Torg 's Techdirt Comments

Latest Comments (625)

• On the post: ACTA Failure Inspires The Most Clueless Column Ever

  

  Torg ( profile ), 11 Jul, 2012 @ 06:42am

  Re: Re: Cultural Disaster?

  Cultural disaster is when the Visigoths overrun our borders and advance towards the capital, raping and killing any men, women or children that cross their path.
  
  Rome didn't have copyright, and look what happened to them. We have to learn from history!

• On the post: DailyDirt: Advertising Mistakes; Hilarity Ensues

  

  Torg ( profile ), 10 Jul, 2012 @ 06:00pm

  Re: Re: Re:Unions

  I'm not talking from a parent's perspective here. I'm talking from a principal's. There are bad teachers and good teachers, and the rules in place make it nearly impossible to favor the latter.

• On the post: Hipmunk Raises Money… And Is Immediately Threatened By Patent Troll

  

  Torg ( profile ), 10 Jul, 2012 @ 12:34pm

  Re: Re: Why?

  It took me all of fifteen seconds to tell that it was about putting two different things in two different windows, and another half-second to determine that it wasn't a novel concept. I'm now considering trying for a career in the patent office as a public service.

• On the post: DailyDirt: Advertising Mistakes; Hilarity Ensues

  

  Torg ( profile ), 10 Jul, 2012 @ 04:27am

  Re:

  At the very least, the teachers' rights that their unions push have been toxic to student interests for a while now. Schools not being able to reward good teachers, being nearly unable to fire bad ones, and in some areas principles can't check what's going on in a classroom without giving the teacher advance notice. Of course, the teachers that benefit from that don't want others to see it that way.

• On the post: UK Judge: Samsung Wins Over Apple In Patent Dispute Because Its Tablet Isn't As Cool As iPad

  

  Torg ( profile ), 09 Jul, 2012 @ 04:52pm

  Re:

  In order to be found to have copied someone, you need to have a product at least as good as the company you're supposed to have copied from.

• On the post: Australian Government Loses DVD With Personal Info Of Everyone In Its 'Stay Smart Online' Program

  

  Torg ( profile ), 09 Jul, 2012 @ 03:22pm

  Who the hell uses DVDs to transmit information?

• On the post: TV Analyst: Kids Love Netflix, And Disney Should Break Them Of That Nasty Habit

  

  Torg ( profile ), 04 Jul, 2012 @ 05:01pm

  Re: Re:

  Vodo's trying, but it isn't doing it very well.

• On the post: TV Analyst: Kids Love Netflix, And Disney Should Break Them Of That Nasty Habit

  

  Torg ( profile ), 04 Jul, 2012 @ 09:22am

  Re: Re: Sage Advice

  But how are children supposed to know to brush their teeth if they've never heard Chip Skylark's My Shiny Teeth And Me?

• On the post: TV Analyst: Kids Love Netflix, And Disney Should Break Them Of That Nasty Habit

  

  Torg ( profile ), 04 Jul, 2012 @ 04:20am

  Re: Sage Advice

  That would mean that this generation won't have access to Avatar or the old Spongebob, and Phineas and Ferb would be stuck on television. In exchange, kids wouldn't have to watch...oh, wait, Netflix is on-demand. There's no reason that having something available on Netflix could ever be bad, since watching anything on it is completely voluntary. The only positive that I can see coming from Disney and Viacom completely cutting off Netflix is kids finding My Little Pony quicker, and that's a really weak silver lining.

• On the post: Twitter Forced To Hand Over Occupy Protestor's Info

  

  Torg ( profile ), 02 Jul, 2012 @ 04:26pm

  "Of course, if that's the case, it's unclear why the government needs to request info from Twitter in the first place..."
  
  When all you have is a warrant, everything starts to look like a criminal's house.

• On the post: Nearly 50,000 People Ask Why The Government Is Seizing Their Digital Files

  

  Torg ( profile ), 29 Jun, 2012 @ 09:44pm

  Re: Re: What I still don't get

  I'd be pretty pissed to discover that my car was blown up just because I parked it next to a stolen one.

• On the post: US Copyright Office, MPAA Celebrate Handing Hollywood Stars Their Own Special Copyright Monopoly Powers

  

  Torg ( profile ), 28 Jun, 2012 @ 11:02am

  Re: Re:

  We'd be more grounded if we got rid of both wings.

• On the post: US Copyright Office, MPAA Celebrate Handing Hollywood Stars Their Own Special Copyright Monopoly Powers

  

  Torg ( profile ), 28 Jun, 2012 @ 10:09am

  Does this work in the other direction, too? Could an actor, without input from the studio or anyone else, allow someone to distribute their movies legally?

• On the post: Taiwan Denies Use Of 'Pirate Party' Name Because People Might Think They're Actual Sea-Faring Pirates

  

  Torg ( profile ), 26 Jun, 2012 @ 07:56pm

  Re: which is worse?

  And if they think that the people really, truly want to be ruled by seafaring pirates, who are they to say no? Isn't that the whole point of voting?

• On the post: David Lowery Wants A Pony

  

  Torg ( profile ), 22 Jun, 2012 @ 08:48pm

  Re: Re: I wrote this but it got moderated (maybe it is nonsense?)

  "As Mr. Lowery pointed out, is setting up an iTunes account so darn difficult?"
  
  Relative to setting up a Spotify account, if you want access to 11,000 songs? Most certainly. Coming up with $11,000 of disposable income to spend on music is a nontrivial task.

• On the post: Police Send SWAT Team, Break Into Wrong House (With TV Film Crew) In Response To Internet Troll

  

  Torg ( profile ), 22 Jun, 2012 @ 04:15pm

  "What I would suggest to anybody who visits websites like that is that their comments can be taken literally."
  
  Wow, that's exactly the opposite of what I would suggest. I've never taken any Internet-based threats literally, and they've never turned out to be serious. That's a pretty good track record. How's your policy working out for you, Cullum?

• On the post: Supreme Court Overrules Fine For Naked Butt On TV; Punts On 1st Amendment Question

  

  Torg ( profile ), 22 Jun, 2012 @ 09:51am

  A quick Google search isn't turning up anything on the FCC getting on FOX's ass about showing Mal's ass. Is there some reason that this seven seconds of naked butt is worse than Firefly's, aside from something arbitrary like "if it turns me on, it's porn"?

• On the post: DailyDirt: Pocketful Of Useless Coins

  

  Torg ( profile ), 21 Jun, 2012 @ 05:54pm

  I've come to view bills as coupons that let me get local goods for free. Coins are like bills, but my bank's ATMs won't exchange them for real money.

• On the post: Sherry Turkle Says Younger Kids Can't Handle Facebook Because Teens Fret About Looking Cool Online

  

  Torg ( profile ), 21 Jun, 2012 @ 04:07am

  "If, in 20 years, there is no such thing as a political candidate without an embarrassing photo lurking online, then we can fairly assume society will not be so excitable about such photos"
  
  I don't trust anyone who doesn't have embarrassing photos somewhere. They're hiding something. And any halfway savvy politician should be able to spin them similarly: having pictures of your alcohol-induced antics makes you a Man of the People.

• On the post: Google's Latest Transparency Report Shows Increased Censorship From Governments Not Normally Known For Censorship

  

  Torg ( profile ), 20 Jun, 2012 @ 04:14am

  Re: Re: Re: Re:

  Wow. What a brilliant and reasonable idea. You've convinced me to completely give up sarcasm in Internet conversations.

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