vastrightwing’s Techdirt Profile

On the post: Traders Convicted For Figuring Out Auto Trading Algorithm; How Is That Illegal?

vastrightwing ( profile ), 20 Oct, 2010 @ 01:04pm

Re: Market Manipulation

Add flash trading or high frequency trading to market manipulation. This is simply a euphemism for "front-running". So why is "flash trading" or "high frequency trading" ok and front running is illegal? Oh, because they are called different things. That's the only reason I can think of.

And in your post, you actually described "flash trading" pretty well, by the way. It's all about noticing trends and slipping trades in front of the recognized trend. Flash trading can cause stock values to change. It adds friction to trades since by front-running trades, the trades that come after it will go higher.

On the post: Telco Opposition To Anti-Bill Shock Plans Doesn't Pass The Laugh Test

vastrightwing ( profile ), 14 Oct, 2010 @ 10:53am

I get laughed at

when people see my simple flip phone. They assume I should have at least some kind of "smart phone" because I'm in the high tech field. Truth is, I'd love a fancy data phone with touch screen, but I don't trust any of the carriers because of all the non-sense I've read about. Instead, I have a MiFi and it works great. I chose Virgin Mobile's $40 unlimited plan and I only buy data when I need it. My phone is only a phone. So far, so good. Besides, non of the fancy phones allow tethering using WiFi (only blue tooth), so it limits the number of devices I can use. When carriers become more flexible, I'll reconsider.

On the post: NY Times Tests A Paywall With A Regional Paper

vastrightwing ( profile ), 18 Aug, 2010 @ 08:44pm

5 readers will pay.. on second thought

maybe even less. Hey guys, people don't pay for news. They pay for access. Access is essentially free, so how are you going to convince people to pay for something they can already get free? Imagine trying to charge for air. Bad business plan. People can already breath air without paying. So can you add value? Obviously YOU can't. But eventually someone will.

On the post: Will The NAB Agree To A Performance Rights Tax In Exchange For Having RIAA Support Mandatory FM Radio In Mobile Phones?

vastrightwing ( profile ), 17 Aug, 2010 @ 09:48am

What about AM?

Are they going to ignore AM radio? I like talk radio, this is discrimination. They should include the AM band too.

On the post: Why Waiting Until A New Business Model Is Proven Doesn't Work

vastrightwing ( profile ), 14 Aug, 2010 @ 12:46pm

Why I don't protect my intellectual property

I do not "protect" my intellectual property for the very reason mentioned in the article: change happens so fast, that my protection is change itself. For example, I write code and publish some software. Part of my plan is that I will be copied by a competitor (the irony is that so far, my competition has not been that much. I actually embrace it.) I develop a new product, market it only after it's nearly complete, sell it and by the time anyone decides to copy my product, I'm off to the next thing. Go ahead and copy me. That's fine, because by the time you copy my stuff, you're late.

On the other hand, I do copy other people's concepts: not their product or designs. I look for concepts that I like in other people's product and include those concepts that I like. This is called evolution and it's fair game. I know some compnies would like to patent certain concepts, but that will only serve to stop progress.

On the post: Comcast And Blockbuster Team Up To Make Us Wonder Why They've Teamed Up

vastrightwing ( profile ), 10 Aug, 2010 @ 03:42pm

I'm selling all of my tangible media

Interesting that new businesses are starting where tangible media is being used. This weekend, I will be selling all of my tangible media (ie. CDs, DVDs, VHS tapes, cassettes, 8-track tapes, etc.) because it just sits in my basement taking up space. 1) After I've seen a movie once or twice, that's it for me. I never watch them again. I imagine that many people do the same thing. It's good to be able to rent a DVD now & then, but I find streaming so much more convenient & cheaper than going out to buy or rent physical media. Good luck Comcast... oh, I mean xfinity.

On the post: Pentagon Demands Wikileaks 'Returns' Leaked Documents; Does It Not Know How Digital Documents Work?

vastrightwing ( profile ), 06 Aug, 2010 @ 08:21am

EMP blast should do the trick

Heck, all they need to do is to send a massive EMP blast to the data center. That should take care of it.

