NamelessMofo’s Techdirt Profile

On the post: Traffic Up At Myspace, Profit Not so Much

NamelessMofo ( profile ), 06 Sep, 2006 @ 08:40am

Very good point Alternatives.

It is common knowlege that girls as young as 14 years old are meeting 20 somethings from Myspace and having casual sex. People are getting laid through Myspace interaction at an alarming rate.

There recently was a reported case of a 12 year old female myspace user who had formed a sexual relationship with a 29 year old male.

It's all a bit creepy if you ask me.
Heck, I've gotten laid through Myspace(legal girls might I add) it's just that these younger users appear to be easy for monsters to prey on.

On the post: Inflated MySpace Page Views Explain 10-Cent CPMs

NamelessMofo ( profile ), 06 Sep, 2006 @ 08:30am

Myspace, The Easy Lay..

I reckon Myspace is pretty cool. I use it to meet hot chicks in my area for casual 'hanging out'.

Sure beats taking them out and spending heaps of cash to get to know them.

I like their pics, they like mine, we chat a bit online, we have random sex. We move on. Simple. So far my tally is 7 users in my list hehe.

With that said..
Ugly people hate Myspace. 'Nuff said bub.

On the post: Bands With Online Popularity Want More Than A Gig In Second Life

NamelessMofo ( profile ), 06 Sep, 2006 @ 08:05am

Revolution?

Myspace has basically cheapened the music industry. If you have a nicely washed fringe and wear tight girls jeans even though you are a guy, emo myspace whore will love you.

On the post: Canadians Say Please Tax Our Blank CDs Even More

NamelessMofo ( profile ), 01 Sep, 2006 @ 08:33am

Canadians are dumb

I know, cause I am one.

I am often dissappointed when I here stuff like this, because it just steels my believe that Canadians are nothing but passive agressive wimps that will complain and bitch bout pollitics, but do little to change the status quo.

We just don't get politically motivated the way other countries do. Our Liberal government for 13 years basically stole from taxpayers and are corrupt con artists, yet year after year we voted them back in because, well, we don't like changes and didn't feel like wasting our time wondering how the other guys will do. In the last 2 electincs, we voted in minority governments.

So when Canadians say things like, we are paying too little tax on something, I just shake my head and want to cry out "Grow a freaking backbone people!". The government rips of off, and Canadians say sorry, want some more?

On the post: Another Way To Make Movies Cheaper: Forget The Stars

NamelessMofo ( profile ), 30 Aug, 2006 @ 06:46am

Re: And join the Europeans/Canadians?

I think honestly in Canada the problem is that most people making movies here use the Canadian Film and Television tax credit, which I think actually imposes limitations on the budget of your movie, and among other things, where you get your crew and talent from. In Canada, there is a certain insecurity in forcing people to ensure there is x amount of Canadian funding, content, and talent for a given project.

The bottom line is that if you make a movie based on government handouts with imposed restrictions, you often get you you would expect.

There is a lot of talent in Canada, not only among actors, writers, directors, and such, but also talented editors, special effects houses, and more. I would like to start seeing Hollywood quality movies coming out of Canada, but MADE in Canada by Canadians, but the problem is that most people seem fixated on getting their tax benefits. So budgets remain low and so too the expectations.

When it comes right down to it, there are a lot of movies made in Canada funded by Hollywood production studios and they turn out well. The movie was shot in Canada, employed lots of Canadian crew members, used Canadian special effects and editors, and even had Canadian talent in the cast or directing, writing the film, and hey, the movies didn't suck!

But the moment some Made By Canada movie is funded by the government, the movies have a certain low budget amateur quality to them, even though it might use some of the same crew and cast talent.

I am not putting down Canadian television and movies in general, as there have been some pretty good successes and cult favourites, but I just tire of seeing bad movies coming out of this country that have the big Canadian Film and Television Tax Credit logo slapped at the end of it. Its like a Stamp of Disproval that almost guarantees crap.

