Torg 's Techdirt Comments

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  • On the post: Freemium Medical Care? Indian Hospital Shows That A Charitable Hospital Can Still Make A Profit

    Torg ( profile ), 05 Jun, 2012 @ 04:58am

    Re: Re: This is the way US insurance used to work

    At least some of that is a result of how most doctors treat patients. A lot of the basic principles of RTB can be translated to Reasons Not To Sue, but instead most doctors think the better way to go is to hide behind waivers and to record everything they do for use in court. Depressingly few doctors do anything to make their customers not want to sue.

  • On the post: Don't Read Andrew Keen's Book – You'll Harm His Identity

    Torg ( profile ), 02 Jun, 2012 @ 08:59pm

    Before cave paintings, humans were some kind of group-based animal. Tribes or packs or herds or something. Even bacteria have cultures. The mistake that needs to be corrected is cellular division. Only then can we be alone.

  • On the post: Postal Service Could Be On The Hook For Millions For Daring To Memorialize The Korean War Memorial

    Torg ( profile ), 16 May, 2012 @ 09:14pm

    Re: Re: gaylord, a great big pr$ck

    Yes, I've heard that combat experience tends to transfer well to copyright litigation. Why would anyone ever bother questioning the motives and actions of someone so clearly qualified in this field?

    Or do you think that fighting in a war gives someone carte blanche to profit off of other soldiers in whatever way he sees fit? It doesn't. I don't care if he personally shot Hitler, that's no reason he should be able to ransom a war memorial for several million dollars. This is wrong.

  • On the post: Postal Service Could Be On The Hook For Millions For Daring To Memorialize The Korean War Memorial

    Torg ( profile ), 16 May, 2012 @ 09:39am

    This seems reasonable to me. Can you imagine how many sales of this statue Gaylord must have lost due to the wide distribution of those stamps? I heard he only managed to sell one of it!

  • On the post: Musicians Realizing They Don't Need Major Labels Anymore

    Torg ( profile ), 14 May, 2012 @ 05:19pm

    Re: Re: but, but...

    The general Kickstarter success rate is about 50%. I'm not sure what it is for music specifically, but I'd be very surprised if it was only 1%.

  • On the post: Biggest Kickstarter Project Ever Surpasses $10 Million; Cuts Off Funding

    Torg ( profile ), 14 May, 2012 @ 05:08pm

    "We thought it would be nice to put our idea out there and wait to see how many people were willing to give us money for it. As it turns out, that was a mistake. This fundraising has been ridiculous. We don't need millions of dollars of donations, people. That's your money! I mean, thank you, but stop it!"

  • On the post: Musicians Realizing They Don't Need Major Labels Anymore

    Torg ( profile ), 14 May, 2012 @ 07:04am

    Re: Re: but, but...

    That was just one idiot. It doesn't seem to have caught on.

  • On the post: Musicians Realizing They Don't Need Major Labels Anymore

    Torg ( profile ), 14 May, 2012 @ 03:30am

    Re: Beholden huh?

    If that were actually true, The Last Airbender would never have been made.

  • On the post: After the German Pirate Party's String Of Successes, Here Comes The Backlash

    Torg ( profile ), 11 May, 2012 @ 01:52pm

    Re: Re:

    "Now it appears that the "entitlement" argument has been co-opted by the other side."

    We're just as entitled to that argument as you are.

  • On the post: Perfect 10 Case Against Google Dismissed (With Prejudice) After Court Asks Perfect 10 To Open Its Books

    Torg ( profile ), 10 May, 2012 @ 10:43am

    "Part of the stipulated settlement is that Perfect 10 will never again sue Google over such claims in the past (going forward is another story)."

    People assume that lawsuits are a strict progression of cause to effect, but actually, from a nonlinear, non-subjective viewpoint, they're more like a big ball of wibbley-wobbly, timey-wimey stuff.

  • On the post: ICE & FBI Hatch Ingenious Plan To Make DVD Piracy Warnings Longer

    Torg ( profile ), 10 May, 2012 @ 07:39am

    Re:

    "IP and Piracy is the only crime that people insist will stop if we merely 'educate' people properly."

    I've seen a similar sentiment with drugs and underage drinking. What it amounts to is an acknowledgement that there isn't much reason for people to think out something's bad on their own, coupled with an admission that conventional law enforcement strategies aren't working.

  • On the post: Congress: The TSA Is Wasting Hundreds Of Millions In Taxpayer Dollars

    Torg ( profile ), 09 May, 2012 @ 07:12pm

    The first rule of government spending: why have one when you can have two for twice the price?

