vilain’s Techdirt Profile

On the post: Dreadful Ruling: Web Hosts Hit With $32 Million Judgment For Content On Customers' Websites

vilain ( profile ), 01 Sep, 2009 @ 10:26am

Re: ISP or infringer?

I see this ruling as a good thing for those who use Trademarks and Servicemarks. I practice a form of bodywork that's Servicemarked around the globe. That doesn't prevent other people who didn't go through the training I had from claiming they do this work and are "just like" what I do. For years our school has been going after people who violate the Servicemark in print.

The web has been harder. Usually sending a C&D letter is enough. But we had one person using a Yahoo address with our servicemark in their name. Yahoo ignored any request for takedown or removal of this person from their systems. Maybe now, they'll listen. $32M is a lot of "Pay attention to me" money!

On the post: Do Big Tech Acquisitions Ever Work Out?

vilain ( profile ), 14 Jul, 2008 @ 09:15am

Same thing happened to a friend...

Not really a "clash of the titans" but more a clash of cultures which is highly likely with Microsoft and Yahoo (what's left of it), but a friend's company was acquired by Aligent. Aligent thought they were getting a core company that they could use to create a bio-informatics division. The problem is that Aligent is primarily a _hardware_ company and my friend worked at a genomics analysis company. They were the leader in the field, doing what startups do--lots with very little and doing it very well. Aligent was the hardware side of HP--all their non-consumer products sans printers and computers.

But the person who brokered the sale was shuffled off to another part of Aligent after the founder decided to leave and go raise a child. So there was no internal advocate to speak for these newly acquired drones into the Aligent collective. And the IT transition was very painful. Rather than have the sysadmin restart a server, they had to call IT services in India and go through multiple layers to find _someone_ in the States who knew how to reboot the Linux license server. It's bad when customers can't use your product for several days because you can't find someone who knows how to reboot a server.

What killed product and the group was Aligent's empire building culture of influence rather than "let's get a product out and help customers". I don't see Yahoo and Microsoft getting along any better. When ASK/Ingres software got acquired by Computer Associates back in the 90's, 99% of the 250 engineers packed their desks and left the building the day of the announcement and found jobs within HOURS. Wouldn't it be a kick if all Microsoft got out of this merger was a bunch of buildings and huge pile of 9 track tapes?

On the post: Connecticut Still Wants To Try Julie Amero

vilain ( profile ), 10 Jul, 2008 @ 05:01pm

I'd like to see...

the judge throw out the retrail and as an added bonus, cite the entire prosecuting team for contempt, with a large fine and some jail time for wasting the taxpayers money and the court's time.

I can dream, can't I?

On the post: Time Warner Cable Tiered Broadband Test Begins

vilain ( profile ), 02 Jun, 2008 @ 10:44pm

Re: Doesn't TW know there are alternatives

I just got a flyer in the mail advertising AT&T's new TV and internet service. No cap were mentioned, just a tiered transfer rate. Their rates were something like $25/month for "up to" 1.5Mbps downstream, $30/mo for "up to" 3.0Mbps downstream, and $55/mo for "up to" 10Mbps downstream. This comes over phone lines and fibre to the home rather than cable.

If this were offered in TW's market, I wonder how many people would be switching and contesting any sort of early termination fee (which is currently being litigated as a class-action lawsuit here in California).

Why is TW shooting themselves in the foot here? Don't they see their monoply business model is a thing of the past and that it's only a matter of time before customers vote with their wallets?

On the post: Blockbuster Thinks You'll Drive To A Store To Download A Movie?

vilain ( profile ), 29 May, 2008 @ 10:47am

Re: Doesn't anyone ever think about fixing broken kiosks

And staffing in each city the repair guys who's sole job is to go to the myriad retail outlets with broken kiosks. The more complicated these beasts are, the more they'll have to stock parts (or have the stores keep spares in their copious storage space).

And what about any network connection? Does it make sense for each store to have a high-speed Internet connection that can also break? I doubt they'll have T1's from each store directly to the regional datacenters, so they'll have to rely on their ISP and the 'Net to get good bandwidth. And ensure reasonable load.

Did this idiot think about this at _all_ before saying "Make it so"?

