fogbugzd 's Techdirt Comments

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  • On the post: What Kind Of Professor Patents A Way To Make It More Expensive & More Difficult For Students To Learn?

    fogbugzd ( profile ), 12 Jun, 2012 @ 02:55pm

    As a faculty member myself I was horrified when I first read of this patent. And I was horrified on multiple levels. First, the patent itself was absurd and I couldn't figure out on earth it made it through the patent system. Second, I spend fair amount of time each semester trying to make textbooks cheaper for my students.

    Just today I finally convinced another instructor to use a book published through Lulu. The textbook is as good or better than the alternative being pushed by another faculty member, and the Lulu text is literally 30% of the price of the alternative.

  • On the post: EA Believes That Making A Lot Of Money Is Less Important Than Keeping Games Expensive

    fogbugzd ( profile ), 11 Jun, 2012 @ 11:01am

    Each is in a trap. They think that creating games has to be outrageously expensive. When you invest tens of millions in a game you can't afford to take chances, so you go with proven franchises and genres. The lack of creativity in EA games opens the doer for creative and nimble competitors. In addition, a lot of the big EA games do not translate well to mobile platforms.

  • On the post: EA Believes That Making A Lot Of Money Is Less Important Than Keeping Games Expensive

    fogbugzd ( profile ), 11 Jun, 2012 @ 10:10am

    Unfortunately modern business standards don't require execs to know anything about basic economics or even business.

  • On the post: Google Drive Barely Launched… And Google's Already Hit With Patent Infringement Lawsuit

    fogbugzd ( profile ), 07 Jun, 2012 @ 03:51pm

    There have been some wins lately by actual innovators against patent trolls. I keep having these fantasies that the courts are finally starting to see the harm done by patent trolling.

  • On the post: Fiona Apple To Label: Back Off, I'm Connecting With My Fans

    fogbugzd ( profile ), 07 Jun, 2012 @ 02:34pm

    Perhaps this illustrates the wave of the future. Labels promote an artist, and then they go indie.

    The labels still have an enormous marketing machine. Look at all of the mediocre talent and formula musicians that they have promoted in recent years.

    I can see a future where the labels find and promote new talent and give them a start. Discovering new talent was something that the labels did once upon a time, and they sometimes did it with great success. It would be ironic if the realities of the new market forced them back into that role.

  • On the post: Fiona Apple To Label: Back Off, I'm Connecting With My Fans

    fogbugzd ( profile ), 07 Jun, 2012 @ 01:27pm

    What real success looks like

    This showed up on Gapingvoid yesterday. It seems like it is a classic example of the traditional industry approach to promotion as opposed to the "Connect with Fans" approach.

    http://goo.gl/3XqPD

  • On the post: Copyright Extension: A Way To Protect Hollywood From Having To Compete With The Past

    fogbugzd ( profile ), 06 Jun, 2012 @ 12:17pm

    Re: Re: Re: This allows them to 'remix' the past and resell it.... who wouldn't want that?

    // I guess that means that every possible movie idea has already been made. Nothing new and original remains.

    No, it means that Hollywood has lost the ability to be creative. It has become a risk-avoiding culture that seeks the relative security of remakes and proven franchises.

  • On the post: Duh: The TV Business Is On The Verge Of Collapse

    fogbugzd ( profile ), 05 Jun, 2012 @ 09:31am

    Re:

    Classic denial.

    Media execs are still convinced that they are the only ones who produce. They can't conceive of the creativity that blooms once a producers are free of casts getting a million per episode and network pressure to produce formula blockbusters.

  • On the post: Duh: The TV Business Is On The Verge Of Collapse

    fogbugzd ( profile ), 05 Jun, 2012 @ 08:34am

    TV is about consumption. Now people want interaction. That is what is making TV obsolete

    One reason shows like Idol and DWTS are popular is that they provide some audience involvement. There is voting plus lots of opportunity to comment on a variety of sites.

    One way big media could extend its lifetime would be to allow more fan interaction through re-editing and remixing.

  • On the post: Flame Malware Signed By 'Rogue' Microsoft Cert, Once Again Highlights Problems With Relying On Certs

    fogbugzd ( profile ), 04 Jun, 2012 @ 08:35pm

    One problem with the cert system is pricing. Most companies offering reasonably priced certs gets acquired by one of the big players, and the low prices disappear.

    Beyond that, it would be nice to have an alternate and possibly a redundant system for certifications.