  • On the post: Honeywell's Lawsuit Against Nest: The Perfect Example Of Legacy Players Using Patents To Stifle Innovation

    Torg ( profile ), 09 May, 2012 @ 08:05am

    Re: Re: Re:

    If you can infringe on a patent without making a product substantially similar to the patent holder's, and all the basic components are no longer patented, then the patent is too broad. What does Honeywell even have patented here? Connecting an appliance to the Internet? Using words to prompt the user to enter their preferred temperature range?

  • On the post: Honeywell's Lawsuit Against Nest: The Perfect Example Of Legacy Players Using Patents To Stifle Innovation

    Torg ( profile ), 08 May, 2012 @ 11:00pm

    Re:

    I'd say Nest's reception is relevant, if indirectly. If Nest really was as substantially similar to Honeywell as is being claimed, it probably would not have been nearly as well-received.

    It's hardly an airtight argument on its own, but it does seem like it could be a valid support.

  • On the post: Homeland Security Admits That TSA Scanners Have 'Vulnerabilities'

    Torg ( profile ), 08 May, 2012 @ 09:33pm

    Re:

    You get arrested for showing naked emperors to children.

  • On the post: Dan Bull Shares His Thoughts On The Pirate Bay Being Blocked Right After Helping His Music Get On The Charts

    Torg ( profile ), 08 May, 2012 @ 03:01pm

    Re: btw... Y U look down on me ?

    Etiquette has little to do with it. A person can be polite while saying nothing substantial (such as your "are you okay" example). However, a person can also be blunt without saying anything substantial (posting "jealous wee bitch" at every opportunity as if it was the only thing you knew how to type). The important part is that you finally used words to convey real thoughts, which is something you had been failing to do in most of your earlier posts. Prior to your more recent posts I wasn't even sure that you had any real thoughts to convey. And, as an aside, there are more ways to be a dick than to call people mean names. I'm fond of condescension, myself.

  • On the post: UK Gov't Considering Requiring A 'Porn License' If You Want To Look At Porn Online

    Torg ( profile ), 07 May, 2012 @ 03:46pm

    Re: Re: Re: It really is simple

    I didn't before I started trying to figure out how to hack my computer. As it turns out all that's required is downloading one off of Sourceforge and running the program. Other things I learned during that process included what a keylogger is, what Sourceforge is, and what freeware is. A determined child with a specific objective can learn a lot very quickly when armed with Google.

  • On the post: UK Gov't Considering Requiring A 'Porn License' If You Want To Look At Porn Online

    Torg ( profile ), 07 May, 2012 @ 12:17pm

    Re: It really is simple

    How to bypass parental blocks:

    Step 1: Install keylogger on computer.
    Step 2: Find blocked legitimate site.
    Step 3: Request that parent bypass block for legitimate site.
    Step 4: Retrieve password from keylogger.

    I'm sure there are other ways to get around them too, but that was how my first day with my own laptop went.

  • On the post: Dan Bull Shares His Thoughts On The Pirate Bay Being Blocked Right After Helping His Music Get On The Charts

    Torg ( profile ), 07 May, 2012 @ 10:18am

    Re: Re:

    Very good. You contributed something of substance to the discussion and didn't waste half the post calling him a jealous wee bitch. I'm proud of you.

  • On the post: Dan Bull Shares His Thoughts On The Pirate Bay Being Blocked Right After Helping His Music Get On The Charts

    Torg ( profile ), 07 May, 2012 @ 07:53am

    Re: Re: Re: Claim and counter claim

    "Dude, you've got to stop with the 'slight paraphrase' tactic Mike uses. I never said 'the scum of the earth'...
    I've mentioned Reaper a number of times because others here keep claiming Dan had to practically prostitute himself at Piccadilly Circus to make music."

    Dude, you've got to stop using the 'slight paraphrase' tactic Mike uses. I never said "prostitute" or "Piccadilly Circus".
    See how ridiculous that is?

    "and I haven't focused on Bull not having bought Reaper"

    It looks like you have from over here.

    "I've repeatedly pointed out he DIDN'T NEED TO pirate expensive software to make his music once he'd bought and later downloaded a cracked version of Cubase."

    And I probably should've been more direct in pointing out that NOT NEEDING something doesn't make using it abusive, and not using cheaper alternatives isn't abusing them either. That he didn't need something is not the end of the debate when you're saying that his using that thing makes any sympathy for the blocking of a major part of his business model unjustified.

    "No, he could have bought Reaper for $60 anytime after 2006 as his version of Cubase let him down (allegedly)."

    And I've agreed that he should've done so. I dispute your claim that his not doing so means he was abusing anyone.

    "By the way Reaper was pretty well known and used by a band of followers from 2005. And in the last 6 years since 2006 there have been a number of well publicised free or very cheap music software products coming on the scene."

    Okay then, I'll stop bringing up potential ignorance.

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