Skeptical Cynic 's Techdirt Comments

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  • On the post: NSA Releases Heavily Redacted Talking Points: Say It's Hard To Watch Public Debate On Its Efforts

    Skeptical Cynic ( profile ), 30 Nov, 2012 @ 09:48am

    And now we know why Amazon had to pull 1984.

    Amazon is in the employ of the NSA and the NSA did not want them selling classified information about their methods of dealing with the public.

  • On the post: Google Asks Germans To Protest 'Pay To Link' Proposal As It Comes Close To Becoming Law

    Skeptical Cynic ( profile ), 28 Nov, 2012 @ 06:49am

    Random thoughts about this stupidity. No order implied.

    The internet was designed as a way to share information and is all about sharing! It is about providing people information, about sharing that information. It is about providing redundancy in access to that information. It in the end it is really about freeing information from the silos. So any problem accessing information is considered a fault to be routed around. Your website will be routed around.

    Information is a commodity, it is not a piece of personal property!! It is not a finite product.

    Information is not the exclusive property of any News Organization. The News Organizations are paid for how they present that information in a way people find useful. Not for the actual information. News Organizations still think that they have the "Exclusive" and that somehow that makes them the owner of the information. Wrong. Exclusive is a term that means we have it 10 minutes before 100 others do.

    The internet was designed to route around problems with access to data. So if your information is not accessible easily the internet will find better route to that information. Full Stop.

    People today find their information more often than not through a search engine. Deal with it or you will go away.

    Charging for links is the exact opposite of how the internet works. Linking to content is the foundation of the internet. If you put in place some kind of scheme to make incoming links cost the linking website anything then those links will go away. Period.

  • On the post: Microsoft Sued Because It Overloaded Surface Tablet With Pre-Installed Apps

    Skeptical Cynic ( profile ), 15 Nov, 2012 @ 07:04am

    What is surprising is that Mike would think a lawyer would respond any other way.

    If the only tool you know is a hammer then everything looks like a nail to you.

    Better title would "Lawyer sues, no one surprised"

  • On the post: Apple Learns That Suing A Key Supplier May Not Be So Smart; Samsung Jacks Up Prices On Apple

    Skeptical Cynic ( profile ), 12 Nov, 2012 @ 01:12pm

    Got to love the irony.

    Patent protection does not equal price protection.

    You win some and lose some.

  • On the post: IBM Patent Lawyer Says The Patent System Works Fine Because… Hey Look Over There!

    Skeptical Cynic ( profile ), 12 Nov, 2012 @ 11:13am

    Re: Re: Going to play devil's advocate...a bit

    I agree with you but by taking away some of the risks more risky/marginal chances of success inventions get built.

  • On the post: IBM Patent Lawyer Says The Patent System Works Fine Because… Hey Look Over There!

    Skeptical Cynic ( profile ), 12 Nov, 2012 @ 10:41am

    Going to play devil's advocate...a bit

    Most of us can agree that to some degree the patent system is not functioning as it was designed. i.e. Companies being able to patent things that have prior art and use, patents being issued for things like One Click Check Out which are beyond obvious. But I would like to throw in another idea about the use of patents.

    Patents have the potential (not debating actual) to help a company recoup the money they spent in the development and creation of the product by preventing other companies from simply reverse engineering the invention and selling it without having to carry the initial cost of developing or inventing the product.

    For example (just the first that came to mind) company A spends years and millions to research a new drug to do something good like treat toe nail fungus. Goes through all the expense of researching, paying guinea pigs to allow company A to experiment on them, Doctors to take notes on the side-effects, then all the money to pass through long process of getting the government to allow you to sell the new drug which might help you with your toe nail fungus if your liver can take it.

    Company A spent say 100 million to do that.

    Company B comes along and they figure out what the new drug uses by spending a couple months and some few dollars reverse engineering the compound and then they can sell the same drug for 50% cheaper because they have no R&D costs to recoup.

    With a patent company A can sue company B and recoup the money from those lost sales.

    Without the patent the only way for company A to compete is to lower their price to match B's.

    Without a patent company A may still develop the new drug (thus creation does not stop) but they would also be less inclined to do so.

    Patents do have a purpose. In business everything is risk and reward. The risk involved has to be backed by the possible reward. A patent helps lower the risk of the investment by allowing a company to protect that invention from another company simply copying it without bearing any of the cost in creating the product.

  • On the post: Why The Press Is Getting The Wrong Message Out Of The 'Nate Silver Walloped The Pundits' Story

    Skeptical Cynic ( profile ), 07 Nov, 2012 @ 12:50pm

    And hopefully we'll reach a point...

    where political analysis actually involves analysis of quantifiable data.

    Nah, never happen.But we can still hope.

    Good wish though Mike

  • On the post: Me.ga Domain Pulled Out From Under New Kim Dotcom Venture

    Skeptical Cynic ( profile ), 07 Nov, 2012 @ 09:46am

    The slipper slope has slid

    Anybody that reads Techdirt regularly could have seen this coming. You go from seizing a domain for pirate activity, then for linking to pirated material, then for the possibility of allowing someone to store pirated material, then forget all that due process stuff.

    Let's just not let them even set up anything that we think that might in the future result in something that could in some way have anything to do with (maybe) a website that we think will have the possibility of involving pirated material.

