sehlat 's Techdirt Comments

Latest Comments (722)

• On the post: Movie Studios Considering Tightening Release Windows When They Should Be Eliminating Them

  

  sehlat ( profile ), 27 Mar, 2017 @ 01:53pm

  Re: #FakeProgress

  It's either that or they're trying (and going to fail miserably) to appease two groups: theaters (who actually make very little money from movies, given what the studios take out for the [sneer]privilege[/sneer] of showing them, and the growing number of people who don't bother with going to the theater.
  
  It's possible that they're figuring the price on the basis of how much the average theater takes in from BOTH tickets AND drinks/snacks, and setting it this way so that the theaters don't panic about "lost audiences." In their eyes, that's all they have to do.
  
  OTOH, it'll still be cheaper to pirate the film and make your own popcorn.

• On the post: Like Flies: Doom The Latest Game To Remove Denuvo Via Patch

  

  sehlat ( profile ), 19 Dec, 2016 @ 01:46pm

  What DRM Does

  When I couldn't download some books I'd purchased because Adobe Digital Editions refused to work with a publisher's site, I ended up telling said publisher AFTER I'd had to re-install ADE just to get my books:
  
  DRM does NOTHING to prevent piracy, but it does a darn good job of keeping loyal customers from BEING loyal customers.

• On the post: Woman Sues Google Because SEO Guy Wrote A Mean Blog About Her Company

  

  sehlat ( profile ), 21 Nov, 2016 @ 01:43pm

  Once you pay the Danegeld, you never get rid of the Dane.

  This is a very old proverb from the era of the Vikings. Google should keep that in mind and stomp this sort of thing flat or half the pissant lawyers in the country will smell green.

• On the post: Funniest/Most Insightful Comments Of The Week At Techdirt

  

  sehlat ( profile ), 20 Nov, 2016 @ 01:07pm

  In regard to Twitter, courtesy of FYNBOSPRESS blog at https://madgeniusclub.com/2016/11/20/changes-and-contingency-plans/
  
  [quote]
  Speaking of social media, Twitter’s exhibiting classic death throes, or in the immortal words of Spinal Tap, their audience and “appeal is becoming more selective.” Unlike friendster, livejournal, myspace, etc, they’re doing it to themselves by first “shadowbanning” and now outright mass banning accounts.
  [endquote]

• On the post: Germany Wants To Hold Facebook Criminally Liable If It Doesn't Find & Delete 'Hate' Speech

  

  sehlat ( profile ), 18 Nov, 2016 @ 12:18pm

  > Ever get the impression that governments do not like people to talk to each other, especially if its about politics and in public?
  
  Well of course! After all, people might have unapproved thoughts and it's the government's job to see that the brains run on time!

• On the post: Sony Wants To Patent A System For Scoring Journalists' 'Veracity'

  

  sehlat ( profile ), 14 Nov, 2016 @ 02:55pm

  Patent to Prevent Usage?

  The patent itself is ridiculous, granted. But consider that once it is patented, NOBODY else can even build such a system without facing very expen$ive lawsuits. And once such a system exists, it could well be applied to other areas than journalism, such as, say, the veracity of politicians? The veracity of Sony executives?
  
  Nah, we already know the last two categories are filled with liars.

• On the post: IMDb Sues The State Of California Over New 'Ageism' Law

  

  sehlat ( profile ), 11 Nov, 2016 @ 04:23pm

  Clint Eastwood put it best.

  He said that he wouldn't do any more Dirty Harry movies because would anybody believe Harry would be able to chase the bad guys with his walker?

• On the post: Despite ESPN Whining, Nielsen Confirms Historic Subscriber Losses For Channel

  

  sehlat ( profile ), 07 Nov, 2016 @ 12:37pm

  And For Those of Us Who May Watch One/Two Games a Year

  My local sports bar also has a Hofbrau. So... for Game 7 of the World Series, my wife and I went there, got a nice dinner and a drink each and then watched the game for less than the cost of one month of cable with E$PN.
  
  And I make no secret of the fact that I cut my cord back in 1992 and haven't looked back except to pull down and trash the slowly rotting cable more than a decade later.

• On the post: Court Says Deleting Browser History To 'Avoid Embarrassment' Isn't Destruction Of Evidence

  

  sehlat ( profile ), 12 Oct, 2016 @ 02:52pm

  A Lesson for Us All

  And that, children, is why you set your browser to clear out everything when you close it down. Something done automatically and on a daily basis cannot then be claimed to be destruction of evidence.

