Matthew 's Techdirt Comments

Latest Comments (148)

• On the post: Why Hasn't The Report Debunking Entire US Foreign IP Policy Received The Attention It Deserves?

  

  Matthew ( profile ), 31 Mar, 2011 @ 07:54am

  Re: Maybe...

  report
  report
  report
  :)

• On the post: Why Hasn't The Report Debunking Entire US Foreign IP Policy Received The Attention It Deserves?

  

  Matthew ( profile ), 31 Mar, 2011 @ 07:53am

  Maybe...

  Maybe because the people who would normally report on reports like this report report to people who would be harmed by this report.

• On the post: Samsung Accused Of Installing Secret Keyloggers On New Laptops 'To Monitor Performance' [Updated]

  

  Matthew ( profile ), 30 Mar, 2011 @ 02:54pm

  Re: Re: This story may be premature.

  Oops - missed the "another store" part. That does look worse.

• On the post: Samsung Accused Of Installing Secret Keyloggers On New Laptops 'To Monitor Performance' [Updated]

  

  Matthew ( profile ), 30 Mar, 2011 @ 02:48pm

  This story may be premature.

  After reading the original piece, i'm not convinced that Samsung is to blame, despite their apparent confession. The confession came from a mid-level tech support manager. I don't know about you, but i wouldn't trust one of those guys to find his own ass with a map and a gps, so it's plausible that he incorrectly confessed, confusing the keylogger with some legitimate performance monitoring tool.
  Hassan bought the two computers from the same store. It's much more likely that someone there is behind it.
  
  I'm not saying Samsung didn't do it, just that it might not be as open-and-shut as it appears at first glance.

• On the post: Case Study: Clinton Curtis Connects With Fans And Gives Them Good Reasons To Buy His New Album

  

  Matthew ( profile ), 22 Mar, 2011 @ 02:30pm

  Re:

  I'm tempted to buy one of the special editions just because it's such a cool idea and i've never even heard the guy before today.

• On the post: Defending The Indefensible: Lawyers Who Love Loopholes Ignoring Serious Constitutional Issues In Domain Seizures

  

  Matthew ( profile ), 22 Mar, 2011 @ 12:42pm

  Re: Re: Re: Re:

  Quick question:
  Has anyone actually been charged with any crime here? I don't recall hearing about any criminal charges being filed in relation to these seizures.

• On the post: Defending The Indefensible: Lawyers Who Love Loopholes Ignoring Serious Constitutional Issues In Domain Seizures

  

  Matthew ( profile ), 22 Mar, 2011 @ 12:38pm

  Re: We have no rights.

  Though i think you're going a bit far, you did remind me of something i heard once.
  
  For most of the world, "freedom" means that the people with power step lightly on your neck.

• On the post: Defending The Indefensible: Lawyers Who Love Loopholes Ignoring Serious Constitutional Issues In Domain Seizures

  

  Matthew ( profile ), 22 Mar, 2011 @ 12:26pm

  Re:

  No. We can fault them for it. Everyone is responsible for their own actions. They didn't have to do it at all, much less in the sloppy, ham-handed way they did.
  
  If you do something wrong just because no one forced you to do the right thing, you are still wrong and you are still responsible for it. Look at the administration's recent change with respect to DOMA - they very clearly understand this concept.

• On the post: EU Realizing It Got The Short End Of The Stick In Agreeing To Let US Spy On Bank Data

  

  Matthew ( profile ), 18 Mar, 2011 @ 06:56am

  America...

  Rules are for pussies. America! Fuck yeah!

• On the post: Bon Jovi Thinks Steve Jobs Killed Music; More Old Rockers Shooing Those Darn Kids Off Their Lawn

  

  Matthew ( profile ), 15 Mar, 2011 @ 10:56am

  Interesting...

  Interesting how he equates that "magical" experience with the music business. In my experience, those moments most often occurred in spite of the recording industry, not because of it.

