Anshar 's Techdirt Comments

Latest Comments (72) comment rss

  • On the post: Sonos Backs Off Plan To Brick Older, Still Functioning Speakers

    Anshar ( profile ), 15 Mar, 2020 @ 07:11am

    I Disagree With The Final Conclusion…

    I like the article and I think Sonos's plan to walk back the recycle mode requirement for the discount is a good one but…

    This is NOT an example of "you don't own what you bought". It's not like Sonos remotely deactivated these devices when they went out of support or shut down a mandatory phone home server. Sonos offered customers something of value (a 30% discount) if they voluntarily put their devices in recycle mode. At least as I understand it from the article, they didn't force anyone to brick their speakers; they offered them a deal.

    Personally, I don't think it was a good deal and if I were a Sonos customer, I wouldn't have taken it even if I were planning to upgrade. I'd prefer to keep the old one around and repurpose it in another room. But that would still be my choice.

  • On the post: Game Studio's Plan To Deal With Critic Of Games: Sue Him To Hell

    Anshar ( profile ), 12 Apr, 2016 @ 07:19pm

    Just because I'm feel pedantic…

    $2.26M + $4.3M + $5M = $11.56M not $10.76M.
    Just sayin'


    Digital Homicide claims Sterling, whose real name is James Stanton, has "falsely accused [Digital Homicide] and caused damage" to the company. According to court documents, the company is asking for $2.26 million in direct product damage; $4.3 million in emotional, reputational, and financial distress; and $5 million in punitive damage requests. That adds up to $10.76 million, and it's nothing to scoff at.

  • On the post: Turkish President Comes To The US, Pretends That It Can Silence And Attack The Press Like It Does At Home

    Anshar ( profile ), 01 Apr, 2016 @ 07:19am

    A Different Angle

    As face-palm-inducing as the Turkish President's behaviour might be, this story actually made me smile. It's nice to read a story where the police are doing a good job and playing the good-guys for a change. Gives me hope that all the bad behaviour we keep reading about is about is due to a few bad apples getting all the attention.

  • On the post: Penis Pump Company Threatens To Report Techdirt To Interpol Because We Wrote About Its Bogus DMCA Demands

    Anshar ( profile ), 24 Feb, 2016 @ 12:16pm

    They Must Be Serious…

    They're threatening to remove Techdirt from BOTH Yahoo!s.

    "If you fail to do so, our Legal Department will:
    Remove your company’s visibility in GOOGLE, Yahoo and/or other search engines, such as Yahoo! or Bing, via DMCA notices."


    Emphasis mine.

  • On the post: Sting Operation Shows How Full Of Crap Health Journals Are When It Comes To Dietary Studies

    Anshar ( profile ), 29 May, 2015 @ 10:11pm

    Good article. I love hearing about people getting busted for sleeping on the job.

    That said, Timothy please, for the sake of readability look up and embrace the word 'fewer'. Please?

    "if your study was testing for less factors or had a higher sample size. It's simple: people are different and testing less people"

  • On the post: Throwback Thursday: Eat'n Park Still Suing Over Smiley Face Cookies After All This Time

    Anshar ( profile ), 29 May, 2015 @ 05:13am

    Registered Hero?

    "Maybe it's time someone do a cookie with an "R" encircled by the treat, huh?"

    Wait… would that be for "Registered Trademark" or "Robin, the Boy Wonder"?

  • On the post: Proud Voters Tweeting In The UK Could Receive Jail Time And A Fine

    Anshar ( profile ), 24 May, 2014 @ 10:56am

    In Canada?

    ? we have a similar law. Part of the purpose of the law is prevent the *outcome* in some ridings from influencing others. Because we have 6 time zones, voters in the west are still casting ballots while voters in the east have already elected their representatives. Our law is (in part) meant to prevent western voters from saying to themselves "oh, it looks like party X is going to win so I'll vote for them (or against them or not vote at all.)"

  • On the post: Italian Officials Claim American Gun Ad Featuring Michelangelo's David Is 'Illegal'

    Anshar ( profile ), 11 Mar, 2014 @ 07:30am

    Time

    ?the ad itself is over a year old?
    Just want to point out that May 15, 2013 to March 11, 2014 is less than one year, not "over a year".

  • On the post: Cell Phone Manufacturers Offer Carefully Worded Denials To Question Of Whether NSA Can Track Powered-Down Cell Phones

    Anshar ( profile ), 13 Nov, 2013 @ 07:03am

    There's an old-fashioned solution?

    Manufacturers could go back to a hardware power switch that physically disconnects the power supply from the rest of the device. A small charging circuit on the battery side of the switch could still allow it to be charged while off. It could even be a secondary power switch for users who wish to be 100% certain their phone is truly powered down.

