iSights 's Techdirt Comments

Latest Comments (478)

• On the post: 80% Of Cord Cutters Leave Because Of High Cable TV Prices, But The Industry Still Refuses To Compete On Price

  

  iSights ( profile ), 19 Jun, 2017 @ 07:10am

  Re:

  I cut over two years ago, and while I still watch some TV, almost all of it comes from Netflix, Hulu, and HBO Now (total cost: $37/mo).
  
  Occasionally when I'm on a trip I'll turn on the TV in the hotel room and try to watch "normal" television, with all of the ads and crawlers and interstitials and interrupters... and I wonder just who would be dumb enough to pay over $100/mo for that kind of abuse.

• On the post: Donald Trump Happily Repeating Lie About Google Autocomplete Suppressing Negative Hillary News

  

  iSights ( profile ), 29 Sep, 2016 @ 01:15pm

  Re: Biased for Trump?

  Looks to me like it's biased in favor of Trump.
  
  I typed in "Donald Trump ch" and failed to get "Donald Trump cheating". In fact, I have to go all the way to "Donald Trump chea" to even get "donald trump cheated architect"...

• On the post: MPAA Boss: Actually Being Good To Consumers Would Be Horrible For Hollywood

  

  iSights ( profile ), 27 Jun, 2016 @ 10:11am

  Pricing

  I think this is more about controlling pricing A movie might be marketed in one country at one rate but priced lower elsewhere.

• On the post: NBC Smells Cord Cutting On The Wind, Will Reduce 'SNL' Ad Load By 30% Next Season

  

  iSights ( profile ), 26 Apr, 2016 @ 10:44am

  Re: Almost but not quite good enough

  I watch Netflix or HBO Now or occasionally buy a movie or series from iTunes to watch on my AppleTV.
  
  I do not watch commercial cable television with advertising. Period.
  
  Five minutes of content interlaced with (seemingly) five minutes of ads? And, usually, always the same ads?
  
  Drives me crazy, so I cut the cable TV cord years ago.

• On the post: We Read All 20 Filings In Support Of Apple Against The FBI; Here Are The Most Interesting Points

  

  iSights ( profile ), 04 Mar, 2016 @ 02:11pm

  Re: Re: The Other Question

  Just go with the Hobby Lobby "'agin my religion" defense.

• On the post: No, The FBI Does Not 'Need' The Info On Farook's iPhone; This Is Entirely About The Precedent

  

  iSights ( profile ), 22 Feb, 2016 @ 12:21pm

  Overreach

  Apple's stance, and the real question, is whether or that this is a lawful request.
  
  A court can issue a warrant to search my premises. They could, potentially, hire someone to attempt to break into my safe. But they don't have the right to go to the manufacturer of that safe and require them to build a device that lets someone else crack the safe they can't figure out how to crack otherwise.
  
  That's judicial overreach.

• On the post: Cord Cutting's Not-So Imaginary Any More: One Fifth Of Consumers Could Ditch Cable TV Next Year

  

  iSights ( profile ), 23 Dec, 2015 @ 01:06pm

  Re: Re: Re: Adapt or be left behind

  Sure about that? We have Cox and the Internet-only bill is MUCH less than the cable/internet bundle deal.

• On the post: Predictable: The Fragmented Media Will Give Us All Our Post-Oregon-Shooting Outrage Blankets

  

  iSights ( profile ), 03 Oct, 2015 @ 11:56am

  Re:

  Kids in the classroom probably felt the same way about Virginia Tech and Columbine and Aurora.
  
  That's "felt", past tense.

• On the post: Predictable: The Fragmented Media Will Give Us All Our Post-Oregon-Shooting Outrage Blankets

  

  iSights ( profile ), 02 Oct, 2015 @ 02:57pm

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

  "... the consequences of shooting the wrong person are horrible..."
  
  Not really. You just need to police your shell casings....
  
  http://www.khou.com/story/news/2015/09/27/one-man-injured-after-carjacking-shooting-at-gas-station/72923278/

• On the post: Predictable: The Fragmented Media Will Give Us All Our Post-Oregon-Shooting Outrage Blankets

  

  iSights ( profile ), 02 Oct, 2015 @ 02:55pm

  Re: Re:

  Was the “gun free zone” a factor in Aurora?
  
  One might note that there was an armed presence at both Columbine and Virginia Tech, and yet those two schools were targeted anyway.
  
  If armed guards are not always a deterrent, would a determined attacker shift targets simply because of the possibility there could be be a civilian with a gun in this particular theater? More to the point, would an attacker wearing a ballistic helmet, body armor, and armed with an assault weapon and two Glock pistols even care?
  
  The assertion that Holmes bypassed the two “closest” theaters specifically to choose the Cinemark is not particularly telling, given that the first was a smaller Hispanic-audience theater and the second a dinner theater.
  
  Nor can we give much weight to the fact that Holmes ignored the “largest” theater in his immediate area. The lack of nearby parking and the constant flow of pedestrians, traffic, and armed patrols around all sides of the building would have made the Harkins a much riskier target.
  
  The Cinemark Century 16, however, was a major theater close to home. It was known. The rear of the building was private and secluded, and Holmes could park just feet away from the theater’s emergency exit.
  
