Nick 's Techdirt Comments

Latest Comments (233)

• On the post: Xbox One Sales Lag PS4 As Microsoft Slowly Figures Out You Can't Tell Gamers What They're Supposed To Want

  

  Nick ( profile ), 21 Feb, 2014 @ 11:20am

  What irks me the most about current Xbone defenders, is that they are angry that people got the always-online retail-discs-are-coasters part of the Xbox. That it had to phone home every 24 hours in order to "allow" us to play the games we bought and (had to) put on our hard drive.
  
  Once Microsoft rolled that back, they all complained that it set back digital distribution another decade. As if Microsoft now can't implement Xbox-Live-connected-only single player digital downloads to your hard drive on its own. As if the ability to play a game with no internet enabled by simply putting in a disk would prevent download games from being possible.
  
  It is still possible to allow the 1984-ish big brother distopia that they want if they only buy games digitally. And those that don't want online play can still use their disks bought in a real store if they want to as well.

• On the post: Congress Moves to Ban In-Flight Cell Calls, Blowhards at 30,000 Feet

  

  Nick ( profile ), 12 Feb, 2014 @ 08:07pm

  I don't think this is a thing for congress. Treat it like a movie theater, leave it up to the airlines to decide if phone calls are allowed or not and when.

• On the post: Comcast-Backed Lobbyist Insists Seattle Doesn't Want Faster, Cheaper Broadband

  

  Nick ( profile ), 12 Feb, 2014 @ 08:41am

  Utopia, pffft

  Hah, I came in to these comments specifically to point out both Google's attempt to install fiber into provo (the next city south), and also the Utopia project: (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Utah_Telecommunication_Open_Infrastructure_Agency).
  
  Unfortunately, the actual city that could make use of fiber connection - Salt Lake - has adamantly refused to opt into either Utopia, nor did it lobby for Google's fiber. And now, with this law, legislators are acting as if fiber optic infrastructure is a disease, trying to quarantine its spread.

• On the post: Surprise: ASCAP and Music Labels Colluded To Screw Pandora

  

  Nick ( profile ), 12 Feb, 2014 @ 10:02am

  In an interesting bit of time travel, Crooks and Liars posted this techdirt article faster than techdirt itself did...

• On the post: Whether Dumb Starbucks Is A PR Stunt, A Joke Or Real… Its 'Parody' Claims Are Pretty Questionable

  

  Nick ( profile ), 10 Feb, 2014 @ 03:49pm

  I'd say this is a clever ploy by the REAL Starbucks to weaken fair use laws. By taking "parody" use of something to it's very extreme, they will certainly get a court and jury to admit that making fun of a company while using their resources isn't fair use.
  
  And... we will forever be unable to post a picture of a company logo - even under clear fair use - again.

• On the post: Pioneering French Electronic Artist Thinks Creative Industry Should Get '$300-400' Of Each Smartphone Sale

  

  Nick ( profile ), 10 Feb, 2014 @ 09:43am

  Huh, and I thought we paid for radio with our ears, having to listen to idiotic car salesmen and accident lawyers trying to drum up business. Who knew I was a leech on creativity by making these radio stations pay for the content.
  
  Why, if only we had a similar concept in place online. Why, some kind of "internet radio", in which I could listen to music with the occasional advertisement. Certainly that would be a swell thing.
  
  I'd listen to it on the iPhone knockoff I made for $50 bucks worth of parts and $100 worth of "innovation" crafting an operating system for it.

• On the post: Guardian Releases Video From That Time Its Editors Were Forced To Destroy A Laptop That Had Snowden Documents

  

  Nick ( profile ), 31 Jan, 2014 @ 05:16pm

  Why....? Why did they have to take a grinder to the motherboard? It doesn't save any DATA.
  
  Unless they basically believe it is possible to flash a BIOS chip with secret data and still have it boot.

• On the post: Microsoft And IBM: If Patent Office Can Do A Quick Review Of Our Crappy Patents, You'll All Die In A Car Crash

  

  Nick ( profile ), 31 Jan, 2014 @ 12:24pm

  "According to the BSA, since the original CBM program was just a test, it must always remain that way"
  
  Huh, well, that explains why Microsoft's Windows platforms always feel like beta tests after release.

