Cerberus 's Techdirt Comments

Latest Comments (145)

• On the post: Netherlands Pre-Warns EU Parliament That It Will Not Accept ACTA

  

  Cerberus ( profile ), 30 May, 2012 @ 06:30am

  After the fall of the last (right-wing) cabinet, the role of a player, the right-wing populists (Wilders) seems to be have ended. Without him, a right-wing coalition is impossible. Since all left-wing parties are against ACTA-like treaties and laws, it seems impossible that any such treaty should be accepted over during the following years. And the liberal right-wingers have returned to their roots as well and are now firmly against ACTA. So we're safe for the next couple of years.

• On the post: Fox Issues DMCA Takedown To Google Over SF Chronicle Article… Claiming It Was The Movie 'Chronicle'

  

  Cerberus ( profile ), 29 May, 2012 @ 10:27am

  Re: Re: Re: 1 out of millions

  The "rightholders" should at least contribute the ? 10 into some fund, then, which in turn is used to do something good.

• On the post: Is It A Problem If People Only Discover A Musician Because They Have A Cool Kickstarter?

  

  Cerberus ( profile ), 26 May, 2012 @ 05:00am

  How I got to like Amanda Palmer

  I had never heard of Palmer. Then, after reading some articles about her on Techdirt, heck, why not, I looked her up on Youtube. And I liked her! So I'm actually listening to her music now.

• On the post: Dan Bull Auctioning Off Another Custom Song On eBay

  

  Cerberus ( profile ), 22 May, 2012 @ 07:49pm

  Re: Pirate Dan

  Like which? I think he really is cool and funny, and, why not a role model. He *should* certainly be a role model for many other artists.

• On the post: New HTC Phones Stopped At Customs Due To Apple Patent Fight

  

  Cerberus ( profile ), 17 May, 2012 @ 06:00am

  Why people buy Apple products

  Funny conversation I had today with this kid I tutor.
  
  I: "Is that an Iphone you have?"
  He: "Yes."
  I: "Why did you buy an Iphone?"
  He: "Wel, I...eh...actually, I don't know. I just bought it."

• On the post: Coming To Plates In Europe: Patented Vegetables, Produced By Conventional Breeding

  

  Cerberus ( profile ), 17 May, 2012 @ 05:49am

  Re: Re: "time to bring the EPO to heel,"

  Not to mention that no-one is even considering the abolishment of the Euro: the only thing at issue now is whether or not Greece can stay in the Euro (my opinion is and has always been that it should not have joined, but, now that it is in, we should do all we can do keep it in).

• On the post: Court Goes Censorship Crazy Against Dutch Pirate Party

  

  Cerberus ( profile ), 12 May, 2012 @ 10:32am

  Re: Re: Re: Same judge as in FTD case

  By the way, I base this partly on a page that Mr Falkvinge linked to from his website above, about this judge in a different case in 2010.
  http://webwereld.nl/nieuws/66177/ftd-vonnis-is--schokkend--en--onhoudbaar-.html

• On the post: Court Goes Censorship Crazy Against Dutch Pirate Party

  

  Cerberus ( profile ), 12 May, 2012 @ 10:30am

  Re: Re: Same judge as in FTD case

  The problem is that patent lawyers, judges, the whole sub-profession all know each other. They are not actually corrupt in the conventional sense (I'm convinced no money exchanged hands), but people get pulled into the same perspective on things if they hang out together too much in congresses, workshops, etc.
  
  The fact that the judge and the lawyer taught in the same course organised by the Dutch Bar Association is not very remarkable, and the fees that the Association receives from participants (? 925) most probably stays there; I expect the lecturers to get paid by the hour. It should not be considered a commercial operation, certainly not a "business", however much I agree with Mr Falkvinge in general.
  
  However, this judge is known for low-quality judgements and overextending copyright laws: he ruled that downloading was illegal in a certain case, based on some British jurisprudence, which is not at all relevant: downloading is and has always been legal in the Netherlands. So this guy has to go, even though there are no signs of corruption; that's why, knowing this, the Pirates' lawyers did not try to have the judge recused.
  
  As to what will happen, I expect this to be overturned by a higher court, if the Pirates appeal. They really should.

• On the post: Perfect 10 Case Against Google Dismissed (With Prejudice) After Court Asks Perfect 10 To Open Its Books

  

  Cerberus ( profile ), 10 May, 2012 @ 10:20am

  I would like to see their books, actually. Why didn't the judge order them to open their books anyway?

