jsf 's Techdirt Comments

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  • On the post: Twitter Makes It Official: No More 3rd Party Clients Allowed

    jsf ( profile ), 23 Jan, 2023 @ 06:30am

    Community and existing contact method

    For many people they already have an existing community on Twitter. So leaving Twitter would mean leaving their community. A still have a Twitter account, but have never really been active there. In the case of some individuals and organizations it is still the only way I have of contacting them. So until they set up a new means of contact I will still have an account and nothing else.

  • On the post: Fresh Off Its Merger Failure(s), AT&T Gets Back To Promising Big Fiber Investments That May Or May Not Happen

    jsf ( profile ), 26 Jan, 2022 @ 08:37am

    Avoiding Competition

    I live in one in a Chicago suburb with one of the highest per capita income in the state, and the best speed AT&T offers here is 18MB down. This is a fairly recent boost from the 1.5MB max they offered a few years ago.

    Meanwhile we have two cable providers, Comcast and WoW, that offer 1GB+. It would be great to have more competition, but I doubt AT&T would be interested.

  • On the post: The Internet Is Not Just Facebook, Google & Twitter: Creating A 'Test Suite' For Your Great Idea To Regulate The Internet

    jsf ( profile ), 19 Mar, 2021 @ 07:41am

    Maker Community

    I see Instructables, but I would suggest adding a couple more "maker" associated sites as well. Maybe places like hackaday.com or thingiverse.com.

  • On the post: Politics Is Not A Game

    jsf ( profile ), 11 Jan, 2021 @ 08:27am

    No, it is a game

    I have to disagree with the title and premise that politics is not a game. Politics in this country, along with the entwined capitalist business world, has been a game since day one.

    The majority of players in the arena at the federal level have always been playing a game and that game is to stay "in power" and benefit themselves and those they call friends. Now their "friends" may well include their constituents, but no politician has ever done what is best for literally everyone.

    Even those with the "best intentions" are always playing the balancing game of needing to stay in office, in order to continue to push their agenda. How many times have you actually seen one of them commit political suicide just to do what is best for most Americans. It happens, but is so rare that it is considered an oddity.

    In particular at the federal level these folks are so disconnected from the everyday lives of the people that they represent that it all just becomes a game to keep their office, improve their committee positions, push their agenda and so on.

    An important thing to note is that it is always "their agenda". Not the peoples agenda, not their constituents agenda, but "their" agenda. They don't really represent even a majority of the people that voted for them. There agendas only represent those that are closest to them and have the most influence.

    All of this leads to a great disconnect from how their decisions actually affect the country, and the world, at the level of the people they are supposed to represent. Which in turn makes it all just a game.

    The biggest problem with treating like a game is that most people don't really understand how games work. Almost everyone assumes that a game must be zero sum and there MUST be a winner. This attitude is what has lead to where we are today. The change really needs to change to understand that the game does not need to be zero sum. Like the cooperative board games that have become popular in the past decade, the game can be played in a way that everyone, or at least almost everyone, can benefit and win.

  • On the post: Trump Fires US Cybersecurity Director Chris Krebs After Krebs Debunks Trump's Claims Of Election Systems Fraud

    jsf ( profile ), 18 Nov, 2020 @ 07:49am

    Re:

    Given the common definitions of insane/insanity Trump does seem to meet the criteria at times. He often does not seem to perceive the world or behave normally. Insane
    adjective
    1.
    in a state of mind which prevents normal perception, behavior, or social interaction; seriously mentally ill.

  • On the post: Ravinia Festival Bullies Startup Brewery, Leading The Brewery To Shut Down Plans For Opening

    jsf ( profile ), 15 Mar, 2018 @ 10:50am

    Having been to the Ravinia Festival for at least a dozen concerts, I can confirm that they are in the "restaurant services" business. they have multiple restaurants on the grounds and you can rent them out on non-show dates.

    The trademark claims about there being no others that use Ravinia in their name however are definitely bullshit.

    In the Chicago area whenever anyone says the word Ravinia, they are talking about the music venue, not anything else. But that should not give them exclusive rights to the name.

  • On the post: Financial Times Editorial: Time To 'Ditch' Corporate Sovereignty In Trade Deals

    jsf ( profile ), 23 May, 2017 @ 07:58am

    Re: Re: Off Topic, but...

    And Rocket Lab is hoping to launch the Electron rocket from New Zealand this week. <https://spaceflightnow.com/2017/05/23/rocket-lab-delays-debut-of-new-launcher-to-dodge-bad-weather/&gt;

  • On the post: EU Court Of Justice Says The Shape Of Rubik's Cube Should Not Be Trademarked

    jsf ( profile ), 11 Nov, 2016 @ 09:35am

    Re: Easy solution.. Longer patent terms

    That won't do. It should be life, plus 95 years. ;-)

  • On the post: Trump's Very First Tweet As President Elect Basically Shits On The First Amendment

    jsf ( profile ), 11 Nov, 2016 @ 09:57am

    More Important Things To Do

    Regardless of anything Trump has said in the past, as the President Elect shouldn't he have more important things he should be doing besides posting to Twitter? Like maybe making preparations to run the country.

  • On the post: China's Manufacturers Now Producing Copies Before Original Products Are Even Launched

    jsf ( profile ), 21 Oct, 2016 @ 08:42am

    Re: Are we even reading the same article here?

