test’s Techdirt Profile

On the post: Apple Wants To Make DRM Extortion Explicit

test ( profile ), 05 Dec, 2007 @ 12:42pm

Just a repeat of a Windows-article

A couple of weeks ago, the exact same article could be written, only made Window's only, because one of the major movie labels wanted to produce DVD's with a version of the movie encoded with Window's-only DRM for an extra charge. How did this become "Steve Jobs wants to..."?

On the post: But Do We Still Need Gov't Intervention To Open Mobile Networks?

test ( profile ), 03 Dec, 2007 @ 07:33pm

What a pointless article

There are lots of companies that make good CDMA phones with features that people want TODAY. That are already certified by Verizon for use on their network. Realistically, the only ones who can really make a business of this already make CDMA phones, and already sell them to Verizon. Except that Verizon has screwed up each and every one of those phones by removing and/or crippling the the manufacturers had already implemented. This move by Verizon is all about APPEARING to be open, while still maintaining their current status quo.

On the post: 'Skills Shortage' Debate Misses the Point

test ( profile ), 15 Oct, 2007 @ 12:47pm

Article is bogus

The problem with the 'economics' argument is that the H1B program is being exploited to NOT give American workers the chance for the job, at any wage. Companies are told to advertise where there are likely to be few American candidates, then find some reason to exclude any that apply, so they can the foreign worker.

On the post: Universal Music's Plan To Take On iTunes: Bring Back PressPlay And MusicNow!

test ( profile ), 12 Oct, 2007 @ 03:35pm

Except NO manufacturer can afford to sell a device for a fixed amount, yet pay someone else a monthly fee to enable use of the device. And of course, mass music rentals [and rentals on a per-device basis] is the current wet-dream of music execs, because it means:
a) monthly fees for a device [I guess, even after the device is broken or thrown away]
b) makes royalty payments to artists more vague [which equals smaller/no payments to artists]
c) reduces costs for labels. No need to advertise/push an artist, because they get the money no matter what. If anything, they promote themselves [EMI has the best music], as the monthly rental will probably be split between the labels based on overall marketshare.

On the post: Websites Still Designed For People Who Don't Use Them

test ( profile ), 28 Sep, 2007 @ 12:37pm

How do they know users don't like the site

What's performance measurement plan? Do feedback buttons work?

On the post: Do Walled Gardens Promote Innovation?

test ( profile ), 27 Sep, 2007 @ 03:09pm

hell will freeze over

before telco's realize open-access makes for a bigger pie. Unfortunately, American businesses focus on short-term profits [as in, how do we extract more money from their suckers, er consumers], and that means focusing on getting the largest percentage of the pie they currently have.

On the post: Why Is P2P Software The Focus In Latest Identity Theft Arrest?

test ( profile ), 07 Sep, 2007 @ 11:57pm

Just negative PR

This is just part of a campaign to badmouth P2P software. All P2P software. That makes it easier to make and pass laws to ban it.

On the post: Still Not Betting On An eBook Revolution

test ( profile ), 06 Sep, 2007 @ 05:27pm

Re: It's the price

"advertising supported versions of books"

Don't give publishers ideas about this, and it WON'T be a way to reduce the price of a book, but rather be viewed as a new revenue stream.

So, that textbook for your class will still cost $90, but there will be a banner ad on each page.

On the post: Gateway Gone But Cows To Stick Around

test ( profile ), 27 Aug, 2007 @ 06:47pm

I bought a 24" LCD monitor 'made' by Gateway and it's worked fine for me so far, just to add a positive comment to the listings. But Gateway certainly hasn't been spending any money on marketing here in Canada, as the only reason I even knew about the product was that it was in the FutureShop I was walking through and it was $100 cheaper than the same size screen by Dell.

On the post: Universal Music To Test DRM-Free Sales, But Perhaps For The Wrong Reasons

test ( profile ), 10 Aug, 2007 @ 01:28pm

not about piracy

This is Universal trying to get people to switch to other services, so consumers pay their desired "variable pricing" somewhere else, or it helps force Apple to accept variable pricing. This announcement/trial will have zero effect on piracy.

