mjb5406 's Techdirt Comments

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  • On the post: Could Gizmodo's iPhone Scoop Settle Whether Bloggers Count As Journalists?

    mjb5406 ( profile ), 26 Apr, 2010 @ 03:35pm

    Did I Miss Something?

    Over the past week we learned:

    (a) an Apple employee left an iPhone 4G prototype on a barstool (nobody ever mentioned his blood alcohol level, by the way)
    (b) another bar patron found it and took it home
    (c) Gizmodo paid $5K for it and wrote about it
    (d) Apple wanted it back and Gizmodo gave it back

    So what is to be accomplished by this raid on the editor's home? It seems like it has nothing to do with the purchase of stolen merchandise, but instead is Apple flexing its muscle and trying to suppress publication of any more details. Why else would they seize computers? A $5K check was cut. Do they expect to find a QuickBooks journal entry on the PC? I am no lawyer, but it seems like an overreach. Or maybe Apple is just pissed that Gizmodo doesn't use Macs.

  • On the post: Is That Two Strikes For Mandelson? Labour Caught With Another Potentially Infringing Poster

    mjb5406 ( profile ), 26 Apr, 2010 @ 07:37am

    Re:

    A reputation that stinks is difficult to "sully" (nice 10th grade word, BTW). Mendelson, if you bothered to read the history of the Digital Economy Bill, wasn't much of a backer until the entertainment industry started wining and dining him... then he had an epiphany. He figured that, since all those nice people were lining his pockets with their hard-earned Pounds, he needed to do something to thank them. So he let them stick their hands up his butt and work him kike a puppet.

    Is that sullied enough for you?

  • On the post: There's Some Echo On This Skype Call… Or Is It Just Doublespeak?

    mjb5406 ( profile ), 23 Apr, 2010 @ 01:26am

    You Nailed It, Mike

    When I started reading your post, the first thing that popped into my mind was Skype's exclusive deal with Verizon, basically cutting off every other mobile carriers' customers from Skype Mobile. What I find even more disingenuous is, when you look at the Skype Mobile site, they actually have a sign-up where they will alert you when your current cell contract is up so you can switch to Verizon Wireless! That takes a lot of balls... and I think it'll just be a matter of time before Skype blocks alternative mobile programs, like Fring and iSkoot, from accessing its network. Great "neutrality"... neutral only if you have Verizon... anyone else, they tell you to get screwed.

  • On the post: No Surprise: MPAA Wouldn't Reveal Data On How It Came Up With Bogus 'Piracy' Numbers

    mjb5406 ( profile ), 21 Apr, 2010 @ 10:55am

    The real answer isn't very glamorous

    The MPAA tries to get all of the glitzy press it can get... so they realize that the real answer isn't glamorous at all, and certainly won't make front-page news:

    "We made it up"

  • On the post: Apple Reminds Everybody That It Controls The iPhone Ecosystem

    mjb5406 ( profile ), 12 Apr, 2010 @ 11:50am

    App Store vs. Android Market

    Apple's control, of the iPhone ecosystem isn't a new concept; it's been like that since day 1, when Apple locked the iPhone down so only "sanctioned" apps could run (unless you jailbreak, of course). On the opposite side of the aisle, Google not only provides its SDK for both Mac and Windows platforms, but its market is wide open, leaving it up to the users to report whether an app is appropriate or not. Apple is saying "You develop on a Mac, using the iPhone SDK and Xcode, or don't develop for us at all." From that perspective, they are CLEARLY targeting companies like Adobe. But won't this make more people want to jailbreak their phones, especially if a bunch of fantastic, cross-platform apps make their appearance on, say, Cydia? And, ultimately, won't people get so pissed that they'll either move to a different phone or, in the extreme, sue Apple for putting even more restrictions on a device the end-user OWNS? Steve Jobs' ego has finally crossed the line, IMHO.

  • On the post: Netflix Agrees To Delay Fox And Universal New Releases, Annoy Avatar Fans

    mjb5406 ( profile ), 12 Apr, 2010 @ 08:55am

    Run Out to Buy

    Oh, yes... I plan to run out immediately and buy a copy of the movie since I'll otherwise have to wait 28 days to rent it from Netflix or get it from Redbox.

    NOT

    It's becoming clear that there is collusion between the Hollywood studios, Blockbuster and the cable companies (who are allowed to put movies on their OnDemand services the same day the DVD is released) to prevent Netflix and Redbox from providing consumers a choice. That doesn't excuse Netflix for being stupid... but you can bet that, in addition to the 28 day window, the agreement forces Netflix to play nice-nice and not berate the frakking studios. I hope Redbox doesn't roll over like Netflix did and sure the studios for as much as they can get from them. It would serve those pompous-assed studio execs right.

  • On the post: And… Here Come The iPad Patent Claims

    mjb5406 ( profile ), 30 Mar, 2010 @ 05:52pm

    What's good for the goose...

    I guess since Apple has taken the gloves off and is suing HTC for so-called "infringement", it's just desserts that Apple gets a taste of its own medicine. Not that anything will come of this, but still...

  • On the post: Google Sued For Using The Term 'Gadgets'; Tiny Company Afraid People Will Think They Support Google

    mjb5406 ( profile ), 30 Mar, 2010 @ 05:49pm

    Firefly?

    To put it succinctly, who the f**k is Firefly? I use iGoogle and it gadgets all the time and don't have a clue who Firefly is.

    Does this men that the site Engadget has to worry next?

