B's Opinion Only 's Techdirt Comments

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  • On the post: Philly Police Harass, Threaten To Shoot Man Legally Carrying Gun; Then Charge Him With Disorderly Conduct For Recording Them

    B's Opinion Only ( profile ), 18 May, 2011 @ 01:33pm

    This all sounds bad and the cops were obviously idiots, but this individual was previously known to the police. It is not inconceivable that the cops in question knew about his record, or had been antagonized by him in the past.

    Yes, they were wrong to threaten his life. Yes their language was inappropriate, unprofessional and served to escalate the situation, but Fiorino's public record on the Internet makes him appear to be a shit disturber.

    WHO the heck runs a black box recorder every time they leave the house?!?

    Someone at http://www.copblock.org/2187/mark-fiorino-nearly-shot-by-philly-pd-for-open-carrying/ has posted details about Fiorino's previous run-ins with the law, which include:


    http://ujsportal.pacourts.us/DocketSheets/MDJReport.aspx?district=MDJ-38-1-13&docketNumber=CR-0000104-05

    http://ujsportal.pacourts.us/DocketSheets/MDJReport.aspx?district=MDJ-38-1-13&docketNumber=NT-0000667-05

    http://ujsportal.pacourts.us/DocketSheets/MDJReport.aspx?district=MDJ-38-1-28&docketNumber=NT-0000501-09

    http://ujsportal.pacourts.us/DocketSheets/CPReport.aspx?docketNumber=CP-46-SA-0000941-2009

    It is surprising to me that someone with this history could obtain a firearms permit.

  • On the post: Bogus Infringement Takedowns And The Danger Of Relying On Third Party Services With No Backbone

    B's Opinion Only ( profile ), 28 Apr, 2011 @ 03:44pm

    How stupid do you have to be to accept any sort of legal communication by email? Would you take down a site based on a Post-It Note? stuck on your door, because they are about as secure as email.

    When someone emails our organization with anything containing legaleese, DCMA, Etc, the mail server politely responds "It looks like this email contains material of a legal nature (relating to laws, trademarks, copyrights). Your email has NOT been delivered and is being returned to you because communications of this nature are not appropriate for an insecure medium such as email. If you have a legitimate concern please forward hand-signed documents by courier or registered mail. Thank you. Please be advised that your email WILL NOT be delivered"

    If ISPs didn't make it so easy for people to abuse them they would make life much easier for everyone.

  • On the post: Instead Of Hiring Film Crew To Make PSA About Out Of Work Film Crews, ICE Just Reruns Someone Else's Video

    B's Opinion Only ( profile ), 27 Apr, 2011 @ 10:57am

    ... and no, we don't get paid again when our work gets reused or re-branded.

  • On the post: Instead Of Hiring Film Crew To Make PSA About Out Of Work Film Crews, ICE Just Reruns Someone Else's Video

    B's Opinion Only ( profile ), 27 Apr, 2011 @ 10:56am

    I work in the film business. It has been growing every year and continues to make record profits, just as is has since: people got televisions in their homes, got VCR's, got cable, got Video on Demand, and since they got the Internet.

    I encourage everyone to go to the Youtube video in the link, and FLAG it as inappropriate. I chose "Inappropriate because it is mass advertising" but feel free to choose your own reason for Youtube to take it down.

    It is a shame they have disabled comments for the video, because it could have become an interesting discussion of due process and freedom of speech.

  • On the post: Beastie Boys Embrace Many Different Platforms In 'Leaking' Own Album

    B's Opinion Only ( profile ), 26 Apr, 2011 @ 06:01pm

    A reason to buy

    Besides embracing leaked tracks, they are also using the common Techdirt theme of "giving people a reason to buy".

    The Boys are offering some unique packages to those who preorder at http://beastieboys.com/preorder/

    Even though I downloaded the entire album last week on the torrents, I have also ordered the Premium Package from their website. Here's what I am getting:
    -CD with 8 Panel Digipak Fold-Out Design
    -9-panel Fold-Out Poster Designed by Mike Mills
    -2 x 180 Gram White Gatefold Vinyl
    -Digital Album Download Card
    -2 Extra Bonus Tracks + Remix (Delivered Digitally)
    -Bonus 7"
    -Beastie Boys T-Shirt (Exclusive To This Pre-Sale)
    -Exclusive Iron-on (1 of 3)
    -HD Download of the extended version of the
    Make Some Noise Video called "Fight For Your
    Right Revisited"

    These smart artists got $74.99 from a guy who just wanted to make sure he could buy a non-iTunes download of the new album.