On the post: One Benefit Of Web-Based Software: No Crapware Included

NamelessMofo ( profile ), 29 Aug, 2006 @ 09:07am

No, but

You just get adware secretly installed, spyware, and then your trying to write a document and have a large floating ad layer appear over your work.

Web apps are not a solution, they will, if anything, exacberate the problems because they will tend to be cheap, or free, but will rely on the same crap we want to get rid of online, such as spam, spyware, and ad and adware.

I would rather pay $300 for a desktop application that has no ads then to use an online app full of crap.

On the post: Dell Learns The Difference Between A Fad And A Failure

NamelessMofo ( profile ), 23 Aug, 2006 @ 08:01am

Keep going on about Dell sucks

But they outsell Apple computer like 14 to 1, thats 14 million compared to 1 million.

Stats alone along with the current trend of everything being built in Asia using cheap underpaid labour means that there is a higher number of bad computers coming out of Dell then Apple. Even if 1 % of every product made is a lemon (which is TRUE of ALL companies), Dell will ship 140,000 of them compared to Apple shipping 10,000. This is why Apple is falsely believed to be better quality over Dell. Both companies produce 1% products with defects, just that Dell ships a whole lot more then Apple.

When it comes to the Digital Music Player front, Apple only owns the market because they know how to market a device. Blanket advertising with sleek looking Sony or Dell players and you will see a trend shift away from Apple. But all competitors biggest failurse with their devices is they don't know how to advertise or market their devices. iPods are great, I have one myself, but Apple has hardly innovated in this market, simply followed market trends where other people have done it first. Other people were the first with a digital music player, other people were the first with high capacity storage players, other people were first with color screens and photo and video support. Apple has FOLLOWED the industry with their iPod, and hindsight is always 20-20.

But in the end, the music player market is small potatos compared to the computer market. Dell could build, sell, and fail a hundred times in the music player market, it doesn't stop them from shipping 14 million computers in a quarter.

And don't believe for a second that Apple doesn't use the same cheap labour pool and facilities as Dell. Apple's quality control is diving these days and that is because everything is going to China to be built, and companies over there are starting to realize its quantity over quality.

On the post: Tower Records Is Bankrupt… Again. Is It The End Of The Pure Play Music Retailer?

NamelessMofo ( profile ), 22 Aug, 2006 @ 06:39am

How many times does it take to learn

That selling CD's for $20 - $25 a piece DOESN'T WORK.

I mean, even Best Buy and Wal-mart and other big box stores sell CD's consistently for 9.99 - 15.99, and the upper end of the price range is usually for CD's that come with bonus material or DVD's. Amazon.com is slashing prices from 18.99 to under 9.99. I would much rather pay $11.99 for a CD at a big box store then to go to iTunes and buy it for $9.99.

Tower, HMV, all these dedicated music stores stores consistently are selling music way over priced and I avoid them. They sell DVD's too like 35 - 40 each.

I don't have any compasion for a corporation selling a product for much more then competitors, and then going bankrupt. This is the second time around I have heard Tower go bankrupt, how many more times before they realize they don't have a clue as to how to sell music.

On the post: Aren't There More Important Things Than A Website For A Poor Rural Village?

NamelessMofo ( profile ), 14 Aug, 2006 @ 06:47am

I agree

I have heard of times when a rual village was able to build a well because they sold crafts and wares on eBay and having Internet access allows them a better quality of life.

But, these tend ot be rare and special occurences, and at the heart of it, there tends to be someone entrepeneur from a G8 country pulling the strings and turning these situations into a business model using cheap labour to turn a tidy profit off of those struggling to live.

In reality, Intenet is a luxury and once a country has the necessary infrastructure to provide safe water, food clothing and shelter, as well as political stability, then you can start to focus on education and infromation services. Education DOES NOT improve a childs life if they can't survive long enough to finish school. Most people assume that once a child gets a good enough education, they can solve their countries problems, but if those problems prevent the child from being healthy, then school/education/Internet is not the immediate solution.