On the post: And On Second Thought, Maybe Starbucks Shouldn't Be In The Music Business

vilain ( profile ), 25 Apr, 2008 @ 02:07pm

Re: Starbucks has lost sight of what they do best.

The SBucks around here (SF/Bay Area) all standardized on their "house blend" rather than featuring a regional coffee and a decaff. I taste this new stuff and I think it's just vile.

Looks like I'll stick with Peet's (where the SBucks crew got their start). And they only play classical music in all the Peet's stores. It was a requirement of the buyout from the original owner.

On the post: Do Patent Lawyers Really Want To Put Limits On The Rocket Docket Of East Texas?

vilain ( profile ), 01 Apr, 2008 @ 08:38am

anything posted today is suspecious

IT'S APRIL 1st people. Anything you see on the Net today should be taken with several Kg of NaCl (Iodized or plain, your call).

On the post: Supermarket A&P Makes Sure That People Associate Mock Gangsta Rap Video With A&P

vilain ( profile ), 30 Aug, 2007 @ 01:05pm

It could have been any commercial grocery store

There's a large chain here in the SF Bay area where I know if I buy milk there it will go bad by the next day. So, I stay away whenever I can. The video could have been filmed in this firm's stores just as much as A&P's.

I think these boys have a great case for a countersuit. Whomever that senior director is of A&P needs to find another job. Hopefully, when and if these boys sue, they will.

On the post: Telemarketers Finding Loopholes In The Do Not Call List

vilain ( profile ), 21 Aug, 2007 @ 05:55pm

Some ideas to mess with the telemarketers

Augusten Burroughs wrote a series of short pieces in MAGICAL THINKING. One called TELEMARKETING REVENGE had some classic ideas. Burroughs is a marketing copyrighter and critiqued one caller's script saying it didn't focus on the product enough.

With another, he pal-ed along with another finally agreeing to call the guy right back after spending 10 minutes on the phone. The telemarketer stupidly gave Burroughs his direct line contact info. Burroughs did call him back and say "Look, I'm really interested in your product and would be glad to try it out if you send me a picture of your dick. It doesn't have to be hard or anything, just a picture." That company (and the telemarketer) never called back.

With a woman telemarketer, he asked her about his upcoming male-to-female sexual reassignment surgery. He was especially confused about the types of vaginas he had to select. Would she go with the "self-lubercating" or regular kind? That company and person never called back.

On the post: Who Cut Off The Yes Men's Parody Website?

vilain ( profile ), 02 Jul, 2007 @ 09:49pm

Re: Re: How Are They Not Breaking Laws?

Well, the ISP can be sued to remove their common carrier status under the safe harbor clause of the DMCA. That would require they monitor _all_ their traffic for DMCA violations and probably make the close their doors as it's to much to process.

On the post: Could Sales Taxes Prevent Netflix And Amazon From Hooking Up?

vilain ( profile ), 06 Jun, 2007 @ 02:23pm

Last time I bought from Amazon...

I _was_ charged California sales tax. Guess they didn't want to piss off Arnold...

On the post: Comcast Enforces Invisible Broadband Caps

vilain ( profile ), 15 Mar, 2007 @ 01:12am

It's this false advertising?

Why hasn't Eliot Spitzer's replacement in New York or some other state AG gone after Comcast for false advertising? They're selling unlimited service and not providing it. Seems like a simple contract violation to me (but IANAL).

On the post: Hands Off The Truth; Why It's Hard To Take Hands Off The Internet Seriously

vilain ( profile ), 07 Mar, 2007 @ 09:19pm

Great explaination of net neutrality

The Daily Show's John Hodgeman says it all:

On the post: MySpace And GoDaddy Shut Down Huge Archive Of Security Mailing Lists

vilain ( profile ), 26 Jan, 2007 @ 02:20am

It's a good thing and a bad thing

GoDaddy is well known for being a chickenshit about any complaints. At $9/site, they aren't going to spend a lot of money in court or with lawyers dealing with any complaints, legal or otherwise. It's in their terms of service, plain and simple. For someone who uses them to host a critical domain, tuff titties. Should have gone with Network Solutions or some other registrar that doesn't care.

On the plus side, spammers choose GoDaddy a lot. When I report spam or phishing to them from sites they're the registar, they usually take it down. No court order needed, just a LART email.

On the post: Technology And The Return Of Shame

vilain ( profile ), 12 Jan, 2007 @ 10:30pm

Re: Drivers...

