John85851’s Techdirt Profile

On the post: Netflix Mocks NBC's Obsession With TV Ratings Systems Built For A Bygone Era

John85851 ( profile ), 21 Jan, 2016 @ 04:26pm

Scheduling

The other reason the traditional networks should be scared of Netflix is the scheduling aspect:
On Netflix, I can watch all the episodes of a season over a weekend if I want.

On traditional networks, we (still) have to wait until September for new episodes. Then we get to see maybe 8 episodes, then a "mid season finale", then another 4 or 5 episodes in March, then the rest of the episodes in May and June.

Maybe after almost 60 years of watching TV like this, people want to watch episodes back-to-back.

On the post: Hollywood Helps Show Why DMCA Takedowns Are Dangerous, By Taking Down Links To MPAA's Search Engine

John85851 ( profile ), 19 Jan, 2016 @ 10:17am

Re: Re: Live by the DMCA notice, get de-listed by the DMCA notice

And how would this work? Would Google argue with the MPAA's lawyers that the MPAA itself asked that the sites be whitelisted?
The problem still remains: the MPAA uses external companies and tools to issue takedowns and those companies are paid to find "bad links". If these companies cared about whether links are good or bad, they wouldn't issue takedowns to the MPAA's sites in the first place.

On the post: No, The Internet Hasn't Destroyed Quality Music Either

John85851 ( profile ), 15 Jan, 2016 @ 02:34pm

Re:

I was just about to say this.

So what happens when something actually does come along to hurt the music business and the RIAA tries to say something, but we're so used to their bull that we ignore it?

On the post: NBC Exec: Netflix Poses No Threat To Us, God Wants You To Watch Expensive, Legacy TV

John85851 ( profile ), 15 Jan, 2016 @ 02:20pm

They don't learn from history

This is just like the music industry:
Oh, don't worry that a few people download their music. They're outliers and tech nerds. People will always buy CD's.
Oh, don't worry that Apple's iTunes is becoming popular. People will always buy CD's.

Hey, how come no one's buying CD's? We totally didn't see that coming.

On the post: Metallica Sends 41 Page Legal Threat To Canadian Cover Band [Updated]

John85851 ( profile ), 14 Jan, 2016 @ 03:32pm

Which is worse...

Which is worse:
Metallica suing cover bands?
Or Metallica using a "loose cannon" lawyer that sues cover bands without their permission?

On the post: Woman Files Ridiculous Lawsuit Against Twitter For 'Providing Material Support' To ISIS

John85851 ( profile ), 14 Jan, 2016 @ 03:26pm

Sanction the lawyers

Mike, are you a lawyer? ;)

Follow me for a minute: If Mike isn't a lawyer and he knows Twitter is protected under Section 230 of the CDA, then what about lawyers who DO know the law?
Even if we assume they don't "know better" and they're going after Twitter for the money, they should be slapped down and sanctioned by the judge.

The only way to stop lawsuits like this is to start sanctioning the lawyers who think they can wring money out of large corporations.

On the post: German Publishers Still Upset That Google Sends Them Traffic Without Paying Them Too; File Lawsuit

John85851 ( profile ), 07 Jan, 2016 @ 03:54pm

It really makes you wonder about the thought process of the folks who run VG Media.
The thought process is: Google is showing a snippet of my story so they must be making off of it somehow. I don't know how, but somehow. Therefore, I want a cut of that income because it's mine.
I don't care if people are coming to my site and it's my webmaster's job to monetize that traffic- I want a cut of whatever Google is making.

And what's Bing and Yahoo? Google is the Internet.

On the post: Understanding David Lowery's Lawsuit Against Spotify: The Insanity Of Music Licensing

John85851 ( profile ), 05 Jan, 2016 @ 10:20am

Why doesn't this guy become a lawyer

If he knows so much about the arcane workings of music copyright law, why doesn't he become a lawyer instead of a musician? He could probably make a lot more money at it.

