LJSeinfeld 's Techdirt Comments

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  • On the post: DRM-Free Music Sells, Major Labels Keep Pretending The Jury Is Still Out

    LJSeinfeld ( profile ), 15 Dec, 2006 @ 05:57am

    Re: Rhapsody and Napster are subscription service

    Umm yeah... I don't want to *subscribe* to my music that I'm paying for. I want to own it and be able to do whatever I damn-well please with it.

    Subscription service music is DRM laden, and IMHO worse than buying (even) DRM'd files from services like iTunes. Little ticking time-bombs just waiting to expire. If you buy that crap, you're not part of the solution -- you're part of the problem. At least there are various workarounds for ITMS downloads..

    I also applaud the BNL for being involved with this promotion. They're awesome.
    -------------------
    by Anonymous Coward on Dec 14th, 2006 @ 5:13pm
    Rhapsody and Napster are subscription services...

    so what if eMusic is out selling them...

    they dont sell that many songs.
    -------------------

  • On the post: China's Cheap Blu-Ray and HD-DVD Alternative You'll Never See

    LJSeinfeld ( profile ), 07 Dec, 2006 @ 05:51am

    Re: by CB on Dec 7th, 2006 @ 12:03am

    We dont need to learn Mandarin... thats a pretty ignorant statement... They pay their base workers 47 cents an hour... lol... are you interested in working for that?

    It won't really matter if you're *interested* in working for 47 cent's/hour once China is running the show (globally)....

  • On the post: Vacation? What's That?

    LJSeinfeld ( profile ), 26 Nov, 2006 @ 06:47am

    ...true hardship...

    NeaonBHB- After you pilot your time machine back from your Oliver Twist nightmare, you should possibly consider working your way up from serf to "elitist A*hole" status so you can better relate. Who gave you exclusive rights to the hard work that came before us?

    Now back to vacation... it IS my right as it is PART OF MY COMPENSATION PACKAGE. It's not a gift from my benevolent overlords to be taken away at their whim --and I should not be expected to feel guilty for utilizing the time.

    Same thing with working extra hours when on salary.... even if you work only 4 extra hours a week it's pretty much the same as offering a 10% discount on your time.

    Ask your employer to pay you an extra 10% just because you feel like it once, and see what they have to say...

  • On the post: UK RFID Passports Cracked Already

    LJSeinfeld ( profile ), 19 Nov, 2006 @ 10:27pm

    RFID vs SmartCards

    For the record... (at least as it applies to satellite tv) the encryption on the smart cards was never defeated. Access to the sensitive parts of the card was achieved by "glitching" the card with commands @ different timing and subjecting the chip to different voltages than the card was originally designed for. After awhile, the card would "puke" and then ATR -- once the card ATR'd you were in-- and could read / write to the chip with normal commands.

    New smartcards have clock timing functions on both the inside and outside of the secure part of the card making glitching pretty-much useless...

    RFID technology is neat, and potentially useful for many things, but being RF, it lends itself to too many other useful things that the holder of the device may be unaware of.. like tracking movements, seeing what item on a given store display was picked up / put down, etc.

    I'd imagine that it would not belong before people would be able to construct an "American" (or insert the nationality of your choice) detector that could identify the presence of an American in a crowd full of people, and then help to ferret them out. (not to go all "tinfoil hat" on you or anything).

    There has to be a better and less-intrusive way...

  • On the post: Allofmp3 Doesn't Really Care If Russia Joins The WTO Or Not

    LJSeinfeld ( profile ), 08 Oct, 2006 @ 07:29am

    What's the difference between

    What's the difference between CD-R, CD-RW and pressed (commercial) discs? There are three technologies involved: CD-R uses a dye to record information; it can be written only once. CD-RW uses the change of state of an alloy and can be erased and rewritten. These are discussed elsewhere in this primer. A pressed disc is, in fact, pressed. The information of the audio stream and the TOC is prepared by a special program to create a glass master. That master is used to make one or more metal stampers. A stamper is pressed into a fluid plastic layer of the blank disc to impress the information. Once set, that disc is given an aluminum coat from which the read laser is reflected. At any point in that process, a speck of dust means a flaw in reproduction, so pressing requires a clean room and special operations to avoid contamination. Fortunately, CD-R and CD-RW are more tolerant and small amounts of contamination are seldom detected.

    So there yo have it. There are considerably higher costs in setup, and the media IS NOT the same. That's why you can tell the difference between a CD-R and a Pressed Disc when you look at them... you can see the dye.

    Cleverboy?
    Your arguments regarding Copyright law -which is broken, and pharmaceuticals from Canada are the same... An example of price of a given item being artificially inflated by, what amounts to, a cartel. Calling people "Commies" because they disagree with you speaks more to flaws in your character than theirs. Here's a quarter -- now go get your brain dried too. =)

    The recording industry, as well as a handful of others, are trying desperately -and in vain- to cement their positions as "middle-men" in the sale of something in a market/distribution system that no longer needs them. They are going the way of the Dodo.

    Of course, this is just my opinion. I could be wrong.