TheBuzzSaw 's Techdirt Comments

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  • On the post: Couple Pushes For Law To Limit Photoshopping Models; Because It Hurts Young Girls' Self-Esteem

    TheBuzzSaw ( profile ), 18 Oct, 2011 @ 12:04pm

    Actually yes.

    Girls DO have problems seeing pictures even if they are clearly marked as fake. The problem is that they remain in a state of denial and think they really DO need to look that good just to fit into this world. They ignore the fact that 0.0000001% of women in the world are capable of looking that "good".

  • On the post: How Quickly We Forget: Google's Competitors Falsely Claim Google Dominates Because It Was 'First'

    TheBuzzSaw ( profile ), 21 Sep, 2011 @ 02:45pm

    Don't forget

    Being first to market does grant a significant advantage. However, if someone comes along and does your job better, prepare for competition!

  • On the post: Debate Time: Ubisoft Says DRM Is Needed, Valve Says No It Isn't.

    TheBuzzSaw ( profile ), 02 Sep, 2011 @ 10:31am

    Re:

    Are you implying that Ubisoft has to actually LIKE making games?

  • On the post: Debate Time: Ubisoft Says DRM Is Needed, Valve Says No It Isn't.

    TheBuzzSaw ( profile ), 02 Sep, 2011 @ 10:28am

    Re: Aggravating DRM

    This comment here is key to the whole debate.

    I vehemently oppose DRM. Steam is DRM, but Steam did what no other company does. In exchange for the occasional online verification, I receive an offline mode, the ability to download games anytime, recurring price drops, awesome targeted marketing, a buddy list to find friends gaming, etc. etc. etc.

    Ubisoft (and others like it) do NOTHING to offset the presence of DRM (in addition to the DRM being infinitely more restrictive). I receive no tangible benefit. The pirated version is simply WAY BETTER. These publishers act like their games are God's gift to gamers and that they are entitled to any means necessary to "protect their investment". This does not even begin to address the issue second-hand sales, which are a problem resulting from prices that are too high.

    Steam gets it. Ubisoft does not. Steam likes gamers. Ubisoft likes gamers' money.

  • On the post: Author Says eBooks Will Hurt Authors Because Of Royalty Rates

    TheBuzzSaw ( profile ), 24 Aug, 2011 @ 08:22am

    Re: SImilar issue happened years ago with stock photography

    I no longer hire photographers who retain the copyright on the pictures shot at my wedding/party/whatever. I find photographers who accept fair wages for their TIME and TALENT (and arguably a rental of their awesome equipment). What on earth am I paying them for if I have to purchase the pictures at the end of the session? Call it work for hire. Call it what you will. All I know is that legacy photographers NEED to go away. Charging for the time to shoot a bunch of pictures AND trying to sell those pictures to me afterward is a bloody scam.

  • On the post: If You Can Read This, You're Breaking The Law!

    TheBuzzSaw ( profile ), 11 Aug, 2011 @ 03:34pm

    EULA ALL THE THINGS!

    Someday, I will purchase some EULA-wrapped software with some EULA-wrapped money.

  • On the post: Ubisoft Learns Nothing From Its DRM Past; Condemns Paying Customers To Repeat It

    TheBuzzSaw ( profile ), 28 Jul, 2011 @ 01:13pm

    Nothing to see here people.

    In other news, developers who actually LIKE customers and RESPECT their rights are letting you set the price on their games.

    http://www.humblebundle.com/

    COGS alone makes this bundle worth it.

    So yeah, what are we talking about again? Ubi who?

  • On the post: Another Artificial Market Created Thanks To Copyright: Download Insurance?

    TheBuzzSaw ( profile ), 01 Jun, 2011 @ 11:56am

    Hello, Steam!

    No one gets it except Steam. If you honestly believe that you are selling licenses (and not the game/movie/song itself), do you not have some obligation to ensure that the customer is able to enjoy the product for the duration of that license? I'd like to see such a contract out in the real business world.

    "The 10,000 widgets will be assembled and delivered for $450,000. Oh, but if our truck driver falls asleep and zooms off a cliff, tough luck. You'll have to buy the whole load again. However, for a mere $75,000, we will add insurance!"

  • On the post: Seismologists Tried For Manslaughter Due To Earthquake

    TheBuzzSaw ( profile ), 26 May, 2011 @ 01:41pm

    Makes perfect sense.

    People seem to think it's OK to turn your brain off when an "expert" speaks.

    This fits right in with the woman who sued the doggy door company because her son crawled through, fell into the pool, and drowned. Apparently, she failed basic geometry classes (or common sense in general) in failing to realize that objects can fit through holes larger than said objects. There was no "expert" to tell her that perhaps children can fit through large doggy doors!

    Seriously, what has become of society? If this were a story about scientists being bribed to lie about the results, that'd be one thing. However, suing them because they happened to be wrong? Do people honestly believe that the knowledge scientists possess is magical and completely faultless?

  • On the post: Disney's Anthony Accardo: The Tech Community Owes Content Creators A Living

    TheBuzzSaw ( profile ), 23 May, 2011 @ 03:02pm

    Re: Re: Re: Innovation to enforce copyright, eh?

    So, THAT is how Skynet came about. Big Content eventually does merge with the Tech Community to send out copyright-enforcing robots. I like it.

