Yakko Warner 's Techdirt Comments

Latest Comments (227)

• On the post: No Good Can Come Of Any Cybersecurity Bill Without A Clear Definition Of The Problem

  

  Yakko Warner ( profile ), 01 May, 2013 @ 12:24pm

  Why that sentence is there

  The sentence "notwithstanding any other provision of law" is required. With our overabundance of laws, just about anything you do or don't do is already criminal. So, in order to legally *permit* you to do something, you have to render all existing laws null and void just so it's *possible*.

• On the post: Attention Game Developers And Console Manufacturers: 'Always On' Is NOT The Same As 'Always Connectable'

  

  Yakko Warner ( profile ), 19 Apr, 2013 @ 12:55pm

  Re: Re: Re: Re: Re:

  I really didn't mean for that to come out sounding quite so much like a public relations press release....

• On the post: Attention Game Developers And Console Manufacturers: 'Always On' Is NOT The Same As 'Always Connectable'

  

  Yakko Warner ( profile ), 19 Apr, 2013 @ 12:48pm

  Re: Re: Re: Re:

  Have you ever put a game in to play, and then had to sit and wait while it downloaded however many updates were required? Imagine if your console just went and checked for those updates while it was offline, so when you did go to play, the game was ready to go.
  
  Or, you are away from home and hear about the latest game or demo. You go to xbox.com and queue it up for download (which you can do today), but because your console is off, it won't actually download until you get home and turn it on. But now, it could do this as you queue it up from the web and be ready to go as soon as you get home.
  
  Those are the best-case scenarios I can think of.
  
  Of course, there's also the dark side -- it will download the latest and greatest ads to display on the dashboard. (Although that could be a relative benefit as well -- it will have done the downloading already by the time you turn the machine on, so it'll be more ready to go.)

• On the post: Attention Game Developers And Console Manufacturers: 'Always On' Is NOT The Same As 'Always Connectable'

  

  Yakko Warner ( profile ), 19 Apr, 2013 @ 11:41am

  Re: Re:

  Because they've been talking about its ability to connect even when it's "off". This would be new to the Xbox. (The 360 does have the capability to shut down to a "low power mode" to finish a download it already started, but once it's off, it's off.)
  
  I could be wrong. I hope I'm not.

• On the post: Attention Game Developers And Console Manufacturers: 'Always On' Is NOT The Same As 'Always Connectable'

  

  Yakko Warner ( profile ), 19 Apr, 2013 @ 11:13am

  Or, as I've said, there's a difference between "feature" and "requirement". I'm pretty sure we'll see that the talk and leaks about "always on" are referring to a *feature* (that the console *can* always connect to the internet, download updates, look for content, or whatever the heck else it's supposed to do -- what Fearon calls "always connectable") and not a *requirement* (that the console will refuse to function at all if it is not connected to the internet).
  
  I really think all the kerfuffle is about hearing "always on" and jumping to the conclusion that it's a requirement.
  
  Of course, I've been hopelessly optimistic before. When the facts come out (i.e., when Microsoft officially announces that, yes, they do have a new console), we'll know for sure.

• On the post: San Diego Cop Thinks You Might Have Turned Your Cell Phone Into A Gun And That 'Officer Safety' Trumps Constitutional Rights

  

  Yakko Warner ( profile ), 18 Apr, 2013 @ 06:20pm

  Re: United States

  Not all of it is as bad as California.

• On the post: Charles Carreon Has To Pay $46K In Legal Fees

  

  Yakko Warner ( profile ), 12 Apr, 2013 @ 12:05pm

  Hopefully

  So... the question remains: will Charles Carreon stop digging?

  
  I sure hope so. I still have popcorn left.

• On the post: Things You Don't See Every Day: MPAA Argues For Fair Use In Court

  

  Yakko Warner ( profile ), 10 Apr, 2013 @ 09:50am

  Re:

  No straw man; that's actually the whole point. The MPAA relies heavily on fair use for their own work, but actively fights having their work subjected to fair use.

• On the post: Things You Don't See Every Day: MPAA Argues For Fair Use In Court

  

  Yakko Warner ( profile ), 10 Apr, 2013 @ 09:46am

  Re: Re: Could We Quote Them?