There's a windy pass from the SF Peninsula to Santa Cruz. It's two lanes and EVERYBODY drives like the laws of physics don't apply to them. I hadn't been "over the hill" for literally years when I went with a friend. Sure enough, there was some asshole tailgating us within a few minutes even though we were going 60mph (the posted speed is 55) and keeping pace with the flow of traffic. After a few minutes this guy started flashing his lights. My friend was driving and refused to pull into the other lane as it wasn't safe. I took out my phone, opened it, and turned around like I was talking a picutre. Boy did that cretin back away quickly.

Some years ago during the dot com boom, there was someone who videoed these type of incidents and posted them on the web every day. Guess they left with the bust cause that site's been dead for some time. Maybe this will inspire someone to do a similar "commute of shame" or "assholes of Hwy 17" site somewhere else.

On the post: Educators Debate Taking The Blood And Explosions Out Of Science

vilain ( profile ), 20 Oct, 2006 @ 03:15pm

That's like learning to fight evil wizzards from r

If this guy isn't careful, he's going to end up being called "Professor Umbridge" behind his back. Sounds like he read the 5th Harry Potter book and like the ideas in it...

On the post: Wal-Mart Looking To Take Spying On Shoppers To The Next Level

vilain ( profile ), 02 Oct, 2006 @ 06:11pm

This isn't new

Paco Underhill made his living being an urban anthropologist, observing shoppers for major retailers to help them improve their "conversion rate" when someone picks up something, that they'll buy it. He documented it in his book THE SCIENCE OF SHOPPING. Quite an interesting read. I didn't know I shopped like a girl, only that I threw like one.

This new technology just replaces the observer with a clipboard. It won't collect as much information as what a shopper did while standing at a location in a store, but it's a start.

On the post: Starbucks Customer Sues For $114 Million After Coupon Turned Down

vilain ( profile ), 11 Sep, 2006 @ 08:17pm

What about in other countries?

The CEO of Starbucks was on PBS or some cable channel talking about how proud he was that his latest store in Saudi Arrabia was just like the one he frequents in New York City, except for the prices and the people hanging out in it. Same sense of buzz, etc.

What happens when these coupons hit the non-US stores? Don't know the EU restrictions on this sort thing, but Starbucks might be in for a big problem here...

On the post: Mobile Network Dispute Reaches The Nyah-Nyah-Nyah Stage

vilain ( profile ), 11 Sep, 2006 @ 11:27am

Re: First installed in the area == best service?

Back when AT&T (now Cingular) and Verizon were setting up their networks, they were the first to setup towers in my area, so they have the "best service" for me. When AT&T transitioned to Cingular and they turned off those towers, service went to crap. There was nothing Cingular was offering to retain those customers. In fact, both of the Cingular offices were rather snotty about it.

So, I switched to Verizon. Good coverage in the area with fewer drop outs. Good service after my phone's hinge cracked after 13 months. They replaced it for $50.

The CellCos may be quibbling about the coverage (Sprint's is swiss cheese in our area as they and Metro and Nextel were late in the game setting up towers). But, for me, it really comes down service and the least restrictive contracts.

On the post: Note To Online Gambling Execs (Again): You Probably Want To Stay Out Of The US For A While

vilain ( profile ), 07 Sep, 2006 @ 07:39pm

Re: This should be intersting

The first CEO they arrested was an American citizen doing business on foreign soil (Costa Rica). I can see the Justice Department going after him.

This second guy was British, doing business outside the US. The Justice Department might make a case for him but I'm hoping his embassy is involved as well as the Home Office and US State Department. Otherwise, the US might be creating a serious problem of quid pro quo around the world.

I can imagine activities by various US corporations carried out on US soil that are illegal in other countries. What's to stop the country where that activity is illegal from detaining and prosecuting the CEO of said company if they should foolishly come to that country for a conference?

That Russian cryptographer who cracked the PDF reader was finally let go after being arrested for copyright infringement for their web site (written in English but hosted on Russian servers).

How is this different? Does the Justice Department _really_ want to go there? Could get really sticky, especially if the US doesn't have juristiction over foreign-based servers. Pirate Bay was back days after that very weird and questionable police raid, thumbing their nose at the RIAA and MPAA.

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