Dan 's Techdirt Comments

Latest Comments (425)

• On the post: Techdirt Has Been Deleted From Bing And DuckDuckGo

  

  Dan ( profile ), 27 Jul, 2023 @ 11:59am

  Not enough shilling

  Well, we all know how big of a shill Mike is. If he hasn't been shilling enough for Bing, these things happen.

• On the post: Federal Court Rejects FBI’s Attempt To Glomar Its Way Out Of A Trump-Related FOIA Lawsuit

  

  Dan ( profile ), 16 May, 2023 @ 04:41pm

  More of the same

  This is akin to 9/11. "We can't actually say if spying on everybody has foiled a terrist attack. It would destroy our ability to do so. Just trust us." I wish I could get a job where there was no need to show any productivity on my part.

• On the post: As Expected, FEC Easily Tosses Out GOP’s Whiny Complaint About Google Classifying Their Spam As Spam

  

  Dan ( profile ), 20 Jan, 2023 @ 02:16am

  I think you nailed it...

  TheResidentSkeptic's comment is right on point, IMHO. Some people never consider that frequency is one of the things that makes spam. I've seen something useless only once or twice... not spam. I've seen very useful things in my box every other day... spam. Many times the value, or lack thereof, is irrelevant. If you send it to me every other day, I'll have no choice but to get it out of the way. And the algorithms are going to figure out that my preferences.

• On the post: After Dumb Lobbying Delays And Ample Watering Down, NY Passes Landmark ‘Right To Repair’ Bill

  

  Dan ( profile ), 30 Dec, 2022 @ 04:40am

  Not really a step forward

  According to Louis Rossmann it isn't a step forward. According to him, (I'm paraphrasing here) somebody snuck in a line that manufacturers only need to provide assemblies, not parts. This is exactly what they do now, and a practice this bill was to eliminate. In his opinion, the bill is useless. I tend to agree with this particular expert. The argument can be made that "this opens the door to other bills". The powers that be will likely neuter those also.

• On the post: Kentucky Court Tells Anonymous Covington Students They Can’t Sue For Defamation If They’re Anonymous

  

  Dan ( profile ), 29 Sep, 2022 @ 01:01am

  That Anonymous Coward, or that one, or that one...?

  "That Anonymous Coward" has always be used as a proper name [here]. But I wonder for how much longer? I mean, there are so many of you now on the Internet, to be generic. "Are you talking about, 'That Anonymous Coward'?" "No. I meant this one. Or maybe this one... Damnit! the thread history is so confusing."

• On the post: France Uses AI To Find Swimming Pools For Tax Purposes

  

  Dan ( profile ), 01 Sep, 2022 @ 03:09am

  It's art...

  Wait for the pool liner with a lawn print or alternate colors. "It's not tax evasion, it's art." Vive la France!

• On the post: Lenovo Sends Legal Goons After Upstart Competitor Framework… Because Of A 3D Printed Case Power Button

  

  Dan ( profile ), 22 Aug, 2022 @ 05:11pm

  I agree, but...

  I agree with everything said in the article, but... Fisrt of all, there is only so many ways to design a power button in a way to be functional. Points to Framework's side. Havging said that, I've seen the Lenovo symbol being used as the basis for (the story is that it was a cease and desist), and Lenovo has a point in that the law says if you don't defend something like this, you loose the ability to fight against it in the future. If Lenovo let this slide as innocent (which it is, IMHO) the fact they did, could be used as evidence in a subsequent case where someone was maliciously using their trademark. Lonovo could then loose the trademark forever. It's a collaterial consequence of a vaguely written law. The way I see it, they didn't have a real (legally intelligent) choice, regardless if they thought it was an innocent use or not. Like it, don't like it, all you want. And I have never been one to side with companies that are heavy-handed about this sort of thing.

• On the post: Techdirt Podcast Episode 320: Elon Musk Doesn’t Understand Twitter

  

  Dan ( profile ), 17 May, 2022 @ 02:06pm

  In answer to the headline...

  Nobody understands Twitter.

• On the post: Team Biden Celebrates Broadband Accomplishments, Yet Is Leaving FCC Nominee Gigi Sohn Hanging Out To Dry

  

  Dan ( profile ), 10 May, 2022 @ 07:40am

  Ya, right.