    And, can I trademark the term "googlet" in case Google changes the name of their plug-ins? :-)

  • On the post: North Face Lawyers Try To Drag South Butt Family Through The Mud

    mjb5406 ( profile ), 26 Mar, 2010 @ 01:38pm

    Re:

    You beat me to a comment about the OTHER dirtbags, the ones at Monster Cable. These companies, and their frakking attorneys, need to be slapped down in a court of law.

    By the way, I just got a call... Monster Cable is suing me or using their name in a blog post. Oops, there... I did it again!

  • On the post: Must Read: CCIA Sets US IP Czar Straight On Intellectual Property

    mjb5406 ( profile ), 26 Mar, 2010 @ 11:49am

    Google will Leave the US, Too

    If the so-called "creative community organizations" get their way, the internet here will be no different than that in China... ISPs forced to turn over personal data, acting g as police for the idiots at the MPAA, RIAA and SAG. Maybe we need to classify these thugs as criminal enterprises under the RICO act.

  • On the post: Will The Authors Guild Freak Out About Text To Speech On The iPad?

    mjb5406 ( profile ), 26 Mar, 2010 @ 07:06am

    Re: A bit Different

    My sentiments exactly... Even though Amazon is big, they really don't have pockets as deep as Steve Jobs... nior does Jeff Bezos have the incendiary temper Jobs has!

  • On the post: Kulula Responds To FIFA Legal Threats With Hilarious Clarifying Ad

    mjb5406 ( profile ), 24 Mar, 2010 @ 07:31am

    FIFA will find something to complain about

    I bet FIFA will say the combination of "we", "wouldn't", "dare" and "mention" is also ambush marketing.

  • On the post: Warner Bros. Latest Movie Release Strategy? Confuse The Hell Out Of The Market And Prop Up Blockbuster?

    mjb5406 ( profile ), 23 Mar, 2010 @ 08:45pm

    Blockbuster's Last Gasp

    I've said right along that Blockbuster is part of the impetus behind the studios' displeasure with Netflix and Redbox. If collusion can be proved... watch out!

  • On the post: FIFA Demands Airline Drop Ad That Didn't Mention FIFA At All

    mjb5406 ( profile ), 22 Mar, 2010 @ 05:54pm

    Re: Re: No Attribution?

    That's OK, Mike... my wife is from South Africa, so I felt it my duty to report on this ridiculous move by FIFA.

  • On the post: FIFA Demands Airline Drop Ad That Didn't Mention FIFA At All

    mjb5406 ( profile ), 22 Mar, 2010 @ 03:41pm

    So, OK...

    You got it from the BBC... but I DID send it in, and MY source was from a South African news source, not one of the Colonialists!@ :-)

  • On the post: FIFA Demands Airline Drop Ad That Didn't Mention FIFA At All

    mjb5406 ( profile ), 22 Mar, 2010 @ 03:35pm

    No Attribution?

    Oh, Mike, Mike, Mike...

    I've read Techdirt enough to know you bristle at articles posted that do not contain attribution, and (at least most of the time) you mention who reported the story... why not this time? I sent in on Sunday, and was thrilled to see that you picked it up... but no mention of who you got the story from. Sigh. Guess I can't get my 15 seconds of fame after all!

  • On the post: Hollywood Continues To Make Up Facts; AP Continues To Parrot Them

    mjb5406 ( profile ), 22 Mar, 2010 @ 09:17am

    90%???

    Good grief... if 90% of pirated DVDs were from camcorder videos there would be NO market for pirated DVDs at all! I can't imaging someone hand-holding a camcorder for 90-plus minutes to record a movie would create anything with quality worth watching!

  • On the post: Skype Deliberately Crippling Functionality of iPhone and WinMo and Verizon Apps?

    mjb5406 ( profile ), 11 Mar, 2010 @ 06:53pm

    Re: Anti-competitive?

    No question that Verizon can control its own network... but to ink a deal that specifically states that Skype cannot create clients for any other carriers' phones? That's the anti-competitive nature. It's totally different than the iPhone which is hardware-unique, but if Verizon gets an Android app for its Droid series phones, there should be nothing stopping ANY Android user from getting it. It's also very different because Skype already had a WinMo client in place, and announced full-feature clients for iPhone and Android and has now pulled the plug (Skype Lite is even gone from Android Market). Is this because Skype needs money after being spun off by eBay? Probably. Is this the way to do it, by pissing off a huge community of users? Probably not.

  • On the post: Skype Deliberately Crippling Functionality of iPhone and WinMo and Verizon Apps?

    mjb5406 ( profile ), 11 Mar, 2010 @ 06:46pm

    Re:

    VoIP uses specific data ports that are often blocked by carriers specifically so their normal cellular revenue stream doesn't bleed.

  • On the post: LifeLock Has To Pay $12 Million For Bogus Advertising, Little Actual Protection And Awful Security

    mjb5406 ( profile ), 10 Mar, 2010 @ 08:49am

    It's easy to say data is encrypted

    Saying that data is encrypted doesn't make it so. The latest scam being reported by the press is a site called BadCustomer.com, which allows merchants to record customers who have made chargebacks against them. A merchant can use the data there to decline a customer's credit card. The company says that the data is encrypted and "even the IT staff can;t read it". That last statement is pure fanasy... if the IT staff developed the encryption program, they can read the data I used to work (about 6 years ago) for a well known retailer who collected and retained customer data (the nature of which I won't reveal, since it would, most assuredly disclose the company's name). They told all the customers that the data, maintained in an Oracle database, was encrypted and secure. Guess what? At the time, it was not, and all of the IT staff had access to it. So, don't believe it when a company claims encryption and that "nobody can access the data:.

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