On the post: One Of Congress's Biggest Defenders Of NSA Surveillance Suddenly Aghast That NSA May Have Spied On Him

John85851 ( profile ), 30 Dec, 2015 @ 12:35pm

Ah, he's a Republican

Sorry for the generalization, but it seems like these kinds of stories happen all the time with Republicans.
* "We need to have better family values in this country, but ignore the fact that I'm texting underage boys."
* "Unwed teenage girls are bad and they're a drain on our society. Oh, look, Bristol Palin had her second child from a second father and she's not married. How brave."
* "Drug users are bad and should go to jail for life. Except me. I don't abuse Oxycontin- I can stop anytime I want."
* "Obama wasn't born in this country [though he was] so he can't be president. Cruz was born in Canada but he can be president."
* "Obama is a Muslim even though he attended church with a controversial Christian pastor."

On the post: CBS Sues Over Star Trek Fan Film Because It Sounds Like It's Going To Be Pretty Good

John85851 ( profile ), 30 Dec, 2015 @ 12:27pm

A case of quality

I think the real issue is that CBS or Paramount is seeing that good quality Star Trek projects can be made for $1 million, and which fans will love.
Compare this to the beating CBS and Paramount took from fans over the Fast and Furious style trailer for "Star Trek Beyond". Even Simon Pegg (the writer) and Justin Lin (the director) complained that the "Beyond" trailer wasn't what didn't reflect the movie they made, yet it's what the Paramount marketing people released.

So if Paramount can't win over fans with a new Star Trek movie, then they'll do the next best thing: make sure no one else can make Star Trek movies.

On the post: UK Home Secretary Wants Everyone's Metadata; But If You Ask For Hers, Gov't Says You're Being Vexatious

John85851 ( profile ), 29 Dec, 2015 @ 10:07am

She has nothing to hide

I don't see why her office has an issue with the FOIA requests. After all, if she didn't do anything wrong then she has nothing to hide.

On the post: Book Publisher Has No Idea How Google Works But Pretty Sure It Could End Piracy If It Tried

John85851 ( profile ), 29 Dec, 2015 @ 10:05am

All of Publisher's Weekly is now invalidated

It's all well and good that Tim can write a scathing essay like this, but the fact still stands that Publisher's Weekly thought this guy's article was so good that they published it, without any regard to the facts or how printing something like this could damage their reputation.
Wasn't there an editor (or 2 or 3) that said "wait a second, that's not how Google works" and told the guy to re-write his paper?

If this guy's article is the type of quality articles published in Publisher's Weekly, I doubt the validity of anything else.

On the post: NY Times Warns About Europe Expanding The 'Right To Be Forgotten'

John85851 ( profile ), 24 Dec, 2015 @ 12:00pm

Let them do it

I say to let the EU apply their Right to be Forgotten law all over the world, on the one condition that they honor other countries' takedown notices under the same law.
I don't think it'll take very long until the US and Europe are buried under requests from China, Russia, North Korea, and Iran to take down "imperialistic and capitalist" sites.

Here's a quick hypothetical: suppose the bin Laden family doesn't want their business tarnished by Osama bin Laden and they file Right to be Forgotten notices. How soon until the entire history of 9/11, Seal Team Six, and "Zero Dark Thirty" are erased. Do the bin Ladens even have the political power to "forget" an Academy Award-winning Hollywood movie?

On the post: Venezuela Sues US Website Owners For 'Racketeering' And 'Cyberterrorism' To Try To Shut Them Up About Exchange Rates

John85851 ( profile ), 23 Dec, 2015 @ 02:00pm

Take the case

If I were the judge, I'd take the case just so Venezuela has to expose all of their corruption and inflation in open court. Do the bank leaders really think suing people is a good way to keep them quiet about an issue?

On the post: Hateful Eight Pirated From The Inside, Widely Available, And It Won't Stop Its Success At The Box Office

John85851 ( profile ), 23 Dec, 2015 @ 01:43pm

What about camcordings?

