Overcast 's Techdirt Comments

Latest Comments (1367)

• On the post: Obama's Techies Want To Open Source Their Work, But Politicians Want To Keep It Secret

  

  Overcast ( profile ), 25 Jan, 2013 @ 03:16pm

  Re: Re:

  "No, it's largely done on a volunteer basis and, even if paid for, campaigns are not government entities."
  
  But... they get government dollars.

• On the post: CNET: You Can't Trust Our Reviews, But You Can Trust Our News! Honestly!

  

  Overcast ( profile ), 25 Jan, 2013 @ 03:07pm

  I only go to CNET anymore if I need a download hosted there. I used to go there daily for tech news, but it became obvious the reviews were 'bought and paid' for..
  
  I forget when, around the early 2000's - it got way too 'corporate bloated' - that's a good point to ditch a site.

• On the post: Just Two More Days To Unlock Your Phone, Then You'll Be Breaking The Law

  

  Overcast ( profile ), 24 Jan, 2013 @ 02:05pm

  Screw smartphones - only reason I ever get a call is someone 'wanting something' - less I have a phone around me, the better.
  
  Keep your overpriced junk.

• On the post: Pharma Companies Try 'DRM' For Drugs As A Ploy To Stymie Generics

  

  Overcast ( profile ), 16 Jan, 2013 @ 03:00pm

  With sufficient force - I suspect a hammer will still do the trick.

• On the post: Dear HBO, Disney, Netflix Et Al: Fragmenting Online TV Lets Piracy Keep Its Biggest Advantage

  

  Overcast ( profile ), 16 Jan, 2013 @ 09:59am

  *Which is why I don't go to movie theaters any more. It's one thing to pay $10 to see a movie, and $5 for a box of popcorn. It's another to pay those high prices, AND THEN HAVE TO SEE COMMERCIALS FOR PRODUCTS, not movies.*
  
  Yep, with you 100%.
  
  It's why people rarely worry about being 'late' for a movie - you just miss the ads anyway.
  
  I don't mind seeing a couple previews - but it's getting ridiculous. What's worse is the ton of ads on the DVD's I buy - but there's an easy fix for that... But the DVD you want, rip it to a digital file and put it on a writable DVD.

• On the post: Yet Another Study: 'Cracking Down' On Piracy Not Effective

  

  Overcast ( profile ), 11 Jan, 2013 @ 09:18am

  "More than half of every single song and film I own I found out about from downloading it first"
  
  Name a person that buys more than 10% of media - that they have *never* seen/heard FIRST - before buying it.
  
  Now in the digital age, or before....
  
  I might own five out of 200 store bought DVD's that I didn't see before buying it - and I could pretty well guarantee; they were under $5.00 or I wouldn't have.
  
  The only small exception to that is a series/artist that I am almost positive I like, or that I follow a lot. Which... if Pink Floyd releases a new CD, I'll just buy it. There might be 3-4 other artists I would do that with. But 98% of the time - I've seen or heard it first.
  
  And yes, Pandora has prompted me to buy more CD's over the last year than I had the previous 10 years before now.

• On the post: Just How Dumb Is It For CBS To Block CNET From Giving Dish An Award?

  

  Overcast ( profile ), 11 Jan, 2013 @ 07:10am

  I won't do dish because of the stupid contracts - sorry, but I will NOT enter into a contract for freakin' TV.
  
  But in any event - if not for my DVR, I wouldn't watch TV at all. The 'hopper' is the only thing that's ever tempted me to look at dish; and if I had it, I'd watch a lot more TV.
  
  But lengthy commercial breaks... are HISTORY for me, if I'm 'forced' to watch them - I won't watch at all, I'll go Netflix or just video game more.
  
  Keep them short, to the point and I don't mind watching a few ads. Run them long and annoying - like AMC, SciFI, etc - and I won't watch your network at all, because it's just not worth watching the butchering of shows.

• On the post: To Boost Its New Crappy DRM, Hollywood Tries Giving Away Free Movies

  

  Overcast ( profile ), 10 Jan, 2013 @ 11:26am

  "because we see people pay when they can get things for free all the time."
  
  Oh no way!
  
  I mean - who would buy things they could get for free?
  
  Like - vegetables. I mean, since you can grow them for free, who on earth would buy them....?

• On the post: Police Use HIPAA To Justify Charging Citizen For Recording Them

  

  Overcast ( profile ), 10 Jan, 2013 @ 10:47am

  They can come up with all the BS in the world - but the police are the ones breaking the law here.
  
