another mike 's Techdirt Comments

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  • On the post: Yet Another Study Shows Txting Improves Kids' Spelling

    another mike ( profile ), 22 Jan, 2010 @ 10:50am

    Re: Re: I text loads

    YOUR WRONG! Your the one missing apostrophe's. Its really very simple. Theirs nothing too it. But the affect of you're bad grammer shows they're are ...

    And now I'm laughing too hard to keep going, sorry.

  • On the post: Patents Being Used To Keep Starving Children From Getting Therapeutic Food Paste

    another mike ( profile ), 19 Jan, 2010 @ 12:03pm

    Re: Frakin' A

    Um, prior art? I've got some if anyone wants it. According to Wikipedia, Mercury and Gemini crews were forced to endure freeze-dried powders and goop from a tube. Even in 1975, the Russians were serving borscht in a tube. It wasn't until Skylab that astronauts started getting TV dinner tray style dining.
    Tubes of energy-rich paste have been common amongst campers and the outdoor set for years due to their low weight, high energy density, and easy clean-up.

  • On the post: A Look At The Data Center That Crunched Avatar

    another mike ( profile ), 05 Jan, 2010 @ 02:39pm

    Re: Both

    Some directors, you just know how the movie will go in terms of special effects. When Michael Bay announces his next project, it's time to invest in dynamite futures because that market is going to explode (no pun).

    I've just seen the previews for the remake of Clash of the Titans. Now that's going to be an interesting one. I'm not sure I'd've been brave enough to pit modern CGI special effects against Ray Harryhousen's stop-motion animation. Not to mention the story. I mean, it's a remake; you're really limited in how much you can deviate from the original. They have a huge hurdle to leap and it's a long drop if they don't clear it.

  • On the post: Do Robots Need A Section 230-Style Safe Harbor?

    another mike ( profile ), 21 Dec, 2009 @ 09:56pm

    Re: the three laws

    There is only one logical solution to ensure all three laws remain in effect. Asimov wasn't writing guidebooks; he was writing warnings.

    Anyway, I'm not the only "hobby robotics guy" out there pushing the envelope for what machines can do. Just because it's not under military contract, don't assume it's not a very capable machine.

  • On the post: No, Sending Spam Text Messages Is Not The Same As Hacking Someone's Phone

    another mike ( profile ), 16 Dec, 2009 @ 12:23pm

    Re:

    This. Getting spammed may have legal remedies, you just need to know which law to use.

    TCPA also covers mobile customers that still pay per message received or get charged airtime to download a message.

  • On the post: Jury Says Fictional Character Can Be Libelous

    another mike ( profile ), 24 Nov, 2009 @ 04:37pm

    Re: Re:

    How about this for leveraging the Streisand Effect?

    "Hey, hey, hey. Check it. I'm gonna (let you finish) write this story and you drum up all kinds of noise pretending you're pissed about how this one character is like you, but is bad so everyone will think you're bad too. Yeah, yeah, and then you pretend to sue me and we'll get our names in the news and people will buy my book to read about your character. It'll be rightous!"

    That's what I think is really going on.

  • On the post: Comparing File Sharing To Payola: Could Have Had That Promotion For Free

    another mike ( profile ), 24 Nov, 2009 @ 04:23pm

    free is only bad if you're not getting it

    Copyright "piracy" is the result of your fans reaching you despite your best efforts to drive them away. There are always "piracy-proof" business models available for the companies that want to stay in business.

  • On the post: More ACTA Details Leak: It's An Entertainment Industry Wishlist

    another mike ( profile ), 03 Nov, 2009 @ 04:20pm

    this needs to be tested

    I really wonder how well these new "kick your best fans offline" laws would hold up in a court fight.
    Like if your ISP's terms of service aren't aligned with these new laws, but the copyright industry gets your connection cut anyway, can you sue your ISP for breaking their TOS? Tort law, breach of contract, right?
    Even with that alignment, they're cutting your connection based on an accusation, not conviction. I don't know how much risk an ISP is willing to take on in that arena.
    Besides, isn't breaking their business model, er, copyright infringement mostly just a civil issue?
    IANAL so I'm not sure how all that would play out.

  • On the post: EU Parliament Pressured By France, Removes Clause That Bans Kicking People Off The Internet

    another mike ( profile ), 26 Oct, 2009 @ 03:15pm

    never work

    It may get some to stop file sharing, but it won't make them buy.
    It won't even get them to stop file sharing for long. Soon as they get a new service provider they'll be right back at it as if nothing had happened. Actually, it will be worse.
    Before, they were infringing as an un-monetized customer. Just a neutrally-aligned under-served market. After restoring connectivity, they will be stealing content out of spite. Now your potential customer base is actively subverting you.

  • On the post: Dear Hollywood: Don't Be Idiots; Don't Delay Movie Rentals

    another mike ( profile ), 26 Oct, 2009 @ 01:19pm

    Re: Windows between windows

    I like that delay. It's like a filter. If you still remember the movie by the time it's out on DVD then it was good and worth buying the disc.

