Yakko Warner 's Techdirt Comments

Latest Comments (227) comment rss

  • On the post: Denver News Crew Accidentally Livens Up Broadcast With An Inappropriate Image 'Borrowed' From The Web

    Yakko Warner ( profile ), 20 Nov, 2012 @ 08:52am

    Non sequitur, Tim

    You lost me when you used "relies on integrity" in an article describing a TV newscast.

  • On the post: Microsoft Sued Because It Overloaded Surface Tablet With Pre-Installed Apps

    Yakko Warner ( profile ), 15 Nov, 2012 @ 09:38am

    Re: There is no consumer protection

    I've heard of having a heart attack over a misbehaving computer program, but up til now I thought it was just a metaphor.

  • On the post: University Of Washington's Defense Of Twitter Limits On Journalists More Ridiculous Than The Restrictions Themselves

    Yakko Warner ( profile ), 15 Nov, 2012 @ 09:36am

    Re:

    But until someone has the balls to take the issue to court, the UW will carry on dribbling this BS and making a fast break with it. The fact that someone has blown the whistle on how the reporter has fouled out, has blocked their cause. That reporter should get a player of the game award from UW for assisting so much.

    FTFY

  • On the post: If You Eat Something, Say Something: DHS Sounds The Alarm On The 'Terrorist Implications' Of Food Trucks

    Yakko Warner ( profile ), 12 Nov, 2012 @ 12:02pm

    Note: Large screen TV

    I can only imagine that notice on slide #5 is where the presenter says, "Those evil, conniving terrorists! They lure people to crowd around their taco truck with televised sporting events and blow them up!"

  • On the post: If You Eat Something, Say Something: DHS Sounds The Alarm On The 'Terrorist Implications' Of Food Trucks

    Yakko Warner ( profile ), 12 Nov, 2012 @ 11:57am

    That won't work for everyone

    Obviously this only applies to food trucks with large numbers of customers. Most food trucks don't have nearly the same level of popularity, so connecting shrapnel with fans could never have the same level of terroristic success.

  • On the post: GEMA Gets Bailed Out By Germany's Parliament; Allowed To Proceed With Venue-Killing Rate Hikes

    Yakko Warner ( profile ), 09 Nov, 2012 @ 08:54am

    Re: Re: GEMA impression

    And by Colonel Klink, I of course meant Sergeant Schultz. *facepalm*

  • On the post: GEMA Gets Bailed Out By Germany's Parliament; Allowed To Proceed With Venue-Killing Rate Hikes

    Yakko Warner ( profile ), 09 Nov, 2012 @ 08:52am

    Re: GEMA impression

    Funny, my impression of GEMA sounds more like Colonel Klink:

    "I know NOTHING!"

  • On the post: Why Do So Many People Rely On Facebook For Communications, Given Its Arbitrary Removal Process?

    Yakko Warner ( profile ), 02 Nov, 2012 @ 02:13pm

    Alternative?

    Ok, so what's the alternative? What is the best, open, free service for public communication and disseminating opinion and information?

    Facebook and Twitter have had their issues blocking content. Blogs/websites? We've seen instances where blogs have been taken down by an over-anxious host faced with a legal threat (even resulting in large numbers of unrelated blogs that happen to reside on the same servers being taken down as collateral damage). Email? Targeted, rather than open and public; doesn't tend well to public discussion. Cell phones/text messaging? Not when governments can arbitrarily order service shut down.

    Is there a service that is so open and free, and also so ubiquitous to be truly useful, that can *not* be subject to influence by some powerful party to censor or shut down?

  • On the post: German Company Wants To Protect Its Use Of The '@' Sign: What Could Possibly Go Wrong?

    Yakko Warner ( profile ), 02 Nov, 2012 @ 12:57pm

    Banning Twitter in Germany now?

    Follow me @glynmoody on Twitter or identi.ca, and on Google+

    Expect a C&D letter shortly.

  • On the post: Court Says Police Can Install Cameras On Your Property Without Warrant If Your Property Is A 'Field'

    Yakko Warner ( profile ), 31 Oct, 2012 @ 01:18pm

    Re: Re:

    If the trespass is illegal, wouldn't that negate any evidence collected during that illegal act?

    And if the evidence isn't thrown out, doesn't that imply the trespass wasn't illegal?

  • On the post: Court Says Police Can Install Cameras On Your Property Without Warrant If Your Property Is A 'Field'

    Yakko Warner ( profile ), 31 Oct, 2012 @ 01:17pm

    Isn't there an easier way?

    Seems it would've been easier just to get a drone to fly over the property. You can get those remote-controlled quadcopters for under $50 nowadays; slap a webcam on one and you're done.

  • On the post: George McGovern On Why Politicians Who Haven't Built A Business Are Bad At Regulating

    Yakko Warner ( profile ), 22 Oct, 2012 @ 03:32pm

    It's really a more widespread problem

    The number of TechDirt posts we've seen about new tech legislation that reveals very little understanding about how tech works (e.g., SOPA/PIPA) shows that this is more widespread across industries.

