Mike42 's Techdirt Comments

Latest Comments (737) comment rss

  • On the post: Once Again: Just Because You Can Go Indie, Doesn't Mean You Need To

    Mike42 ( profile ), 26 Sep, 2012 @ 12:33pm

    Well, Mike, looks like you have an interview to do!

  • On the post: Sparkfun CEO Explains IP Obesity: Companies Who Rely Too Much On IP Flop

    Mike42 ( profile ), 25 Sep, 2012 @ 01:26pm

    Re: Such foolishness

    Wow! Excellent choice of examples, bob.
    Polaroid? Yeah, I have one of their tablets... wait, Polaroid is defunct, and they sold their name to another outfit who is trying to make their cheap electronics sound legit.

    You are attempting to discredit an article about the longevity of a company that relied too heavily on IP by highlighting a lawsuit with a company that went bankrupt even earlier! Even your IP-addled gray matter should comprehend this.

  • On the post: StackExchange, Google Team Up With USPTO To Help Crowdsource Prior Art Discovery

    Mike42 ( profile ), 20 Sep, 2012 @ 08:48am

    Re: Re:

    There is an AMA from two patent examiners on reddit, /r/Android. They both admit that they are pressured to approve patents rather than reject them. They also say they would be much happier if they were pressured to reject instead of approve them.

    So you see, both sides would like a higher bar for patents. Only the courts in the middle disagree.

  • On the post: Overeager Patent Troll Can't Tell Github From Its Web Host

    Mike42 ( profile ), 20 Sep, 2012 @ 08:30am

    Re: Patents and NPEs

    The problem with patent lovers is they don't know how to understand technology or invent anything. If they did, they would understand the tremendous amount of "borrowing" involved in any invention. Instead, they see a partially packaged product and think, "oh, this is totally unrealated to anything I have seen before; therefore it is wholly original." If you want to know an innovator's ideas on patents, why don't you Google Steve Wozniak's opinion on the Apple vs Samsung trial?

    The really interesting thing is that, regardless of your, "Big Business" line (on which I call Bullshit), the people who really rake in the cash in any patent dispute are the lawyers... wait, what is your occupation?

  • On the post: University Requires Students To Pay $180 For 'Art History' Text That Has No Photos Due To Copyright Problems

    Mike42 ( profile ), 17 Sep, 2012 @ 12:59pm

    Re: Re:

    You have to add something to the picture to get a copyright on it. A faithful reproduction does not give you a copyright, at least in the US. Dunno what Canada does to it's citizens, though.

  • On the post: DailyDirt: You Say Ketchup, I Say Catsup…

    Mike42 ( profile ), 17 Sep, 2012 @ 08:14am

    What???

    You didn't mention the largest Ketchup bottle in the world!
    http://www.roadsideamerica.com/story/2922
    I used to live 3 blocks from it.

  • On the post: This Goes Beyond Tablets: Apple, Amazon & Google Are Betting On Economic Philosophies

    Mike42 ( profile ), 13 Sep, 2012 @ 02:12pm

    I must be missing something...

    This equation assumes that Apple media is radically cheaper than Amazon or Google. Seeing as this is NOT the case (as stated in a previous post) this really doesn't seem like a good simplification of the market.

    To me, Apple is using it's sizable group of well-financed fans to promote the higher hardware prices. They know that almost the entire group will go out and buy their latest hardware, so they put out a new version as frequently as possible. They really don't have a reason to discount media, either. They just do.

    Amazon also has a large fan base, but they are the bargain-hunters of the internet. You can't gouge them and keep them as customers. Therefore, Amazon keeps both hardware and media margins at a minimum.

    To Google, every tablet out there is an opportunity to mine data. Therefore, they are able to sell hardware and media at cost (or even a loss) and still come out ahead.

    You will almost certainly see the hardware from Amazon and Google following Moore's law as hardware becomes faster and cheaper, while Apple will have frequent incremental advances.

  • On the post: Evidence That UK Needs Mandatory Porn Filters? Informal Survey Done At One School

    Mike42 ( profile ), 05 Sep, 2012 @ 11:41am

    Re: Demarcation!

    What evidence? A quick look at Wikipedia shows that studies have been inconclusive, mainly because of too many contradictory findings.

    So, once again, they run off legislating without fact checking. Politics as usual.

