Robin Byron 's Techdirt Comments

Latest Comments (94) comment rss

  • On the post: Gullible Consumers Easily Swayed By Meaningless Tech Specs

    Robin Byron ( profile ), 19 Dec, 2008 @ 07:47am

    Google is your friend

    Nowadays, I think most folks do varying degrees of research, depending on cost, before buying certain products; especially in this economy.

    Some of the products in the article were kind of laughable: sesame oil - I look for 'Toasted'; bath towels - 100% cotton for me; I buy cameras and cell phones more by brand name than anything else.

  • On the post: Teacher Threatens Linux Distributor: No Software Is Free

    Robin Byron ( profile ), 11 Dec, 2008 @ 01:35pm

    The first one is always free.

    "I along with many others tried Linux during college"

    Oh man, I feel for you. My first time was about thirteen years ago with Red Hat. It was great for a while but I, ya know, just needed something stronger. That was when I made the switch to Debian. Been hooked on that for twelve years. I can't begin to tell you what it's done to my life. Mindless hours configuring kernels and trying to get sound and printing to work in the early days, endless fiddling with C, Python, bash and emacs and the arguments with my wife over 'special' hardware. I know I need help. I've just gone too far and can't quit now.

  • On the post: Don't Speak Your Mind In British Columbia — Even At Home

    Robin Byron ( profile ), 05 Dec, 2008 @ 07:28pm

    Let me help you neighbor.

  • On the post: De Beers About To Learn That The Streisand Effect Is Forever

    Robin Byron ( profile ), 26 Nov, 2008 @ 11:45am

    Amen Brother!

    For all the sorrow, pain, death, social and physical destruction they have caused, they certainly deserve it. But,as my homicide detective sister points out to me, it is still illegal to eradicate scumbags. I would, at least, like to see their company crushed by social pressure.

  • On the post: Facebook Sued For Patent Infringement

    Robin Byron ( profile ), 20 Nov, 2008 @ 09:38am

    acdc

    "...a technology savvy examiner in the patent office..."

    I didn't realize you were being ironic until I got to this bit.

  • On the post: Overhyped Fear Of Child Predators Leading To Real Concerns About Child Privacy

    Robin Byron ( profile ), 18 Nov, 2008 @ 10:22am

    Mongolians !

    "Goddamn Mongorians break my shitty wall". ~With apologies to Trey and Matt.

    It doesn't matter what kind of wall you put up to protect something or someone. There will always be 'mongolians' to find a way to exploit it in some way.

  • On the post: Bill Gates' New Career? Patent Troll For Nathan Myhrvold?

    Robin Byron ( profile ), 10 Nov, 2008 @ 10:06am

    Re: Ha-Ha-Ha-Ha-Ha

    You didn't think he got where he is by (pl)ucking us chickens, did you .... oh, wait a minute, never mind.

  • On the post: Does The Internet Generation Make For Bad Jurors?

    Robin Byron ( profile ), 08 Nov, 2008 @ 09:13pm

    Love the bogus test on bbc.co.uk

    Here

    We learn by listening, reading, observing and application so it stands to reason that a person would do better on the second test after listening to the audio and reading the transcript, insuring the result they are looking for. Our British cousins certainly seem to have a lot of time for nonsense.

  • On the post: Halliburton Tries To Patent Form Of Patent Trolling

    Robin Byron ( profile ), 08 Nov, 2008 @ 12:08pm

    Please don't feed the troll!

    Patently obvious that this guy is in his early to mid 20's, high school education with a little community college, works a dead end job, lives with his parents and vents the anger of his failures by posting ignorant baloney on websites which are above his intellectual capacity to understand.

  • On the post: Judge Slams RIAA Tactics

    Robin Byron ( profile ), 29 Oct, 2008 @ 08:28pm

    Even better news...

    Harvard law professor Charlie Neeson and colleagues have determined that the Digital Theft Deterrence and Copyright Damages Improvement Act of 1999, the law on which RIAA litigation rests, is actually intended for criminal cases and that civil use is unconstitutional. Further, they believe the act itself is also unconstitutional.

    You can read the story here

  • On the post: But The Machine Said So…

    Robin Byron ( profile ), 24 Oct, 2008 @ 09:48pm

    Thank you!

    To those who offered condolences, a heartfelt 'Thank You' from me and my wife, to whom I passed them on.

    I will tell you also that we have not given up hope. My wife is a very strong person in every respect and is determined to win this fight. Sure, she has some moments that she calls her 'pity party' but, for the most part, she is doing very well under the circumstances. Again, thank you.

