mjb5406 's Techdirt Comments

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  • On the post: Will Google's Italy Conviction Stick… Or Is The Problem In The Law?

    mjb5406 ( profile ), 05 Mar, 2010 @ 05:47am

    Re: Wait . . . as I recall

    You'd think that Berlusconi had better things to do with his time... wait, he does... defending himself against multiple attacks regarding his sexual deviance with underaged women. So the Google execs get convicted and the Playboy Prime Minister gets nothing. Italian justice...

  • On the post: Will Google's Italy Conviction Stick… Or Is The Problem In The Law?

    mjb5406 ( profile ), 05 Mar, 2010 @ 04:25am

    Sigh

    I honestly think Techdirt must ban Anonymous Coward posts... when you read silliness like "I will move to Italy if they believe in, and provide these protections." it makes me cringe... if those same backwards, draconian laws were brought to the US, these same people would demonstrate en masse against them.

    The answer is rather simple; have Google block access to any of its services to Italian IP addresses. That will last, at best, a couple of days, after which the people will force the issue.

    Politicians both in the US and abroad have totally lost sight of what is right or wrong, basing their legislative decisions not on what the people need but, all too often, who pays them the most... meaning corporations, lobbyists, industry groups, etc. If this precedent holds true, they need to lock up the executives at Fiat the next time someone has a fatal traffic accident with a Fiat, because they should know that their vehicles could cause an accident, and had prior notice" of the possibility of an accident because of police reports. It would be just as ridiculous.

  • On the post: Ubisoft's Annoying New DRM Cracked Within Hours Of Release

    mjb5406 ( profile ), 04 Mar, 2010 @ 08:38pm

    Re:

    Learn a lesson? Good grief, if the past Sony SecuRom debacles (remember Spore?) didn't teach the game industry anything, why should this?

  • On the post: Would 2010 Steve Jobs Sue 1996 (Or 1984) Steve Jobs Over Patents?

    mjb5406 ( profile ), 03 Mar, 2010 @ 05:36pm

    The old saying...

    I remember meeting Jobs years ago back when the winter CES show was in Chicago; I worked for Computerland and was assigned to work the Apple booth (this eas back in the Apple ][ days). Meeting he and Wozniak, I remember thinking that Woz was very cool, Jobs was a narcissist who was fond of saying things like "Do as I say, not as I do". Guess he follows that same method to this day.

  • On the post: Apple Goes Offensive On Patents: Sues HTC

    mjb5406 ( profile ), 02 Mar, 2010 @ 02:50pm

    As reported by other sources, this seems like a preemptive strike against Google rather than against HTC. Right now, HTC is the single largest vendor of Android-based devices, so I guess it makes sense... but to paraphrase Steve Jobs, "Competition is great, unless we have competition". Another site posted the complaint, and some of the claims are just plain stupid, like claiming that there is an infringement over how you unlock a phone using a sliding button.

    Apple refused to use its cash reserves to give shareholders a dividend, so I guess Jobs decided to piss it away on lawyers and lawsuits instead. Yes, the iPhone is innovative, a great product, but using the courts to insure that nobody else can compete with you is childish.

  • On the post: Even Senators Hated NBC Universal's Olympic Coverage

    mjb5406 ( profile ), 01 Mar, 2010 @ 06:24pm

    Re:

    The point Senator Kohl is making is that a good portion of coverage was on USA, Universal HD, CNBC and MSNBC which ONLY cable subscribers can get. Granted... much of that was the excitement of curling, but it still eliminated some from being able to view the events. Top that off with their overly-restrictive online coverage and you have a group of disenfranchised people who could not watch simply becuse they do not have/want cable.

  • On the post: Even Senators Hated NBC Universal's Olympic Coverage

    mjb5406 ( profile ), 01 Mar, 2010 @ 01:55pm

    And the winner is...

    Most annoying was NBC's decision to delay broadcasting high-profile events until prime time, hours after the results were known (i.e. we knew about Lindsy Vonn's crashes probably even before SHE did). Even more galling, though, were the stupid comments of people who felt that the media delay reporting the results until NBC aired the event! DUH.

    And why did NBC's viewership go up? Because, wisely, other networks aired reruns knowing their audiences would be diverted by the Olympics. So, the rise in viewership is somewhat artificial.

  • On the post: NBC's Delayed Telecasts Show A Company Living In The Last Century

    mjb5406 ( profile ), 18 Feb, 2010 @ 09:15am

    Re: Re: Those Were the Good Old Days

    And in case you missed it, so did Dan Jensen. Mark Spitz and Kristi Yamaguchi. :-) But, NBC still is delaying those broadcasts until shows like "The Marriage Ref" fail and they need something to fill their prime time void.

  • On the post: NBC's Delayed Telecasts Show A Company Living In The Last Century

    mjb5406 ( profile ), 18 Feb, 2010 @ 07:18am

    Those Were the Good Old Days

    I'm old enough to remember when ABC was the only network that ever covered the Olympics. Run by the sports coverage maven, Roone Arledge, and hosted by Jim McKay (whom Bob Costas can only dream of emulating), ABC NEVER time-delayed events... if the event occurred at 3AM, you watched it then. It wasn't as if ABC couldn't have tape-delayed the events... it's just that they felt more of a responsibility to its viewers than to getting advertising revenue. ABC understood that the Olympics was a "now" event, and you never heard, for example, that Lindsey Vonn won the Gold a half a day before the NBC greedmongers decided to show the event. Talk about anticlimactic!