  • On the post: Copyright Killbots Strike Again: Official DNC Livestream Taken Down By Just About Every Copyright Holder

    Mike42 ( profile ), 05 Sep, 2012 @ 07:30am

    Re: Re: Google plot

    You sound like a mirror-image of a copyright maximalist. Going to the other extreme doesn't right the wrongs, it just creates the opposite wrong. We need to use these situations to illustrate the stupidity and futility of this level of monopoly protection, and reduce the protection to a level which best benefits everyone.

  • On the post: Samsung/Apple Jury Foreman's Explanation For Verdict Shows He Doesn't Understand Prior Art

    Mike42 ( profile ), 30 Aug, 2012 @ 12:26pm

    Brain Trust

    This is what happens when you bet a billion dollars on the opinions of 9 people who aren't smart enough to figure out how to get out of jury duty.

  • On the post: Revolving Door: US Copyright Office General Counsel Becomes IFPI Lobbyist

    Mike42 ( profile ), 30 Aug, 2012 @ 11:17am

    Re:

    >Then if you were barred from working in your area of expertise, who'd take a government policy job to begin with?

    You're not supposed to take a government job to "work in you area of expertise" a.k.a. get job experience. You are supposed to take a government job to serve the public good.

    Yes, that's why few people used to take government jobs. What we have now is corruption of the system, plain and simple.

  • On the post: Want To Know How Weak The GOP's Internet Freedom Platform Is? The MPAA Loves It

    Mike42 ( profile ), 30 Aug, 2012 @ 10:11am

    I always heard "Necessity is the mother of Invention." I guess we have to update the old books, and re-record Schoolhouse Rock.

    "Without Mother Copyright, where would we be?"

  • On the post: What Happens To All That Digital Goodness You Have Purchased After You Die?

    Mike42 ( profile ), 30 Aug, 2012 @ 09:17am

    This makes the little plastic disks more attractive to me.

  • On the post: Oops: After Seizing & Censoring Rojadirecta For 18 Months, Feds Give Up & Drop Case

    Mike42 ( profile ), 29 Aug, 2012 @ 01:08pm

    The government drops the case right after the RIAA & MPAA reveal that their budgets are being massively cut.

    Coincidence? I think not.

  • On the post: Former Marine Detained, Held For A Month For Posting Conspiracy Theories, Rap Lyrics To Facebook

    Mike42 ( profile ), 23 Aug, 2012 @ 10:06am

    Re:

    I'm with Jake. I'd rather see him evaluated if he's crazy enough to put this stuff out in public. If he doesn't want to go nicely... but then, I think a hell of a lot of people need evaluation.

  • On the post: Screwing Students Through Pointless Textbook Bundles

    Mike42 ( profile ), 22 Aug, 2012 @ 07:17am

    I worked with an intern over the summer who goes to the University of Illinois. Their faculty avoids textbooks whenever possible, at least in the Computer Science program.

  • On the post: Google Launches Patent Attack On Apple In A Disappointing First For The Company

    Mike42 ( profile ), 20 Aug, 2012 @ 12:50pm

    Re: Re:

    In this case, the bully has also been harassing your friends (partners) as well.

  • On the post: Perhaps The Dumbest Idea We've Heard Yet: Nationalize Facebook

    Mike42 ( profile ), 17 Aug, 2012 @ 11:42am

    Re: Re:

    Let me take this one: there is no search monopoly. Period.

    There is a major search engine that a lot of people use, and a whole bunch of other search engines that a few people use.

    For those of us who have been on the web longer than 10 years, we have used Alta Vista, Dog Pile, Yahoo, etc. They just don't offer the quality that Google does.
    If you don't like Google, use Bing. Or Alta Vista, Dog Pile, etc. But if you call it a search monopoly again, I'll knock the tin-foil hat off your head, and the government will know what you've been thinking for the last ten years!

    And I'll do it, too.

  • On the post: Famous Prankster 'The Internet' Hijacks Another Promotional Campaign

    Mike42 ( profile ), 15 Aug, 2012 @ 10:49am

    I just wanted to note that it would appear that the Tims have switched logins. The previous article by Timothy Geigner (supposedly) about Disney was completely mature and factual. Not even a fart joke! And now this...
    I'm calling bullshit. Come clean.

  • On the post: Citations & Sarcasm: How Gizmodo Got A Defamation Lawsuit SLAPPed Down

    Mike42 ( profile ), 14 Aug, 2012 @ 12:34pm

    It's good to see a blog defend against a bogus lawsuit, but I do wish it wasn't the Apple fanboi-mag Gizmodo. I used to read it all the time, but the last six months have been nothing but Apple-loving and Android bashing. They used to be at least somewhat objective, now they don't even pretend.

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