    That should prevent any future problems.

  • On the post: Sergey Brin To All Elected Politicians: Withdraw From Your Parties And Go Independent

    Skeptical Cynic ( profile ), 07 Nov, 2012 @ 09:32am

    Re: Re:

    You do realize that the simple solution for most of those problems would be to stop doing so much right? The federal government was never meant to be the power that it is. The took that power upon themselves.

  • On the post: EFF Reminds Us That Open WiFi Isn't A Bad Thing… And Should Actually Be Encouraged

    Skeptical Cynic ( profile ), 02 Nov, 2012 @ 08:33am

    Re: Open WIFI would work except ISP bandwidth and use restrictions

    Just an adjunct to what I said above. If I pay for a 30Mb connection I should be able to use ever single bit of that bandwidth each and every second without any change to my bill.

  • On the post: EFF Reminds Us That Open WiFi Isn't A Bad Thing… And Should Actually Be Encouraged

    Skeptical Cynic ( profile ), 02 Nov, 2012 @ 08:28am

    Open WIFI would work except ISP bandwidth and use restrictions

    Most ISPs are able to get away with throttling in the US today for those that are deemed (without any real stats) as using too much bandwidth.

    Open WiFi is a great idea but will not work within the current regulatory environment as all that would do is open up the person be helpful to possible legal action.

  • On the post: LeakID And The DMCA Takedown Notice Farce

    Skeptical Cynic ( profile ), 02 Nov, 2012 @ 07:22am

    The problem is simple

    Companies like this operate with legally granted rights but are not constrained by any laws. Simply put this is the worst of the worst in terms of law. All power and no constraints when that power is abused. No consequences when that power harms others.

    You have to appreciate the intelligence that was able to get the politicians to create this stupidity in the southern way. Bless their hearts.

  • On the post: Another NYPD Terrorist 'Investigation' Turns Up Nothing But Privacy Invasions And Rights Erosion

    Skeptical Cynic ( profile ), 29 Oct, 2012 @ 01:50pm

    Re:

    No worse you see this guys pic:
    Raymond W. Kelly

    http://www.nyc.gov/html/nypd/html/administration/headquarters_co.shtml

  • On the post: Why DC And Silicon Valley Don't Mix Well

    Skeptical Cynic ( profile ), 29 Oct, 2012 @ 01:09pm

    The mindset is just different

    Gov : We have to make new laws and regulations so people can see that we are doing something with all the money they had taken by us

    Tech : We have to make new products and improve them so people can see that we are doing something with all the money they gave to us

  • On the post: Hollywood Star Rosario Dawson Speaks Out Against Hollywood's 'Six Strikes' Plan

    Skeptical Cynic ( profile ), 12 Oct, 2012 @ 08:05am

    What I want to know is where are the artists that do support the MPAA and RIAA?

    Sure there have been some artists that have shown support for this or that thing from the MPAA or RIAA but you never really hear of any artist coming out to say "Hey I think the MPAA or RIAA does a good thing for artists"?

    Or defend the 'AA's actions when they do something and claim it is in the interest of the artists they represent?

  • On the post: No, Mitt Romney Didn't Personally Hack Your Facebook

    Skeptical Cynic ( profile ), 12 Oct, 2012 @ 07:56am

    Re:

    Mike Masnick for President! VP - Dark Helmet.

    And we could get a great cabinet and Agency appointments out of the other writers on TechDirt.

  • On the post: No, Mitt Romney Didn't Personally Hack Your Facebook

    Skeptical Cynic ( profile ), 12 Oct, 2012 @ 07:37am

    ID-Ten-T Error

    Enough said.

  • On the post: Apple Accused Of 'Violating The Rights' Of Iconic Swiss Railway Clock

    Skeptical Cynic ( profile ), 24 Sep, 2012 @ 01:17pm

    Re: Re: Re: Not defending but really...

    Perception is not reality. Popular products ALWAYS have more trademark disputes than those that are not. Simple logic dictates that. The more popular the product the more likely there are going to be knock-offs that use the same or similar names and other iconic/logo designs.

    So the stats I am asking for are simple research. Based on the sales numbers are Apple trademarks more sued than other companies trademarks. Comparing Apples to Apples meaning if Apple sell 100 products sold and sues 5 times that is a 5% number while X company sues only once but on 10 products sold. Which would be a case of 10%.

    I think that research will show that Apple sues not more or less than other companies when adjusting for numbers.

  • On the post: Apple Accused Of 'Violating The Rights' Of Iconic Swiss Railway Clock

    Skeptical Cynic ( profile ), 24 Sep, 2012 @ 10:36am

    Re: Not defending but really...

    I see all the links below but is that a case of popular bias or a really case of defending a trademark that is above what other companies do? Just because a company is sited on Techdirt about their unreasonable trademark suit does not mean that they do it more than others do.

    Provide me with stats not blog entries, because those will always show a bias towards popular companies.

  • On the post: Switzerland Questions Crazy Hollywood Claims About File Sharing… Ends Up On Congressional Watchlist

    Skeptical Cynic ( profile ), 24 Sep, 2012 @ 09:27am

    The list that should not have been..

    I am ashamed that the US is in any way backing this.

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