tracker1 's Techdirt Comments

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  • On the post: Debate Club: Should Police Need A Warrant To Get Your Location From Your Mobile Phone Provider?

    tracker1 ( profile ), 26 Jun, 2012 @ 12:16pm

    Just like an IP...

    A phone is not a person... That said, I agree that a warrant should be necessary to even obtain said information.

  • On the post: Is Lobbying Closer To Bribery… Or Extortion?

    tracker1 ( profile ), 10 Apr, 2012 @ 09:52am

    Re: Re:

    Or in the 2004 elections where "MoveOn.org" reps posed as voting aids with lists of democrat voters turned away those "not on the list" at voting locations. (Happened at my voting district, and several were arrested)

  • On the post: Arizona Internet Censorship Bill So Ridiculous, Even The MPAA And RIAA Are Against It

    tracker1 ( profile ), 03 Apr, 2012 @ 12:19pm

    Are microphones, and cameras electronic devices?

    If a public speaker (congressional rep) within the state says something over a mic+speaker (electronic device), that annoys me, or is intended to annoy me or anyone else.. can I then sue? Can they be charged?

  • On the post: Elected Officials Get An Average 1,452% Salary Increase When They Take A Lobbying Job

    tracker1 ( profile ), 16 Mar, 2012 @ 01:15pm

    Just a thought...

    A law limiting the amount of salary + options a former congressman can draw from a company they own less than 25% of to four times their congressional salary upon leaving...

    Of course, then they would start consulting companies, and simply make 100% of their profits as an owner of a lobbying consultation company.

  • On the post: No, Saying Musicians Must 'Add Value' Does Not Mean Music Has No Value

    tracker1 ( profile ), 16 Mar, 2012 @ 01:02pm

    Creating more space for nearly nothing.

    On the same note, the hotel doesn't get to quadruple capacity for near zero cost, and an airline does not either... if either of these were the case, and a hotel chain could simply TARDIS up some extra rooms for almost nothing, you bet people would probably expect nearly free rooms.



    There is nothing artificially scarce about the number of rooms in a hotel, or seats on a plane... If a flight is nearly empty, airlines will often consolidate flights to save expenses, and hotels will very often drop their rates during off seasons, or ofter more exceptional breaks when they have shortages for the current night.



    It costs a few cents (literally less than 10) to distribute a song on iTunes. But they complain that the cost is too low, and their cut isn't high enough. Apple earns $0.30 using their dime's worth of infrastructure... The studios get $0.70 (minus about $0.12 if they pay the royalties as a sale like they're supposed to), for no extra work. But they still complain.



    iTunes absolutely shows you can compete with free. Music piracy has dropped through the floor, and made Apple one of the largest companies on the planet all from offering a product at reasonable rates (to most). You will never eliminate piracy, and you will never satisfy everyone. They key is allowing for a market balance with the lowest possible total expense, and the highest possible total profit. iTunes does that.. suing MegaUpload, and other sites does not. SOPA/PIPA/PPA/etc do nothing towards competing or making money... all they will do is raise the burden on the public as a whole (government regulation, enforcement, etc cost money). I think that studios/corporations should have to pay "property taxes" for intellectual property.

  • On the post: Former Yahoo Employee Regrets How Yahoo Patented His Work

    tracker1 ( profile ), 15 Mar, 2012 @ 01:57pm

    The world.

    The rest of the world is going in the same direction. Just look at Britain, the EU, Australia and other countries. China's IP system is even more messed up in a lot of ways. If you think it's *just* the USA, you're not paying attention.

  • On the post: Former Yahoo Employee Regrets How Yahoo Patented His Work

    tracker1 ( profile ), 15 Mar, 2012 @ 01:55pm

    I always strike out that line...

    Whenever I sign an employment contract, I strike out that line... generally without issue, and state that work for hire on company time, on premises is the company's, and will sign that, but never "all works" or similar wording.

  • On the post: Whatever Copyrights Righthaven Might Actually Have Owned Now Transferred To Receiver For Auction

    tracker1 ( profile ), 14 Mar, 2012 @ 09:07am

    righthaven.com

    I think I'd almost have been willing to spend the $3k USD on the domain name just to redirect it to the pirate bay.

  • On the post: Valve's Comprehensive Strategy Shows How To Go From Fee To Free… And Increase Revenue Twelve-fold

    tracker1 ( profile ), 13 Mar, 2012 @ 01:52pm

    Original Team Fortress...

    The original Team Fortress plugin for Quake 1 was free. TF/TF2/TFC were add-ons to other games as incentive to buy. It wasn't an audience that was gained through only heavy marketing. Valve gained a lot of its' following by understanding the community they serve and offering competative products that work well. Like Apple did with iTunes... A lot of games on Steam just work, and do so well. The problem children are the "A" title games that have their own DRM on top of the steam requirement.

