Michael Becker 's Techdirt Comments

Latest Comments (38) comment rss

  • On the post: Publisher Angry Robot Bundles Free Ebook With Physical Copies And Triples Sales

    Michael Becker ( profile ), 20 Aug, 2012 @ 02:03pm

    Sure works for movies too, bought Hunger Games blu-ray this weekend cause Amazon gave me an On-Demand version as well so I could watch it that way before it shipped. Normally the digital version is 15 bucks, the blu-ray was 20 with digital bundled. Got me to spend money I probably wouldn't have if I had to choose between them.

  • On the post: Famous Prankster 'The Internet' Hijacks Another Promotional Campaign

    Michael Becker ( profile ), 15 Aug, 2012 @ 09:52am

    Re: Ploy?

    "Mtn" is actually the current spelling in the Mountain Dew logo, so he's using it the same way PepsiCo does.

  • On the post: Twitter Finally Reinstates Journalist's Twitter Account, But Questions Raised Over Its Actions

    Michael Becker ( profile ), 31 Jul, 2012 @ 02:15pm

    Re:

    Maybe cause you hide behind AC and are always abusive and off topic? That could be it.

  • On the post: Author Strips Naked To Protest Book Piracy; Probably Works As Well As Anything Else

    Michael Becker ( profile ), 23 Jul, 2012 @ 08:26am

    I think this stops piracy in the same way naked girls stop people from eating meat.

  • On the post: Hipmunk Raises Money… And Is Immediately Threatened By Patent Troll

    Michael Becker ( profile ), 10 Jul, 2012 @ 12:03pm

    startups

    I honestly don't understand why anyone would do a web startup in the US with our current software patent model in place. Seems to me you are better off setting up all your software overseas

  • On the post: Japan Criminalizes Unauthorized Downloads, Making DVD Backups — And Maybe Watching YouTube

    Michael Becker ( profile ), 25 Jun, 2012 @ 01:12pm

    Re: Re:

    I know the feeling. Between Netflix and My backlog of games on my shelf, pirating anything seems like too much effort.

  • On the post: Japan Criminalizes Unauthorized Downloads, Making DVD Backups — And Maybe Watching YouTube

    Michael Becker ( profile ), 25 Jun, 2012 @ 11:00am

    Re: Re:

    Oh yeah, I was just using MP3 as an easy example of something pervasive that the public can easily recognize.

  • On the post: Japan Criminalizes Unauthorized Downloads, Making DVD Backups — And Maybe Watching YouTube

    Michael Becker ( profile ), 25 Jun, 2012 @ 10:20am

    "illegal to sell a device that enables playback of the copied data"

    Wouldn't that make nearly every major device manufactured by tech companies illegal in Japan, as most have mp3 playback capability? Also, how are they going to determine on the device between purchased DRM free mp3's, and illegal mp3's?

    This would make most every phone illegal, the DSi and 3DS illegal, PS3's, Xbox's, Wii's...all of it.
    That's insane.

  • On the post: Google's Fiber Makes MPAA Skittish. Why Does Hollywood See All Technology In Terms Of Piracy?

    Michael Becker ( profile ), 03 May, 2012 @ 08:20am

    Re:

    Dude, they've been voicing their concerns about Piracy for 100 years, and they've been proven wrong EVERY. SINGLE. TIME.

    Hard to look at a track record like that and join their side. Especially when they make the simplest of things difficult.

    For example, I wanted to watch X-Men First Class this weekend. Did you know I couldn't legally purchase or rent it from ANY online service? You know who had it? Torrents.

    There is a fundamental failure in the MPAA to understand that you can't live in the past, things change, and you Adapt or Die. People aren't gonna turn off their internet connection just cause Warner or Paramount might not make quite as many millions this year.

    These studios are perfectly capable of providing awesome services we'd gladly pay for, but first they have to actually offer them. We've shown them how many many times, but they keep sticking their heads in the sand. You can only try and help someone so many times before you have to acknowledge that they must be willfully choosing to destroy themselves.

  • On the post: How Can You Be Register Of Copyrights If You Don't Even Understand Copyright's Most Basic Purpose?

    Michael Becker ( profile ), 05 Apr, 2012 @ 08:29am

    Re: Copyright clause

    Article I, Section 8, Clause 8 of the United States Constitution, known as the Copyright Clause, empowers the United States Congress:
    To promote the Progress of Science and useful Arts, by securing for limited Times to Authors and Inventors the exclusive Right to their respective Writings and Discoveries.


