-publishing-it-may-infringe-copyrights.shtml#c200 Or get permission from the rights holders - much easier for the Marine Corp. to get than for Muckrock.

They already got permission, most likely, to use the music. The problem is that their license to use the music is not transferable.

I play for a community band, and we routinely get licenses from composers to play their music for free. We don't receive money for our performance of their work. On most of the music sheets, it says that a license is granted to perform the work, so long as no profits are received from the performance.

However, we've tried to record the performances on multiple occasions, to put online on YouTube or make the audio available, and every time, we've run into a brick wall. The license is only for performing it for free, not making the recordings of the performance available.

I suspect the Marine Corps would run into the same situation if it went to license for Muckrock and others.]]> http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130417/18394522749/when-corruption-fails-hollywood-has-turned-off-critical-thinking-functions-many-democrats.shtml#c682 Wed, 24 Apr 2013 17:39:48 PDT http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130417/18394522749/when-corruption-fails-hollywood-has-turned-off-critical-thinking-functions-many-democrats.shtml#c682 That's interesting because you can't prohibit them from getting a job after they go out of office. I wonder if you could add a moratorium of, say, a decade for sectors of the industry affected positively by their proposed bills?

I don't know why not, it already exists for government employees (not working directly for the politicians.) If you are in some fields, mainly working with contracts or selection positions, you are forbidden from taking a job for 3 years at a company you directly worked with. (18 USC 207)

What is funny is that the only government employees not affected by 18 USC 207 are those who work for the politicians that write the rules.]]> http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130410/12051322665/copyright-lobotomy-how-intellectual-property-makes-us-pretend-to-be-stupid.shtml#c674 Tue, 23 Apr 2013 10:44:12 PDT http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130410/12051322665/copyright-lobotomy-how-intellectual-property-makes-us-pretend-to-be-stupid.shtml#c674 "Used" MP3s don't refer at all to the data - they refer to *the right to use the data*, the license to the recording.

Rikuo says it all, but this one part irks me to no end. Copyright doesn't protect the right to use something, but the right to copy something.

In a traditional sense, with books, music, etc., copyright wasn't used to prevent someone from accessing a work, but to prevent them from copying that work. Sure, with music, copyright prevented someone from taking the music and reproducing it with an instrument, but it didn't prevent them from reading the music, or listening to the music.

It is only recently that copyright maximalists have increased the copyright law to include usage of a work, but that is their ultimate goal, isn't it, to become a tax agent, collecting money for existing without providing any sort of benefit to society.]]>