  • On the post: But The Machine Said So…

    Robin Byron ( profile ), 22 Oct, 2008 @ 09:38pm

    It's mostly the right machine at the right time.

    My wife knew that there was something wrong. She always had regular check-ups including blood tests, mammograms, pap smears and x-rays. She had an uncanny ability to know when things just weren't right. She related her symptoms to her doctor, tests were done, misdiagnoses made, important indicators all but ignored, foot dragging and untimely follow-up. Finally, another doctor listened, looked at the findings and chose some tests; Complete blood chemistry, a CT scan, a bronchoscopy and biopsy, then a PET scan and an MRI.

    Findings: Ovarian and possibly breast cancers with spread to the right lung, which is inoperable, right ribs and right femur.

    The early indicator: Over a year ago the CA-125 blood protein for ovarian cancer was found and, essentially, nothing was done.

    She probably has one year, hopefully more. We are left to wonder, if only...

  • On the post: Microsoft Celebrating Antipiracy Day

    Robin Byron ( profile ), 21 Oct, 2008 @ 03:30pm

    celebrate

    Piracy of Vista alone probably counters every pc sold with GNU/Linux installed so I'm sure Steve Ballmer celebrated the day by sodomizing three penguins.

  • On the post: Insight Community Participation Directly Through Techdirt

    Robin Byron ( profile ), 15 Oct, 2008 @ 12:52pm

    Engagement

    The idea of being able to converse with a company who wants me to buy their products is a great one. I'll be looking forward to the first insight article.

    It would also be nice if I could do this with small businesses in the tiny community where I live. In this terrible economy, they seem very reluctant to offer any kind of incentive for folks to come in and buy their products. I always make a point to tell shop-owners that I would rather shop their store because it's convenient and I want to see them say in business for the community's sake than make the 60+ mile trip to a big-box store that could care less about me but I never get more than a "thank you". For now, anyway, they seem content to sit on their stock and pay overhead rather than offer 10% off everything. Not the way I'd be doing it.

  • On the post: It Appears People Liked The Seinfeld Ads A Lot More Than The 'I'm A PC' Ads

    Robin Byron ( profile ), 07 Oct, 2008 @ 08:08am

    Whoopee, OS wars!

    You fail it proprietary, toy-OS fanboys! The Penguin leads, everything else follows. Now go away or I shall taunt you a second time-a.

  • On the post: YouTube Bans Terrorism Videos; Don't You Feel Much Safer?

    Robin Byron ( profile ), 13 Sep, 2008 @ 11:30am

    Cheneyocracy!

    This is just another reason to keep authoritarian conservatives out of office as much as possible. They do not like our Constitution and think nothing of subverting it, nor do they like the separation of powers between the branches of our government and the checks and balances that go with them.

    Two hundred years ago, these people would have been tarred, feathered and run out of town on a rail, at the very least.

    Just my two cents worth.

  • On the post: E-Voting Isn't Perfect, But It Takes Less Work to Corrupt Big Elections

    Robin Byron ( profile ), 03 Sep, 2008 @ 05:00pm

    Overkill?

    Just seems like a lot of work to tell many people (I hope) what they already know by a little deductive reasoning.

  • On the post: Overzealous Trademark Holder Tries To Stop Blogger From Using The Phrase 'Branded Community'

    Robin Byron ( profile ), 01 Aug, 2008 @ 09:32am

    google bomb

    Good! All we have to do now is associate "Branded Community" with goatse.

  • On the post: If You're Going To Claim That WiFi Violates The ADA, Shouldn't You Need To Prove It Actually Hurts People?

    Robin Byron ( profile ), 27 May, 2008 @ 08:07am

    Get Slimcat's WiFi Lotion!

    Patents Pending. Some customers may experience dropped connections, agitation, nausea, vomiting, hemorrhaging, sudden death or other minor annoyances (hey, it works for the big pharmcos).

    Last I heard, a large part of the Santa Fe community was made up of wealthy, vocal, former Californians who probably had, at least, something to do with the ubiquitous 'In the state of California, (product/ingredient) is known to cause cancer'. Not saying that's 'bad', just saying.

  • On the post: Prosecutors Go Overboard In Indicting Woman Involved In MySpace Hoax That Resulted In Suicide

    Robin Byron ( profile ), 16 May, 2008 @ 08:48am

    Wrongful Death

    I agree with you 100% and that Megan's mom's best chance of any type of resolution/revenge would be a wrongful death suit. I wonder, though, if the really tough part would be the fact that Megan committed suicide.

    Perhaps an attorney could shed some light on the possibility of a wrongful death suit.

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