  • On the post: F-Secure Explains Why It Missed Spotting Flame, Despite Having Seen It Two Years Ago

    fogbugzd ( profile ), 04 Jun, 2012 @ 05:01pm

    The first step is probably avoiding the use of inherently insecure operating systems. Granted, no OS is 100% secure, and idiot users or network admins can overcome any security measures built into a system. But I am still amazed that organizations that care at all about security are overwhelmingly Windows based.

  • On the post: Antitrust Complaints Against Google Still Don't Make Any Sense

    fogbugzd ( profile ), 04 Jun, 2012 @ 01:45pm

    I have tried to use other search engines like duckduckgo. I have always gone back to Google because they do a better job of helping me find what I am looking for. There are things I don't like about Google, but I come back to them because they are the best I have found.

    There is nothing anticompetitive about doing the best job. The public would not benefit if Google were forced to do a worse job of searching.

  • On the post: Not Only Can You 'Compete With Free' You Have To If You Don't Want Your Business Overrun By Piracy

    fogbugzd ( profile ), 04 Jun, 2012 @ 12:51pm

    Ebooks usually have fewer regional restrictions and windowing. Windowing is one of the major drivers of movie piracy.

    There are also a lot of cheap and even free ebooks. And there are sources that have been DRM free, and the DRM-free ebook movement is expanding. http://economistsview.typepad.com/economistsview/2012/04/the-drm-free-movement-for-ebooks-expands.html

  • On the post: Don't Read Andrew Keen's Book – You'll Harm His Identity

    fogbugzd ( profile ), 01 Jun, 2012 @ 08:56pm

    Re: Re:

    To be honest I doubt that cave painting and stone tools actually existed. After all, there were no patents back then so no one would have had an incentive to invent them. Most likely they are a myth created by pirate Mike and others like him to justify IP theft.

  • On the post: Don't Read Andrew Keen's Book – You'll Harm His Identity

    fogbugzd ( profile ), 01 Jun, 2012 @ 06:56pm

    We have often gone back in history to buggy whips and the printing press, but I think cave painting may be a new record. Just think of the poor bison who had the IP on their images stolen by those awful pirate cave painters.

  • On the post: Insanity: Apple Rejects Podcatching App Because It Has Flattr Integration

    fogbugzd ( profile ), 01 Jun, 2012 @ 05:13am

    This type of short-sighted thinking is the reason why Apple can make excellent products and still keep loosing market share.

  • On the post: Insanity: Apple Rejects Podcatching App Because It Has Flattr Integration

    fogbugzd ( profile ), 01 Jun, 2012 @ 05:11am

    Re: Re: Re: Re:

    Mint is an easy installation for a lot of people. Ubuntu and a lot of other distributions will not install drivers and plugins unless they are purely open source. Users have to install these themselves after installation. The process isn't particularly hard for an experienced Linux user, but the decision to maintain religious purity on Open Source makes life difficult for a lot of people.

    Mint takes a pragmatic approach and incorporates the software you need. You still get access to the rich Ubuntu repositories, but without having to live by the strict dogma of the Open Source high priesthood. I recommend Mint for all new Linux users.

  • On the post: EU Politicians Snub European Commission: Do Not See IP Protection As Key To Internal Security Strategy

    fogbugzd ( profile ), 01 Jun, 2012 @ 05:02am

    Techdirt should be congratulated. TD has been hammering on the attempt to commingle IP claims by ACTA supporters. TD critics here and on other forums have tried to ridicule Mike and others who have repeatedly called out the attempted sleight-of-hand.

    Now we see the fruits of TechDirt's persistence. Congratulations to all of the regular bloggers here, and thank you for your efforts.

  • On the post: Woman Texting Boyfriend Not Liable For The Car Crash He Was In While Texting Back

    fogbugzd ( profile ), 30 May, 2012 @ 03:24am

    Obviously the couple did not have a good attorney. They failed to also sue the wireless carrier that transmitted the message and Google. You always sue Google.

    /s

  • On the post: Spotify In A Box: Why Sharing Will Never Be Stopped

    fogbugzd ( profile ), 26 May, 2012 @ 09:25am

    Re: Re:

    You are right, including the excellent sarcasm about this being nothing new. I do hesitate to call them mix-tapes because the mix-tapes were usually carefully planned out and sequenced (at least in theory). These are more about bulk music transfers without any order. There may be a theme to a collection, but you cannot count on much filtering.

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