Christopher’s Techdirt Profile

On the post: Desperate Drug Companies Raising Prices On Drugs Still Under Patent

Christopher ( profile ), 08 Apr, 2011 @ 08:23am

Re: Re:

No, it's really that simple. Big Pharma in the US can't layoff chemists fast enough, but they seem to find money to publish fake articles touting the benefits of their drugs.

Big Pharma used to do manufacturing really well, out of necessity because the FDA regulated them. Now that's been proven to be a joke, so there's no appreciable benefit to buying Advil over ibuprofen any longer. In fact, if you watch this stuff closely, you'll be smart to buy anything Teva manufacturers, since they seem to be the only outfit that knows how to produce a quality product at the lowest possible cost.

-C

On the post: How Much Does Color Impact Taste?

Christopher ( profile ), 08 Apr, 2011 @ 07:34am

Re: Ketchup

This reminds me of those novelty purple, green and blue tomato ketchups that Heinz brought out. Just the idea of putting purple ketchup on my food was enough to get me interested in buying it.

On the post: Alzheimer's Research Disrupted By Ridiculous Patent Dispute

Christopher ( profile ), 06 Apr, 2011 @ 01:08pm

Question.

Why isn't this kind of patent abuse punishable by death?

-C

On the post: Once Again, Court Says Homeland Security Is Free To Seize & Search Your Computer Without A Warrant At The Border

Christopher ( profile ), 05 Apr, 2011 @ 08:37am

Confused.

If a US agent is inspected a US citizen's laptop, how is this *not* covered under the 4th Amendment? Presumably the US agent is acting on behalf of the citizen's government, and therefore should be adhering to rules and regulations of that government. I don't see how the physical location of this inspection makes a difference, since it is primarily *the activity* that is being managed by the 4th amendment.

In other words, the courts are wrong, as usual, and continue pushing our people to the brink of outright revolt. Assuming we can get off of our couches to actually do that.

-C

On the post: Who Actually Felt 'Guilty' That They Read The NYTimes Online For Free?

Christopher ( profile ), 21 Mar, 2011 @ 07:38am

Guess you don't live or work in NYC...

... because in *my NYC* you can't successfully navigate out of the WTC PATH station without dodging the deluge of free newspapers being shoved at you. Selling, no, but hawking and announcing headlines? You bet!

-C

On the post: Fabry Patients Sue Genzyme Over Drug Shortage; After NIH Refuses To Allow Others To Make Fabrazyme

Christopher ( profile ), 17 Mar, 2011 @ 09:09am

Something that gets lost here...

... is that pharmaceutical companies are really, really bad at manufacturing. Marketing, great. Sales, great. Even discovery, great. But actually making the drug? Ridiculously inept. Manufacture should be something you outsource immediately to companies where SCO are actually well-implemented and driven to success by the pressure of competition. Teva, for example, would be a much better manufacturer for most drugs than Merck, J&J, Pfizer, etc. Without the high-margins that big pharmas take for granted, Teva (purely as an example) has to make its money by actually being very, very good at manufacturing.

-C

On the post: As AT&T Introduces Caps, BT Removes Them; Says Investing In Network Is Smarter

Christopher ( profile ), 15 Mar, 2011 @ 06:20am

And so what if they own the network?

Do you really believe Balkanization of connections to homes is a better answer? I hesitate to make this either/or but there's really no other way to put it. You have a single gas line to your home; water, sewer as well. Why do you need three fiber/coax/dry pair connections?

We'd be better off with a single connection point, managed by a single entity, regulated by the public. Separating deliver from supply is the key differentiator.

On the post: Yet Another Person Sues Google Because They Don't Like Pornographic Results When People Search On Their Name

Christopher ( profile ), 24 Feb, 2011 @ 08:58am

Porn distance

Porn distance n. the amount of images needed to locate the first pornographic representation of a given search term.

-C

On the post: Guy Uses GPS Data On Mobile Phone To Get Out Of A Speeding Ticket

Christopher ( profile ), 24 Feb, 2011 @ 08:56am

This won't work as-is.

The judge disallowed the GPS results because there was no certification of the data. I can create a GPX file with a text editor; does that meet the test of certification?