  • On the post: Guess What? Copying Still Isn't Stealing

    tracker1 ( profile ), 13 Mar, 2012 @ 01:18pm

    In the case of the painting..

    With the painting, you have the original (Master) that was paid for... beyond that, the CD you got was itself a copy, not the original (with original rights).



    Beyond this, in some countries, artists are asserting rights over original works that were sold... I don't think it's right, just pointing out the difference.

  • On the post: Disrupting the Disruptors: Peer-to-Peer Car Sharing Service Launches Nationally

    tracker1 ( profile ), 07 Mar, 2012 @ 07:21am

    For large companies...

    I have a friend who is in Sr. Mgt for a fortune 100 corporation. One of their strategies for disruptive technology is to use the legal system to bury said entity under lawsuits until said entity dies in bankruptcy.

    I have very little faith in our government and legal system so long as this is a reasonable strategy. I am fairly certain that his company isn't alone in this.

  • On the post: Can A Company Be An 'Author' For The Purpose Of Copyright?

    tracker1 ( profile ), 07 Mar, 2012 @ 07:15am

    It's very simple...

    A corporation creates nothing... A person, or people, do.

    I do not understand the concept of corporate owned copyrights... Perpetual exclusive license to distribute assigned to a company, but not ownership. To that effect, work for hire should default to the person/company who paid for said work to have assumed to have such a license, unless otherwise stated via contract.

    I'm tired of corporate person-hood, so long as any company/industry is considered "too big to let fail." or fall, or die. The rules for a non-living entity should emphatically not be the same as a person.

  • On the post: Only Hollywood Would Think That This 'Disc To Digital' Program Makes Sense

    tracker1 ( profile ), 06 Mar, 2012 @ 01:47pm

    original mp3.com

    Ask the nice guys who started mp3.com and did just that, then were sued (and lost) into oblivion.

  • On the post: Band Tells Fans To Boycott Its Albums, Saying Its Label Doesn't Pay

    tracker1 ( profile ), 05 Mar, 2012 @ 03:00pm

    I like it.

    I'd say years 0-5 are $0 + registration (if so chosen) fees (registration still costs)... then the doubling scale you mention. After 10 years without registration, or payment, the "property" (work) becomes public domain.

  • On the post: Do The Differences Between Software Piracy And Media Piracy Matter?

    tracker1 ( profile ), 29 Feb, 2012 @ 03:13pm

    Work around

    No, they'll simply spin off the lowest end of the company, then pay that company a flat "service fee" where they pay their employees less.

  • On the post: Chris Dodd Extends SOPA 'Olive Branch' To Silicon Valley… And Proceeds To Bash Them Over The Head With It

    tracker1 ( profile ), 23 Feb, 2012 @ 01:12pm

    s/french/internet/

    I think that it's really a lot like a war with the content industry. I have an Amazon Prime account, and pay for Netflix streaming as well... I'd gladly pay $50/month to access any content over a year old, when I want to access it. I'm not willing to pay $200+ a month for another hundred channels of content I mostly care nothing about, with none of the conveniences of streaming.

  • On the post: How New Internet Spying Laws Will Actually ENABLE Stalkers, Spammers, Phishers And, Yes, Pedophiles & Terrorists

    tracker1 ( profile ), 23 Feb, 2012 @ 12:10pm

    An IP is *NOT* a person...

    It could be someone parked outside your house, or across the street using your wifi. Especially if you have kids (a lot of handheld game systems use WEP which is easily cracked).

    For the most part, it's of very little to try to log more than what IP at a given time was assigned to which account...

  • On the post: Do You Need Permission To Take A Photo With A Chair In It? You Might In France…

    tracker1 ( profile ), 23 Feb, 2012 @ 11:38am

    There/their

    Government enforced standards on public education...

  • On the post: Congrats, US Government: You're Scaring Web Businesses Into Moving Out Of The US

    tracker1 ( profile ), 17 Feb, 2012 @ 05:50pm

    Considering my exit strategy now...

    My GF and I are considering moving out of the US after she completes her doctorate work. (about a year and a half) and are actively looking at candidate countries to move to. Hopefully emigration from the US doesn't become too much of an issue.

  • On the post: Always A Gatekeeper: RIAA Backs .music Proposal… If It's Only Limited To 'Accredited' Musicians

    tracker1 ( profile ), 10 Feb, 2012 @ 11:31am

    Same fate as .museum

    I remember when .museum was added as a TLD, and thinking to myself that a more generic .art would have been much better. But hey, what do I know.

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