• On the post: Candy Crush Goes Trademark Legal; Candy Crush Gets Trolled

  

  Nick ( profile ), 24 Jan, 2014 @ 07:31am

  Candy Scroll Saga: An Apple Edge Memory. Someone should totally make that game for the Candy Jam.

• On the post: Now That The NSA Has Made It The Norm, Total Surveillance During The Sochi Olympic Games Is No Longer Noteworthy

  

  Nick ( profile ), 21 Jan, 2014 @ 08:59am

  Re: There's a difference

  Honestly, I'm actually kind of fine with it in this case. As MWL-G said, there have already been multiple attacks on foreign and civilian targets - possibly at random - in the area BECAUSE of the Olympics. Once they get underway, there are going to be many factors of 10 more people around, making for better targets.
  
  But, this surveillance MUST be temporary. As soon as the threat is over with, and things return to normal, it should be scaled back.
  
  The difference between this period leading up to / including the Olympics and our own situation is CLEAR and PREVIOUS evidence of a threat. Unlike our own, in which we are told to "trust" in the NSA that they need to stay vigilant despite a large, organized attack not having happened for over a decade (Boston was by two guys who did it without massive support from any group).

• On the post: South Carolina Senator Aims To Criminalize The Recording Of Criminal Activity

  

  Nick ( profile ), 14 Jan, 2014 @ 10:14am

  Little kid drawing a picture of him shooting a gun at space alien robots. FELONY.

• On the post: Administration Finally Responds To A Petition… About Something A Child Said On The Jimmy Kimmel Show

  

  Nick ( profile ), 14 Jan, 2014 @ 07:45am

  So, if the admin responded to a petition with an age of 90 days, and the average are at 298+... Did the administration do this JUST so it could increase the average wait time faster than if it ignored them all?

• On the post: Now That Alicia Keys Is No Longer Blackberry's 'Creative Director' Can We Stop Using Pop Stars As Fake Creative Directors?

  

  Nick ( profile ), 02 Jan, 2014 @ 10:36pm

  "... or Miley Cyrus' new "job" as "creative director" at Microsoft."
  
  Ugh. Gives a new meaning to the term "grinding" out sequel after sequel.

• On the post: ACLU Files A New Lawsuit About The NSA's Biggest Loophole: The Unchecked Power Of Executive Order 12333

  

  Nick ( profile ), 31 Dec, 2013 @ 11:12pm

  12333? I have the same combination on my luggage!

• On the post: Guy Who Sued Apple For Not Preventing Him From Accessing Porn Now Suing A&E And Obama For Religious Persecution

  

  Nick ( profile ), 31 Dec, 2013 @ 10:50pm

  I got about a third of the way through the article before I threw my hands up, shouted "This MUST be satire!" and scrolled down. Finding there was much much more just amazes me.
  
  There is no way a man can screw so many things up and not be either
  A. Wrong in the head
  B. Totally satire
  
  I am voting for B.

• On the post: FCC Finally Starts Process To Dump NFL Blackouts

  

  Nick ( profile ), 24 Dec, 2013 @ 07:59pm

  Oh my. Buy DirecTV stock. One of the biggest downsides to the NFL sunday ticket that a TON of people bought every year was that local sports teams were NOT included in the package, with rights to those games (whether they chose to show it or not) was the EXCLUSIVE rights of local broadcasters.
  
  Or maybe not. If this just stops the "blackout the game if we don't sell-out a stadium" rule, then it won't do anything for the local broadcaster "exclusive right to broadcast in local area" rights.
  
  Oh well. One step closer to the people getting what they want, and not what corporations want us to have.

• On the post: You Don't Own What You 'Bought': Disney And Amazon Play The Role Of The Grinch In Taking Back Purchased Film

  

  Nick ( profile ), 17 Dec, 2013 @ 09:16am

  Re: So don't deal with Amazon. Problem solved.