On the post: Wish I Could Save Your Life, But That Kind Of Surgery Is Patented…

test ( profile ), 20 Jul, 2007 @ 01:34pm

He stated "I wish you'd stick to facts instead of generating sensational titles." The title of the article was "Wish I Could Save Your Life, But That Kind Of Surgery Is Patented..." Looks to me like his statement was proper and dead on.

On the post: If You're Going To Target One Wrong Company In Your Lawsuit, Might As Well Make It Two

test ( profile ), 17 Jul, 2007 @ 01:13pm

Everyone involved knows it's frivoulous...

This 'news' is only to give the person free hits and to spread FUD about the iPhone. Hmm, who would be happy about a link being drawn between Apple's iPhone and copyright infringement....MS and Universal.... Why is techdirt even publishing this crap?

On the post: Yes, Movie Download Sites Still Suck

test ( profile ), 20 Mar, 2007 @ 06:29pm

VONGO, A CASE STUDY IN $H!T

Please, download this just to see the worst application ever designed. I will be shocked if it doesn't lock up within the first two minutes and I have a p4 with 2 gigs ram and 6Mbps internet connection. they have about 100 movies I think and I found 1 that I wanted to watch. $9.99 is for the 100 movies that I would only show to blind and deaf people, everything else is PPV and nothing that is new.

So, if that sounds good, go for it...

On the post: Man Sues Microsoft Because The FBI Was Able To Access His Encrypted Files

test ( profile ), 05 Mar, 2007 @ 11:52am

WTF?

Yes and criminals that get caught by phone tap should sue their phone companies!

On the post: France The Latest To Tell The RIAA That Privacy Is More Important Than Piracy

test ( profile ), 22 Dec, 2006 @ 01:31pm

Sheesh

Still bashing France?

C'mon pod people wake up! Remember why so many American's began bashing the French in the first place?

If I recall correctly it was because they didn't immediately leap into the fray after 9/11, when there was still a lot of fact-finding left to do. They wouldn't get behind the search for WMDs in our Terrorism routing.

Way to have a back-bone France, imaging thinking for yourself...

So stop harping on WWII and at least criticize them for being rude or something (Which of course Americans are already world renowned for.).

Making fun of France is soooooo 2005...

On the post: Has Jack Thompson Gone To China?

test ( profile ), 20 Jun, 2006 @ 04:11pm

Re: Re: The Real Story.

"n 2004, Zhang Xiaoyi, from the northern Chinese city of Tianjin, jumped out of a window of his family's 24th floor apartment after playing Warcraft at an internet cafe."

Impossible. World of Warcraft was not released to China until June 06, 2005.

On the post: Teen Sues MySpace For Not Protecting Her

test ( profile ), 20 Jun, 2006 @ 04:02pm

MYSPACE RULES

I think this is a clever ploy by MySpace. They are letting this escalate and drag it out in the media. To think this lawsuit has any merit is absurd. Look at all the free publicity they are getting in the media. I bet more people are curious about MySpace now and will get a ton more users ...

GO MySpace ...

On the post: AOL, Yahoo To Charge Marketers Due To Own Spam Filter Failings

test ( profile ), 06 Feb, 2006 @ 11:48am

Re: No Subject Given

This is a paragraph from the New York Times article on it:
"Paying senders will be assured that their messages will be delivered to AOL users' main in-boxes and marked as "AOL Certified E-Mai." Unpaid messages will be subject to AOL's spam-filtering process, which diverts suspicious messages to a special spam folder. Most unpaid messages will also not be displayed with their original images and links."

So, if someone sends Grandma some pictures taken at the family reunion, AOL is going to take them out unless paid? Really does sound like blackmail. Hopefully this will crash and burn, it's really preying on the internetally challenged.

I'll be encouraging anyone I know who uses either service to switch to Gmail, eternal beta or not.

On the post: Wikipedia Germany Shut Down

test ( profile ), 19 Jan, 2006 @ 12:46pm

Re: Germonesians

What has this got to do at all with the article? Why was religion brought into this at all? The whole first comment was irrelevant and poorly worded. Try to stick the subject please.

On the post: Microsoft Granted Pizza Delivery Patent

test ( profile ), 07 Dec, 2005 @ 08:00pm

and?

patents are products like everything else...

test 's Techdirt Comments

Latest Comments (81)