Osno 's Techdirt Comments

Latest Comments (47)

• On the post: Odd Argument: Google Will Lose Out Once Everyone's Comfortable Paying For Stuff

  

  Osno ( profile ), 11 Jul, 2009 @ 05:40am

  It's been stated already but, since when are Google, Apple and Amazon in the same camp?? I love some of the stuff Google creates, I use Amazon for almost all of my american book shopping and I think Apple has yet to come with a good product but I accept that they have a huge following... but I cannot think of one thing they have in common. Maybe google books and amazon's preview are similar in some way, but that's about it. This is like saying that once wikipedia and facebook start to charge, google is out of business. How does one thing compare with the other??
  
  The other flawed comparison is "Google's share of total domestic online revenues could be at risk as user payments begin to match or exceed advertising". The money is not coming from the same pockets. Users don't decide between paying or advertising. Google may do worst than, say, Amazon. But that's not a failure IMHO, it's a completely different business. You can't start comparing yourself with just about everyone out there!

• On the post: Dear AP: The Point Behind A Data Format Is To Make The Data Easier To Use, Not Harder

  

  Osno ( profile ), 11 Jul, 2009 @ 05:13am

  iCopyright probably didn't test such an unusual functionality. They weren't expecting someone to actually try to pay!

• On the post: Why The New Webcasting Rates Are A Death Sentence For Webcasters

  

  Osno ( profile ), 10 Jul, 2009 @ 06:59pm

  As I see it, this is just fail for the US. If the rest of the world doesn't follow suit (and this is a case where the RIAA probably doesn't have as much influence because it doesn't have to do with "you're stealing my copyrights" as much as with rates), the rest of the world can still build a healthy webcasting scene. I'm thinking Sweden, Russia, China...

• On the post: From Russia, With Stupidity: Band Must Pay Fines To Itself

  

  Osno ( profile ), 10 Jul, 2009 @ 12:11pm

  Sorry to break it to you, Mike, but common sense died a long time ago. I think it was right after the Napster trial.

• On the post: Christian Engstrom Explains The Pirate Party's Position: Freedom To Communicate; Freedom From Privacy Invasion

  

  Osno ( profile ), 09 Jul, 2009 @ 11:39am

  What's weird about your argument, A1, is that the most public supporter of TPB has a seat in the European Parliament right now and they'r using the model of TPB as part of their platform. So I'll assume that TPB is about to turn into a "differences of opinion" issue rather than an absolute evil site. Infringement may be illegal right now, but every day more people realize that it's not immoral.

• On the post: Why Does Wal-Mart Need A 3,379-Word Terms Of Use For Its Twitter Account?

  

  Osno ( profile ), 09 Jul, 2009 @ 11:14am

  They have the infamous line:
  
  "Wal-Mart reserves the right, at its sole discretion, without advance notice, to change, modify, add or remove all or any portion of the Site or the Terms."
  
  So it's double useless: unenforceable because it server no purpose and because the courts already have decided that you can't be bound to something that changes with no notification.
  
  I wonder if the EFF will include it in the TOS watchlist...

• On the post: Cheap Trick: More Afraid Of Being Ignored Than Ripped Off

  

  Osno ( profile ), 08 Jul, 2009 @ 04:06pm

  The radio killed the 8-track!

• On the post: Christian Engstrom Explains The Pirate Party's Position: Freedom To Communicate; Freedom From Privacy Invasion

  

  Osno ( profile ), 08 Jul, 2009 @ 10:21am

  I love 2 things about the article:
  
  1. Christian distances himself from the whole "politic" class of person. And he does it to gain credibility. What this tells us of our political class worldwide is very troubling.
  2. At the end of the article, you can see the copyright notice from the financial times. This is REALLY troubling.
  
  I don't know where I read it, but I'd love to: "putting tools in place that may lead to a police state is not good democratic hygiene". I'd vote for a pirate party here if there was one. I'll start one if I had the time and money.
  
  And finally, I love the way he explicitly mentions TPB. That's as provocative as the name of the party itself. But it's also establishing a model that many people want to outlaw right away.

• On the post: Would Amazon Offer Up Free eBooks With Advertising?

  

  Osno ( profile ), 08 Jul, 2009 @ 06:31am

  Free ebooks when you buy a book? Who would have thought of that??
  
  But seriously, when Amazon first created the "digital library" I assumed I'll have a full Amazon Preview on the books I bought. Since books take so long to get here, I thought it would be cool to have such a feature. Here's to hoping that this is simply Amazon telling us what they're intending to do instead of an actual real patent (which will be more than absurd), and hoping that they're actually considering the service I always thought they should have.

• On the post: Is There Really An Idea/Expression Dichotomy In Copyright?

  

  Osno ( profile ), 03 Jul, 2009 @ 04:36am

  Loving this part:
  

  you are a talking about no doubt come from your usual collection of idols

  
  He didn't insult Mike personally (this time); he just dismissed the opinion of everyone that doesn't agree with him.

• On the post: District Court Bans 'Catcher In The Rye' Sequel; Since When Did The US Ban Books?