  • On the post: Disney's Takedown Of Roger Ebert's Tribute To Gene Siskel

    mjb5406 ( profile ), 17 Feb, 2010 @ 02:59pm

    Typical

    The world that Walt Disney built is certainly not the "magical place" it's supposed to be. Between his anecdotal hatred of Jews and this latest fiasco, one would think that Disney is afraid that some video would surface of Michael Eisner having sex with Mary Poppins or some such ridiculous thing.

  • On the post: Redbox Caves To Warner Bros., Will Delay New Movie Releases From Kiosks

    mjb5406 ( profile ), 16 Feb, 2010 @ 06:00pm

    Re: Re: But I bet...

    Yes, although they closed a LOT of stores. I still bet, though, that Blockbuster Online will be able to rent new DVD releases immediately.

  • On the post: Redbox Caves To Warner Bros., Will Delay New Movie Releases From Kiosks

    mjb5406 ( profile ), 16 Feb, 2010 @ 05:24pm

    But I bet...

    the movies will STILL be available earlier from Blockbuster, who has "revenue sharing" agreements with the studios. I still believe that THEY are behind this fiasco.

  • On the post: University Of Texas Claims Trademark Over 'Texas'; Wants Useful iPhone App Blocked

    mjb5406 ( profile ), 16 Feb, 2010 @ 04:15pm

    Another Solution?

    Change the name of the app to iTechses... same pronunciation, different spelling. Or maybe iCUTJerks is better.

  • On the post: University Of Texas Claims Trademark Over 'Texas'; Wants Useful iPhone App Blocked

    mjb5406 ( profile ), 16 Feb, 2010 @ 03:21pm

    Are All 50?

    If some ninny in the USPTO allowed an even bigger ninny at UT to trademark the name "Texas" they should both be hung, just like the criminals in the Wild West were. If the trademark was granted only in 1981 (or later), what about the hundreds of years that the word "Texas" was used? Will UT now demand "reparations" for the damages it has endured because of this? Will they now go after each and every use of the word Texas (OMG... I owe a royalty) everywhere it's used? Or are they basically just pissed because they didn't come up with the idea for the app first so they could charge for it instead of someone giving it away for free?

  • On the post: Universal Music Gets A New CEO… Who Thinks CDs Are The Future

    mjb5406 ( profile ), 15 Feb, 2010 @ 01:37pm

    Re:

    Actually, when he said that the CD will out-survive him, he was literally referring to the millions of shiny plastic discs that will end up in landfills, never to decay.

  • On the post: Domino's Turns A Loss In A Lawsuit It Wasn't Involved In Into A TV Commercial

    mjb5406 ( profile ), 12 Feb, 2010 @ 07:46am

    Re:

    ... just as someone can say that Domino's current claims are subjective. Companies in glass houses...

  • On the post: Domino's Turns A Loss In A Lawsuit It Wasn't Involved In Into A TV Commercial

    mjb5406 ( profile ), 12 Feb, 2010 @ 07:44am

    Clever...

    Note that they say "when challenged in this court...", NIT "WE challenged them in this court". Also, by failing to mention that the verdict was overturned on appeal, Domino's ad agency (and, Domino's, by approving the spot) is guilty of deception by omission... not sure that's a crime, but if, for example, you say "he was found guilty of grand theft" but forget to mention "the verdict was reversed on appeal" you've effectively damaged a person's reputation... slander? I'm not a lawyer, but I think Domino's crossed the line.

  • On the post: Comedian Has To Retell Joke 2nd Time, Because Viacom Couldn't Have Him Sing Four Words: 'We Are The World'

    mjb5406 ( profile ), 09 Feb, 2010 @ 11:42am

    Isn't there an excemption for...

    Parody? If there was not, people like Stephen Colbert and Jon Stewart woule be sued left and right.

    Or maybe Sumner Redstone is just being an asshole (big surprise there).

  • On the post: Wal-Mart, Target Trying To Block Redbox From Purchasing DVDs?

    mjb5406 ( profile ), 04 Feb, 2010 @ 03:22pm

    Re:

    You beat me to it... not sure about Target, but EVERY Walmart I've gone into has a Redbox. Seems like Walmart wants to have it both ways.

  • On the post: Amazon, Macmillan Fight Over Ebook Prices; After Amazon Removes Macmillan Titles, It Caves To Higher Prices

    mjb5406 ( profile ), 01 Feb, 2010 @ 06:15am

    Re:

    Actually, a company forcing a reseller to sell a product at a particular price was outlawed years ago... for example, back in the 70's and earlier, manufacturers of some stereo equipment, like Marantz and Pioneer, required its resellers to only sell at a price THEY set, arguing that the practice leveled the playing field between smaller shops and larger chains (at the time, chains like Playback and Pacific Stereo). I don't know the timeline, but that practice was eventually outlawed. I think, though, there is more to this than a vendor simply dictating price... if nothing else, it smacks of collusion between Macmillan and Apple, where Apple accepted Macmillan's terms and then turned around and said "but we need help stopping other ebook vendors from charging less than we do". THAT would be construed as price fixing, because of collusion between Macmillan and Apple.

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