James Burkhardt 's Techdirt Comments

Latest Comments (2642)

• On the post: Fractured Streaming So Bad Injured NFL Players Turn To Illicit Streams To Watch Their Own Teams

  

  James Burkhardt ( profile ), 25 Oct, 2024 @ 06:19am

  I reccommend reading full sentances before attempting to discern meaning. Phrases like "NFL Players turn to illicit streams" and " to watch their own games" in combination should have provided enough context to know Techdirt was talking about streaming TV. Its not a new use of the word.

• On the post: Trump FCC Pick Thinks Broadband Caps Are Great, Likens Them To Coffee Refills(?)

  

  James Burkhardt ( profile ), 21 Oct, 2024 @ 08:31am

  excepting that the cost to the ISP is not, in fact, proportional to the GB used. Electricity, water, and gas all can be generalized to a per-unit cost. Prodicing more of the commodity has a marginal cost to the provider, who must therefore be compensated. unlike these 3, the cost of providing internet service is largely unchanged regardless of usage. THe costs are largely fixed costs - maintenance and technology upgrades that would cost the same regardless of individual usage. The problem is growth is no longer cheaply availible. Metered usage solves that by being almost pure profit. Extra money with little added expense. The actual issues the all you can eat model impose are simply in the moment congestion, and metering doesn't solve those issues. They could be handled, even pre-empted in some cases, by planning for capacity upgrades, but that doesn't increase stagnant revenue. The fair way is to honestly disclose what 'heavy' usage is, and translate heavy users over to the 'business' class service (rename it the pro tier and idiots will willingly pay extra for the same service), to pay their fair share for capacity upgrades and increased fixed maintenance costs, not metering.

• On the post: ‘Baldur’s Gate 3’ Director Appears To Be Very Confused About The Secondary Market & Who Created It

  

  James Burkhardt ( profile ), 17 Oct, 2024 @ 07:15am

  Scalpers only affect collectors editions. The game is available at retail price if you don't want the collectables. Scalpers are not the driving force behind the retail price of BG3, only the price on the secondary market. If you need the collectors edition to play BG3, the 1% buying on the secondary market aren't your problem.

• On the post: Trump, Musk PAC Swing State Ground Game Hampered By Shitty, Slow Local Internet The GOP Is Largely Responsible For

  

  James Burkhardt ( profile ), 16 Oct, 2024 @ 12:13pm

  https://campaignsidekick.vote/solutions/ Campaign sidekick helps coordinate canvassing operations both in person and electronic. I can see a world where intelligent use of a data driven, real time assessment results in better resource management. From the description, they are not engaged in that use. It appears the we must track everything you do at work crowd have decided micromanaging volunteers is the best way to use this software, which is a waste of resources in any industry.

• On the post: Trump, Musk PAC Swing State Ground Game Hampered By Shitty, Slow Local Internet The GOP Is Largely Responsible For

  

  James Burkhardt ( profile ), 16 Oct, 2024 @ 12:01pm

  Editing error

  The Guardian link does not as of the time of posting link to the Guardian Article in question. It links to a Techdirt subscribe to comments page.

• On the post: Federal Court Tells Missouri Gov’t That Requiring Sex Offenders To Post ‘No Candy Here’ Signs Violates Their Rights

  

  James Burkhardt ( profile ), 16 Oct, 2024 @ 11:05am

  It really shouldn't be hard. If the requirement is known to the public, but few know the specifics of the law, and in particular the loophole, the absence of said sign can indicate a 'safe' home. Create an unreasonable sense of security where caution may have been the default. In so far as a real threat to children exists, a threat that was not already mitigated by requirements to darken the home and not decorate - generally accepted social signals that candy is not available regardless of reason - knowledge of the sign requirement inspires more confidence and less caution than the default, increasing the supposed threat.

• On the post: Vietnamese Duo Hit With Injunction After 117,000 Bogus DMCA Claims

  

  James Burkhardt ( profile ), 14 Oct, 2024 @ 07:12am

  Because the DMCA is a US law. A Vietnamese court can not absolve Google of its obligations under the DMCA. Only a US court can. The Vietnamese individuals are attempting to assert a right under US copyright law against a US company. In the case a counter notice was provided to any DMCA claim, it would require filing a US lawsuit to continue to enforce rights. Similarly, any attempt to rule that the process was abused needs to come from a US court.

