Hephaestus 's Techdirt Comments

Latest Comments (6144)

• On the post: Universal Music Claims Piracy Justifies Monopoly, Wants The Power To Control Digital Music Services

  

  Hephaestus ( profile ), 30 Mar, 2012 @ 10:17am

  Re: Re: Re:

  "It's basic economics."
  
  Since its the record labels, it is called "Sound Economics" which has nothing to do with any economic theory founded in reality.

• On the post: Universal Music Claims Piracy Justifies Monopoly, Wants The Power To Control Digital Music Services

  

  Hephaestus ( profile ), 30 Mar, 2012 @ 10:09am

  Re: Re: All companies wish to be monopolies.

  We know they artificially inflate market prices, use unfair business practices, cheat their artists, use threats and intimidation, and collude like they are currently doing to XM radio.
  
  The really neat thing is, when they fail the collection agencies will have to deal directly with the artists and the people that buy the back catalogs. If it is a high tech company that purchases the catalogs. Look for a very rapid failure of the collection agencies. Think true accounting, think reporting a criminal enterprise to the authorities, think of all the fun
  
  /grabs a bag of microwave popcorn (to support the corn farmers) and sits back.

• On the post: Universal Music Claims Piracy Justifies Monopoly, Wants The Power To Control Digital Music Services

  

  Hephaestus ( profile ), 30 Mar, 2012 @ 09:59am

  Re: Re: All companies wish to be monopolies.

  You can't do that. You have to think of the artists rights and contracts, or their children's, children's, ... children's rights. Don't you love how screwed up this copyright system is when you try to do something good and 100+ year copyright gets in the way.

• On the post: Universal Music Claims Piracy Justifies Monopoly, Wants The Power To Control Digital Music Services

  

  Hephaestus ( profile ), 30 Mar, 2012 @ 09:56am

  Re: Re: All companies wish to be monopolies.

  Personally, if Justin, or Britney's music were lost forever I wouldn't mind at all. The rights will probably be sold for pennies on the dollar as people realize these are toxic assets. Hopefully to a couple tech companies that use them as loss leaders.

• On the post: Universal Music Claims Piracy Justifies Monopoly, Wants The Power To Control Digital Music Services

  

  Hephaestus ( profile ), 30 Mar, 2012 @ 08:39am

  All companies wish to be monopolies.

  Last year I commented about this very thing. I say that the EU should allow UMG to buy EMI's catalog, it will speed along the failure of all the record labels. The larger corporations become, the more difficult it is for them to adapt to a rapidly changing market place. Also after any merger, there is a period of chaos organizationally, making them less competitive.
  
  Since there are only 3 labels left after this merger, it creates a scenario for the perfect storm. UMG will not be allowed to purchase the next label that fails (SME or WMG). Both Sony and Warner are incapable of purchasing the other without causing their own financial collapse. It reduces the time remaining for the labels from 4-5 years to about 2-3 years.

• On the post: MPAA CTO Jumps Ship To Internet Society, An Opponent Of Greater Online Copyright Enforcement

  

  Hephaestus ( profile ), 30 Mar, 2012 @ 08:13am

  Re: Re:

  Here is the original joke ...
  
  Little Johnnie's teacher asked him how his weekend was.
  "Horribly, a car hit my dog in the ass," he said.
  She said, "Rectum."
  "Wrecked him?" Johnnie said. "Damn near killed him!"

• On the post: MPAA CTO Jumps Ship To Internet Society, An Opponent Of Greater Online Copyright Enforcement

  

  Hephaestus ( profile ), 30 Mar, 2012 @ 08:10am

  Re:

  "Someone tackle him and look inside to make sure that Sherman and Dodd aren't hiding in there."
  
  There is a "wrecked him, could have killed him" joke in there somewhere.

• On the post: National Highway Transportation Safety Agency Says You Can Keep Your GPS — As Long As It's Completely Useless

  

  Hephaestus ( profile ), 29 Mar, 2012 @ 08:32am

  God Damn! The map makers guild finally got a man in at the NHTSA.

• On the post: Independent Panel Compares London Riots To Arab Spring, Highlights Hypocrisy Of Wanting To Control Social Media

  

  Hephaestus ( profile ), 29 Mar, 2012 @ 07:09am

  Re: Re:

  This subject is one I have been studying for a couple years now.
  
  "And the sudden removal of these services from the people under orders of the Government would have taken something running out of control to an entirely new level."
  
  That happened in Egypt, the internet was shut down, the riots actually grew.
  
