mjb5406 's Techdirt Comments

Latest Comments (217)

• On the post: Don't Mess With Texas… Or, Well, Don't Use That Slogan As A Book Title Or Texas Will Sue

  

  mjb5406 ( profile ), 29 Aug, 2011 @ 10:21am

  Sex Doesn't Exist

  Well, considering their governor, Rick Perry, is in denial about so many things that have been proven in nature, it wouldn't surprise me that the whole concept of "sex" is foreign to the state government there.

• On the post: AT&T Jumps Into The Metered Broadband Pool; 150 Gig Limit For DSL

  

  mjb5406 ( profile ), 14 Mar, 2011 @ 08:22am

  Well, at least it's not how Comcast does it...

  The AT&T U-Verse cap is identical to Comcast's High Speed Internet cap (350GB/month) with one important exception... at least AT&T has an "overage" charge. I think I'd be a bit more willing to accept that than Comcast's policy... they disconnect your service if you do it more than once. No overage charges... you're just gone. I know Techdirt and other tech sites complained about that when Comcast implemented it some time ago, but since then, not s lot has been said. Now that AT&T is following suit, maybe there will be more attention paid to the situation.

• On the post: Humane Association Trademarked 'No Animals Were Harmed'; Threatens King's Speech With Infringement Claim

  

  mjb5406 ( profile ), 07 Feb, 2011 @ 01:02pm

  All in the phrasing?

  Wouldn't it be a simple task to use different wording that had the same meaning, like "There was no harm to animals during the creation of this film" or "We harmed no animals when we made this film"? I doubt the AHA wants to trademark every variation.
  
  Or maybe a logo with "Kill Animals" in bold type wih the red "No" symbol (red circle and diagonal line) through it.

• On the post: Apple The Latest To Convict Wikileaks Despite No Charges Or Trial; Kills Wikileaks App For Violating Unnamed Laws

  

  mjb5406 ( profile ), 21 Dec, 2010 @ 01:17pm

  Then they better remove their "App of the Year"

  The FlipBoard app, the 2010 App of the Year, allows you to view WikiLeaks. Based on Apple's draconian (that is, head up the ass) policies, they should remove it, too.

• On the post: Yogi Bear Alternative Ending Creates A 'Squiffy' Fair Use Question

  

  mjb5406 ( profile ), 14 Dec, 2010 @ 12:49pm

  Doesn't Everyone Know...

  DMCA stands for Don't Mess with Comic(book) Actors.
  
  Studios are not known for their sense of humor, so I'm betting that this will get the old take-down notice, regardless of whether it's fair use or not. As far as the studios are concerned, it's better to act first, then forget about apologizing later.

• On the post: Companies Come Out Of The Woodwork To Claim Comcast Is Violating Net Neutrality… But Exaggerations Abound

  

  mjb5406 ( profile ), 30 Nov, 2010 @ 01:59am

  Is that the real reason?

  Even more of a basic issue: Is Comcast seeing Netflix's streaming service as a threat to its own cable service (with its OnDemand services), and sees this as an opportunity to force higher costs on the content provider and, ultimately, the consumer in an attempt to stifle the "cord cutters"? Will their next step be to lower the monthly cap (now set at 250GB) and stop metering usage to Comcast-controlled sites (like xfinity.com) so people can stream from Comcast but hit the cap when streaming from other sites (i.e. Netflix, Hulu, etc.)? Comcast is not known for its consumer-friendly attitude when it comes to its profits... they have the sweetness-and-nice commercials but if anything threatens their subscriber numbers, or the services their subscribers pay to use, the fangs are bared.

• On the post: Botched TSA Pat Down Leaves Traveler Covered In Urine

  

  mjb5406 ( profile ), 23 Nov, 2010 @ 08:14am

  Original Story...

  According to the original story, TSA agents did NOT break the bag, they broke the seal that attached the urostomy bag's tubing to his body. Same end result, however... I doubt a pat-down would break a plastic bag, but certainly it could break a seal. I wear an insulin pump that has a similar (smaller) tube attached to me with an adhesive seal, and I can see how an aggressive pat-down could pull the seal off. It's ridiculous.

• On the post: Botched TSA Pat Down Leaves Traveler Covered In Urine

  

  mjb5406 ( profile ), 23 Nov, 2010 @ 08:10am

  Re:

  I said the very same thing several times... the thing is, Pistole is the one who brings this up all the time. His logic is ridiculous. As you pointed out, the would-be bomber's flight originated in Amsterdam, a bit outside of US jurisdiction.

• On the post: Once Again, Security Company Suggests Microsoft Making Its Own Software Secure Is An Antitrust Violation

  

  mjb5406 ( profile ), 12 Nov, 2010 @ 10:46am

  Re: Mike, I have to disagree, this is an antitrust violation

  You're kidding, right? They "intentionnally [sic] don't fix it and push their antivirus solution"? Nowe, if Microsoft (a) Prevented other AV solutions from working and (b) if they CHARGED for MSE, that argument may have a shred of validity, but MSE is free... there are plenty of people out there who don't want a do-all, end-all security suite, so they opt for the free software. And, by the way, is AVG or Panda ALSO guilty of antitrust, since they, too, provide free solutions (AVG Free and Panda Cloud Antivirus)? Anybody? Anybody? Buehler?

