Mike Raffety 's Techdirt Comments

Latest Comments (62)

• On the post: DailyDirt: Parenting Tips

  

  Mike Raffety ( profile ), 19 Jul, 2013 @ 11:39am

  Young children need regular bedtimes?

  The study does not establish cause and effect -- only correlation. They didn't split kids into two different groups and have one go to bed at a regular time, and the other at varying times.
  
  It's quite possible that the less intelligent kids (for lack of a better term) have varying bedtimes because of less rigorous parenting, different demographics, a common underlying biological cause, etc.
  
  The last paragraph of the article sort of alludes to this, but only after going on at length about how kids need their sleep.
  
  Correlation is NOT cause and effect.

• On the post: Making Mobile Video Streaming Better By Operating In The 'Unused Spectrum' Of Copyright Law

  

  Mike Raffety ( profile ), 10 Jul, 2013 @ 11:30am

  3/4 useless?

  "The technology works by bisecting video into two layers. First is a base layer, which streams during viewing, then there would be a higher layer, which the user would pre-download from some high-bandwidth location like the home or office. While the higher layer would be useless on its own, and thus in compliance with intellectual property laws whose aim is to prevent free sharing, it would nonetheless comprise about 3/4ths of the total data."
  
  Hmm, let's take this a bit further. How about we reduce that 1/4 required to work to, say, 2048 bits, an encryption key? How is this different?
  
  And what's to keep a jailbroken device from saving that 1/4 live stream anyway, so the entire video could be viewed as desired, off-line?

• On the post: Former NSA Director On Privacy Vs. Security Balance: Would 'Shave Points' Off Effectiveness For 'Public Comfort'

  

  Mike Raffety ( profile ), 08 Jul, 2013 @ 02:47pm

  NSA?

  No Secrets in America?

• On the post: Senators Introduce Bill To End Secret Law That Enabled NSA Surveillance

  

  Mike Raffety ( profile ), 12 Jun, 2013 @ 03:56pm

  Re: Re: S. 1130

  Popvox has the bill here:
  
  https://www.popvox.com/bills/us/113/s1130

• On the post: Ima Fish's Favorite Techdirt Posts Of The Week

  

  Mike Raffety ( profile ), 03 Jun, 2013 @ 11:14am

  "installed root kids on PCs via music CDs"?

  Ah yes, that's what happened after Monsanto bought out Sony and Genentech.

• On the post: New Bill Would Stop Patent Trolls From Hiding Behind Shell Companies

  

  Mike Raffety ( profile ), 24 May, 2013 @ 01:25pm

  Weigh in on this bill on Popvox

  Sadly, there's 11 people speaking against it -- and until I clicked, NONE for it.
  
  https://www.popvox.com/bills/us/113/hr2024

• On the post: Now US And EU Want To Apply Upward Ratchet To TRIPS Itself

  

  Mike Raffety ( profile ), 07 May, 2013 @ 10:54am

  LDCs and IP protection limit growth?

  "The rationale is that LDCs need maximum flexibility to develop a viable technological base and address their constraints, and that the standard of TRIPS IP protection may be an obstacle in achieving those objectives."
  
  Doesn't this itself shoot a big hole in the claim that IP protection is essential to economic growth? If patents and copyright are necessary for growth, it seems like the LDCs would be clamoring to immediately implement the most restrictive laws possible.

• On the post: OxyContin And The Art Of 'Evergreening'

  

  Mike Raffety ( profile ), 01 May, 2013 @ 11:50am

  Extending drug patents?

  Why does changing the delivery method result in a patent extension? It's the same drug.
  
  Just because it's now in a tamper-proof form, or has extended/sustained delivery, or packaged with another drug, should not result in a new patent, nor an extension of the old one. Same drug!

• On the post: NYC Mayor Bloomberg Thinks Boston Bombing Renders The Constitution Obsolete

  

  Mike Raffety ( profile ), 23 Apr, 2013 @ 10:51am

  I see a verb in the making here ...

  "He's gonna Bloomberg your constitutional rights!"