• On the post: Paulo Coelho Ebook Sales Jump Way Up Thanks To $0.99 Sale

  

  Cerberus ( profile ), 04 May, 2012 @ 04:04pm

  Re: Re: Re: Re:

  Those may all be factors here; however, most people have *some* sort of a budget, and if they can buy ten times as many books for the same price, they will often buy a whole lot more stuff. So it seems quite likely that price elasticity is somewhat like what Coelho suggests.

• On the post: Why Do We Celebrate The 'Solitary' Experience Of Books But Decry The Social Experience Of Online Social Media?

  

  Cerberus ( profile ), 28 Apr, 2012 @ 12:31am

  Re: Re:

  Hmm yeah, I must confess I don't really see his point. The False dichotomy does not appear to be his, but I don't get the second part of the post either.

• On the post: Why Do We Celebrate The 'Solitary' Experience Of Books But Decry The Social Experience Of Online Social Media?

  

  Cerberus ( profile ), 27 Apr, 2012 @ 09:26pm

  A good book is something that someone took a year to deliberate on, erase and rewrite, and research for. It is a work of art, and in no way comparable to a discussion on Facebook or a newspaper article. So saying that one is good while the other is good is utterly silly. Each fulfils its own function. It is like comparing singing in the shower to the Wiener Philharmoniker: both are fine and should not be confused.

• On the post: There Is A 'Right Way' To Do Cybersecurity Information Sharing, But CISPA Is Not It

  

  Cerberus ( profile ), 26 Apr, 2012 @ 02:21pm

  Re:

  There is widespread outrage, even abroad. And who would be paying Mike? There is no rich lobby with an interest against CISPA. Please provide proof or accept that people will call libel.

• On the post: There Is A 'Right Way' To Do Cybersecurity Information Sharing, But CISPA Is Not It

  

  Cerberus ( profile ), 26 Apr, 2012 @ 02:19pm

  Re:

  I have no problem with reporting interesting things written by others. You're indoctrinated with the "property" mindset about information, while it should be about sharing for the greater good.

• On the post: There Is A 'Right Way' To Do Cybersecurity Information Sharing, But CISPA Is Not It

  

  Cerberus ( profile ), 26 Apr, 2012 @ 02:18pm

  So the American government wants to punish sharing when it is the public who do it, but encourage sharing when it's corporations and the government. A paradox: corporations are allowed to do whatever they like, while the people are constricted and criminalised.

• On the post: Dropbox Adds Key Feature That Supposedly Made Megaupload Illegal: Link To Download

  

  Cerberus ( profile ), 23 Apr, 2012 @ 10:42am

  Linking is not new: only the gallery view

  Linking to individual files anywhere in your Dropbox has been possible for a long time, perhaps six months. The only thing new is that, where you used to have to download a video file from this link, you can now watch the video on a page provided by Dropbox, streamed. PDFs can now be browsed on a page too. That's nice, but it's not the same thing as what cyberlockers do: Dropbox has been able to do that for a while with individual files, and it has been possible for many years with the Public folder.

• On the post: Playmobil Is Upset That Its Pirate Figures Have Been Used To Illustrate The Pirate Party

  

  Cerberus ( profile ), 20 Apr, 2012 @ 03:07pm

  Haha, brilliant. It's always party time with pirates, harr!

• On the post: Countries In TPP Negotiations Begin To Wonder Why They Should Let The US Push Them Around

  

  Cerberus ( profile ), 20 Apr, 2012 @ 02:16am

  Re: If only...

  This is the essence of the problem (and don't forget the War on Drugs).

• On the post: EU Commissioner Kroes Speaks Out On Internet Openness; Says We Cannot Allow ISP Disconnects

  

  Cerberus ( profile ), 20 Apr, 2012 @ 02:08am

  @Masnick: "I don't always agree with her, ..."

  Now I am curious: what is your main difference of opinion with Kroes? (To be honest, I should know more about my country's Commissioner.)

• On the post: Guess What? Most Cybercrime 'Losses' Are Massively Exaggerated As Well

  

  Cerberus ( profile ), 18 Apr, 2012 @ 08:40pm

  Re: Re: It's all true

  Oh my God, you're lucky you only had 8 songs on it, or the thief would have been able to do considerably more damage to the RIAA with the stolen songs.

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