• On the post: If Only Newspapers Put As Much Effort Into Correcting Errors That Didn't Involve Captain Kirk & Captain Picard

  

  mjb5406 ( profile ), 09 Nov, 2010 @ 09:41pm

  Re: Uhh, I believe the preferred nomenclature is Trekkie - errr...

  True Trek fans take great offense at being called Trekkies... it's associated with things like Shatner's "Get a Life" speech to the Star Trek convention as seen on SNL. "Trekker" is the accepted, respectful, term.
  
  The concept has been going on for decades... it deserves respect!

• On the post: If Only Newspapers Put As Much Effort Into Correcting Errors That Didn't Involve Captain Kirk & Captain Picard

  

  mjb5406 ( profile ), 09 Nov, 2010 @ 09:35pm

  Re: nerd check

  Don't forget the NX-2000, also known as the USS Excelsior, Excelsior Class, with the transwarp drive that Scotty sabotaged.

• On the post: If Only Newspapers Put As Much Effort Into Correcting Errors That Didn't Involve Captain Kirk & Captain Picard

  

  mjb5406 ( profile ), 09 Nov, 2010 @ 02:42pm

  Actually...

  The NCC-1701 and NCC-1701-A were Kirk's ships.
  The NCC-1701-B was under the command of Captain John Harriman.
  The NCC-1701-C was under command of Capt. Rachel Garrett.
  The NCC-1701-D and NCC-1701-E were under Picard's command.

• On the post: Now That Apple Has A Trademark On 'There's An App For That,' Will It Sue Sesame Street?

  

  mjb5406 ( profile ), 05 Nov, 2010 @ 09:27am

  Apple Overreach

  First, if the trademark is for the phrase "there's an app for that", any variation isn't covered, so "there's a map for that" is probably safe. Sesame Street is parody, so is covered by fair use.
  
  "There's an app for that" consists of 5 common words strung together in a particular way; if I say "There is an application for that", there is no infringement, just like "I found an app for that". Likewise, I doubt if you can get sued for "Google has an app for that"... it would be different if Apple trademarked "an app for that", which would ostensibly cover the variations.
  
  Did they trademark "Think Different"?

• On the post: Man Claims Trademark On 'Goats On A Roof'

  

  mjb5406 ( profile ), 20 Sep, 2010 @ 08:41am

  Is this cruelty?

  There are pics of the goats on the roof on Flikr... no fencing around the roof to prevent them from falling off and getting injured or killed. Is this animal cruelty? Let's get PETA involved!

• On the post: Texas Attorney General 'Investigating' Google, With Little Basis In Reality

  

  mjb5406 ( profile ), 07 Sep, 2010 @ 06:45am

  What Does Anyone Expect?

  This is Texas... I think the term "altered reality" got it start there. You have a governor who wants to secede from the US, a school board who changed history in the textbooks because they disliked what they read... what do you expect?

• On the post: Judge Considering Innocent Infringement Provision For Cat Blogger Sued By Righthaven

  

  mjb5406 ( profile ), 30 Aug, 2010 @ 07:01am

  Clueless

  And these newspaper fogies wonder why the printed newspaper industry is in the toilet?

• On the post: Facebook Sues Teachbook Over Trademark Concerns; Where's Legalbook?

  

  mjb5406 ( profile ), 26 Aug, 2010 @ 01:28pm

  So...`

  does this now mean that students will be carrying textcollectionofpgesboundtogetherintoavolume?

• On the post: Legal Threat Demands We Shut Down Techdirt

  

  mjb5406 ( profile ), 26 Aug, 2010 @ 01:26pm

  Look at the bright side...

  Your site COULD have been named Techbook and Mark Zuckerburg could be breathing down your throat. All you have to deal with now is a bunch of powdered-wigged solicitors with bad teeth.

• On the post: Best Buy Threatens Priest Over His God Squad Parody; How Does God Feel About Trademark Law?

  

  mjb5406 ( profile ), 17 Aug, 2010 @ 11:16am

  Not the First

  Does this mean Best Buy should be sued by the creators of The Mod Squad? Certainly, "God Squad" sounds far closer to "Mod Squad" than to "Geek Squad".
  
  Guess sales at Best Buy must be on the decline since they now resort to ridiculous lawsuits.

• On the post: Maryland Judge Declares Pontiac G8 GT's Factory Taillights Illegal; Tells Car Owner To Get A Different Car [Updated: Or Maybe Not…]

  

  mjb5406 ( profile ), 20 Jul, 2010 @ 08:19am

  Re: Re: Ha!

  So, you are saying, in essence, that a car manufacturer should be able to make 50 different versions of every part of every car to appease the laws of 50 different states? So if your state requires yellow stoplights and green backup lights that's OK?
  
  Give me a break.

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