No, you need to prove that the results could only have occurred on that device, at the time contained in the data, and the log was unaltered; furthermore, you would need to demonstrate the either the log could not be altered or the alteration is always detectable. In other words, a sealed black box that has been quality-tested and validated.

Eight years of pharma validation experience backs me up. Your device doesn't meet 21 CFR Part 11.

-C

On the post: Did The Record Labels Kill The Golden Goose In Music Video Games?

Christopher ( profile ), 10 Feb, 2011 @ 08:20am

Karaoke for non-vocalists

Like it or hate it, Guitar Hero and Rock Band are/were instant party mixes for spanning generations. I'm mid-40s and remember when many of the songs were first aired on radio, and it's fun to play drums behind some 13 year old going perfect on the plastic guitar. The golden goose -- more songs to play on existing hardware -- is definitely dead now. It's really just as simple as that; any intellectual contortions and guesses are red herrings or pure conjecture. The dev costs are sunk, and only greed by the music industry got in the way of a continual stream of updated versions.

-C

On the post: IP Czar Report Hits On All The Lobbyist Talking Points; Warns Of More Draconian Copyright Laws To Come

Christopher ( profile ), 08 Feb, 2011 @ 10:41am

Too expensive = not cutting enough corners

Manufacturing is too expensive because we actually have laws we enforce on how long you can work, what a minimum wage should be, what kinds of working environments you can have, and how safety and environmental protection should be governed.

You simply cannot produce the same way as China without flouting labor laws and environmental restrictions. We're company against a nation that will happily poison an entire region just to win. We no longer do it -- at least on that scale -- and that's good for our environment, but bad business.

Where's the level playing field?

-C

On the post: Should Elevators Shame Us Into Taking The Stairs?

Christopher ( profile ), 04 Feb, 2011 @ 05:56am

Plus-one on this

"And this isn't just about veterans. I mean, tons of people have MS, bad knees, etc. that can't be seen. You know, like Arbesman himself, who obviously has issues that we can't see that cause him to act like a complete idiot."

I've been suffering from foot/ shin/ knee/ hip pain for 12 years. I'm a big person, I look like I'm in shape, I don't limp or anything noticeable. Yet, I haven't woken up a day since 1998 when something wasn't hurting, just to walk to the bathroom. You just get used to it.

Then I started working in the city again, and taking the trains, and doing a lot more walking. Pain I'd come to terms with starting getting worse. And I started sitting on the trains. At first I felt a little bad, but then I just reasoned it out: these people don't know me, know nothing about me. So how could their opinion of me really matter?

I just want to push the elevator button twice with a reply, "I don't give a flying f$#k what you think."

-C

On the post: Spanish Gov't Simply Reinstates US-Driven Copyright Bill, Despite It Being Voted Down

Christopher ( profile ), 27 Jan, 2011 @ 07:24am

Civil disobedience anyone?

Kinda gives you a free pass to the moral high ground, doesn't it?

-C

On the post: Sports Columnist Tracks Down Trolls And Calls Them

Christopher ( profile ), 24 Jan, 2011 @ 11:29am

Hope your phone number is unlisted.

...because, cue Jeff calling you tonight.

-C

On the post: US Is Left Waiting For Godot On Public Domain Day: Once Again, Absolutely Nothing Enters The Public Domain This Year

Christopher ( profile ), 03 Jan, 2011 @ 08:18am

Oops, almost made it.

"They are the law of the land, reviewed and past by your elected officials, doing their jobs."

Almost a very good devil's advocation, except the 'doing their jobs' part. They aren't doing their jobs. They are doing work on behalf of the copyright holders, not the American public.

-C

On the post: Shouldn't We Fix The Check Clearing Loophole That So Many Scammers Abuse?

Christopher ( profile ), 28 Dec, 2010 @ 06:59am

Overwhelmingly missing the point.

Most respondents are letting the Nigerian scam aspect blind them to the failing of the banks. I could excuse this, except for the calls to Natural Selection in bankrupting greedy people. A) you aren't bankrupting the *right* greedy people here and 2) being mean is weak amplifier for your thinking.

Take a more legal and probable example from daily life. I have an account in a credit union, and an account in a Big Bank with many many ATMs and branches. I like the credit union but I need ATM access on the go; thus, two banks. And oh by the way, the Big Bank doesn't have the bulk of my funds.

