Spectere 's Techdirt Comments

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  • On the post: Judge Bars Sale Of Microsoft Word For Patent Infringement (Though It Won't Stick)

    Spectere ( profile ), 12 Aug, 2009 @ 06:34am

    Hey guys! Newsflash!

    To all of the Microsoft bashers above, don't you realize that OpenOffice.org would infringe on the same patent that Microsoft Word allegedly does? It uses an XML-based document format as well.

    Don't be so quick to "ha ha" just because Microsoft is being brought to court. If lawsuits like this stick then everybody is screwed, not just the big players.

  • On the post: Internet Filter Blocked Educational Sites, But Left Open Porn

    Spectere ( profile ), 04 Aug, 2009 @ 02:42pm

    Re: Re: Filter Fails

    Bess used to have a system like that, but they discontinued it for reasons unknown. It's not like it was ever particularly useful; I used it once and it took about two weeks for them to approve the site.

    Blocking images probably wouldn't be too helpful. I recall having several assignments, even in the high school level, that required illustrations and/or photos in them. Cutting off access to them would certainly hinder any in-school lab work.

  • On the post: Internet Filter Blocked Educational Sites, But Left Open Porn

    Spectere ( profile ), 04 Aug, 2009 @ 06:40am

    Filter Fails

    You say this like it's something new.

    When I was in high school we had the (in)famous Bess filtering system and it had a nasty tendency of letting kids go to hardcore porn sites while blocking the rest of us from researching.

    After graduating I spent some time doing IT work for a different district and ran into the same problem. Doing any research was highly annoying because blogs (even ones from MSFT and the like) were blocked and we'd have to constantly authenticate ourselves to get to a benign web site.

    I haven't worked there for a few years now, but I've kept in touch with the system administrator from there. Guess what? Their response to their filters being inherently ineffective was to tighten them up even more. Way to go, guys. Way to go.

  • On the post: What If Microsoft Had To Approve Every App On Windows?

    Spectere ( profile ), 30 Jul, 2009 @ 12:44pm

    Re: Bad comparison

    Um...see that's why you pay attention to what you are installing. I can install any app I want on my phone, but that doesn't mean I'm going to install any and every program I can think of. I have a number of third party programs on my phone and it still runs great.


    Pretty sure he was being sarcastic...

    To the iPhone users here...Can you use RDP with your iPhone? How about remote controlling your phone from your PC? I don't know if there are apps for that on the iPhone.


    You can use both RDP and VNC with the iPhone. Both are also very usable, surprisingly, even over a cellular connection. The lack of a keyboard can prove to be a pain if you have a lot to type, but for most administrative tasks it works well.

    I don't believe there is any way to control the phone from the PC. Strangely, all of the cheap Motorola phones that I've owned offered that ability, as well as full tethering support. It all seems kind of backwards to me.

  • On the post: What If Microsoft Had To Approve Every App On Windows?

    Spectere ( profile ), 29 Jul, 2009 @ 03:05pm

    Re: The iPhone Is Not A Personal Computer

    My G1 is a phone as well yet I don't have a problem installing my own software on it. I also don't need to buy a Mac in order to develop for it. The same goes for any J2ME-based phone, Windows Mobile phone (though you probably do have to have Windows to develop on that you can freely install applications), or many of the new smartphones that are coming out. The iPhone is essentially bringing many of the restrictions that carriers put on their cheap phones into the smartphone market.

    Don't get me wrong, I do like the iPhone (it's the standard business phone where I work), but saying that it should be a closed platform because it's a phone is kind of a weak argument, especially since you generally can load your applications on a typical cell phone.

  • On the post: Gamer Says Sony Violated His 1st Amendment Rights By Banning Him

    Spectere ( profile ), 23 Jul, 2009 @ 07:32am

    Gotta love it.

    I used to administer a decently sized (20-30k members) web forum and I had people try to pull that first amendment crap on me. It feels great telling them that it doesn't mean what they think it means.

    However, I've never had anyone threaten to sue me over it. The fact that somebody is actually suing a company over something like that made me laugh. The fact that he was given several warnings -- which he clearly ignored -- before being banned makes it even better.

  • On the post: Redlight Cameras In Kansas City Are Too Successful

    Spectere ( profile ), 08 Jul, 2009 @ 08:31pm

    Re: Re: Re: Ok, I'm irritated.