    If you're not promoting science and useful arts, and securing copyrights for LIMITED times, then copyright is in violation of this clause. Its actually pretty clear.

  • On the post: How The RIAA & MPAA Are Like The Anti-Innovation German Weavers' Guild Of The 16th Century

    Michael Becker ( profile ), 02 Apr, 2012 @ 09:16am

    Re: laws

    If 90% of the people are breaking specific laws on a daily basis, and feel no remorse about doing so, are the laws actually serving a purpose? Or are they simply there to enable specific people to maintain an artificial power base.

    Government and law are setup at the behest of the governed, and if they do not believe what they are doing is a crime, no amount of "punishment" and "enforcement" will stop people from doing it.

    To share is human, and to share our culture is something we have done for thousands of years, but the MPAA/RIAA want to a price on our culture, demanding payment at every look or sound.

  • On the post: Is Comcast Thumbing Its Nose At FCC's Open Internet Rules By Exempting Xbox VOD From Data Cap?

    Michael Becker ( profile ), 28 Mar, 2012 @ 08:25am

    Re: Re:

    I've been wondering the same thing. I finally got the app to work last night after hearing it was how HBO GO content could be accessed by Comcast subscribers. Of course they were wrong, so this app offers nothing, and we still can't use HBO GO.

  • On the post: Is Comcast Thumbing Its Nose At FCC's Open Internet Rules By Exempting Xbox VOD From Data Cap?

    Michael Becker ( profile ), 28 Mar, 2012 @ 08:23am

    Re: I'm at my limit now

    I see you live in Seattle too? I've been getting tired of hearing Microsoft and Xbox touting how great this service and HBO GO are when the Xfinity app doesn't offer anything not already on your cable box, and the HBO GO app doesn't even work. I can't believe they released the HBO GO app and it doesn't work with the nations largest ISP. THAT is some scamming crap right there, since y'know they advertise it and we pay for it.

  • On the post: What Exactly Makes A Pop-Up Mall A Pop-Up Mall? On Second Thought, Who Cares?

    Michael Becker ( profile ), 31 Oct, 2011 @ 02:12pm

    prior art

    I'm pretty sure William Gibson wrote about structures like these in some of his books dating back to the 80's, so isn't that prior art? :)

  • On the post: The Non-Existent 'Cyber War' Is Nothing More Than A Push For More Government Control

    Michael Becker ( profile ), 28 Oct, 2011 @ 11:52am

    escalation

    The other issue with making everything a "WAR", is that the gov itself causes the escalation of their "enemy" from non-violent to violent. When the previously non-violent are assaulted by SWAT teams in their homes, you can bet more people will become armed.

    Case in point is all of the "violence" in the Occupy protests has been instigated by the Police, not the people. When they step up the violence, the normal response to that violence is more violence.

  • On the post: Microsoft's $844 Million Software Giveaway To Nonprofits: Pure Charity Or Cheap Marketing?

    Michael Becker ( profile ), 07 Oct, 2011 @ 09:13am

    Lock in

    To be fair, nearly ANY software produces lock-in of some sort. If Apple had done this, they'd be locked in to using Apple products, if Red Hat had done it, they'd be locked in to linux. No one truly plays well with others. I've actually had the most luck moving MS Office doc's between systems than any other type.

  • On the post: Fox Decides To Drive Fans To Piracy, Rather Than Giving Legitimate Options

    Michael Becker ( profile ), 27 Jul, 2011 @ 09:02am

    @RexNexus I understand Fox needs to make money, but I've been using a free trial of Hulu+ for a bit now, and the issue with that service is the complete inconsistency of its offering. If I sit down to watch Hulu Plus on my Xbox, I should be able to watch it, not get hit with all kinds of restrictions on which shows I can watch on xbox, which I have to watch on the web, which ones have a month delay, which are a week, which are a day.

    But pretending that Hulu Plus is equal to the convenience of piracy is a dream land. Believe me, I WANT Hulu Plus to succeed, anything to get away from paying 100 bucks a month for cable tv, I cut that cord a long time ago. But locking up your content then pretending we should pay for ad supported shows doesn't make sense when you don't make it easier to use than piracy.

    Sorry I ranted :)

  • On the post: Lies, Damned Lies And Facebook Evidence Get FBI Involved In Divorced Couple's Spat

    Michael Becker ( profile ), 10 Jun, 2011 @ 09:45am

    Somebody buy this man a pizza. Slow-clap all around.