    It makes sense, though. How can you expect someone to effectively regulate an industry (business, tech, energy, farming, you name it) if they don't have any experience in that industry?

    Ideally, they should rely on industry experts for advice. That does have its own issues (politicians listening to the "experts" that pay the most, or have their own interests/agenda at heart; not necessarily those with the most sound advice).

  • On the post: Windows 8's Arbitrary App Certification Rules Could Block Skyrim And Other Huge Games

    Yakko Warner ( profile ), 19 Oct, 2012 @ 12:05pm

    Major FUD alert

    Windows 8 RT = tablet
    Windows 8/Windows 8 Pro = desktop & laptop

    These rules only apply to apps that are released through the app store, which are those that run on the tablets (Windows 8 RT) and the "metro" side of Windows 8 (Windows 8 and Windows 8 Pro).

    However, Windows 8 (non-tablet) devices are not restricted to applications from the app store. You can buy, download, and install anything that you can on Windows 7 through all the same, traditional retail channels, and it runs exactly the same (in my completely non-scientific experience, even a little better). I even have Steam installed on my laptop running Windows 8.

    Microsoft is not (yet) getting rid of the desktop and the freedom to install on it what you please.

  • On the post: Amanda Palmer Unleashes The Voice Of The People About Health Insurance Via Twitter

    Yakko Warner ( profile ), 15 Oct, 2012 @ 12:52pm

    Re: Obamacare/Romneycare, what's the difference?

    Anytime someone responds to criticism with no more content than "it's all lies, ignore it!", it makes me want to pay more attention.

    If you have a real argument, make some real points. If the critiques are invalid, explain why. I'm not going to stick my head in the sand and pretend there's no opposition.

  • On the post: No, Mitt Romney Didn't Personally Hack Your Facebook

    Yakko Warner ( profile ), 12 Oct, 2012 @ 08:55am

    Re: Re: Re:

    You may want to take a look at DH's platform before you volunteer to be in his cabinet....

  • On the post: No, Mitt Romney Didn't Personally Hack Your Facebook

    Yakko Warner ( profile ), 12 Oct, 2012 @ 08:54am

    Re: Re: Re:

    Is that REALLY what you want in a President?!!?!?

    Well, when you compare it to the presidents we've actually had, then sure, why not?

  • On the post: No, Mitt Romney Didn't Personally Hack Your Facebook

    Yakko Warner ( profile ), 12 Oct, 2012 @ 08:52am

    Re:

    I remember a comment I heard on TV many years ago:

    It used to be that you voted for the candidate you liked the most. Then it became voting for the candidate you disliked the least. Now, you vote against the candidate you hate the most.

  • On the post: PETA Vs. Pokemon

    Yakko Warner ( profile ), 10 Oct, 2012 @ 10:27am

    Response video from 15-year fan

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=CAabuy-x3wg

    Makes pretty much the same point.

  • On the post: Xbox DRM Punishes More Paying Customers And Actually Restricts Purchasing Options

    Yakko Warner ( profile ), 10 Oct, 2012 @ 09:58am

    Why I hate the idea of a "discless future"

    My nephew came to stay with us while he went to college. He had his own Xbox. If we had a game he wanted to borrow (or vice-versa), as long as it was on a disc, there was no problem. Not so much for any DLC or other digital downloads ("Xbox Live Arcade" titles). At best, he could log in to our console with his account to play things he'd purchased.

    For that matter, when my Xbox stopped reading discs and I bought a replacement console, my kids could play every single one of the disc-based games on the new console without any issue. Since I could move the hard drive from the old to the new console, all their accounts and saved games came over without any problems. For all the digital downloads I've purchased, though, even though the exact same file was on the hard drive, I had to log on to the Xbox website, use the "license transfer tool" to transfer the console license to the new one, and then re-download every piece of content on the new console.**

    Now, the times I have seen it work like it's supposed to, like when I've gone to a friend's house, downloaded content, played it, and left; and my friend doesn't automatically get the content for "free". And I suppose that's where the problem is -- how do you know when Console 2 is really in the same household as Console 1, and allow content on both systems?

    **This "re-download" doesn't download the entire file, just updates the license already downloaded, so it only takes about a second. You still have to go through your download history to find the files and initiate the downloads one-by-one, though, which is the most annoying part.

  • On the post: Xbox DRM Punishes More Paying Customers And Actually Restricts Purchasing Options

    Yakko Warner ( profile ), 10 Oct, 2012 @ 09:17am

    Re: Re: Multi-xbox homes are not the norm

    Can they do at the same time, together, with the same license in different machines? No.

    Yes. There are two licenses in play: one for any user on the purchasing console (whether online or not), and one for the purchasing user on any console (must be signed in online).

    User A buys content on Console 1. User A then logs in to Console 2 and downloads the content. User A can play content on Console 2; Users B through Z can play content on Console 1. At the same time.

Next >>