  • On the post: Rebecca Mayes Connects With Fans By Singing About Video Games

    another mike ( profile ), 14 Oct, 2009 @ 12:12pm

    Re: really?

    i hadn't heard of her before. now i have. i went and listened to some of her music and it's better than half of the label-backed inane dreck that's spewed over the airwaves, so she's got that going for her.

  • On the post: Unemployed? Blogging? Don't Put Ads On Your Site Or You Might Lose Your Unemployment Check

    another mike ( profile ), 13 Oct, 2009 @ 04:54pm

    Re: Re:

    Virginia should be able to handle a resident who works in a different state. Imagine, for example, an Alexandrian commuting across the river to Bethesda, MD, every day.
    It's the District and the Greater DC Metro region. I'm sure they have something in place for this sort of work situation. A state resident working for an out-of-state employer; it can't be the first time they've seen this.

  • On the post: The AP and News Corp DEMAND To Be Paid For Their Content

    another mike ( profile ), 13 Oct, 2009 @ 04:35pm

    rtb wtf

    For those of you who may be wondering, "getting around the pay wall" is not a Reason to Buy.
    Truncated stories, inability to comment, and more ads for non-paying visitors are likewise not reasons to upgrade from anonymous coward membership. Those are reasons to just go away and find a news source that doesn't abuse its customers.
    I'm looking squarely at my local paper the Sierra Vista Herald, who just went through an ill-advised "we're afraid of the internet" re-org. They didn't just shoot themselves in the foot, they emptied the whole damn mag!

  • On the post: Forget Piracy Or Boxee… Could Netflix Take Down Cable?

    another mike ( profile ), 13 Oct, 2009 @ 01:42pm

    add one to the no cable tv column

    I dropped my TV service when Cox botched a roll-out last spring. At first my "TV" viewing went down. To exactly 3/4 what it was before; without commercials my shows are only 45 minutes long. But Hulu and Netflix make it so easy to discover and watch new material, now I watch more TV then I did when I actually had a TV.

    Just wish they'd get their targeted advertising a bit more accurate. Or make those Summer's Eve commercials more explicit.

  • On the post: No, The Music Industry Outlook Isn't Grim… Just For Selling Recorded Music

    another mike ( profile ), 13 Oct, 2009 @ 01:30pm

    play us out, keyboard cat

    So long as people can carry a tune in a bucket, the music industry is doing just fine. If you think your job is to sell little plastic discs, you're in the recording industry and you're boned.

    I hooked a thin client up to my stereo as a head unit to stream internet radio. Soma.fm, Digitally Imported, whatever the kids are listening to these days.

  • On the post: Guy Uploads Book To Google, Selects Wrong Option… Sues Google For Infringement

    another mike ( profile ), 13 Oct, 2009 @ 01:17pm

    not a concern

    If his book is written anything like that lawsuit filing, I don't think he has to worry about infringement.

  • On the post: Protecting Copyright Often Seems To Fly In The Face Of Good Business

    another mike ( profile ), 07 Oct, 2009 @ 04:17pm

    remember scrabulous

    I thought we already coined a term for this? When protecting your legal rights is a bad business decision. We were calling it the Scrabulous Effect in honor of that little Facebook game that Hasbro tried to crush but ended up having it blow up in their face.

  • On the post: Creative Web Destruction: Sites Go Away

    another mike ( profile ), 06 Oct, 2009 @ 04:21pm

    Re: mp3.com

    I'd heard the site's demise had more to do with the founder, Michael "Lindows" Robertson, and how he kept poking the recording industry with a stick.

    Great guy, a real game-changer. But he really did seem to work very hard at bringing it on himself.

  • On the post: Creative Web Destruction: Sites Go Away

    another mike ( profile ), 06 Oct, 2009 @ 04:17pm

    Re: mp3.com

    This. I found so many local acts through that site, musicians I'd go see perform so I could support them directly instead of some label. MP3.com was simply the best site ever for discovering new acts, searching local gigs, previewing the tunes so I'd know whether I'd like to keep up with that artist or not.

    I owned more music with mp3.com than I have since it closed down. I guess I should really say I "owned" the music, because once the site was gone, so were the songs.

  • On the post: 'Approved' Fansub Anime To Compete With Licensed Version

    another mike ( profile ), 06 Oct, 2009 @ 03:55pm

    send us up the bomb

    So you and the fan subs are working towards an accurate translation for official releases. The fansubs, being more intimately familiar with the destination language, can go for a hyper-localization, with the slang and colloquialisms that just aren't in the Rosetta Stone course.

    But before either of those versions come out, you crank your original game through Babelfish and release the "Zero Wing Edition" as a teaser. Drum up interest for the official localized release with the gameplay, graphics, and hilarious "translation".

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