On the post: US Copyright Group Caught Red Handed Copying Competitor's Website

vastrightwing ( profile ), 30 Jul, 2010 @ 11:36am

LOL LOL LMAO!

LOL LOL LOL.

LOL LOL LOL.

Ahhhhhh!

On the post: Good News: Violating Terms Of Service Is Not Hacking; Bad News: Circumventing Weak Tech Blocks Might Be

vastrightwing ( profile ), 26 Jul, 2010 @ 12:09pm

DRM is a wax seal

I've made this comment a few times calling all DRM a "wax seal". What gives the wax seal teeth is the government allowing companies to enforce it. While DRM does nothing to stop copying, it gives tremendous power to companies to extort money from people who break the seal. I guess an analogy here would be to leave a bicycle tied to pole in a public place while someone is watching while another person unties the rope. Once the rope is untied, the person is taken to the police and charged with a crime and forced to pay a fine. Sure, you may lose a few bicycles, but the reward more than pays for the few lost bikes.

On the post: Report Claims Only 15,000 Signed Up For The Times Paywall

vastrightwing ( profile ), 20 Jul, 2010 @ 10:14am

LOL

Just to make my point, I visited the Time.co.uk, clicked on an article and when the great paywall popped up, I left.

OK, here's a plan that will work Robert. Charge people $1-3/mo for the print edition with a FREE online subscription included in the price. Then charge $9/mo. for an online only subscription. (Yes I know what you're thinking).

Here's the rub, print advertising will earn you more than online ads will. People will quickly figure that buying the print version is much cheaper than paying for the online version only. The tree huggers will still buy the online only version, so it's a win win.

You get to keep the print advertising money and the online ad money. People will pay for real paper (after all, we all know that no one pays for news itself). You also will make a little money from the people who insist on paying for online only access. To encourage people to subscribe to your print edition, add something cool in the print edition you can't do online. I'm not generous enough to tell you what that might be though.

Personally, I won't buy a real news paper or pay for online access since there are plenty of ways to get news for free (it's not really free, I do pay for an internet pipe after all). But this should work out better than what you have now.

On the post: If The Public Library Was Invented Today, Would The Gov't Call It Organized Crime And Shut It Down?

vastrightwing ( profile ), 01 Jul, 2010 @ 10:29am

Gutenberg would be arrested.

Image if Gutenberg invented a device which made copying text and books 100 times faster than before. Imagine the outrage the monks would feel when all of a sudden their services are no longer required. The copy industry would have no recourse but to stop Gutenberg dead in his tracks. Then how about the typesetters union when the Lin-o-type was created. My gosh, this really upset their industry. Almost overnight, a single lin-o-type machine replaced dozens of lead typesetters. yea, libraries are much worse. They'd never get off the ground today.

On the post: Homeland Security Works For Disney Now? Announces Shut Down Of Movie Sites At Disney

vastrightwing ( profile ), 01 Jul, 2010 @ 10:12am

Fine line between crime and enforcement

Have you ever stopped to think about the synergy between criminals and law enforcement? I have. Over the years the idea just popped into my little head that there is a vast synergy between people who commit crimes and the people enforcing laws. On one hand, we ask for law enforcement to protect us from bad elements of society. This works for a while and then a strange thing happens: the people enforcing the laws become attached to the very elements it's supposed to be controlling. My explanation is that the enforcement agencies become dependent on crime increasing, rather than decreasing. After all, this is how they derive their money and power. If crime decreased due to enforcement activities, then what would happen to the enforcement workers? What would happen to the budgets and the overtime? Just like the RIAA and the music industry, this "industry" wants to expand and grow. But this is not what we want, it's just what we get. In this case, what we clearly have is the opposite approach: let's create more crimes people can commit. BINGO! So instead of working with criminals and simply controlling them, we expand the idea of crime to include more people. Profit.

On the post: Hulu Finally Announces Subscription Plans: $10/Month To Still Get Advertisements

vastrightwing ( profile ), 30 Jun, 2010 @ 09:16am

Summary

Pros:
1) adequate selection
2) adequate interface
3) adequate video quality

Cons:
1) Too expensive. $9/mo = $108/yr.
2) Too many/long ads.
3) CBS, HBO shows missing.
4) Nothing new or innovative.
5) Paid competition: Cable, Netflix, RedBox, local video store, iTunes, Amazon, many more.
6) Free competition: over the air, youtube, google video, torrents and more.
7) Works only on approved browsers.