  It was perfect.
  
  http://www.gunfaq.org/2013/04/aurora-and-the-gun-free-zone-theory/

• On the post: Predictable: The Fragmented Media Will Give Us All Our Post-Oregon-Shooting Outrage Blankets

  

  iSights ( profile ), 02 Oct, 2015 @ 02:50pm

  Re: Faming the guilty

  "This was in a gun-free zone."
  
  Sorry, but no. Not only was Umpqua Community College NOT a gun free zone by law, there were also people with guns on campus at the time of the massacre.
  
  But according to reports, by the time one of the individuals with a gun was aware of the shooting, the SWAT team had already responded. Concerned that police would view him as a “bad guy” and target him, so he quickly retreated back into the classroom.
  
  As Oregon is one of seven states that allows concealed carry on postsecondary campuses, you might try getting your facts straight before repeating falsehoods.
  
  You are, however, right about one thing: Sooner or later, public attitude WILL solve this.

• On the post: Chicago Rages Against The Future With 9% Tax On Netflix, Spotify And Other Streaming Services

  

  iSights ( profile ), 05 Jul, 2015 @ 06:42pm

  Re: Re:

  Certainly. State tax, county tax, city and municipal taxes. You can even define special tax zones within a city, something commonly done to build yet another sports stadium or arena financed with tax dollars.

• On the post: Chicago Rages Against The Future With 9% Tax On Netflix, Spotify And Other Streaming Services

  

  iSights ( profile ), 05 Jul, 2015 @ 02:09pm

  Re: Re: Re: Re: Ha

  "Even O'Reilly himself is now saying things like, "All right, the gay marriage thing, I don't feel that strongly about it one way or the other." If that troglodyte can evolve can't you?"
  
  He didn't evolve. He just finds it advantageous to not stick his neck out. Rest assured, if O'Reilly thought the wind was in his favor, we'd still be hearing about turtles.

• On the post: Chicago Rages Against The Future With 9% Tax On Netflix, Spotify And Other Streaming Services

  

  iSights ( profile ), 03 Jul, 2015 @ 10:19am

  Re:

  The 9% tax on cloud-based infrastructure is the larger issue.

• On the post: Chicago Rages Against The Future With 9% Tax On Netflix, Spotify And Other Streaming Services

  

  iSights ( profile ), 03 Jul, 2015 @ 07:06am

  Re: Re:

  No fun questions whatsoever. Is the billing address in Chicago? How about the card used to pay for the services? If so, done and done.
  
  Which doesn't stop it -- especially the internet services part -- from being exceedingly stupid.
  
  Worse, taxing internet services only impacts smaller businesses and startups, as any larger company or corporation will simply setup things so that any services paid for are done elsewhere.

• On the post: Chicago Rages Against The Future With 9% Tax On Netflix, Spotify And Other Streaming Services

  

  iSights ( profile ), 02 Jul, 2015 @ 03:06pm

  Re: This isn't just about Netflix

  Can you say "shortsighted" and "stupid" boys and girls?

• On the post: Chicago Rages Against The Future With 9% Tax On Netflix, Spotify And Other Streaming Services

  

  iSights ( profile ), 02 Jul, 2015 @ 03:04pm

  Re: Re: Re:

  Local businesses need to pay local and state sales taxes because they use and depend on roads, water, gas, police, fire departments, and other local infrastructure. Internet-based businesses do not.
  
  Now, Amazon does, in fact, ship things to you... via trucks owned by shipping companies that pay local taxes, and via trucks licensed locally, and fueled locally.
  
  IOW, that local FedEx warehouse pays property taxes and income taxes. The truck driving down your street is licensed and pays excise taxes. The gas in it is taxed. And so on.
  
  In short, those trucks that are still "using the roads" have already paid to do so, and taxing them twice over makes no sense at all.

• On the post: Yet Another Horrible Comcast Customer Service Experience Goes Viral

  

  iSights ( profile ), 31 Dec, 2014 @ 11:34am

  Re: "Senior VP of Customer Experience"

  And then there's...
  
  Comcast users in various parts of the country have already gotten (or may soon get) a lovely holiday present from their ISP—a seemingly inexplicable increase in the cable modem rental fee, from $8 to $10 per month.
  
  arstechnica.com/business/2014/12/comcast-just-upped-its-cable-modem-rental-fee-from-8-to-10-per-month/
  
  Apparently a 12-month "contract" is no such thing whatsoever.

• On the post: Iowa Dept. Of Transportation Announces Plan To Give Police Officers, Security Personnel Full Access To Your Smartphone

  

  iSights ( profile ), 16 Dec, 2014 @ 03:13pm

  Re: Is a warrant still needed?

  Apple's iOS has a little known feature called "guided access" which you can use to lock a phone to a single running app.
  
  So potentially you could pull up the app, lock it, and hand your phone over and the only thing they could see is that app.

• On the post: Payment Wars: How Merchants And Carriers Are Trying To Block Payment Systems They Can't Track

  

  iSights ( profile ), 28 Oct, 2014 @ 12:40pm

  Re: Re: Re: Re:

  The point is that Apple Pay is built on Visa's and Mastercard's standard, not Apple's.
  
  Or do "standards" not count unless they're "open".

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