Craig 's Techdirt Comments

Latest Comments (60) comment rss

  • On the post: TiVo's 'Big Win' Over Dish On Patents Looking Less And Less Solid, As Patent Office Rejects Patent Claims

    Craig ( profile ), 08 Jun, 2010 @ 08:31pm

    Possible solution to all this garbage litigation

    1. Fire all lawyers save one. You'll need basic legal advice, after all.
    2. Use the money savings to hire engineers, artists, writers, thinkers, inventors et cetera and build awesome products and services that people clamor to consume.

    In a system that was designed and built by lawyers, is it any wonder that we see corporations chasing their own tails? Not unlike the banking industry, it's the insiders and those who are demonspawn of those institutions that make all the money.

    They have created the ultimate money machines -- and we pay the bills.

  • On the post: Amazon Looking To Patent One-Nod Ordering?

    Craig ( profile ), 07 Jun, 2010 @ 05:51pm

    Give me a break

    Interesting that Amazon is able to ignore the traditional auction market, where the auctioneer and roamers scan the gathered crowd for a nod or a wink or similar. When is someone going to patent breathing? Maybe I should look into that. If any of you TechDirt Insiders want in on this, just send me a note and we'll hire a lawyer and get frakkin' rich on the licensing. Remember, you don't OWN breathing, we are simply going to license it to you. We can, and will, change the terms of the license at our discretion, with or without prior notice. Void where prohibited by common sense. No cash value, except to the frakkin' lawyers who will get paid to run this through the red tape. I wonder if I can patent patenting a patent? Anyone? Anyone?

  • On the post: India Gearing Up To Fight ACTA; Seeking Other, Like-Minded, Countries

    Craig ( profile ), 03 Jun, 2010 @ 08:49pm

    India FTW

    Are there any like-minded countries out there? Canada isn't one of them...our government just rides the shirttails of the coconuts south of the 49th in terms of laws and policies.

    India++

  • On the post: Canadian DMCA Introduced; Digital Lock Provision Trumps Any And All User Rights

    Craig ( profile ), 02 Jun, 2010 @ 06:56pm

    Raise the Jolly Roger, eh?

    I guess I'm now officially a criminal in the Great White North now. Beauty.

    Fuck it, gimme a beer, turn on the Stanley Cup playoffs and let's watch Don Cherry pontificate about the best sport in the world.

    Go Chicago!

  • On the post: Four Years In, How Successful Has Hollywood's Attack On The Pirate Bay Been?

    Craig ( profile ), 01 Jun, 2010 @ 06:59pm

    OMFG

    Anon Cow is right! Why, file sharing is not only like dealing crack, it's even worse than that! It's gay marriage and child porn, too! Disgusting!

    It's a damn good thing that the big media conglomerates didn't just do something intelligent, like develop new business models and methods of distribution that didn't punish people who are actually willing to pay for things that sate their wants and needs.

    No sir, innovation is akin to snorting the Devil's dandruff, it is.

    ...meanwhile, at the Big Movies Inc., board meeting...

    "Hang those fucking pirates from the yardarm! Walk the plank, and prepare to meet Davey in his eternally damned locker! Let's keelhaul ev'ry one o' them!" yells the CEO.

    "No, wait, let's just make products that people want to pay for and not piss them off in the process!" counters the savvy junior executive.

    Laughter fills the room, and WHOOOSH - THUD! the junior exec's head rolls across the boardroom table. The CEO sheaths his sword, and sneers "Any more o' you landlubbers want to cross blades with ME?"

    Silence.

    "That's what I thought."

  • On the post: Canadian Industry Minister Admits He Breaks Copyright Law Frequently

    Craig ( profile ), 28 May, 2010 @ 02:09pm

    Proud to be Canadian...

    ...but it's sad when this kind of bullcrap shows up. The people who are currently in power are very ignorant of how the internet works, and they are also very friendly to corporations and lobbyists. Our Prime Minister runs the show...not his cabinet, nor his caucus. He's the boss. Do as I say or GTFO, not unlike the government in the province of BC and its Premiere.

    Add to that the fact that we have very little competition amongst the telcos/cable/internet/satellite providers -- who lobby hard in Ottawa to a friendly PM, resulting in a populace that is getting kicked in the collective nuts. We have very little innovation because of the monopolies. We have very high prices for the same reason. You'd think that there would be an organization in place to ensure the public is consulted and has a voice in all of this. Well, we have a watchdog organization like the FCC in the US called the CRTC. It's a watchdog, to be sure, if by 'watchdog' you mean a toothless chihuahua yipping at a pack of rottweilers.