• On the post: Fifth Circuit Rejects Immunity Request From Lying Cop Who Shot Fleeing Person In The Back

  

  James Burkhardt ( profile ), 10 Oct, 2024 @ 09:21am

  Evidence of expungement? I can't find a report of it.

• On the post: Marvel, DC Lose ‘Superhero’ Trademarks After Failing To Respond To Cancellation Petition

  

  James Burkhardt ( profile ), 02 Oct, 2024 @ 06:24am

  If I were a PR person in DC or Marvel, id really think the face saving move was to capitalize on this result. The opposition to Superbabies was just stupid even if Superhero was a valid trademark. petulently giving up and making Richold pay all the legal fees tarnishes the image of Marvel and DC. It does not "save face". Acknowleging the result that is going to happen anyway is the rational and adult thing to do. Admitting defeat. Sulking off into the corner and refusing to admit defeat is petulent child behavior, not 'face saving'.

• On the post: Sony Keeps Requiring PSN Account For Offline Games, Modders Mod It Out

  

  James Burkhardt ( profile ), 01 Oct, 2024 @ 12:06pm

  The issue is not having a PSN account, but the constant need to phone in under constant surveilance. Both windows and Steam can be setup to run without an active internet connection. the PSN requirement is an 'requires an always connection'. Moreover, the need to sign into multiple third party platforms in an ever increasing fractal is frustrating. Its a practice Ubisoft is finally abandoning because the data they had shows requiring a proprietary login was costing them increasing numbers of PC users. They knew it would before they tried. They estimated the lost sales were worth it. Their data now shows that is not true. Sony's recent efforts to move to the PC and tie PC games to a PSN account is a decade behind Ubisoft in this, but there is no reason to suggest the risk to profits isn't high.

• On the post: Sony Keeps Requiring PSN Account For Offline Games, Modders Mod It Out

  

  James Burkhardt ( profile ), 01 Oct, 2024 @ 11:51am

  Its not quite clear what 'the same' is in this context. The same 118 countries are still blacked from accessing PSN. So it did happen? God of War Ragnorock was limited in access. It cost some level of sales in those countries. It likely cost further sales as the frustration builds in the player base. Boiling a frog works with consumers until it doesn't. Like with cord cutting or an avelanche, the damage is slow and ponderous until its suddenly quick and devestating.

• On the post: Sony Keeps Requiring PSN Account For Offline Games, Modders Mod It Out

  

  James Burkhardt ( profile ), 01 Oct, 2024 @ 10:42am

  Buying physical is no protection. The on disc game often isn't complete. Not like they cut off bits and sold it to you as DLC, like they had to patch in half the game that wasn't ready when it went to production. Nor will physical discs protect you from network outages when a PSN connection is required. That will only get worse if you move to PC, where most physcial games are simply installing to a steam or epic or Uplay or EA or Blizzard (ect) launcher, and forcing you to link your PSN or XBOX or whatever account and its all actually being handled by digital distribution. If you plan to move to PC, your call for buying physical will have no impact.

• On the post: Sony Keeps Requiring PSN Account For Offline Games, Modders Mod It Out

  

  James Burkhardt ( profile ), 01 Oct, 2024 @ 07:42am

  Sony should not be legally allowed to impose terms on a product after sale. I will happily pay them $60 or $70 or more for a product. Have repeatedly. The PSN service only makes the product worse. And so I will pay for that content, dismissing any claims I am 'stealing' the content I want, and subsequently patch out the DRM, as I have for over a decade on PC games. Like would you prefer I just go back to pirating their products or services instead of buying? I'm jumping through the hoops to give them money in exchange for culture, and people are making the best arguments for piracy.

• On the post: Elon Musk’s ExTwitter Regularly Caves To Censorship Demands; Way More Than Old Twitter

  

  James Burkhardt ( profile ), 30 Sep, 2024 @ 07:20am

  Do you, do you believe that everyone posting on X is an AI chatbot? do they reply to you posting boomer tweets like "chris pratt search" with AI bot replies about how they cant fulfill that request? ...Are you an AI chatbot yourself? Is that why you think the posts are all Grok jerking itself off?