• On the post: The Secret Contagious Mojo That Makes People Value Stuff Connected To Famous People

  

  Matthew ( profile ), 11 Mar, 2011 @ 08:06am

  Re:

  No. The biggest sucker is the one who thinks he's too smart to get taken.

• On the post: Bath & Bodyworks Goes To Court To Explain To Summit Entertainment That The Word Twilight Existed Before The Movie

  

  Matthew ( profile ), 11 Mar, 2011 @ 06:49am

  Is it too much...

  Is it too much to hope that the judgement includes the phrase "The plaintiffs are hereby declared to be a bunch of money-grubbing morons."

• On the post: Just Because You Don't Like Something Online, Doesn't Mean We Should Blame Third Parties

  

  Matthew ( profile ), 07 Mar, 2011 @ 12:58pm

  On the other hand...

  Anonymity doesn't automatically mean "good" either. I think forum administrators should evaluate for themselves whether or not their site really needs an anonymous option.
  
  Providing one on sites that deal with important public topics like this one seems like a no-brainer. Even though it appears to be more often used by industry shills who want to sling astroturf without being held accountable, the possibility of attracting candid commentary from well-informed insiders outweighs that.
  
  On more frivolous forums where the chance of insider information and the importance of those potential revelations is nominal, anonymity seems to breed little more than contempt and incivility. Not that it's always inappropriate for less serious sites, just that operators should think more about the tone they want to set instead of automatically including it.

• On the post: Mediacom Puts Its Own Ads On Other Websites, Including Google & Apple

  

  Matthew ( profile ), 28 Feb, 2011 @ 02:00pm

  I have Mediacom...

  I have Mediacom and i hate the only other ISP in my town, but the minute i see one of these adds i will switch.

• On the post: PayPal Cuts Off Account For Bradley Manning Support

  

  Matthew ( profile ), 24 Feb, 2011 @ 10:30am

  Just closed my PayPal acct.

  I've had concerns about their commitment to privacy and security for a while now - their recent shenanigans are just the last straw.

• On the post: Maybe Super Cheap Video Games Are Helping, Not Destroying, The Video Game Industry

  

  Matthew ( profile ), 23 Feb, 2011 @ 09:51am

  Madness!

  Next thing you'll try to tell me is that cheaper games get pirated less! Insanity!

• On the post: Chris Dodd Breaking Promise Not To Become A Lobbyist Just Weeks After Leaving Senate; Joining MPAA As Top Lobbyist

  

  Matthew ( profile ), 22 Feb, 2011 @ 08:18am

  Maybe...

  Maybe this is a sign that the MPAA is turning over a new leaf. That they have seen the error of their ways and they want to try to find a way of doing business that actually works, instead of just throwing away money and alienating their customers.
  
  lol...yeah, right.

• On the post: Is This The First DMCA Notice Over 3D Printer Plans?

  

  Matthew ( profile ), 22 Feb, 2011 @ 06:55am

  Doctorow novel

  Cory Doctorow's novel Makers (available for free) deals with this a lot. http://craphound.com/makers/download/

• On the post: TSA Agents Caught Stealing From Passengers & Helping Subordinates Steal As Well

  

  Matthew ( profile ), 17 Feb, 2011 @ 07:04am

  Re:

  Anonymous Coward: check.
  Saying that Mike said something that he did not say: check.
  Making up statistics: check.
  Comparing apples and oranges: check.
  
  Astroturf Detected. Ignoring in 3...2...1.

• On the post: Screaming Justin Bieber Fans Using Camera Phones To Capture Snippets Of Movie Premiere Berated For Piracy

  

  Matthew ( profile ), 14 Feb, 2011 @ 12:59pm

  MPAA will make a bundle on this...

  After all, 12 year old girls are terrible on the witness stand and tend to be unsympathetic, unrepentant, hard cases.
  
  MPAA, if you're listening, NOW is the time to whip out that new legislation you've been quietly lobbying. You know the one: Piracy = Capital Offense.

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