    And this is the sickest part -- what do we Canucks do about this? Well, we bitch a lot, but most of us just keep paying the prices and do nothing to force those in charge to not ignore what the people want and actually come up with laws that make sense in the modern world.

    And sometimes we wonder why other countries pat us on the head like the cute little neighbour kid next door. Give us a cookie and a smack on the butt and send us home. Bah. When are we going to wake up and do something?

  • On the post: And We're Off: Hurt Locker Files First 5,000 Lawsuits Against File Sharers

    Craig ( profile ), 28 May, 2010 @ 11:34am

    Good movie

    I highly recommend the movie...it's really good, and I didn't even see it in a theatre. Go, get the movie...now! You won't regret it.

  • On the post: Pentagon: If You Don't Let The US Gov't Spy On Your Network, You Place American Lives At Risk

    Craig ( profile ), 28 May, 2010 @ 09:57am

    Re: No critical systems ?

    Then we should protect those systems, but why would we have to open the entire network so Big Brother can watch everything we do?

    Oh, wait, I forgot, "if you're not with us, then you're against us", right?

    Give up your freedom to your government, rather than the terrists, because the terrists will just watch everything you do and you'll have no freedom. "If you aren't doing anything wrong, then you've got nothing to hide."

    The biggest issue is that most people won't educate themselves about this stuff and it will make its way through congresses and parliaments and what have you around the world with barely a whimper of protest from the common man. In other words, even if the terrists lose, they win, because either way, some schmuck with a cybersecurity mega-contract is more worried about making money than about personal rights and freedoms.

    While we're at it, why don't we just install CCTV cameras at ever corner and have a webcam or two feeding live pictures of our homes? Hey, we're not doing anything wrong, so we should mind anybody watching us, right?

  • On the post: Canadian Writers Guild Wants 'You Must Be A Criminal' Tax On Both Distribution And Storage Of Content

    Craig ( profile ), 07 May, 2010 @ 12:16pm

    Re: Canada

    You tried, but we beat your asses back to DC and burned down the Whitehouse. 'nuff said.

  • On the post: CwF + RtB = Techdirt

    Craig ( profile ), 06 May, 2010 @ 02:02pm

    So is this experiment still in process?

    Apparently you talk the talk, but are not walking the walk. I decided to check out CwF+RtB, and like Griff's comment above, I notice that you have connected with me, and given me a reason to buy, but I can't, because you don't have what I want because everything is sold out.

    (CwF+RtB)/Sold Out = SFA (sweet fcuk all).

  • On the post: Can Oprah Do What Driving-While-Yakking Laws Can't?

    Craig ( profile ), 05 May, 2010 @ 04:45pm

    Re: A pledge that's not worth the air it's breathed out with.

    "...you have no control over *receiving* calls..."

    I call bullshit! You have ABSOLUTE control...it's called "The Power Button".

  • On the post: Avatar Blu-Ray Customers Not Enjoying Their DRM-Crippled Discs

    Craig ( profile ), 27 Apr, 2010 @ 03:07am

    Idiot comments

    WTF do you mean by "...wait[ing] for the old people to die off."?

    My parents are old-timers, and both are very computer literate and they also have a Blu-Ray DVD player, which, they've learned the hard way, has been basically crippled by DRM bullshit. Personally, I will never buy another DVD. I don't need the "don't steal a movie" finger-wagging when I JUST FINISHED BUYING THE FRAKKING DVD, nor do I want to sit through ten minutes of Disney ads where they copyright stories that are, in fact, public domain.

    I am convinced more and more that people are just plain stupid. Too many years of TV dumbing us down, I suppose.

  • On the post: Bono: We Should Use China's Censorship As An Example Of How To Stop Piracy

    Craig ( profile ), 04 Jan, 2010 @ 03:09pm

    Re: This is the same Bono

    Could someone provide a credible link for this? I'm drowning in the hypocrisy and would like to share the experience.

  • On the post: Bono: We Should Use China's Censorship As An Example Of How To Stop Piracy

    Craig ( profile ), 04 Jan, 2010 @ 03:08pm

    RE:How About This

    I think that's a damn good idea.