• On the post: Top EU Court’s Advisor Explains Why Video Game Cheats Are Not Copyright Infringement

  

  James Burkhardt ( profile ), 26 Sep, 2024 @ 07:10am

  The game genie was long marketed as a cheat device. Codes like level select have been known as cheats since the arcade. The language reflected the advisarial nature between players and arcade cabinets built to drain quarters. That language ported over to home consoles, particularly in the 'Nintendo hard' era - where difficulty helped pad out games that were short due to technical limitations. Its a newer phenomenon to treat attempts to bypass content with third party tools as something other than a cheat. That is still not universally accepted by the gamers, and The legacy language is still commonplace in the industry. Your attitude is, I hope, only more broadly adopted in the future. But your strict definition is not universal and ahistorical. As for copyright, its a bit messy when it comes to games. Copyright reserves the right to create and distribute derivative works to the holder. Under the law, when you change how a game plays from stock, it creates a derivative work. Fair use (or fair dealing) provides some ability to create such works for personal use. Modern mod frameworks use transitory modifications in part because of rulings like Galoob v Nintendo (the game genie lawsuit), that found in-ram manipulation of copyright protected elements for personal use does not violate copyright. Things like the progression of the story are protected (to some degree) by copyright. There are many who argue that, as an interactive work, a video game is never 'fixed in the medium' but instead a collaborative work, and therefore while assets are protected, the gameplay itself is unprotected. That is not currently supported by precedent, and while an interesting policy discussion, it is outside the scope of my current assessment.

• On the post: Top EU Court’s Advisor Explains Why Video Game Cheats Are Not Copyright Infringement

  

  James Burkhardt ( profile ), 25 Sep, 2024 @ 02:48pm

  The findings about fair use were not invalidated by either. Microstar is distinguished from Galoob by the transitory nature of the game genie’s derivative works, compared to the repackaged fan created levels sold as a set in Microstar. The exception to tge creation of derivative works established in Galoob is not impacted by microstar. As for section 1201, a TPM bypasses fair use, it does not change fair use. Under 1201, your fair use can still be infringing.

• On the post: Top EU Court’s Advisor Explains Why Video Game Cheats Are Not Copyright Infringement

  

  James Burkhardt ( profile ), 25 Sep, 2024 @ 01:07pm

  In todays episode of everything old is new again, the EU Court's advisor advised on the findings of Lewis Galoob Toys V Nintendo lawsuit from the US in 1992, also known as the Codemasters lawsuit, or the Game Genie Lawsuit.

• On the post: T-Mobile Leans On Recent Supreme Court Chevron Ruling To Insist The FCC Can’t Require All Phones Be Unlocked

  

  James Burkhardt ( profile ), 24 Sep, 2024 @ 07:33am

  Some respected legal commenters are of the opinion that the revocation of chevron deference was good, that congress should be more clear in its drafting and we should not be leaning on the legal band aid that was chevron deference. I instead argue that no law can be written with such ironclad language that bad faith litigators, slimy enough to convince a court that the president is above the law, couldn't make swiss cheese of when regulatory authority actually applies. That of course, assumes congress understands the issue enough to create such well built legislation in the first place.

• On the post: Elon Rehires Lawyers In Brazil, Removes Accounts He Insisted He Wouldn’t Remove

  

  James Burkhardt ( profile ), 20 Sep, 2024 @ 10:17am

  The unintentional part is a left hand not knowing what the right hand is doing type situation. Prior to the ban, the left hand was going through a standard process to change a CDN, a process that you don't just do one day but spend weeks preparing for. In the middle of this processthe right hand, legal, is in court when Twitter is geographically banned, and orders third parties to block known Twitter routing. But these 2 hands aren't talking. The left hand team doing the changeover isn't actually impacted by the order. They proceed apace. The right hand legal team aren't actually briefed on the otherwise normal CDN migration. The CDN changeover was supposedly planned before this happened. It is therefore quite possible this wasn't an intentional attempt to evade the ban, but rather a case where the changeover timing coincided with the ban, and no one in legal was well briefed enough to make the court aware of the change or to check in with the network team and make sure this wouldn't impact the legal issues. Its not that twitter didn't know, but that Twitter legal didn't know, and more precisely, the lawyers working on the brazil case, who weren't in house lawyers, didn't know about the changes, because twitter is huge and those details aren't normally important to legal.

• On the post: Elon Rehires Lawyers In Brazil, Removes Accounts He Insisted He Wouldn’t Remove

  

  James Burkhardt ( profile ), 20 Sep, 2024 @ 09:37am

  People talk about Musk as a threat, but he folds faster than wet cardboard.

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