I have been largely dismayed by the assumption that all a poor country needs is $100 laptops and Internet access and they will be fine. Its like saying, here is a bandaid, cure world hunger, cure AIDS, cure drought with it, but don't bug us once we give you access.

On the post: Does Apple Own All Naming Rights To Any Electronic Device Named A Pod?

NamelessMofo ( profile ), 14 Aug, 2006 @ 06:32am

Take Apple down

Honestly, this is not an issue. Even if I create a music player called an mPod, there is no reason why Apple has any legal precedence to sue me for trademark infringement, I mean, its different by one whole letter, and that is all that is necessary.

What tends to happen in these cases is the larger more successful company effectively bullies the smaller underdog in the courts until the smaller company is forced to concede. There is no legal reason why I can not market a brand of ANYTHING an call it mPod or even m-Pod or variations, but Apple is larger then I am, and I can not afford the legal bills. Same with Lindows and Microsoft, the larger companies bullies the underdog into submission.

Which is why someone like Sony or even Microsoft needs to brand come device using POD in the name and then if Apple goes after them, keep the case open until it reaches its natural conclusion, that legally Apple does not own the trademark on POD, only on iPod.

On the post: Baseball Changes Story Against Fantasy League; Doesn't Know When To Give Up For Its Own Good

NamelessMofo ( profile ), 10 Aug, 2006 @ 07:40am

Yeah

I am pissed off at MLB for suing a fantasy legue website.

-sarcasm alert-

Actually, I am pissed of at MLB for promoting one of the most BORING games on earth. I have heard baseball claimed as NOT a sport, but a pasttime, and ranks right up their with Golf, Tennis, and Nascar racing as one of the most wasted uses of television resources in history.

The bottom line is all a fantasy legue site needs to do is generate random logos and player names and stats, after all, it is a fantasy, its not a Factual Baseball Legue.

But, I will stand in the large crowd of people who collectively don't care what the outcome of this will be.

On the post: One Small Exception To Defend Piracy

NamelessMofo ( profile ), 09 Aug, 2006 @ 10:08am

Re: Former Adobe Employee

PostScript is a POS that is nearing its death. Claiming PDF's are great because of PostScript is like claiming sex is great with crabs.

On the post: How Many Songs Must A Fan Buy, Before They Get Something For Free?

NamelessMofo ( profile ), 08 Aug, 2006 @ 01:06pm

Do the Opposite!

Why not make the music cheap or as close to free as feasible, and then make your money selling concert tickets.

I mean, you will never find a way to keep music off the Internet. With all this hype about DRM, the bottom line is that you can always record the music coming out a speaker jack, ecode it, and then distribute it DRM free.

What you can't freely distribute online is the experience of seeing your favorite artist or band performing live in a concert. I mean, even if the music is recorded at the concert and distributed for free, that is a far different experience then being in a crowd of people cheering the artist on and the effects of standing in that crowd and hearing the music live has on you.

In the end, as long as something can be easily copied or duplicated digitally, then it will be distributed easily online. But make a special edition CD with "physical" content, or live concerts cannot be dupliated digitally, and this is what people will pay money for.

It will also separate the one hit wonders from the true musicians that believe in what they are doing. You can't sell concert tickets to a band with one hit on the radio, so bands that take the time to write good music and develop a fan base will eventually earn the respect of their fans to want to see them in concert, rather then just downloading a few singles online.

Lastely, a TRUE fan will buy music, period. Anybody that claims they are a fan of some band or artist and downloads the music for free ISN'T.

On the post: id Software Forgets How Treating Customers Right Made Them A Success

NamelessMofo ( profile ), 08 Aug, 2006 @ 06:43am

id Software?

What do they do? What have they come out with lately?