  I'll believe all this, when I see it. Call me skeptical.

• On the post: Despite What Fox News Tells You, A New Study Did Not ‘Prove’ That Gmail Is Targeting Conservatives

  

  Dan ( profile ), 11 Apr, 2022 @ 12:21pm

  Once you teach someone, er something, something...

  I was always under the impression that these were learning algorithms. The more people that mark something as "spam", the algorithms learn that it must be spam. If that is the case, I know two things: 1) It's not Goggle [et al.] at fault. 2) Conservatives favor outdated mail systems like Yahoo and Outlook.

• On the post: Analog Books Go From Strength To Strength: Helped, Not Hindered, By The Digital World

  

  Dan ( profile ), 11 Feb, 2022 @ 08:35pm

  Depends...

  As far as convivence, it Depends. Paper books can be better on the can.

• On the post: Moar Consolidation: Sony Acquires Bungie, But Appears To Be More Hands Off Than Microsoft

  

  Dan ( profile ), 02 Feb, 2022 @ 09:01pm

  Halo, a Sony exclusive...

  My first thought...Halo, a Sony exclusive. LOL

• On the post: US Court To Gruyere Cheese People: No, You Can't Ban People From Calling Their Cheese Gruyere If They Aren't Your Neighbors

  

  Dan ( profile ), 15 Jan, 2022 @ 12:39pm

  Re: A bit late

  I always thought this arrangement was a bit janky. You enforce it, you're a troll. You don't, and you lose it. A really subjective and blurry line of when you should or shouldn't, even with the "within the same product category" requirement.

• On the post: US Court To Gruyere Cheese People: No, You Can't Ban People From Calling Their Cheese Gruyere If They Aren't Your Neighbors

  

  Dan ( profile ), 15 Jan, 2022 @ 04:48am

  I feel so sorry for these guys

  I feel so sorry for these guys. Someone pass me a Kleenex. Oops... Sorry, I meant a tissue.

• On the post: Monster Energy Buys A Brewery; Trademark Lawsuits Are Almost Sure To Follow

  

  Dan ( profile ), 14 Jan, 2022 @ 06:11am

  Just wait until the genetics folks craft an actual monster

  Just wait until the genetics folks craft an actual monster. Let's see 'em win that one.

• On the post: America's Struggling Satellite TV Companies Once Again Propose A Terrible MegaMerger

  

  Dan ( profile ), 13 Jan, 2022 @ 10:13am

  Satellite is so 20th century

  Slightly off topic but I was thinking about this the other day and wonder if satellite TV and satellite radio don't also suffer from another problem. Does it really make efficient sense to get either from a satellite when there is a cell phone tower or cable tap close by? Sure, satellite may make sense for a network TV feed for an affiliate to grab, but not much else. As for music, why should I pay for a feed all the way from space, when Android Auto serves a Pandora feed to my car just fine?

  Since AT&T discovered that a land cable gets a phone call around the world more reliably, I suppose they have to do something with the unused satellite transponders. And I don't think that the broadband from space is going to go far, except for niche situations either.

• On the post: Clearview's Facial Recognition AI One Of The Best In The Business, Says NIST

  

  Dan ( profile ), 06 Dec, 2021 @ 03:15pm

  It's all relative...

  If I have several steaming piles of crap in front of me to choose from, which is the best?

• On the post: Colorado Appeals Court Says A Drug Dog That Alerts On Now-Legal Weed Can't Create Probable Cause For A Search

  

  Dan ( profile ), 03 Dec, 2021 @ 07:56am

  I see the point, but...

  I see the point that dogs trained as they are are potentially useless, but considering their previous use as a free pass, I have no sympathies on that whatsoever.

• On the post: Helicopter Footage Obtained By The ACLU Shows Pervasive Surveillance Of Peaceful Anti-Police Violence Protests

  

  Dan ( profile ), 24 Nov, 2021 @ 12:34pm

  Re: Police concerned about drivers of change

  Agreed. They want things just as they are. They would have a sh*t fit if the cameras couldn't be turned off either.

• On the post: Helicopter Footage Obtained By The ACLU Shows Pervasive Surveillance Of Peaceful Anti-Police Violence Protests

  

  Dan ( profile ), 24 Nov, 2021 @ 12:32pm

  Re: Re: Re:

  They can observe for a developing situation.

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