Violynne 's Techdirt Comments

Latest Comments (1974)

• On the post: Taylor Swift's Streaming Rant Nearly Identical To Garth Brooks' Used CD Rant

  

  Violynne ( profile ), 03 Aug, 2015 @ 03:16am

  I don't know what's worse:
  
  The artists making these claims who completely forget they've already been paid for the music or the public who listens to this crap while forgetting the musicians have already been paid.
  
  Swift's argument was completely stupid. Apple paid big bucks to the labels to stream the music, which has direct ties to purchase.
  
  Brooks thinks the advance studios paid somehow isn't payment, and negates this fact in his diatribe of ignorance.
  
  Such idiocy. What's stunning to me is that it's always the "big fish" making these ridiculous claims, as if owning three houses isn't enough. They need to shut the hell up already.
  
  PS: Taylor Swift doesn't own her own label.

• On the post: Reminder: When Ron Wyden Says There's A Secret Interpretation Of A Law, Everyone Should Pay Attention

  

  Violynne ( profile ), 29 Jul, 2015 @ 09:42am

  Dear Senator Ron Wyden,
  
  WILL YOU PLEASE RUN FOR PRESIDENT?
  
  Sincerely,
  The American People
  
  PS: Kiss our ass, Dianne.

• On the post: Director Of National Intelligence Hammers Final Official Nail Into Bulk Phone Records Program

  

  Violynne ( profile ), 28 Jul, 2015 @ 08:28am

  I'm going to be quite frank:
  Anyone who believes the NSA is going to stop bulk data collecting is a fool.
  
  You can bet the NSA is wasting millions to ensure another Snowden never occurs, thus making it extremely difficult to prove otherwise.
  
  The NSA already has the software. Does anyone expect the Guardian to walk in and destroy their computers?
  
  Here's a cookie to help the reality go down.

• On the post: Happy Birthday Copyright Bombshell: New Evidence Warner Music Previously Hid Shows Song Is Public Domain

  

  Violynne ( profile ), 28 Jul, 2015 @ 05:15am

  The only satisfaction I get from this ridiculous case is picturing Reese Witherspoon having that "gotcha" moment before addressing the defendant.

• On the post: Police Shut Down Hologram Concert Of Rapper Because They Don't Like His Lyrics; Pretty Clear First Amendment Problem

  

  Violynne ( profile ), 28 Jul, 2015 @ 03:03am

  The concert promoters could have easily have avoided this whole fiasco by installing red light cameras at the venue.
  
  Instead, they moved to Indiana, learning nothing about the state lead by one Governor Mike Pence.

• On the post: Both Michael Hayden And Michael Chertoff Surprise Everyone By Saying FBI Is Wrong To Try To Backdoor Encryption

  

  Violynne ( profile ), 27 Jul, 2015 @ 12:17pm

  Translation: we already have the means to break encryption, so go ahead and implement it. We didn't spend $3 billion on a secure building to store text messages, after all.

• On the post: Topsite Operator, Who Admitted To Operating Servers With Tons Of Pirated Movies, Gets Off With Just Probation

  

  Violynne ( profile ), 27 Jul, 2015 @ 10:46am

  The unnamed man probably works for the Swedish equivalent of the MPAA or any of its "copyright" law enforcement.
  
  What an embarrassment this would have been.

• On the post: Cable Industry Still Proudly Thinks Cord Cutting Is A Media-Manufactured Crisis

  

  Violynne ( profile ), 23 Jul, 2015 @ 09:48am

  But I personally believe, and also by looking at our own statistics, that the volume of press around cord cutting doesn’t quite match reality.
  
  That's because Comcast rapes the wallets of damn near every customer it has by forcing them to "bundle" their "internet services" making it such that the bundle is far cheaper than a stand alone internet connection.
  
  Claiming cord cutting isn't happening while forcing people to pay for the cord is absolutely the most arrogant thing an ISP can say.

• On the post: FCC Signs Off on AT&T DirecTV Merger, And Early Indications Are The Conditions Are Hot Garbage

  

  Violynne ( profile ), 22 Jul, 2015 @ 11:54am

  As I said on Ars, I find this behavior from the FCC appalling. Just recently, the FCC criticized this company (and others) for its broadband and wireless business practices, yet it turns right around, forgetting all these issues, and gives AT&T what it wants.
  
  Pathetic. Even if buying DirecTV in today's market is foolish, the reality of the situation is AT&T continues on business as normal, wherein it should be punished further by having this, and every other future merger, declined until AT&T can prove it intends to provide better service without costing children their lives.
  
  The FCC gets a major frown sticker for their approval of this merger.
  
  Oh, and perhaps this is just coincidence: AT&T raising activation fees.

• On the post: Comcast Really Wants Me To Stop Calling Their Top Lobbyist A 'Top Lobbyist'

  

  Violynne ( profile ), 22 Jul, 2015 @ 07:03am

  Cohen pulled his excuse right out of the SCOTUS playbook:
  
  "If it looks like a duck, quacks like a duck, and swims like a duck, clearly it's part of the cable industry."

• On the post: Newsflash: Car Network Security Is Still A Horrible, Very Dangerous Joke

  

  Violynne ( profile ), 21 Jul, 2015 @ 11:26am

  10 years from now...
  
  HR: "So, what makes you think you're a good candidate for the organization?"
  