  "The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized"
  
  And as we see - without the 'rule of law' - corruption begins to overwhelm the system.
  
  So yeah, you 'law enforcement' lackeys - do what you will, but realize you are *just as guilty* of breaking laws as those you are jailing. You just have a badge to 'say' you are one of the 'good guys'.
  
  When our society is so ripe with corruption that it can no longer function properly - pat yourself on the back; for a job well done - killing liberty.

• On the post: Developer Of Bookmaking Software Gets Full Kim Dotcom Treatment For 'Promoting Gambling'

  

  Overcast ( profile ), 08 Jan, 2013 @ 07:07am

  So more or less - they are acting like the mob 'busting up' the competition for their brick/mortar casino buddies?
  
  No surprise.

• On the post: It's Time For A New, Copyright-Free Happy Birthday Song, So Help Write One

  

  Overcast ( profile ), 03 Jan, 2013 @ 02:04pm

  Happy Birthday to you..
  Warner Chappell screwed up the old tune.
  Because of greed and control.
  So no Happy Birthday tune for you.

• On the post: Smart TV Exploit Means Hackers Can Watch You Watch TV

  

  Overcast ( profile ), 12 Dec, 2012 @ 07:34pm

  Speaking of which - why don't these companies provide lens covers for these device cameras? That way you KNOW if it's able to see anything or not.

• On the post: Smart TV Exploit Means Hackers Can Watch You Watch TV

  

  Overcast ( profile ), 12 Dec, 2012 @ 07:33pm

  And even if this gets fixed, other exploits will be found.
  
  The groups that fluff their chest and make a deal out of it, I don't worry about too much - it's those that don't say anything about what they are hacking into - those worry me.

• On the post: The Pirate Bay's Perfectly Legal 'The Promo Bay' Blocked By UK ISPs

  

  Overcast ( profile ), 03 Dec, 2012 @ 02:41pm

  This is the way things work in a tyranny, like we have now.
  
  Kudos to our 'leaders' for putting the world of politics back into 1400 AD.

• On the post: First Amendment Concerns About Internet Radio Bill Not Just Overblown But Completely Backwards

  

  Overcast ( profile ), 03 Dec, 2012 @ 02:35pm

  Step 1. Mandate fees for online content.
  
  Step 2. Tax people the amount.
  
  Not hard to see where this is going.

• On the post: The Internet Isn't Broken; So Why Is The ITU Trying To 'Fix' It?

  

  Overcast ( profile ), 03 Dec, 2012 @ 08:42am

  Because - like some newb, they want to 'fix' what's not broken. And like a newb - they will fail and make it worse for everyone.

• On the post: Cambridge Proposes New Centre To Study Ways Technology May Make Humans Extinct

  

  Overcast ( profile ), 30 Nov, 2012 @ 08:28am

  "I would tend to agree, in which case, at some level, we're all just representations of mathematics and that can certainly be programmed..."
  
  How can you apply love, hate, greed, pride - to mathematics?
  
  You can't even measure the level of 'love' from one person to the next. I mean - can you prove you love your mom more than your sister does? Even if you were to pick-up some 'brainwave' - how can you tell how that specific brain interprets and processes that specific wave? One person might consider that emotion to be 'drastic' from their relative point of view; whereas another considers it 'slight'.
  
  I think AI is a chicken before the egg concept. And we don't have a chicken or an egg.

• On the post: Barnes & Noble Decides That Purchased Ebooks Are Only Yours Until Your Credit Card Expires

  

  Overcast ( profile ), 29 Nov, 2012 @ 12:26pm

  Easy fix; support your local library.
  
  I refuse to buy books now because of all of this - I just go 'pirate' them by checking them out and reading them FOR FREE at the Library.
  
  And no, I don't need to make a copy, I can just check it out again later.

• On the post: Open Letter To Human Synergistics International In Response To Your Accusation That Techdirt Is Infringing

  

  Overcast ( profile ), 29 Nov, 2012 @ 12:24pm

  Oh wait - didn't they use your blog name on that notice?
  
  Isn't that also infringing?
  
  If they didn't get permission....

• On the post: Open Letter To Human Synergistics International In Response To Your Accusation That Techdirt Is Infringing

  

  Overcast ( profile ), 29 Nov, 2012 @ 12:02pm

  Sounds to me like they are just trying to generate hits on their website...
  
  Honestly; this claim would never hold up on court - and if it did, in no way could they show damages that would make it worth the time and cost.

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