As for Steam, I avoid that service like the plague. I was a happy customer until I tried to buy a second title from them (HL2 being the first), because of 1 failed credit card transaction (it happend because I changed addresses), they banned my credit card saying that they suspected that it was being abused. When I called customer support asking them about this they said that I would have to re register an account with Steam using a different credit card.

Sorry, I am not in the habit of applying for a different credit card for every two bit half assed DRM scheme put out there. I found a way to break HL2 away from Steam so I can play it without being tied to the service. I mean, after all, I did pay for it so I don't think I have to connect online in order to launch the game.

On the post: Latest Threat To The Music Industry: CDs

NamelessMofo ( profile ), 03 Aug, 2006 @ 10:43am

Re:

Pretty cynical aren't ya you old geezer. I am surprised your even using a CD and not winding your Edison cylinder phonograph.

There is a lot of great music out there, worthy enough to even pay for. Some of that music even plays in Stereo on FM radio stations.

You need to go eat some fibre and have a good poop, give your Beach Boys album a break!

On the post: Is Google AdSense Destroying Hard-Hitting Investigative Journalism?

NamelessMofo ( profile ), 03 Aug, 2006 @ 05:34am

Worse

What is worse is when you have an article or review slamming a product or something like a movie, but then Google AdSense happily advertises the product along side the article.

Google really needs to learn that if you put the words crap in the same sentence as product X, you really shouldn't be advertising product X, your not getting a sympathetic audience at that point.

On the post: TV's Lost That Fleeting Feeling

NamelessMofo ( profile ), 28 Jul, 2006 @ 07:34am

Internet's equivalent of 15 minutes of fame

3 weeks ago, I never heard of YouTube, now is one of the most talked about websites online currently.

3 weeks before that I never heard of MySpace, but talk about that is starting to dwindle already.

Before that, I never heard of craigslist, but then everybody knew about it suddenly.

I think quite honestly that marketing for whichever fad website du jour suddenly floods the net with stories and comments about its website, they hire people to fill Slashdot, TechDirt, etc with stories and commentary about their website to a point when it becomes a household name.

3 weeks from now, people will stop talking about or caring about YouTube, and another fad website will be making its rounds for another 15 minutes of Internet fame.

If you want to talk about something that is fleeting, talk about YouTube just a little longer.

On the post: Voice Service Continues To Trend Towards Free

NamelessMofo ( profile ), 20 Jul, 2006 @ 10:42am

Its not free

You still have to pay for internet service.

Whats happening is that all communications are merging into one service for a flat rate. But unless Internet becomes free, then voice communications will not be free.

As for Bluetooth headsets, you dont want to bother with that crap. Most bluetooth headsets are crap, the technology is crap, the quality of these things are crap. Bluetooth is such a poorly conceived "standard" that using it for any kind of PC VOIP is pretty much unrealistic. Case in point, a friend has a VOIP soft phone and a Bluetooth headset, and it he always sounds broken up to a point where you cannot carry a conversation with him. There are few RARE Bluetooth and PC combinations that offer decent quality, its a question of how the PC vendor and the device vendor have implemented Bluetooth, and few do it well.

On the post: How To Hype Up WiMax Some More: Just Lump It In With DSL

NamelessMofo ( profile ), 19 Jul, 2006 @ 01:32pm

Well

Claiming WiMax is a failure is just as bad as saying its a success, so I don't know how to take this.

I also don't see much hype about it, if anything, most people seem to forget about WiMax for the most part.

The idea of fast wireless networking will take off when its implemented, but the problem with WiMax is that it has been slow to define itself and establish itself and the reason for any hype is so many people want it now!

On the post: Man Busted For Speeding Via The Internet

NamelessMofo ( profile ), 19 Jul, 2006 @ 11:08am

Stupid is as stupid does

God bless them each and every one of them.

To the first post, I guess you top 200km/h on your motorbike every day. Sign you donor card recently? Although at those speeds, I doubt anything would be left of you to donate.

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