Michael 's Techdirt Comments

Latest Comments (127)

• On the post: Bill Maher Comes Out In Support Of SOPA/PIPA Despite Knowing Nothing About The Bills

  

  Michael ( profile ), 24 Jan, 2012 @ 10:17am

  It's funny how, later in the same episode, Maher does a segment about "people living in bubbles."
  
  I'd like to tell Maher how his movie was one of very few that I went out and paid to see. If I hadn't seen his show online, I never would have known he exists. HBO? Please.

• On the post: Is Using A Piece Of Existing Music In A Film To Underline An Emotion 'Rape' – Or Just The Way Cinema Works?

  

  Michael ( profile ), 21 Jan, 2012 @ 12:50am

  Oh boy. I can already hear Flight of the Valkyries

• On the post: New Research Shows Movie And Game Piracy On The Rise, But Won't Tell Us How It Knows

  

  Michael ( profile ), 23 Nov, 2011 @ 07:23pm

  Waste of time

  If they don't describe their methods, it isn't research.

• On the post: Who Gets The Copyright On The Photo Of A Beaten Gaddafi, Captured Off A Cameraphone

  

  Michael ( profile ), 21 Oct, 2011 @ 10:23pm

  This is great! Now you can get your own copyright on any photo you want: Just take a picture of it yourself!

• On the post: TSA Decides Terrorists Must Be Driving; Partners With Tenn. Law Enforcement To Randomly Search Vehicles

  

  Michael ( profile ), 21 Oct, 2011 @ 10:08pm

  I don't believe this. It sounds too much like an article from The Onion.

• On the post: US Citizen Facing 15 Years In Jail For Linking From His Blog To An Unauthorized Bio Of Thai King

  

  Michael ( profile ), 11 Oct, 2011 @ 11:12am

  Re:

  Assange

• On the post: US Citizen Facing 15 Years In Jail For Linking From His Blog To An Unauthorized Bio Of Thai King

  

  Michael ( profile ), 11 Oct, 2011 @ 11:10am

  Negative attention toward the king is not one-dimensional. The people he most fears in his country are more likely to be reading Chai's blog than the blog of Mike Masnick.
  
  Maybe there is an advantage in suppressing local dissent, to a certain degree.

• On the post: Phony Bologna: More Evidence Of Indiscriminate Pepper Spraying, As Police Defend Actions

  

  Michael ( profile ), 03 Oct, 2011 @ 01:08pm

  Re:

  http://www.thedailyshow.com/watch/thu-september-29-2011/the-vigilogna---christopher-melogna-is-tony-bologna

• On the post: This Post Is Not About Steve Jobs

  

  Michael ( profile ), 25 Aug, 2011 @ 09:35pm

  I was sick of all the headlines that started or ended with "shocked the tech world." Who was shocked at Jobs' exit? Did they really think it would never happen? How can the tech industry be shocked before they even know it's happened?
  
  When you choose not to rush into the bleeding edge of developments, you also give up that early advantage in defining what has happened.

• On the post: More Misplaced Hatred For The Used Games Market

  

  Michael ( profile ), 25 Aug, 2011 @ 08:52pm

  Re: Unpaid EA

  When game creators only offer the game in a kind of one-off premium priced window, they give up all their opportunities for future discounted sales.
  
  Because the game medium is usually a convenient disc or physical package, it's also very simple for customers to create this secondary market independent of the process that created the game in the first place.

• On the post: More Misplaced Hatred For The Used Games Market

  

  Michael ( profile ), 25 Aug, 2011 @ 08:49pm

  Re: Say that again...

  The problem with your analogy is that movie theatres provide a service in the viewing of the films that Gamestop doesn't provide. I think it'd fit an arcade more than Gamestop.
  
  There never even has to be any such thing as a "used" game in the first place. It's software. The more tech-savvy game companies already realize this. This is why there is no "used" market for Steam-exclusive titles. Steam gets that lower-price market themselves when they do periodic sales.
  
  Yes, Gamestop's activity drives up demand enough to support the $60 prices on newer games, but if game publishers could all harness that "used" economy like Steam, they wouldn't need the game to cost $60 in the first place.

• On the post: Interesting Timing: News Leaks That Justice Dept Is Investigating S&P Just After It Downgrades US?

  

  Michael ( profile ), 18 Aug, 2011 @ 10:07pm

  I think it's a stretch to say it's a deliberate warning shot at other ratings agencies. You assume so much forethought on part of the Justice Department when S&P is all over the news and peoples' minds already.

• On the post: Guy Claims Google Owes Him $500 Billion

  

  Michael ( profile ), 18 Aug, 2011 @ 02:24pm

  Re:

  tl;dr

• On the post: Guy Claims Google Owes Him $500 Billion

  

  Michael ( profile ), 18 Aug, 2011 @ 02:21pm

  Re: Re: Re:

  Marie obviously immigrated and learned English, not keeping up with the development of French.

• On the post: Could The Internet & Television Be Making Everyone Smarter?

  

  Michael ( profile ), 15 Aug, 2011 @ 11:33am

  There's no real reason to think entertainment is responsible for this effect. Even narrowing consideration to the recently widespread, there's also better nutrition, computer use, interest in international events.
  
  I'd bet on use of computers over Lost.

• On the post: Google, Microsoft, Patents… And How To Dupe The Press With Out Of Context Statements

  

  Michael ( profile ), 12 Aug, 2011 @ 02:18pm

  Re: well, DUH, Drummond

  The complaint is somewhat validated in that MS et al are trying to compete outside of a free market.
  
  Grandstanding through public complains like this are a form of PR and marketing. Microsoft does the same thing. You should think twice that these complaints genuinely reflect the entire depth of Drummond's understanding.
  
  I don't take everything a politician says at face value, nor your convoluted attack on Google's management ability.

• On the post: Shouldn't The Infringement Tracking System Used In New Six Strikes Program Be Open To Scrutiny?

  

  Michael ( profile ), 12 Aug, 2011 @ 02:11pm

  Re:

  Yeah, they learned that the best way to continue a contract is by not making their techniques verifiable or subject to scrutiny. This is less solid than their work with bittorrent.

• On the post: Google, Microsoft, Patents… And How To Dupe The Press With Out Of Context Statements

  

  Michael ( profile ), 12 Aug, 2011 @ 08:38am

  Re: Re: Re: Novell != Nortel

  He's complaining that a lot of other programming nerds are showing off and he hasn't gotten his chance ...until now!

• On the post: Google, Microsoft, Patents… And How To Dupe The Press With Out Of Context Statements

  

  Michael ( profile ), 12 Aug, 2011 @ 08:36am

  Re: Microsoft Death Watch

  How did you narrow it down to Fall of 2014?

• On the post: How One Unverified Claim Of A $7,500 'Loss' From Cybercrime Translates To $1.5 Billion In Losses In The Press

  

  Michael ( profile ), 11 Aug, 2011 @ 02:31pm

  Someone call the Power Rangers. We need professional help fighting these Virtual Reality monsters!

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