  

  Osno ( profile ), 02 Jul, 2009 @ 09:34am

  Try 70 years after the original author dies. Catcher in the Rye will not be in the public domain for a good 80 years, at least.

• On the post: District Court Bans 'Catcher In The Rye' Sequel; Since When Did The US Ban Books?

  

  Osno ( profile ), 02 Jul, 2009 @ 09:20am

  I thought Salinger was supposed to be living in a cave or something. His last book was published in 1963. He's another great success of copyright law, laying on his laurels for over 30 years when he could have been writing. Instead, he chooses to prevent other people to write. I still don't get what good has copyright done to society, ever.

• On the post: Could The RIAA Stop Piracy By Coming Up With A More Compelling Story?

  

  Osno ( profile ), 26 Jun, 2009 @ 06:32pm

  Also, two things:
  1. Exactly that (people reprinting works) happened in Europe, and it happened a lot. We still got a lot of art. Society didn't have a problem.
  2. I think, and this is speaking because I have a hole in my face and based on what I think only, that the fact that copyright exists makes it difficult to imagine how an artist can make money without it. I think (same disclaimer) that if copyright never existed, we would have thought of some other way to sustain artists by now.

• On the post: Unlike The AP, It Looks Like Reuters Recognizes The Future

  

  Osno ( profile ), 26 Jun, 2009 @ 05:24pm

  Yeah... and also the fact that there's so much beer available now that the only reasonable option is not to charge for it and use it as the free part of some other business model.

• On the post: Could The RIAA Stop Piracy By Coming Up With A More Compelling Story?

  

  Osno ( profile ), 26 Jun, 2009 @ 05:17pm

  I don't see what's wrong with Y making money of my work, either. It makes me more freely available, and more valued as an author. Example: I live in Argentina and I don't have access to a lot (and I mean a lot) of written material. If some Y in latin america decided to reprint stuff only available in the US or in Europe, I'll get to know many authors and their work will be more valuable (for them and for the other companies that want to profit with their work). I still think that served-first contracts (where X gets the first pass at my work) will be a good business model, and I think that if that the competition will make all the publishers come up with better products. Also, that's why I included the other ways to make money, because I realize that publication alone may not be enough in that case... but that only makes me a better professional. Finally, that still may be helpful for an author, but I don't see how it's helping society. I think that the good stuff will get written anyway even if the authors that are in it for the money don't want to publish if the business is not good enough.

• On the post: Unlike The AP, It Looks Like Reuters Recognizes The Future

  

  Osno ( profile ), 26 Jun, 2009 @ 12:40pm

  The last three lines are something that all these companies should understand. On the risk of sounding like a stupid teen: We come from the internets, and we're legion.
  
  But the last one actually endeared me to this guy. So true, yet so misunderstood.

• On the post: Could The RIAA Stop Piracy By Coming Up With A More Compelling Story?

  

  Osno ( profile ), 26 Jun, 2009 @ 12:24pm

  And before this turns into a "fight" I'm really only interested in discussing the topic, because even Mike thinks copyright is useful in some situations and I simply don't see it.

• On the post: Could The RIAA Stop Piracy By Coming Up With A More Compelling Story?

  

  Osno ( profile ), 26 Jun, 2009 @ 12:23pm

  I still don't see the greater good of copyright to society. I only get hypothetical situations where it helps an individual. And those, I really don't think are necessary. I can always write a book and publish online, get read and then get someone to print it for me (on a contract, not on copyright) and get money on that. Or on reading/writing jobs. Or on conferences. Or on presentations. Or on sponsorship.

• On the post: Could The RIAA Stop Piracy By Coming Up With A More Compelling Story?

  

  Osno ( profile ), 26 Jun, 2009 @ 11:15am

  Sorry. Agreed (13) was in response to ZafT (6). That "reply to this comment" thingie is too much for my level of comprehension.

• On the post: Could The RIAA Stop Piracy By Coming Up With A More Compelling Story?

  

  Osno ( profile ), 26 Jun, 2009 @ 11:09am

  Agreed. I have read it in full now and I think that part of it actually makes sense. In the same paragraph you quote, they say that if transparency is not very palatable because of what they're doing right now, they may need to change their business model to actually make it fair for artists and the public.
  
  I have a very mixed feeling about the paper, though. I don't see what good copyright has done (ever) to the society, and the paper (and also the content creators) put it as fact. If the public knew and believed what good copyright has done to society, they will probably respect it more.
  
  As it stands, the public perception (IMO) is that copyright only helps establish corporations that get so powerful that they get to decide what culture is good and what culture is not. The fact that indie labels are not great supporters (or at least, not great public supporters) of copyright reinforce that feeling. And young people will always be anti-corporation. So if the corporation gets hurt, the general perception (again IMO) is not "meh" but "cool".
  
  I think if they want to change they need the rhetorics and the transparency, but they also need to shed the "corporation" look and feel they have. They need to be hip like Apple or Google, not a dinosaur like Microsoft or IBM. That simply will not work in music. And if they do it wrong (as in, obviously feigning to be hip), the backslash will be even greater. Once again, talking the talk will not work.
  
  Not being such great supporters of copyright will be a nice first step...

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