  Actually, I'm with OOTB on this one. I know, I know, VERY odd. But, if we don't like this, we need to not support it. If we keep buying digital goods because it's the ONLY choice, we are reinforcing the companys' decisions to screw us over this way.
  
  Until we can get the content that we pay for guaranteed access to forever from the very beginning of a transaction, we shouldn't ask for anything less.
  
  The problem is that OOTB is being rude as always and not being sympathetic to this. The ability for Amazon to revoke licenses IS in the terms, but as always nobody reads them (and they shouldn't HAVE to). But now that we know, everyone should stop buying, and let Amazon and the content publishers watch as their sales in this format drop to nothing.
  
  It worked for iTunes and other music distribution options. When you can buy a song that CAN be downloaded at will and has no DRM, yes it can lead to piracy. But people accepted nothing less and we got DRM-free MP3s. The files could be copied and pirated, but guess what? People still bought them. It wasn't the end of the world.

• On the post: Disappointing: Google Releases… Then Removes Great Privacy Feature From Android

  

  Nick ( profile ), 16 Dec, 2013 @ 10:03am

  Heh, when news of this first broke, I spoke with my father who we are planning to make apps together. We'd discussed, at least a year ago, that android should allow people this option. I'd argued at the time it probably won't, since any earlier android os versions would not include this feature. Most android devices never update their core version, and those that do are usually at the will of the device maker to update the version their device runs on (such as phones).
  
  Guess they ended up doing it anyway. I'd love this feature, and am sad to see it go, but I also accept Google's reason and believe that they wanted to make it ready fully before allowing it. My opinion is that they want to make it a part of the APK that your program has to continue working if your app was denied a permission it asked for.
  
  See, right now, your app will crash - hard - if it tried to use a permission that is disabled. So google will reintroduce it only when it becomes a standard for people designing under the new android versions to put in "permission denied" workarounds, even if it's to say "this program cannot and WILL NOT work without XXXXXX permision" and close.

• On the post: Lawsuit Claims Accidental Google Search Led To Years Of Government Investigation And Harrassment

  

  Nick ( profile ), 13 Dec, 2013 @ 07:23pm

  Re:

  Yeah, that's my opinion too. A single unintentional (and not followed-up-on) search on google will not place you on a terrorism watch list. There are far too many people in this country that are indeed curious about how to make some things that would be considered disrespectable for the NSA to monitor each and every one of them. And then to "blow" the investigation multiple times by making these facts known the day after? Pure coincidence.
  
  Heh, I love how he found it "odd" that his friend's wife liked Harry Potter, a "kid's movie". My parents like the books, and the movies too, so it's not at all odd that an adult would like them. And this man is reading a VERY popular book to his kid the same time the movies are out? WOW! STOP THE PRESSES!

• On the post: CEO Of 21st Century Fox Thinks People Aren't Really Asking For A La Carte TV Channels

  

  Nick ( profile ), 12 Dec, 2013 @ 08:11am

  I worked as a phone agent at DirecTV for a while, and I heard from customers all the time as to why they have to pay for packages with all these channels that sucked. The most basic package (that they never advertise) has about 30 channels plus locals for 30 bucks a month. Some people looking to reduce their bills go to it, and complain that NOTHING is available. The next step up? the 70 channel pack for 60-70 bucks. And still very few movie channels.
  
  The REAL meat of TV packages come ala carte already: HBO, Starz, Showtime, Encore, etc. However, those cruise on their success (and have to pay for modern movie rights) and charge about 15/month for their packages each.
  
  I'm in favor of pay-per-channel programming, but once you got it, would you REALLY shell out for the one or two channels that you - while waiting for that movie to start - clicked over for half an hour? I'm talking about Discovery, History, TLC, and other channels like that. They have something neat to watch once in a while, but when you're looking at your bill, it's hard to justify paying for them, even $1/month (which I doubt it will be that low).
  
  Everyone, everywhere, wants to take out the channels they don't watch (GodTV), but somewhere there is someone that doesn't want AMC and watches only GodTV, so they want to strip out AMC. It's a lose-lose situation for programmers, now that I think about it.

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