  • On the post: How Automakers Abuse Intellectual Property Laws To Force You To Pay More For Repairs

    Craig ( profile ), 29 Dec, 2009 @ 12:37pm

    New car key cost

    Amen to that, a-dub. I had to replace a key for my Chrysler car, and the "regular" key was C$68, while the one that had the remote for door locks, trunk, and panic button was around C$300. Imagine my surprise when my C$68 key was over C$130 when I picked it up! The key was 68 and "programming it" was another 65! WTF??

    C$130 to start up my car. If I use it to unlock the car, the alarm goes off.

  • On the post: Canadian DMCA Introduced (Finally); Pretends US Lobbyists Had Nothing To Do With It

    Craig ( profile ), 12 Jun, 2008 @ 11:39am

    Canadian "copyright"

    I hope that people will realize that this legislation came from a government that, at least in this instance, ignored ordinary Canadians.

    We hate this bill, period. It proves how out of touch the government is regarding how media are consumed. I did my part and wrote a letter to my Member of Parliament to complain. I hope that many more Canadians will do the same.

    Just look at the CBC.CA website and the number of comments this news article is getting. People are PISSED.

    Keep the pressure on folks, it's the only way to succeed!

  • On the post: Canadian DMCA Introduced (Finally); Pretends US Lobbyists Had Nothing To Do With It

    Craig ( profile ), 12 Jun, 2008 @ 11:35am

    Canadian "copyright"

  • On the post: CIOs Need To Learn To Enable, Not Lock Down, Technology

    Craig ( profile ), 25 Apr, 2008 @ 07:55am

    Tough to find the middle ground

    I have been on the IT side and now I'm on the tech side of my job. I feel extremely limited by our corporate lock-down structure. I also know that when IT people view users as "Lusers" there is friction. Only a small percentage of people, very small percentage, in fact, would mindlessly click links and get into trouble.

    For me, the bottom line is this -- people will live up to, or even DOWN to, your expectations.

    Somewhere there has to be a point where IT gets to do their job effectively and efficiently and myself as a user is not shackled by not having the most effective tools.

    I'm not sure what EH talks about when s/he says "government has to move first". Government itself has this very same problem internally like any other company.

    I believe that the key is in establishing a corporate culture of mutual respect where the value of IT is recognized and appreciated, and IT stops viewing its clients as a bunch of click-happy Neanderthals.

    There is a way to solve this, we just need to move away from the anecdotal water cooler talk and get down to business and work on a solution.

  • On the post: Wal-Mart Can't Decide If The Web Is A Lawsuit Target Or A Marketing Opportunity

    Craig ( profile ), 21 Nov, 2007 @ 08:42am

    Why refuse to do business?

    I understand your point about BFAds being simultaneously spanked and stroked by Wal-Mart, but why should they refuse to do business with them because of this? Without the controversy, I would have never heard about BFAds! This kind of thing is a publicists' wet dream! Free advertising for both, and probably a marked increase in traffic to BFAds as a result!

    Hmm...maybe Wal-Mart and BFAds actually staged this whole thing...

  • On the post: Presidential Candidates Asked If They've Stopped Beating Their Wives With Weak Copyright Laws

    Craig ( profile ), 21 Nov, 2007 @ 08:19am

    Re: why stop at intellectual property?

    Steve,
    Your point is well taken, however asserted rights over something physical is not mired in conceptual debate. Real property can be legally defined by universally accepted methods.

    You cannot assign that same definition to concepts. When is an idea totally unique? Each day a person or company grabs onto a concept that may have been pioneered by someone else and goes with it. Let's take the MP3 player. How many varieties of those exist? You couldn't count them,but the players themselves are physical and therefore one can easily assert ownership. However, how do you define the ownership of using a device to store and play the MP3s? Somebody "stole" the idea of storing digital files when they conceived of an MP3 player? I don't think so.

    Instead of media corporations fighting to control how you get that MP3 and play it on your device of choice, they should be figuring out how to entice you to load their content. They are biting the hands that have over-fed them for years because they have been in a position of absolute power over us as consumers.

    You spoke of feudalism and the divine right of kings; an apt description of the entertainment industry, sir! The internet has become the modern Magna Carta and now society is struggling with defining new standards for ownership, just as society did so many centuries ago when the document was first tabled. The trouble here, is that the "kings" of today (MPAA, RIAA et al.) are not signing the document, rather they are using their wealth and influence to fight this all the way. It's a modern-day version of the English civil war, but I can tell you it will be the commoners like me that will win the war, even if individual battles are lost along the way.