    True, but wouldn't that mean that I would be held guilty until proven innocent? And besides, by the time I would get the ticket in the mail what are the odds are that I'd remember even driving through a given intersection. If a patrol officer were to pull me over I would at least know right away that I did something wrong. With a delay like that, coupled with the fact that the cameras give little to no indication that they've triggered, the odds of remembering enough details to fight a charge like that are extremely low.

    On another note, how would anyone go about fighting a false positive in a case like that? Either the court would have to rely on the testimony of the accused or uphold a citation for someone who could very well be innocent. Neither option is good -- the former could easily allow the guilty to go free while the latter could punish the innocent.

  • On the post: Redlight Cameras In Kansas City Are Too Successful

    Spectere ( profile ), 08 Jul, 2009 @ 06:57am

    Re: Ok, I'm irritated.

    The problem isn't the cameras themselves. The problem is that the people running them can have a tendency to get greedy (decreasing yellow light times, etc) and the fact that motorists can't be sure of what exactly triggers the cameras.

    I lived in Maryland about a year ago and they put a couple red light cameras near where I lived. The biggest problem, and the main source of complaints from the netizens here, is that rather than safely, and legally breezing through a light that just turned yellow, many people panicked and slammed on their brakes. Regardless of how close you're following, seeing someone in front of you come to a sudden stop is very jarring.

    Another issue is that there's no telling how the cameras are going to react to other driving oddities. With the right turn issue, for instance, you can go on all you like about how you have to stop for four seconds for it to be a complete stop, but what if the person is driving stick? Some people, when they stop on hills, prefer to use the clutch to keep the car steady. You're always going to get a little bit of jitter when you do this but it's far safer than letting your car roll into the person behind you. If I were to do that with my car would I get a ticket for not coming to a "complete stop?"

    Let's not forget about the right to face your accuser. This Constitutional right is offered by the sixth amendment. I don't know about you, but having a conversation with a computer-controlled camera doesn't seem very possible to me.

    There are plenty of reasons why, despite enforcing laws, red light cameras can be bad. Again, the problem isn't that they are enforcing laws, it's the way that it's being done.

  • On the post: Forget Video Games… Look At The Evil Influence Of The Board Game Monopoly

    Spectere ( profile ), 23 Apr, 2009 @ 11:49am

    Re: Heh. That's pretty cute.

    Oh, and reader... you just landed on Boardwalk with 1 hotel. That'll be $2,000, please.

    Dammit! :(

  • On the post: Why Won't Local Governments Just Increase The Length Of Yellow Lights?

    Spectere ( profile ), 18 Apr, 2009 @ 11:09pm

    Re: Delay

    Is this correct? "Here in California, for example, it's quite rare for there to be any pause between a light turning red in one direction, and the perpendicular traffic light turning green.". Here in the UK, I`ve never, ever heard of a set of traffic lights that aren't staggered (as we call it) in their timing, normally being red on both sets for several seconds.

    I suppose it could be just a California thing. I've lived both in Ohio and Maryland, and have also driven extensively in Florida and Pennsylvania, and don't recall seeing a set of lights that weren't staggered like that.

  • On the post: Principal Installs Cellphone Jammer But Forgets To Check If It's Legal

    Spectere ( profile ), 03 Apr, 2009 @ 07:42am

    Re: Re: Re:

    What did people do before cell phones and they had an emergency? They didn't run to get their cellphones, that's for sure. They ran to the nearest land line.

    Last I checked, cell phone jammers don't block landlines.


    Picture this, if you will. I'm taking a walk in front of the school and my cell phone suddenly cuts out because of the jammer. Why on earth should I be affected by some half-brained, poorly-thought attempt to get kids to stop texting in class?

  • On the post: The Pirate Bay Closing Arguments: Since We Can't Get The Real Infringers, We Should Blame Everything On These Guys

    Spectere ( profile ), 02 Mar, 2009 @ 06:59pm

    Re: High Priced BS Rock on P2P

    Wait, so you have a "gaming rig" but can't afford to pay out $50 for a game every once in a while?

    ...

    Congratulations, you've left me completely speechless.

  • On the post: Valve Exec Explains How To Compete With Piracy

    Spectere ( profile ), 19 Feb, 2009 @ 09:32pm

    Re: It worked for me.