Future cons:
If Comcast buys NBC, you can say goodbye to that network too.

On the post: Sunday Times: Pay Up To Have Us Tell You How We Were Totally Wrong In Our Climate Change Story

vastrightwing ( profile ), 23 Jun, 2010 @ 01:45pm

Irrelevant

I just tried to go to the SundayTimes.uk or whatever. I don't even want to register, much less pay to read what they have to say. They can bury all the retractions they want. After all, if a tree falls in the forest and there's no one there to hear, it makes no sound. Likewise, the SundayTime won't have to write any retractions anyway, since no one will read the original wrong story.

On the post: Telco Industry Is Prepared For Telco Reform: It Has Hundreds Of Former Gov't Officials Ready To Write The Laws

vastrightwing ( profile ), 22 Jun, 2010 @ 12:13pm

Why the telecom industry loves regulation

They love it because it keeps everyone out except the few who are already there. And of course, the ones writing the regulations are the ones who will benefit most from them. Yep, this all makes perfect sense. I just hope they aren't too tough on the consumers. We are the ones who end up paying for this "regulation".

On the post: More People Recognizing That Media iPad Adaptations Feel Like CD-ROM Media

vastrightwing ( profile ), 15 Jun, 2010 @ 06:43am

Wait until iPad publishers discover the Web!

Yea, when the iPad fad fades, they will discover this really cool thing called the web and the Mosaic Browser. This cool new program runs on Apples, PCSs, Windows, Linux, Unix, etc. Naw, they'll completely miss this one.

On the post: Will Offshoring Patent Apps Come Back To Haunt BofA In Labor Dispute?

vastrightwing ( profile ), 15 Jun, 2010 @ 06:38am

Why am I not surprised?

My only surprise is that BoA hasn't been caught yet doing something even more bazaar than this. This institution is amazing. (Oh, yes, I've moved my account away from these people several times in fact, when they bought up banks my account was resting.)

On the post: Blaming Users When You Screw Up

vastrightwing ( profile ), 15 Jun, 2010 @ 06:32am

Google Software Engineering

I'm going to coin a new phrase called Google Software Engineering that describes basically bad software engineering practices. Lately it seems there is a litany of bad examples. Noteworthy are: The Google WiFi mistake, Bank Atlantic releasing their new broken website, this example, Sony's dangerous root kit, and many many others. I have to shake my head when I read about these examples, especially when they stem from respectable companies that should have software life cycle management and best practices behind them.

On the post: Court Says Police In Ohio Can Just Guess How Fast You Were Going And Give You A Ticket

vastrightwing ( profile ), 09 Jun, 2010 @ 12:36pm

Step 2: minimum speeds

In order to counteract people trying to evade a speeding ticket by not speeding, the state will next enact strict minimum speeds. Now people will be ticketed for driving too slowly. Of course, the difference in driving too fast and too slow will be only 5 MPH. This will give the officers plenty of room for estimates and they should be able to estimate one way or the other and be right 90% of the time.

On the post: NY Times Confused About Its Own RSS Feed; Orders Takedown Of iPad RSS Reader

vastrightwing ( profile ), 08 Jun, 2010 @ 01:09pm

Total Disconnect

Am I the only one who sees a huge disconnect here?

The argument seems to be that if an application is paid for, you can't use the RSS feed. Is this what I'm hearing? If so, then what about using IE? You paid for that app. Why isn't the New York Times screaming to Microsoft and demanding that Microsoft pay? how about other RSS readers? I'm sure there are plenty of people using commercial RSS readers which they had to buy. Or at least the capability is bundled with other software, which was paid for. I can't reconcile how the New York Times cares what application downloads their feed. This is sounding an aweful lot like HULU and how they want to limit the specific kinds of devices which downloads their content. This is insane people! Insane! Next up, only Fords and GM cars can use roads. All other (so called) cars are not allowed.

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