Recently, I wanted to buy a car. Car buying stories aside, we settled on a cashier's check for the balance. Now, acquiring a cashier's check from the credit union involves traveling out of my way to the one late-night branch at a certain day of the week. Inconvenient. So, I wrote myself a check from the credit union to the Big Bank. And Big Bank has branches all over Manhattan, so this would be easy.

Except I *knew* "clearing" wasn't really clearing until 1) both banks showed the funds debited and credited and b) Big Bank authorized my cashier's check. And they wanted two forms of ID, a manager, signatures, and a picture of my face. Which is good.

But what if I didn't know about the clearing delay? I'd be thinking Big Bank has my check and deposited the funds right away. Heck, they even have BIG STICKERS on the ATMs saying funds deposited today before 6PM are available tomorrow.

Oh, that 4-pt asterisk means something? Tied to the 4-pt text I can barely find on another part of the ATM? This is proper and fair disclosure? No. What taught me was the experience of getting burned once, a long time ago. That shouldn't be necessary. Banks should just say, "Based on this check, you'll get the funds in three days." Or four, or a week. Setting consistent service levels is never a bad thing, ever. Allowing customers to assume risks without fair warning is not.

Then again, most businesses rely on exactly that. Statistically, it's worth it to them to allow funds to be available because liability is not theirs, and most people don't have the legal help in their back pocket to make it bother a business.

-C

On the post: Google: Hate Competition? Come Compete On Our Fiber Network

Christopher ( profile ), 14 Dec, 2010 @ 10:27am

Re: Re: CRAP - THIS WAS MY IDEA

Sad argument. The city wouldn't directly administer it, they contract out the maintenance. They float munis to cover the initial rollout, own the infrastructure, pay for maintenance via taxes. Content providers rent space in a colo, city gets this revenue to keep up infrastructure.

Key points: city-owned keeps costs down; competition in ISPs keeps costs down; process is transparent

-C

On the post: You Can Use Up Your Entire Monthly Verizon Wireless LTE Data Allotment In Just 32 Minutes

Christopher ( profile ), 03 Dec, 2010 @ 05:48am

Yes, yes you can. And also...

... you can empty a bank account containing $275,000 in thirty seconds. So what? Sprint, realizing the play for 4G ultimately means it has to compete with fiber and cable, offers $60/mo unlimited 4G. Only when you switch to 3G do you get hit with a 5Gb cap, ostensibly because you are in the field.

Verizon, which has fiber, is not going to compete against itself; they will either push you to ditch copper and go fiber, or apologize obliquely and let you opt-in for notices about when fiber is coming.

Sprint WiMax will likely *not* have a cap, for the implication listed above. I don't see any telecom without a residential wired infrastructure going to caps; it's a chance to open some floodgates and not only take wireless customers away, but some residential lines as well. Sprint is leading the way here.

-C

On the post: Looks Like Visa Program For Science & Tech Grads Isn't Really Being Used For The Best & Brightest

Christopher ( profile ), 23 Nov, 2010 @ 05:49am

Re: Re: Poison Cup

This assumes that the person with the degree acquired it *here* and is earning a wage *here*. This is patently false in reality.

It's not a lack of engineers or scientists, it's a lack of wages commensurate with living here. Apparently, IT is viewed as a commodity, some technological equivalent of janitorial services, because top jobs are impossible to acquire if you have no means of being employed at the lower rungs of your career ladder.

This is the missing element in every argument, every single one: if you remove all of the junior positions, you create a gap in the career ladder. Outsource your mid-career spots, a larger gap. This, and only this, is causing the artificial scarcity of native talent. Natives do not view a science or CS career as a $35000/ yr entry-level spot. I made that in 1995. However, the billable rates and commensurate starting spots are just around that, and most American graduates just don't see the ROI of their $80k education in a $35k job; even with a longer view, they correctly perceive the attack on our own people from corporate employers and the local industry.

On the post: Khan Academy Buys Cybersquatted Dot Com

Christopher ( profile ), 10 Nov, 2010 @ 05:29am

Such is life, my friend.

First in, wins.

-C

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