    I had wanted to purchase left for dead 4 after seeing the good reviews and demos, but the $50 was more than I was willing to spend. After I saw it on sale I jumped at the opportunity.

    I wound up buying my friend and myself a copy during the 50% off sale. The only reason that I didn't buy L4D is because I didn't have anyone to play it with. Valve wound up getting two sales instead of zero as a result of that deal.

    I'm sure I'm not the only person who did this, either.

  • On the post: Band Puts All Its Music (Plus More) Into A $3 iPhone App

    Spectere ( profile ), 19 Feb, 2009 @ 08:19am

    Re: Get a grip

    What's the point of paying $3 for something that you likely won't use due to its inconvenience? Even if I were a huge fan of Presidents I certainly wouldn't buy this as a music player. It's might be worth it for the extras, but the fact that it's a separate app and can't be multitasked would mean that I'd never use it to seriously play anything.

    I'd much rather pay more and have the ability to use the music how I like rather than being held back.

  • On the post: Band Puts All Its Music (Plus More) Into A $3 iPhone App

    Spectere ( profile ), 19 Feb, 2009 @ 04:55am

    Re: Awesome idea, not "DRM"

    Just because you have to run their app to listen to the music instead of your preferred MP3 app doesn't mean it is DRM, any more than saying that the drawings in Crayon Physics are locked in via DRM.

    It's an inconvenience to customers because rather than being able to listen to it using the iPod player with the rest of your music collection, you're forced to listen to it from within their app. And yes, if you're forced to listen to it with a certain configuration, it is DRM. DRM, after all, affects how you can use a digital product.

    I probably wouldn't buy this app simply because it would be an inconvenience. The iPhone's player functionality can be run in the background while you play games or use other apps. This music playing app can only run in the foreground like any other app. What's worse is that, because of this, it limits what you can actually do on the device while you listen to music. Have to check your calendar? Need to look something up on the map? Want to check the weather? Tough, you have to stop the song to do any of that. I'd go so far to say that most of the people who casually brush off the inconvenience of using a special app to listen to music have never used an iPhone.

    Is the app a nice idea? Yes. I do like the effort that they put into it. But trying to claim that it isn't DRM just because it's cheap access to a discography is silly. It is DRM and because of its use of DRM it does impact how you can use the device.

  • On the post: A Tale Of Two iPhone Apps… And An Irrational Fear Of Piracy

    Spectere ( profile ), 18 Feb, 2009 @ 07:31pm

    Re:

    God, I loved Scorched Earth... I think I still have a copy of it somewhere.

    Just in case you don't:

    http://scorch.classicgaming.gamespy.com/

    Enjoy! :D

  • On the post: Court Says It's Not Online Gambling If You Can Renege On A Bet

    Spectere ( profile ), 11 Feb, 2009 @ 07:09pm

    Re: Cute

    What he was doing was perfectly legal. It doesn't matter if he was trying to be "cute" or not.

    I don't know about you, but stories like this are scary as hell. They had no just cause for arresting him and they went ahead and did it anyway. That's not acceptable by any stretch of the imagination.

  • On the post: Unpatched, Virus-Infected Windows To Blame For Grounded French Fighter Pilots And Halt To Traffic Arrests In Houston

    Spectere ( profile ), 09 Feb, 2009 @ 06:31pm

    Re: Pop Up

    Well played. :)

  • On the post: Norway Drops Complaint Against Apple Now That Apple Dropped DRM In iTunes

    Spectere ( profile ), 05 Feb, 2009 @ 03:58am

    Re: Maybe because "other areas" are your imagination?

    I believe that the "other areas" that Mike is referring to are the other items sold in the iTunes Store. Videos, for one, are still "protected" by DRM.

  • On the post: Dear ISPs: When Launching Value Added Services, How About Actually Adding Value?

    Spectere ( profile ), 28 Jan, 2009 @ 04:47am

    Re: Re: Re: For the techno-illiterate

    So that you take a risk of dropping the enclosure? Take a chance that it might get stolen (workplace theft is far from uncommon)? No thanks. Besides, the whole point here is that most online backup services are very affordable and don't try to gouge the customer like Verizon and Comcast are doing.

    When you're paying for a data backup service you're paying for a service with various failsafes. Such a service would have redundant disks, possibly an additional backup (on magnetic tape), and data security. The backup data is most likely encrypted. No need to worry about someone just stealing your external hard drive and poking through your files.

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