• On the post: You've Got (No) Mail! Major Law Firm Blocks Employee Email Access

  

  Mike Raffety ( profile ), 19 Apr, 2013 @ 01:47pm

  Most financial institutions already block personal e-mail

  Having worked at a couple, they've long (ten years or more) blocked access to personal e-mail accounts like Yahoo or Gmail. This is perhaps new-ish in the law firm field, but not in banks or brokerages.
  
  I believe this was originally driven by regulatory requirements to preserve all written communications for possible audit and legal discovery purposes, and perhaps also to show that the firm had made all reasonable efforts to prevent inside information from leaking out to be traded on.

• On the post: Court Orders Yahoo To Pay Mexican Yellow Pages Companies $2.7 Billion In Mystery Case

  

  Mike Raffety ( profile ), 05 Dec, 2012 @ 11:32am

  Mexican yellow pages

  Apparently Yahoo had a contract of some sort with these companies, more here:
  
  http://www.businessinsider.com/yahoo-worldwide-directories-mexico-appeal-2012-12

• On the post: How Software Piracy In Developing Markets Creates New Customers

  

  Mike Raffety ( profile ), 03 Dec, 2012 @ 12:02pm

  Re: You recommend lower prices in Romania?

  Doesn't most software for a global market include all languages, then ask you which one to use when you install it?

• On the post: How Software Piracy In Developing Markets Creates New Customers

  

  Mike Raffety ( profile ), 03 Dec, 2012 @ 10:54am

  You recommend lower prices in Romania?

  "lowering prices to an affordable level in the market being entered"
  
  And then what happens when an enterprising young person buys up thousands of copies of this discounted software to ship over to the U.S.?

• On the post: Report On Internet Freedom Shows We're Seeing Less And Less Of It

  

  Mike Raffety ( profile ), 05 Oct, 2012 @ 11:23am

  Blocking communications by protesters?

  Interesting juxtaposition:
  "In speech after speech, the US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton announced large funds to be made available for online dissidents, resulting in projects such as the Digital Defenders Partnership."
  
  Meanwhile, in California, the governor vetoes a bill that would prohibit government agencies from suspending cell phone service without a court order:
  
  http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/10/03/jerry-browns-veto-of-cell_n_1937579.html

• On the post: How Do You Know If A TSA Agent Stole An iPad? There's An App For That

  

  Mike Raffety ( profile ), 02 Oct, 2012 @ 10:50am

  Maybe the TSA agents are stealing the terrorists' boxcutters and explosive shoes.

• On the post: Funniest/Most Insightful Comments Of The Week At Techdirt

  

  Mike Raffety ( profile ), 01 Oct, 2012 @ 12:46pm

  (no subject) (really!)

  What's the point of putting a subject line on a discussion thread COMMENT, which is usually only a few words or at most a few sentences long? The "subject" is the discussion thread being commented on!

• On the post: Hospital Tech Declines To Patent His Invention, As Saving Lives Is 'More Important Than Money'

  

  Mike Raffety ( profile ), 26 Sep, 2012 @ 12:40pm

  Re: Simple extension of an existing idea

  "I'd consider having the breakaway trigger the alarm, too."
  
  Have you patented this yet? :-)

• On the post: Is Lobbying Closer To Bribery… Or Extortion?

  

  Mike Raffety ( profile ), 10 Apr, 2012 @ 12:25pm

  Connect with fans, reason to buy!

  It seems to me like our politicians have learned this lesson very well, offering up a scarce resource (their time and vote), and giving the lobbyists a reason to buy!

• On the post: Jack White Releases Single… By Launching 1,000 Balloons With Flexi Discs Attached

  

  Mike Raffety ( profile ), 10 Apr, 2012 @ 12:22pm

  Record players?

  Really, who still has a record player? They could've just sent out 8-track cartridges, but I suppose they'd be too heavy for a balloon, and less bio-degradable.

• On the post: How Sony Got Off Easy With Its 'Settlement' In Class Action Lawsuit By Underpaid Artists

  

  Mike Raffety ( profile ), 21 Mar, 2012 @ 11:25am

  This sounds so simple ...

  WHY are they settling for pennies on the dollar that is clearly owed them? Surely the proper royalties are FAR larger than any possible legal costs, and the outcome is almost assured.

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