  • On the post: Disney's Anthony Accardo: The Tech Community Owes Content Creators A Living

    TheBuzzSaw ( profile ), 23 May, 2011 @ 02:59pm

    Re: Let me see if I got that straight...

    But that's how anti-tech creative people operate: they feel each of their creations is some magical gift to the world. However, they haven't stopped to think about how hosed they would be if they had to pay royalties for each use of paper, the pencil, the English language, etc. on through every inch of tech that they use to create.

  • On the post: Disney's Anthony Accardo: The Tech Community Owes Content Creators A Living

    TheBuzzSaw ( profile ), 23 May, 2011 @ 02:39pm

    Innovation to enforce copyright, eh?

    I'm curious. As a software engineer myself, exactly how is the tech community to come up with an algorithmic (excuse me... "innovative") mechanism to detect a license/copyright? For one thing, the "tech community" has been trying that for years. DRM anyone?

    I make it a point to sell my talent, not my output. My output can be copied and reused eternally, and that is a desirable trait! My ability to create such useful output is obviously a scarce good, and I find myself able to sell it accordingly. :)

    The reason the "tech community" (such a ridiculous generalization of a term) refuses to support Big Content in its endeavor to lock down content is that the end result would be a ridiculous sense of entitlement.

    If Big Content had its way...

    A TV would refuse to function, because it detects too many viewers.

    A camera would not shoot, because it would sense a "no cameras" signal in the area.

    An application would fail to launch, because the keyboard detected fingerprints other than those of the original licensee.

    A Blu-ray would not start, because it senses you exceeded its viewing quota, and you need to go buy the movie again.

    A song would not play, because the attached speakers are too awesome, and you are not licensed to hear so much bass.

    A book would erase its words, because its GPS would detect that it is being read in a country where the book is not released yet.


    Yeah, I am very comfortable over here NOT on your side, Big Content.

  • On the post: Well, That Was Fast: Sony's New PSN System? Hacked!

    TheBuzzSaw ( profile ), 18 May, 2011 @ 12:42pm

    Sony should work on its fanbase...

    Last I checked, having a supportive group of fans is far more effective than any amount of engineering. If the fans are on your side, you can tap into the community and summon its collective power to solve problems. Instead, Sony has built a fortress to defend itself from fans. It stays behind its walls and simply attaches bait (in the form of entertainment) to hooks and fishes for fans from the safety of its castle. Heaven forbid the fishermen have any meaningful interaction with their catch! The fish (or their money) are all that matter!

  • On the post: 'Death Of ACTA' Song Taken Down In Copyright Claim

    TheBuzzSaw ( profile ), 05 Apr, 2011 @ 02:27pm

    Re: Re: Re: Re: Re:

    You uncultured swine! Everyone knows that today's music is abominable, and we should all revert to listening only to classical music.

    [sarcasm abounds]

  • On the post: Is Forwarding A Single Sentence Email From A Mailing List Infringement?

    TheBuzzSaw ( profile ), 04 Apr, 2011 @ 11:53am

    I blame the new education system.

    Seriously, were these people picked on in middle school? I cringe every time I see some superintendent/principal/etc. announce on TV some new provisions to harshly prosecute bullies. A kid got suspended recently for putting a "kick me" sign on another kid. I am certainly in favor of regulating VIOLENCE that goes on, but name-calling, mockery, and social antagonism is how we grow.

    Whenever I hear about these lawsuits, I really do see some kid who was picked on in school who runs to the system every single time for aid. Man up. Own your actions. Explain your position. Don't go crying to mommy because someone threw a water balloon at you.

    Sorry, that was only mildly related, but it's how I feel about these situations. We are cultivating a society full of entitlement, selfishness, and control.

  • On the post: Movie Studios Add Another Window: The $30 Dollar Rental

    TheBuzzSaw ( profile ), 01 Apr, 2011 @ 10:44am

    Re: I have said it before

    I agree, but when you're a young hipster who has a dozen friends watching it RIGHT NOW, it is highly uncool to just wait for its release. :]

  • On the post: Movie Studios Add Another Window: The $30 Dollar Rental

    TheBuzzSaw ( profile ), 01 Apr, 2011 @ 10:37am

    Hmmm

    I think you mean either "The 30 Dollar Rental" or "The $30 Rental".

  • On the post: Drop In P2P File Sharing Due To Limewire Shutdown A Pyrrhic Victory For The Recording Industry

    TheBuzzSaw ( profile ), 25 Mar, 2011 @ 08:43am

    Was there a jump in music sales?

    I don't think corresponding sales matter to them. The war on piracy stopped being about "protecting revenue" long ago. It is an emotional campaign driven by the rage of seeing people enjoy something they did not pay for.

  • On the post: Maybe Super Cheap Video Games Are Helping, Not Destroying, The Video Game Industry

    TheBuzzSaw ( profile ), 23 Feb, 2011 @ 01:26pm

    Classic

    It's funny how game developers cry out how the industry is dying, but a simple price reduction fixes everything. It's almost as if they're saying, "I only want to make a fortune. I will not settle for a modest income!"

  • On the post: Is Downloading And Converting A YouTube Video To An MP3 Infringement?

    TheBuzzSaw ( profile ), 08 Feb, 2011 @ 07:40pm

    Who needs an app?

    Running Linux is the way to go.

    (1) Buffer YouTube video all the way.
    (2) Copy file out of /tmp/ folder.
    (3) Run file through sound converter.
    (4) ???
    (5) Profit!

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