  Kid: "Well, using the CEO's health band, I jumped to the HDTV menu system to access the network, since the HDTV is in constant eavesdrop mode. From there, I used an employee's Blutooth headset to access her laptop as she was streaming from a website. There, I accessed the files of the company to determine what they do, both legally and illegally, and determined my skills would be best applied in the IT department, now that Bob Jones 'left' the organization after being investigated for child porn."
  
  HR: "I see. You will start Monday for orientation."
  Kid: "Cool. It'll be nice working for Comcast."

• On the post: General Wesley Clark: Some WWII-Style Internment Camps Are Just The Thing We Need To Fight Domestic Radicalization

  

  Violynne ( profile ), 20 Jul, 2015 @ 11:26am

  It won't be long before kids are diving under their desks under the guise of "terror drills".

• On the post: Two Of The Most Ridiculous Statements From Senators At Yesterday's Encryption Hearings

  

  Violynne ( profile ), 09 Jul, 2015 @ 07:40am

  These Senators need to understand a simple concept: by eroding any part of the Constitution is an act of terrorism in its own right.
  
  I'm more frightened of an out-of-touch group of old geezers passing ridiculous laws in this country than I am over a group of people thousands of miles away.
  
  One hits closer to home than another.

• On the post: FBI & Homeland Security Now 0 For 41 In Predicting Imminent Terrorist Attacks On The US

  

  Violynne ( profile ), 08 Jul, 2015 @ 05:09am

  On the the flip side, they're 5-0 to allowing information they had previous to attacks, inlcluding 9/11, and doing absolutely nothing with the info, leading to the events they're now pretending are threats.
  
  The real terrorists are the FBI.

• On the post: The Verge Shuts Down News Comments To Help 'Build Relationships'

  

  Violynne ( profile ), 08 Jul, 2015 @ 03:16am

  What we've found lately is that the tone of our comments (and some of our commenters) is getting a little too aggressive and negative...
  
  This, readers, is a classic case of denial. What The Verge really meant to say was this:
  
  "At The Verge, we've noticed more negative commentary regarding our news stories, and how readers are mislead by titles and are greeted with less-than-stellar reporting.
  
  Since we can't stand constructive criticism regarding how we try to generate more ad revenue (please be sure to Like us!), we're basically going to tell our readers to shut the hell up."
  
  Congratulations, The Verge. You will do precisely the opposite of what you intended to do.
  
  As a veteran, here's a response I'd like to share with you when people sometimes asked why I volunteered to face death: "I may not like what you have to say, but I'll defend to the death your right to say it."
  
  Enter Corporate America to kill the very definition of the word "freedom".

• On the post: Corruption Watch: State Attorneys General Line Up Behind Jim Hood, Support Power To Attack Enemies Of Big Corporate Donors

  

  Violynne ( profile ), 07 Jul, 2015 @ 09:09am

  See, the thing here is the corruption isn't from other AGs, it's from the MPAA, a fact that shouldn't be buried. It's not going to surprise any Techdirt reader if the AGs listed above also have pockets lined by MPAA money.
  
  When the hell is this country going to wake up and realize corporations are the true problem?

• On the post: Newegg Asks Appeals Court For Help After Waiting Nearly Two Years For East Texas Judge To Actually Rule In Patent Case

  

  Violynne ( profile ), 07 Jul, 2015 @ 04:32am

  I've said it before, but I'll say it again: There's something seriously fishy with the crap going on in East Texas.
  
  It's not going to surprise me one bit if federal investigations throw the whole damn town into the slammer for shady dealings.

• On the post: Aadhaar: Soon, In India, Everyone Will Be A Number

  

  Violynne ( profile ), 07 Jul, 2015 @ 03:03am

  Agreeing with the first comment: just a number used similarly to Social Security.
  
  As a side note: the SSN wasn't supposed to be used for anything other than Social Security as well, but, as is always the case, the number slowly crept into our daily lives and has become our national identifier.
  
  You can't even get a job without one. Well, legally, anyway.

• On the post: Infringing Game A Tabletop Award Nominee Before Disqualification

  

  Violynne ( profile ), 06 Jul, 2015 @ 12:18pm

  He should have called it Fifty Shades of Effect: The Mass Fate.
  
  Then, no one would have given a flying damn.

• On the post: Comcast's New Voice-Controlled Remote Starts Marketing Movies To Your Kids

  

  Violynne ( profile ), 02 Jul, 2015 @ 08:48am

  Re: Re:

  You're conflating several issues to cloud the discussion.
  
  The entire "online only" has absolutely nothing to do with Kinect, though Kinect's bundling was an issue. Not of the device, but for the extra $100 price difference of the PS4.
  
  The NSA "tracking" joke is still going on, regardless what the device is. Any form of communication which leaves the house is now NSA fodder (though I certainly don't disagree).
  
  I don't read much of Kinect's voice activation being of concern to people the information is being used outside of its purpose. The ToS even states this information isn't used but for Kinect.
  
  Samsung did not instill this confidence (much like LG's infamous data transmission without any consent or knowledge).
  
  You can hate on Microsoft all you want, but don't try to pretend what was said was fact. Most people arguing over the E3 fiasco still have it wrong, because they didn't listen to a thing said as they were too busy sticking their fingers into their ears and screaming like a ill-tempered child.

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