    They could be referring to stuff that is typically considered a trade secret. Something that may not be patentable, but as long as it is a secret you have a potential advantage. Classic examples of trade secrets are the recipe for Coca-Cola or Twinkies, the formula for WD-40, the algorithm used to create the New York Times Bestseller List.

  • On the post: Netflix Tries To Blame Press Coverage Of Its Price Hikes For Lower Than Expected Subscriber Additions

    jsf ( profile ), 20 Jul, 2016 @ 07:44am

    Re:

    I ran into this situation as well. A half dozen people mentioned seeing the Netflix price increase in the news and were wondering if they should cancel. When I mentioned that it was a one dollar increase they all went quite.

    So there may well be something behind what Netflix said. They may be giving it more emphasis than it really had, but I think it is a real thing.

  • On the post: Appeals Court Says That Sharing Passwords Can Violate Criminal Anti-Hacking Laws

    jsf ( profile ), 08 Jul, 2016 @ 06:53am

    Re: Re: Re:

    So what about handing the keys to a valet to park your car, or an attendant at a car wash, or the tow truck driver, auto service mechanic, etc. Do you need specific permission from your company for every possibility? Does the company have to create a legal document that spells out the exact details for all of these possibilities?

  • On the post: Led Zeppelin Wins Copyright Case Over Stairway To Heaven

    jsf ( profile ), 24 Jun, 2016 @ 07:55am

    Re: Re:

    If just looking for things that are similar then they both "ripped off" Giovanni's Sonata di Chittarra.

  • On the post: Game Studio's Plan To Deal With Critic Of Games: Sue Him To Hell

    jsf ( profile ), 13 Apr, 2016 @ 08:02am

    Re: Re: Re:

    Yes he is fighting back, and yes he is getting to do it with YoutTube/Google money. Should be fun, so get out the popcorn.

  • On the post: Google's Self-Driving Car Causes First Accident, As Programmers Try To Balance Human Simulacrum And Perfection

    jsf ( profile ), 02 Mar, 2016 @ 08:44am

    Re: Re: Re: Re:

    There are "failure to yield" laws out there. They just probably don't apply in this case.

    Usually the laws address things like failure to yield to pedestrians or emergency vehicles. There are also some out there that specifically address roundabouts and traffic circles.

  • On the post: Is There Any Evidence In The World That Would Convince Intelligence Community That More Surveillance Isn't The Answer?

    jsf ( profile ), 19 Nov, 2015 @ 07:48am

    Different Question

    The thing is that more surveillance is the answer for the leaders of the intelligence community. It is just that the question they are trying to answer is different than the one you are asking.

    For them the question is not how can we make things safer? The question they are trying to answer is how can I/we get more power and a bigger budget?

    More surveillance most definitely answers the second question.

  • On the post: Cable Company Totally Unsure What Neighborhoods It Serves, Wants $117,000 For Broadband Service

    jsf ( profile ), 05 Oct, 2015 @ 07:22am

    Re: Re: Well there's your problem...

    AT&T did this with U-verse. We got a bunch of mailings saying it was available. Yeah not so much seeing as they hadn't even bother deploying DSL to our neighborhood yet.

    This was in a near Chicago suburb, in a neighborhood that has been fully built out since the 1980's. DSL only became available around 2010!

    We do have two cable internet options Comcast and WOW.

  • On the post: Blue Cross Threatens To End Coverage For Patients At Christian Hospital Group Over Blue Cross Logo

    jsf ( profile ), 15 Sep, 2015 @ 07:13am

    There is more than one BCBS Company

    While this is a dumb lawsuit there is something that a lot of people don't seem to understand about BCBS. They are not a single company and the original article gets this all wrong.

    There are actually 60+ BCBS companies. One or more for each state. Although they are mostly owned by less than a dozen parent organizations these days.

    Each individual company has a license to use the BCBS name and trademarks from the BCBS Association. They also have a bunch of other cross company agreements through the BCBS Association to honor each others pricing when covering things that occur outside each companies territory.

    In this particular case it is the BCBS Association that is the trouble maker. Yeah a small technical detail, but a significant difference when you realize that the BCBS Association's main product is the trademarks they hold and license. They don't sell insurance themselves.

    Some of the BCBS companies are nasty profit mongers, some are not. It all depends on how they were created and in what state. One very big thing that most people don't understand about insurance is that it was and still is regulated at the state level. So every state has different rules. Which is why there are so many BCBS companies. Back in the day insurance couldn't cross state lines. Just like banks used to be.

    And a final note. I do not work for any BCBS company or any insurance company for that matter. I just know a moderate amount about them.

  • On the post: Arkham Knight PC Game Arrives Just In Time To Demonstrate Why Steam Needed Refunds

    jsf ( profile ), 25 Jun, 2015 @ 08:20am

    Re: Re: Re: Re: Re:

    Supposedly a crack is already available. Two days after release. So much for the new and improved DRM.

  • On the post: Legal Giant Dentons Demonstrates Exactly How Not To Respond To Critical Media Coverage

    jsf ( profile ), 25 Jun, 2015 @ 07:02am

    Re: Don't pick a fight with a publisher

    Even more so for a publication that is run by and for lawyers. (Where is that giant facepalm tag when you need it?)

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