    Anonymous Coward: Really? The Beastie Boys are still huge and yes their fans have grown up, along with them. Maybe you will one day.

  • On the post: Guy Who Undressed For TSA Search (With 4th Amendment Written On Chest) Sues Over Airport Detention

    B's Opinion Only ( profile ), 15 Mar, 2011 @ 08:31pm

    H E R O

  • On the post: Mediacom Puts Its Own Ads On Other Websites, Including Google & Apple

    B's Opinion Only ( profile ), 28 Feb, 2011 @ 02:44pm

    Who in the heck uses their ISP's DNS servers??? (For exactly this reason.)

    All you need is OpenDNS - A free, safe, non-evil alternative DNS server.

    All you do is change the DNS server settings to the following, either in your router or on each computer:
    208.67.222.222
    208.67.220.220

    As an added bonus, OpenDNS blocks phishing sites so it is a great option for Grandma and Grandpa's computer too.

  • On the post: Photographer Demanding Cash From Sites Using Palin's Official Governor Photo

    B's Opinion Only ( profile ), 22 Feb, 2011 @ 04:08pm

    Re: Re: Re: Re: Re:

    @davey: That's why smart people READ contracts before signing them. The contract photographers use has been around for years. You pay them for their time, expenses and studio but you DON'T own their copyrights unless you negotiate that separately. I remember asking about it when they took my graduation photos many years ago.

    This is a good lesson. If someone, for example, one day wanted to lead a country (God forbid), or be a heartbeat away from leading a country, it would be recommended for that person (or her staff) to be able to read and understand a contract.

    This could have been Ms. Palin negotiating the surrender of the USofA to [insert enemy here]. Thank [insert deity here] that she just F'ed up a photo shoot.

  • On the post: Photographer Demanding Cash From Sites Using Palin's Official Governor Photo

    B's Opinion Only ( profile ), 22 Feb, 2011 @ 12:35pm

    @Lobo Santo: Copyrights are not Patents.

    @jon day: The difference is that every photograph, work of art, sculpture, etc is automatically copyrighted when it is created, whereas a commercial slogan or symbol is not. Registering the copyrights gives you more options under the law, but you own the copyright as soon as you snap the shutter.

    Anyone publishing any photo, especially one that is obviously professionally done, should have the good sense to ask who owns the copyright and secure permission to use it.

  • On the post: Photographer Demanding Cash From Sites Using Palin's Official Governor Photo

    B's Opinion Only ( profile ), 22 Feb, 2011 @ 11:04am

    It sounds like Palin's office was too stupid to negotiate proper terms with the photographer they hired.

    The photographer is completely within his rights to be paid for the use of his work, and we've seen that ugly mug around enough to suspect he should be paid quite handsomely. The image in question is obviously a professionally-shot portrait and any editor should know enough to ask who owns the copyright when publishing it.

    The real case for the courts to decide is whether Palin's people should be the ones paying or the end users, who were probably led to believe they were allowed to use the photo.

    Techdirt writes a lot of good things about the abuses of copyright and trademark law. This article isn't one of them.

  • On the post: Canadian Broadband Regulators Annoyed That People Are Pointing Out They Don't Understand What They're Regulating

    B's Opinion Only ( profile ), 08 Feb, 2011 @ 05:32am

    An online poll from The Globe and Mail today ( http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/technology/tech-news/ubb-internet/the-public-is-right-to-be-cynical-of-internet-usage-regulators/article1898151/ ) shows that 43% of readers have had to pay for bandwidth overages at least once. Remember that UBB and the new ridiculously low caps haven't even started yet!

    These 43% of users hit the OLD, larger limits of 100GB or more.

    Strangely these numbers are much different from Bell's claims, or of the useless 3 year old data everyone is using.

    @Anonymous Coward: There is nothing 'reasonable' about selling a commodity at 100 to 250 times its cost.

  • On the post: Algerian Gets Patent On Building Pyramids?

    B's Opinion Only ( profile ), 29 Dec, 2010 @ 07:41am

    Journalistic standards?

    An unverified anonymous tip now warrants a story? I thought Techdirt was a reasonably responsible news source. Researchers on holidays?

