mjb5406 's Techdirt Comments

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  • On the post: As ISPs Look To Charge Per Byte… How Accurate Are Their Meters?

    mjb5406 ( profile ), 12 Jan, 2010 @ 09:44pm

    And Who Will Be the Arbitrator?

    Unfortunately, complaining about incorrect metered usage will be much like the French "Three Strikes" law... guilty before being proved innocent. No ISP, for example Comcast, will hold off on suspending a user if they exceed their caps. Even today, Comcast, with their so-called 250GB limit, provides no means for a customer to prove that the ISP's measurement is wrong. ISPs will certainly not be altruistic; if they smell a buck, they'll do what it takes to grab it.

  • On the post: Don't Celebrate Michael Jordan's Accomplishments, Or He Might Sue You For Trademark Infringement

    mjb5406 ( profile ), 22 Dec, 2009 @ 02:47pm

    Gotta Pay for that Messy Divorce

    Yep... MJ, like his successor scumbucket Tiger, felt the need to use his celebrity to sleep aroun, and, like Tiger, was caught. Juanita got the kids and upwards of $50 million (and more than likely far more)... so, MJ, now that he is in the "sunset" of his life, needs to make up for that financial loss by this suit. Other retailers have done it, too... retailers much larger than Dominick's (Safeway) and Jewel (SuperValu), so I guess he figures he's got a better chance going after a smaller target.

    What's next? Time to count from 1 to 30...
    1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20,21, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30
    He'll copyright the number XXIII so you can't use it anymore.

  • On the post: HTC Sends Cease & Desist To Developer Who Made Similar Android Widgets

    mjb5406 ( profile ), 22 Dec, 2009 @ 10:12am

    Re:

    Has anyobe ever looked up the definition of the word "Eris"? It's either a genre of jumping spider, or the name of the Greek goddess of strife. Excellent name for a phone!

  • On the post: Woman Arrested For Filming Snippets Of 'New Moon' May Sue Theater

    mjb5406 ( profile ), 14 Dec, 2009 @ 07:47am

    Re: Re:

    Nobody ever said whether she was held at the Rosemont police lockup or in Cook County Jail. I doubt if it was the county facility. As for the 48 hour statute, it goes by state, but Illinois does have a 48 hour-without-being-charged statute.

  • On the post: Woman Arrested For Filming Snippets Of 'New Moon' May Sue Theater

    mjb5406 ( profile ), 14 Dec, 2009 @ 07:42am

    Re: "she was contemplating legal action against the theater."

    Oh yes, because the theater was totally justifie in arresting her TO GET THE REWARD MONEY FROM THE MPAA. You are either an MPAA employee or are in their pocket.

  • On the post: Woman Arrested For Filming Snippets Of 'New Moon' May Sue Theater

    mjb5406 ( profile ), 14 Dec, 2009 @ 07:40am

    Re: Re:

    I disagree... listen to them, then believe the exact opposite. It's a great way to determine the truth.

  • On the post: Director Of New Moon Says Jailing Of Girl For Snippets Of Video Of His Movie Is 'Terribly Unfair'

    mjb5406 ( profile ), 11 Dec, 2009 @ 08:32am

    Re: Re: I emailed Muvico to tell them I was gonna boycott them. Got this bland statement back:

    The title may just be a smokescreen to over her ass (I assume it's a female that responded).

  • On the post: Director Of New Moon Says Jailing Of Girl For Snippets Of Video Of His Movie Is 'Terribly Unfair'

    mjb5406 ( profile ), 11 Dec, 2009 @ 08:31am

    Common Sense Prevails!

    The case ws thrown out in court today in Rolling Meadows, IL. According to the defendant's attorney, it seems that the MPAA is offering a reward to theaters for having such "heinous criminals" arrested, so that explains the overzealous theater chain. Movico got itself a whole bunch of bad publicity, and now pribably a civil suit to boot, since the woman spent 2 nights in jail and at least $3,500 to defend herself.

  • On the post: Director Of New Moon Says Jailing Of Girl For Snippets Of Video Of His Movie Is 'Terribly Unfair'

    mjb5406 ( profile ), 10 Dec, 2009 @ 10:58am

    Another act of civil disobedience?

    Maybe we could organize a large group of people (maybe 100 or so) to march into the theater and brandish their cell phones, taking video clips of the movies there... then see how many cops show up to haul us to jail. The Rosemont Police don't have a force that big, and the police they do have are specialists in handling traffic, not something like this.

  • On the post: Director Of New Moon Says Jailing Of Girl For Snippets Of Video Of His Movie Is 'Terribly Unfair'

    mjb5406 ( profile ), 10 Dec, 2009 @ 10:56am

    Re: I emailed Muvico to tell them I was gonna boycott them. Got this bland statement back:

    Notice that they lay the blame squarely on the MPAA... and never acknowledge that they have any responsibility.

    At least you got a response. I emailed them and it was ignored. Maybe it's time we set up pickets outside their theater.

  • On the post: Director Of New Moon Says Jailing Of Girl For Snippets Of Video Of His Movie Is 'Terribly Unfair'

    mjb5406 ( profile ), 10 Dec, 2009 @ 10:54am

    Yep... good ol Rosemont Illinois... and the Movico theater acted like the rest of the thugs in that suburb of Chicago. Someone should shove a sie 13 boot up the theater manager's behind... of course, he's probably on the "unofficial" city payroll.