  • On the post: Bestselling Author Of Children's Books Accuses Public Libraries Of Stealing His Paychecks

    Anshar ( profile ), 19 Feb, 2013 @ 07:03am

    150 Years? Really?

    Somebody should let this guy in on a little secret: Libraries have been around in one form or another for thousands of years. They long pre-date the printing press to say nothing of the book industry.

  • On the post: Matthew Inman Takes Photos Of $211,223 In Cash To Send To FunnyJunk & Charles Carreon

    Anshar ( profile ), 10 Jul, 2012 @ 06:21am

    Confusion

    "I will admit to being a bit confused about one key thing. Inman had originally promised that the photo and the drawing were to be sent to FunnyJunk."

    Insofar as Carreon represents Funkyjunk, it would be logical to send the promised photo and drawing to him. Once someone retains legal counsel it is appropriate to communicate through that counsel.

  • On the post: Canada Has Hidden Microphones In Airports Recording Conversations

    Anshar ( profile ), 20 Jun, 2012 @ 07:17am

    Here's a thought.

    What is the difference between listening to audio of a conversation and watching one on video if the people are signing?

  • On the post: Canada Has Hidden Microphones In Airports Recording Conversations

    Anshar ( profile ), 20 Jun, 2012 @ 04:40am

    Did You Know...

    that all modern surveillance cameras have audio capability? I installed over two dozen inexpensive security cameras at the plant at which I work a couple of years ago and every single one has a condenser microphone in it and a jack for an external mic.
    In the firmware setup of each camera I had to explicitly turn the audio recording off because it was on be default. I'll bet that the $500,000 spent "upgrading video equipment to also include audio capturing" was just a bunch of external microphones.
    As a Canadian myself, I'm glad that our Privacy Commissioner put the brakes on this practice but I don't think it will last long.

  • On the post: Kellogg Settles Toucan Trademark Dispute With Mayan Archaeology Group

    Anshar ( profile ), 21 Nov, 2011 @ 08:02am

    Re: Re: D.S.D.D.

    I disagree.
    I think a pat on the back is definitely in order here. Not many people (let alone large, multinational corporations) are willing to stand down when they're wrong. Kellogg did just that and even took it further than was strictly necessary. Not only did they drop the issue they're actually contributing to MAI's project.

    I also think a pat on the back is in order for MAI. They were in the right and stood their ground against what must have seemed like overwhelming odds.

    Kudos all around.

  • On the post: Company Sues Ex-Employee Because He Kept His Personal Twitter Account & Followers

    Anshar ( profile ), 11 Nov, 2011 @ 04:46pm

    If the password is a trade secret...

    would he be off the hook if he changed it?

  • On the post: Canadian Officials Censoring Scientists Whose Results They Don't Like

    Anshar ( profile ), 28 Jul, 2011 @ 06:00pm

    Canadian Government

    Sadly, this is par for the course with the current government.
    Our Prime Minister has? control issues and always has.
    Our current government is ideologically driven and if the facts don't fit their ideas, the facts are swept under the rug, ignored or not collected in the first place.
    It's only going to get worse now that they have a majority in the House of Commons.

    http://www.desmogblog.com/bringing-climate-censorship-home-to-canada

    http://www.thestar.com/news/canada/article/863468

  • On the post: Is Figuring Out A Slot Machine Software Glitch & Making Money From It A Crime?

    Anshar ( profile ), 07 Jan, 2011 @ 07:34am

    On The Other Hand?

    100% bug-free software is almost impossible to achieve. If liability for relatively minor bugs becomes precedent I expect there would be a wide-spread chill among programmers (major, egregious bugs are a different matter). I for one would think twice before releasing anything.

  • On the post: Feel Like Being A Neighborhood Snitch? There's An App For That!

    Anshar ( profile ), 20 Dec, 2010 @ 12:30pm

    In Capitalist America...

    ...app spys on you?
    I wonder how long before the news gets out that while people are using this app to report on others, it's secretly reporting on them.

    Yeah, I'm a cynic and a tiny bit paranoid. But then, I've always found irony to be the best way to predict the future.

  • On the post: Guy Building A Working (Yes, Working) Computer Inside A Video Game

    Anshar ( profile ), 29 Sep, 2010 @ 12:59pm

    Virtualization at its finest! :)

  • On the post: Is It Legal For Mobile Operators To Ban Text Messages They Don't Like?

    Anshar ( profile ), 20 Sep, 2010 @ 02:32pm

    It seems to me...

    That providers can either choose to block content they don't like -OR- they can choose to be immune from prosecution for illegal uses of their network by its users. I don't see how they can make a case for both.

Next >>