Is it safe to assume the screener copy is Blu-Ray quality and surround sound?
If so, and if this copy is estimated to be downloaded between 200,000 and 600,000 times, why the **** is the MPAA going after terrible quality cam-corded versions?

Oh, right, because pulling a guy out of a theater and confiscating his Google glasses "sends a message" better than arresting the head of a production-finance company for letting his copy get "borrowed" by his office staff.
After all, the MPAA wouldn't want to upset someone who might give them money for their movies.

On the post: Nineteen-Hour 'Standoff' Ends With Law Enforcement Officers Destroying An Empty House

John85851 ( profile ), 22 Dec, 2015 @ 09:56am

Re:

And how will this affect their views of the police, KBI, and FBI? How will they treat any law enforcement officer in the future, knowing these officers ruined their Christmas?

You know the old saying- respect has to be earned... and in this case, all respect has been lost.

On the post: Law Enforcement Wants To Be Able To Seize The Cars And Homes Of People Convicted On Child Porn Charges

John85851 ( profile ), 22 Dec, 2015 @ 08:35am

Two points

1) Like you said, it's human nature not to wipe hard drives clean. So, yes, there's a chance that an auctioned hard drive will contain illegal material... as well as financial and other person data. Oh, look, there's the guy's Quicken file with all his bank information. Oh, look, when the browser is opened, it's still logged into Facebook, Twitter, and all the illegal sites.

2) The bigger issue is how we, as a society, are treating sexual offenders so badly. Now, don't get me wrong, these crimes are horrible and the offender should be punished when found guilty. But we never see these laws for violent offenders. Let me rephrase the proposal:

The bill would allow the court to seize and sell items, excluding hard drives, that are used by murderers and serial killers.

If someone is convicted of a sexual crime, they have to go on a registry for the rest of their life, tell their neighbors when they move into a community, and possibly have their assets seized.
By comparison, a murderer can serve his 50 years, get out of jail, never have to go on a "murderer registry", never tell his neighbors, and never have his assets seized.

On the post: Senator Tom Cotton Slams Apple CEO Tim Cook For Protecting User Privacy; Demonstrates Pure Ignorance Of The Law

John85851 ( profile ), 21 Dec, 2015 @ 01:03pm

Re: Lead by Example

I give it 2 weeks before we have pictures of a mistress, we find out your wife is cheating on you, and you're 9 trillion dollars in debt.
This is a mild example. I was going to say that without encryption, we'd find his iMessage texts to underage boys about gay porn.
And why is it that so many legislators who think they're "crusaders" are always hiding some kind of sick secret like this?

On the post: 'Credible' Email Bomb Threat Shuts Down LA Schools… Sent From 'madbomber@cock.li'

John85851 ( profile ), 16 Dec, 2015 @ 05:44pm

Re: Re: Was Ther Ever a Real Bomb Threat?

I was just about to say this.

I'd be interested to learn if there was ever any kind of terrorist activity that happened after a threat was called in. Like you said, threats are just that- threats... or maybe distractions.

Did anyone call New York on 9/11 to say they would be flying planes into buildings? Did anyone call in a threat to San Bernadino, Sandy Hook, or any other mass shooting sites?

Yet the school officials are worried that this will be the one time (out of 10,000 threats) that something happens and they'll be blamed for not doing something.

On the post: Law Professor: ISIS Is, Like, Totally Scary, So Let's Do Away With The First Amendment

John85851 ( profile ), 16 Dec, 2015 @ 05:23pm

How about restricting the Second Amendment

It seems like we hear story after story about how politicians, law-makers, and "think tank" people want to restrict people's 1st or 4th amendment rights in the name of stopping terrorism.

You know what else will stop terrorism, or at least mass shootings? How about restricting people's 2nd amendment right to own guns.

I find it extremely hypocritical when people scream "take away their right to free speech" and then turn around and say "you can't take their guns away".

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