  ...it's going to be very difficult for them to say otherwise later.

  
  Really? Think who you're talking about here.

• On the post: Veoh Still Not Dead Enough For Universal Music; Asks Court To Rehear Case Yet Again

  

  Yakko Warner ( profile ), 08 Apr, 2013 @ 07:53am

  UMG, taking the phrase "beating a dead horse" to all new levels.
  
  Are they just planning to keep re-filing until they can get a summary judgement when no one at Veoh can afford to show up?

• On the post: DJs' 'Dihydrogen Monoxide' April Fool's Prank Results In Suspension And Possible Felony Charges

  

  Yakko Warner ( profile ), 03 Apr, 2013 @ 11:56am

  Re: Update: They're back on the air

  For their next trick, they should try issuing an alert that people are walking around downtown with their epidermis showing.

• On the post: DJs' 'Dihydrogen Monoxide' April Fool's Prank Results In Suspension And Possible Felony Charges

  

  Yakko Warner ( profile ), 03 Apr, 2013 @ 11:52am

  Update: They're back on the air

  http://www.theatlanticwire.com/entertainment/2013/04/florida-dj-indefinite-suspension-didnt-last-very-long/63837/
  
  

  The indefinite suspension didn't last very long for the Florida morning-radio hosts who played an April Fools' prank gone wrong?or right, it's kind of hard to tell?and according to an official at the local health department they also won't be charged with a felony.

• On the post: DJs' 'Dihydrogen Monoxide' April Fool's Prank Results In Suspension And Possible Felony Charges

  

  Yakko Warner ( profile ), 03 Apr, 2013 @ 11:46am

  They have a right to be concerned

  You do realize that dihydrogen monoxide (or DHMO) is involved in 100% of drowning-related accidents in the US alone.

• On the post: ReDigi Loses: You Can't Resell Your MP3s (Unless You Sell Your Whole Hard Drive)

  

  Yakko Warner ( profile ), 01 Apr, 2013 @ 12:29pm

  Re: Re:

  If you download it to your computer hard drive and then transfer it to the USB stick it's an illegal copy and the RIAA can sue you for $22 000 / song in damages.

  
  That would seem to be true even if you didn't intend to sell the USB stick.
  
  It would also seem to apply to any transfer of MP3 files from your PC to, say, an MP3 player or phone.
  
  Bad, bad, bad.

• On the post: The Real Reason Janet Napolitano Doesn't Like Email — Accountability

  

  Yakko Warner ( profile ), 01 Apr, 2013 @ 10:30am

  That's exactly why I don't read EULAs

  Otherwise I'd have to go through thousands of words and be expected to remember all the rights I was told I didn't have.

• On the post: What I Learned About My Own Daily Life From The Latest North Korean Propaganda Video

  

  Yakko Warner ( profile ), 30 Mar, 2013 @ 05:22pm

  [...] the level of crazy required to have a zombie President.

  
  I think you meant "level of awesome".

• On the post: Maxis GM: Our Vision Is More Important Than Our Customers & Lots Of People Love Our Crappy DRM

  

  Yakko Warner ( profile ), 18 Mar, 2013 @ 09:30am

  Re: Re:

  If by "ironic" you mean "completely and totally predictable", then I agree.

• On the post: SimCity Always-Online DRM Lets Hackers Play Godzilla With Anyone's Cities

  

  Yakko Warner ( profile ), 18 Mar, 2013 @ 12:38pm

  Can't save it yet?

  In the video description on YouTube, he says it's not possible to actually sync your changes back to the server, so the "victim"'s city is unaffected.
  
  Though I fully expect that to be cracked soon. Maybe even by the time I finish writing this comment.

• On the post: Maxis: Your Reward For Buying Our Horribly Launched SimCity Is The Previous, Better Version Of It

  

  Yakko Warner ( profile ), 18 Mar, 2013 @ 11:19am

  Might as well give away t-shirts

  "I bought SimCity and all I got was this lousy download code."

• On the post: Kickstarter Projects That Don't Meet Their Goal Are Not 'Failures'; They Help People Avoid Failures

  

  Yakko Warner ( profile ), 14 Mar, 2013 @ 12:37pm

  Re:

  "Failure is always an option." -- MythBusters

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