  • On the post: David Letterman And Joaquin Phoenix Discuss Fair Use As Letterman Threatens To Sue

    B's Opinion Only ( profile ), 25 Sep, 2010 @ 10:18am

    People may think there is 'fair use' in documentary, but good luck getting distribution, foreign sales, and broadcasters without iron-clad contracts and releases from everyone who appears in the film!

  • On the post: Expectations Matter, Even If You're Not 'A Customer'

    B's Opinion Only ( profile ), 21 Sep, 2010 @ 07:17pm

    Mike, the third paragraph of your article blew my mind. You have succinctly and perfectly summed up the Internet economy.

  • On the post: Lindsay Lohan Sues E*Trade For $100 Million; Says Baby Was Based On Her

    B's Opinion Only ( profile ), 09 Mar, 2010 @ 09:16pm

    Ha ha, awesome! I worked on that commercial!

    I can assure you that Lindsay Lohan was not on our minds while shooting. We were mostly concerned with which talent would sit still under the lights without screaming and give us something that we could use between crying fits (which is probably a lot like working with Ms. Lohan, come to think of it.)

    Thank jebus I am low enough on the call sheet to not have to worry about milkoholics filing lawsuits.

  • On the post: Is Vimeo Arbitrarily Taking Down Videos It Deems As 'Commercial'?

    B's Opinion Only ( profile ), 23 Dec, 2009 @ 11:52am

    If it's in the site's Terms of Service, a legal document to which you must agree before using the service, how can no one know this?


    People who are stupid enough to blindly agree to contracts without reading them are often surprised.

  • On the post: DRM To The Disaster Again… May Prevent 3D Showing Of Avatar In Some Theaters

    B's Opinion Only ( profile ), 18 Dec, 2009 @ 06:05am

    I am as anti-DRM as the next guy, but the encryption and rights management built into D-cinema motion picture distribution is actually a benefit to all involved.

    The National Association of Theatre Owners publishes a set of Digital Cinema System Requirements that address equipment interoperability and compatibility. If some theatre in buttfuck nowhere can't unlock their copy of Avatar, they are either not following the standards or they are not legally allowed to screen the movie at that time.

    D-cinema distribution allows digitally perfect copies of films to be distributed to theatres on $60 hard drives instead of $2000-$5000 film prints. Each time a D-cinema package is projected, it 'phones home' to ensure that the particular theatre is authorized to project that film at that time. This enables studios to control when films are released in various markets, to accurately bill exhibitors only for the number of actual screenings, and (presumably) to watermark each screening to track piracy. If a copy is lost or stolen they can simply disable that copy.

    D-cinema DRM is not at all comparable to the horrendous controls people try to place on consumer media. Digital theatres invest in millions of dollars worth of gear to project digital movies and DRM has been part of it from the beginning. In fact, D-cinema encryption is probably the only reason digital exhibition is allowed by the studios to exist. This is not some poor schmuck who can't watch his iTunes movie because he isn't connected to the Internet. Digital cinema systems are designed from the ground up to be rights managed and net-connected.

    For moviegoers, D-cinema allows us to see films with the picture quality and sound the creators intended, to always view a perfect 'print' without scratches and sound pops, and to (maybe someday) benefit from the reduced costs to theatres and distributors.

    D-cinema and the DCI Standard are examples of DRM with a purpose and it works very well.

  • On the post: Canadian Record Labels Get Indie Record Store Owner To Plead Guilty… For Getting Rare CDs

    B's Opinion Only ( profile ), 17 Dec, 2009 @ 04:46pm

    The settlement is for the record store owner to make a $1000 donation to the charity of his choice. EFF, perhaps?

  • On the post: North Face Didn't Get The Message; Sues South Butt

    B's Opinion Only ( profile ), 15 Dec, 2009 @ 11:23am

    Yup. I suspect The North Face is most concerned with the graphical treatment of South Butt's logo. It is substantially similar, and while very clever in its humor, would be enough to make most lawyers salivate.

  • On the post: Major Labels Accused Of $6 Billion Worth Of Copyright Infringement In Canada

    B's Opinion Only ( profile ), 07 Dec, 2009 @ 03:46pm

    Re: Re: Re:

    Actually, many filesharers are simply upgrading content they already own. Maybe when I ripped my copy of The Cars 4 years ago I didn't see the benefit of lossless compression. Do I dig my CD out of storage and re-rip it or do I simply download a lossless FLAC someone else has made?

    And yes, I actually HAVE personally handed a $10 bill to a band whose CD I downloaded.

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