• On the post: Former UMG Exec: Major Label Music Should Cost More And DMCA Safe Harbors Should Be Destroyed

  

  sehlat ( profile ), 19 Sep, 2016 @ 10:13am

  Upton Sinclair Summarized It Best

  It is difficult to get a man to understand something, when his salary depends upon his not understanding it!
  "I, Candidate for Governor: And How I Got Licked"

• On the post: Thanks, Google, For Fucking Over A Bunch Of Media Websites

  

  sehlat ( profile ), 07 Sep, 2016 @ 09:55am

  The term is "to big to fail."

  Obviously Google takes that phrase seriously. Whatever happens, whatever they do, they can't fail. The papers for the divorce from reality have clearly been filed.

• On the post: Take Two Interactive Wins Two Publicity Rights Lawsuits Against Lindsay Lohan And Karen Gravano

  

  sehlat ( profile ), 06 Sep, 2016 @ 04:24pm

  I'm not so sure "court got it right" is all that good.

  Remember, legal actions are EXPEN$IVE in the extreme, and bankrupting your enemy (cf. Gawker vs. Mr. Moneybags) creates a very strong "keep your head down" effect not just on the target, but anybody else who might even come close to doing as Take Two did.

• On the post: Newspaper Association Of America Complains That Comedian John Oliver Failed To Solve Newspaper Biz Model Problem

  

  sehlat ( profile ), 08 Aug, 2016 @ 04:36pm

  This is very paradoxical.

  An industry whose motto is "If it bleeds, it leads." now wants to create a peaceful and troncquil atmosphere?

• On the post: Pure Bullshit: AMC Threatens Huge Fan Community With Copyright Claim Over 'Spoiler' Predictions

  

  sehlat ( profile ), 13 Jun, 2016 @ 10:25am

  Answer

  What possible good could this serve?

  
  Their lawyers get paid, and when the show gets shut down for lack of interest, they'll still have jobs.

• On the post: Daily Deal: ZeroLemon 64GB iMemStick

  

  sehlat ( profile ), 31 May, 2016 @ 10:55am

  One Usage Question About This Gadget

  Will the lightning connector reach through even if the phone is in a case? Thank you.

• On the post: Congrats, FBI, You've Now Convinced Silicon Valley To Encrypt And Dump Log Files

  

  sehlat ( profile ), 25 May, 2016 @ 01:23pm

  It's called blowback.

  The FBI has looked into the abyss. The abyss has looked back, and punched it in the face.

• On the post: Court Denies Immunity To Law Enforcement Officer Who Arrested Crew Sent To Clean Out His Foreclosed House

  

  sehlat ( profile ), 13 May, 2016 @ 08:49am

  Re:

  Hey. It's only fair. Cops discriminate against other people by a simple algorithm.
  
  1. If you're not a cop, you're guilty even if proven innocent because you're not a cop so we simply didn't provide enough evidence.
  
  2. I'm a cop. I'm innocent.
  
  What goes around, comes around.

• On the post: DRM Is Evil, Part 8,492: Nook Pulls Out Of UK, Exploring Options To Let People Retain Access To At Least Some Books

  

  sehlat ( profile ), 07 Mar, 2016 @ 12:30pm

  Re: Re: The REAL Problem With Making Piracy Necessary

  Baen and Siren-Bookstrand are my two major watering holes these days. I have sworn blood oath to die in my tracks before I'll pirate a book they offer.
  
  For me to do that, the publisher has to do two things:
  
  1. Don't price gouge. Any eBook over the average price of a paperback is gouging. (Harlequin meets that standard, as do others.)
  
  2. Don't use DRM. (Harlequin et al. do NOT meet that standard.)
  
  Violation of the above conditions puts said publishers on my POS list(It's like a KOS list, but without the paperwork.)

• On the post: DRM Is Evil, Part 8,492: Nook Pulls Out Of UK, Exploring Options To Let People Retain Access To At Least Some Books

  

  sehlat ( profile ), 07 Mar, 2016 @ 11:37am

  Re: Nook pulls out...

  No, because you're still getting screwed.

• On the post: DRM Is Evil, Part 8,492: Nook Pulls Out Of UK, Exploring Options To Let People Retain Access To At Least Some Books

  

  sehlat ( profile ), 07 Mar, 2016 @ 11:42am

  The REAL Problem With Making Piracy Necessary

  If customers want to actually own their eBooks (or any other digital content), they are forced by DRM to pirate it or go without. Eventually, it becomes a habit, and those are VERY hard to break.

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