  By the time rioting happens it is already to late. The resentment, the anger, and fear do not happen over night, they take a long time to build. The underlying causes, in all cases, have been simmering and unresolved for years. All modern telecommunications does is accelerate the formation of these events. Typical government over response, escalation, and not addressing the underlying issues causes the cascade of events that follow.

• On the post: EU Parliament Won't Wait For EU Court Of Justice To Vote On ACTA

  

  Hephaestus ( profile ), 29 Mar, 2012 @ 06:35am

  Re: ACTA Is Dead In EU

  If the EU Parliament votes for ACTA you are going to see a big growth in the German pirate and green parties.

• On the post: Hollywood Up And Comers Recognizing That The Big Gatekeepers May Be More Of A Threat Than Silicon Valley

  

  Hephaestus ( profile ), 28 Mar, 2012 @ 07:14am

  Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re:

  No way for her to fake it, she is inflatable.

• On the post: Hollywood Up And Comers Recognizing That The Big Gatekeepers May Be More Of A Threat Than Silicon Valley

  

  Hephaestus ( profile ), 28 Mar, 2012 @ 07:12am

  Re: Re: Re: Re:

  Its actually fear you are sensing. If enough film makers run down this route Hollywood fails. In ten years, technology will make films like Avatar common place, on a shoe string budget no less. They will end the same way the record labels have, owning nothing more than the promotion part of the business. Truth be told, by then we will have figured out the promotion piece rendering them wholly obsolete.

• On the post: Another Boost For Generics: Brazilian Judge Annuls Patent On Key AIDS Drug

  

  Hephaestus ( profile ), 23 Mar, 2012 @ 09:51am

  Re:

  It reminds me of the way organized crime makes people pay protection money.

• On the post: File Sharing Drones Proof Of Concept Already Built

  

  Hephaestus ( profile ), 22 Mar, 2012 @ 08:36am

  Re: Re: Re:

  I am smiling ear to ear. For years the MPAA and RIAA have been accusing people of piracy. Soon we will be able to accuse them of the same thing. IRONY!

• On the post: Google Defends The DMCA's Safe Harbors Against The MPAA's Attempts To Reinterpret Them In Hotfile Case

  

  Hephaestus ( profile ), 22 Mar, 2012 @ 06:59am

  Re: Re: Re: Re:

  "All of those statements are laughably false, especially the last one."
  
  you mean this one ... ;)
  
  "All of these things are nearly direct quotes from the MPAA, RIAA, and those who defend them."

• On the post: ICANN Confirms That It's Going To Make It Easier For Governments To Seize Domains Around The Globe

  

  Hephaestus ( profile ), 21 Mar, 2012 @ 10:36am

  Re: Re:

  This will be used in a very anti-competitive way much like the DMCA take downs are. Once that happens other nations will to take control of their own DNS. There will be a split in the DNS. Then the "Geeks" will get involved, standards will happen, and it will be removed from government control.
  
  The internet is built on trust relationships, who do you think people and corporations will go to in the end? Gov or geek?

• On the post: ICANN Confirms That It's Going To Make It Easier For Governments To Seize Domains Around The Globe

  

  Hephaestus ( profile ), 21 Mar, 2012 @ 08:34am

  ICANN is going to create a backlash against them. This is going to have the exact opposite effect governments and corporations expect, they are going lose control over DNS.
  
  /grabs popcorn

• On the post: German Gov't Uses Anger Over Lack Of ACTA Transparency To Justify Further Lack Of Transparency

  

  Hephaestus ( profile ), 21 Mar, 2012 @ 06:53am

  "The fact that such "emotional discussions" have taken place demonstrates how deeply frustrated people are at the continuing lack of transparency surrounding the ACTA negotiations."
  
  This is a trend, everyone is getting frustrated at pretty much everything governments around the world are doing. Hence the tea party, the arab spring, SOPA-PIPA-ACTA rebellion, etc.

• On the post: No That Won't Backfire At All: Questionable Story About Obama's Daughter Disappears From The Web

  

  Hephaestus ( profile ), 20 Mar, 2012 @ 06:57am

  Re: Re: Re: Re: Follow up

  Actually, they just asked Anonymous to dial into the FBI briefing on the subject. ;)

• On the post: Journalism Opportunities Aren't Drying Up, They Are Just Changing

  

  Hephaestus ( profile ), 16 Mar, 2012 @ 06:39am

  Re:

  Hate to tell you this CNN and ABCNews are both biased, all big news media has become recently is opinion, political hype, and press releases.

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