  • On the post: Woman Sues Sprint Over Driving While Yakking Death

    mjb5406 ( profile ), 08 Dec, 2009 @ 06:31pm

    Like they say...

    Cell phones don't kill people.. people kill people.

  • On the post: Woman Filming Parts Of Sister's Birthday Party At Theater, Charged With Felony Movie Copying

    mjb5406 ( profile ), 04 Dec, 2009 @ 08:56am

    Lessee... Rosemont... Small Movie Chain...

    Must be Movico! That's about the only small theater chain I'm aware of with a location in Rosemont, where the son of the late Donald Stephens (former mayor) runs the city with an iron fist, esconcing fairness to all (NOT). Although never proven, Stephens (the dead one) supposedly was "connected". I've dealt with Rosemont Police; the only thing they seem to do is abuse people and direct traffic at Allstate Arena. I'm sure the politics in Rosemont have a lot to do with the arrest.

  • On the post: There's An Apology For That: AT&T Dismisses Its Pointless Lawsuit Against Verizon Over Ads

    mjb5406 ( profile ), 02 Dec, 2009 @ 09:26pm

    Funny how that works...

    Right after Comsuer Reports says AT&T came in dead last in customer satisfaction, they drop their lawsuit. Almost like "oops... we don't need any more bad publicity than we already have"!

  • On the post: Funny How Those In Favor Of ACTA Are Against Treaty Providing More Access To Content For Vision Impaired

    mjb5406 ( profile ), 25 Nov, 2009 @ 06:17pm

    Discriminatory?

    As someone with low vision due to diabetic retinopathy, it pains me to see thngs like this... however, it's not surprising, especially in light of organizations like The Authors Guild who pushed Amazon to restrit the Text-To-Speech capabilities in the latest Kindles sp an author can determine whether their work can be spoken or not. I'm not a cruel person, but things like this make me want to believe in karma, wanting the people who write such discriminatory policies to themselves be stricken with disabilities too.

  • On the post: iPhone App Developer Backlash Growing

    mjb5406 ( profile ), 20 Nov, 2009 @ 05:37pm

    Pissing Contest

    Wow... this sure has turned into a pissing contest between some posters... and, as such, it's become a personal vendetta for some. The facts are (a) yes, you can ONLY develop for the iPhone/iPod Touch on OS X, although there are now tools other than Xcode to allow this (they still are OS X based); (b) I don't defend Apple's high hardware prices, but I run a 24" iMac because, quite franklyk I'm legally blind and I can run it easier than a Windows machine; conversely, as has been proven in the courts, Apple has the right to restrict running OS X to their own hardware, so if the current Xcode version "breaks" a Hackintosh machine, remember that when software, especially an OS, is hacked there are NO guarantees; (c) until and unless there are references showing how factual that 85% figure is, it's difficult to believe that 85% of iPhone developers are using Hackintoshes. You could just as easily have said 25% or 90%, but without the facts, the numbers are useless; (d) developer's greatest complaint (even the experienced professional developers) is that, once submitted, their apps go into a black hole and thei won't know for months at a time whether it will be approved. For smaller developers, that time can be make or break; if they invest in advertising and Apple rejects the app, they're screwed. All developers want is an open, transparent approval process, not one clothed in secrecy like ACTA; (e) Android Market is in its infancy; their process is far more open, and allows the user community to determine whether an app remains in the Market, after Google does automated testing to insure the app doesn't compromise the phone or the network.

    Time to stop the namecalling. That's not what Techdirt is for.

  • On the post: iPhone App Developer Backlash Growing

    mjb5406 ( profile ), 20 Nov, 2009 @ 05:24pm

    Re: TechCrunch reports GameLoft pulling out of Android Development.

    Their rationale is totally stupid, claiming that Android Market isn't "good enough". Neither was Apple's when it started and, before that, the ONLY apps you could install on the iPhone (and they really weren't native apps) were web based. Steve Jobs never wanted anyone writing native iPhone apps.

  • On the post: iPhone App Developer Backlash Growing

    mjb5406 ( profile ), 20 Nov, 2009 @ 05:19pm

    Re: Please correct title...

    Do you have any facts to support your 85% figure, or is it simply something you pulled out a hat? When established developers fault Apple directly and don't lay blame on "unexperienced developers" it seems as though they know that Apple's approval process is broken. If you bother to read the reports about the apps that are not approved, mot o them are written by experienced people, have good user interfaces and in no way compromise the integrity of either the iPhone or the AT&T network; they are rejected for ridiculous reasons like "you depict politicians with characatures and we find that offensive".

  • On the post: Essayist Writes Popular Essay… Then Sends 'Non-Negotiable' Invoice To Church Who Posts It Online

    mjb5406 ( profile ), 19 Nov, 2009 @ 11:20am

    Her site is inredible...

    "Meanwhile, if you are thinking of using my essay, don’t. And if you have already used my essay, contact me or my agent to discuss the matter."

    As if anyone who has "used" the essay will now sheepishly fess up to their "crime".

  • On the post: Poet's Son Says No One Can Quote Father Without Paying Up… Even Academic Dissertations…

    mjb5406 ( profile ), 17 Nov, 2009 @ 03:59pm

    There once was a son of Zukofsky...

    Well, I can't think of a word that rhymes with Zukofsky, especially one that is a synonym for "douchebag".

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