Josh in CharlotteNC (profile), 17 May 2012 @ 11:51am
Re: Byte my Bits!
100% agree. I was thinking the exact same thing reading through the article.
Writing anything beyond 'Hello world.' requires logical thought process, something which is sorely lacking in politics and many other places in society.
Josh in CharlotteNC (profile), 16 May 2012 @ 12:41pm
Re:
There is reasonable proof that criminal copyright infringement took place. Material was published and distributed without the copyright holder's permission.
Just because copyright infringement happened doesn't necessarily mean it was criminal copyright infringement.
Josh in CharlotteNC (profile), 16 May 2012 @ 12:30pm
Re: What a nightmare!
First, registering just to be eligible to earn money is a practical pain in the neck.
Its not registering "just" to be eligible, its so that the tax credit can be claimed by your supporters. There doesn't appear to be anything stopping someone from not registering and just requesting non-tax-exempt donations (like via Kickstarter).
What constitutes fraud?
What constitutes art? Just because you don't like something, or don't think its art, doesn't mean that it isn't.
Only rich people can use tax credits.
That's not so much of an issue with the procedure, but a failing in the tax system. And again, there's still nothing stopping someone from donating and not worrying about the tax credit portion.
Someone will feel ripped off. then no one is going to invest.
And again, you are worrying about the wrong things.
People who are giving money to artists are not only doing it to get a monetary benefit, or to get some product. We are doing it to support the artists, to support their work, and to support art in general.
Why is it so difficult to understand that not all actions are entirely based on a monetary benefit? Yes, I work and get a paycheck - but I get more out of my job than just a paycheck, I get the knowledge that I'm helping to secure my employer's computers, and thus our customer's information and billions of their dollars and investments. And I realize that coming from someone who works at a bank, this sounds weird - but it's not just about the money.
Josh in CharlotteNC (profile), 16 May 2012 @ 10:58am
Re:
That makes infinitely more sense than the government's legal arguments.
Somehow, the US government has convinced itself, or been convinced by someone, that Puerto 80 indeed created a self aware artificial intelligence, and that entity did not reside on the servers, but in the domain names. Thus, they must sieze the domain names to prevent the extinction of biological life, or more likely, to control it so the government gets to decide what it decides to exterminate.
Josh in CharlotteNC (profile), 15 May 2012 @ 6:43am
Hold on...
Yet the FBI gets to issue tens of thousands of them, asking companies for information -- and imposing a strict gag order on them -- and most companies just roll over and do it.
But we need CISPA so that private companies will share information with the government!
Josh in CharlotteNC (profile), 15 May 2012 @ 6:05am
Re:
Wouldn't it be easier to liberalise our attitudes towards our bodies and improve sex education,
But that flies in the face of 6000 years of the dominant organized religions. We all know that the beliefs of bronze age people are much more important than anything we could possibly think of today.
Josh in CharlotteNC (profile), 14 May 2012 @ 1:50pm
Re: Re: Re:
It would be easy to write a program that made minor modifications to file bits and titles and kept uploading files via Tor. Before long the poisoned files would vastly outnumber the real ones.
This briefly worked back when Morpheus/Kazaa/Limewire were the main sources. Two things happened: they started to implement peer based ratings, then the copyright holders killed those networks off (kinda). Pirates moved on to the next platforms, and now anyone who regularly uses torrents knows to pay attention to the ratings and comments which fill up quickly with "Fake" for that stuff.
You can't fight automated with manual
Tell that to China, with their near inexhaustible supply of cheap labor. Tell that to the spammers who blow through CAPTCHAs with ease by using humans en masse who think they're doing something else.
Josh in CharlotteNC (profile), 14 May 2012 @ 1:30pm
Re: Re:
Of course they contribute. It's a key part of "Embrace, Extend, Exterminate."
Thanks for the link, though. I especially liked the part about Microsoft contributing 20k lines of code for server virtualization, and after a few years of work, that part is down to 7k, and is now less buggy and supports more devices. Hadn't heard that one before.
Josh in CharlotteNC (profile), 11 May 2012 @ 10:56am
Re: Legitimate versions? Try getting a cable subscription!
Hey, if you want to see the show, buy cable.
I'll pay $5 per episode of GOT. Why does HBO want me to buy cable when they would make LESS money from me if they offered a downloadable option themselves, plus force me to pay for a whole bunch of crap I don't want or need?
Time Warner price list for my area:
Digital TV $85.49/mo
If bundled with Time Warner Cable Internet $82.49/mo
Equipment
Digital Box (Each) $6.46 ea/mo
Universal Remote Control $0.36 ea/mo
Premium Channels
One premiums $15.99/mo
Standard Internet (10 Mbps download, 1 Mbps upload)
Standalone $57.95/mo
With Digital TV $50.45/mo
Ok, so for 10 episodes of GOT per season, HBO would get $50 from me if they offered a DRM-free HD downloadable option online.
However, if I buy cable, even if Time Warner gives them every penny of the premium subscription (which they don't), they'd get $47.98. And I would need to pay an extra $396.78 above that for something I don't need.
So, thanks, but no thanks. I'll pirate it.
I'm not costing them a penny. They are refusing to give me an option to pay them $50, for content they have already made and in which they could trivially setup a way to sell it to me.
Josh in CharlotteNC (profile), 11 May 2012 @ 9:25am
Re:
But at the same time, the COC and big corporations and their rich CEOs they represent have already vowed to spend over three hundred million dollars together in Super PACs to defeat Obama in 2012.
Many companies and interest groups give money to both sides in campaigns.
This, by the way, is the definition of political corruption.
Josh in CharlotteNC (profile), 11 May 2012 @ 9:20am
Re: Why?
Ok I just have to ask. Why is it that we hear so much from these trade groups and so little from the people that they "represent"?
The trade groups don't represent the artists, they represent the labels/studios.
The trade groups also exist to deflect outcry against unpopular ideas away from the labels. Even on Techdirt, I would bet that half of the average commenters who use the term "MAFIAA" would have trouble naming the big labels and studios. Just like in political campaigns, SuperPACs are able to get away with running the most negative and inaccurate ads without causing the candidate they are aligned with much backlash.
Josh in CharlotteNC (profile), 10 May 2012 @ 2:53pm
Speaking of cabals...
The mind boggles. I may have to stop reading Techdirt because Mike goes and quotes things so astoundingly insane that it breaks my brain. Please Mike, think of those without paradox-absorbing-crumple-zones.
What this may mean is that a small, rich, vocal cabal of music fans could grow to have an undue impact on the way music progresses, as artists within this direct patronage model have to appease those that put food on their table.
Replace one word here: "fans" to "executives" - and you'd have much of what was wrong with the recording industry for decades. And instead of most of the money from fans getting to the artists as with Kickstarter, almost nothing went from the executives to the artists (except for the miniscule number of superstars).
On the post: Can You Understand How Technology Works Without Understanding Code?
Re: Byte my Bits!
Writing anything beyond 'Hello world.' requires logical thought process, something which is sorely lacking in politics and many other places in society.
On the post: When Games Allow Mods, Beautiful Things Can Happen
and
And offer it for sale in a convenient manner (Steam) at a reasonable price ($30).
Imagine if the only way to buy it legally was via a physical disc. Or if it cost $60.
On the post: Feds Tie Themselves In Legal Knots Arguing For Domain Forfeiture In Rojadirecta Case
Re:
Just because copyright infringement happened doesn't necessarily mean it was criminal copyright infringement.
On the post: Economist: Copyright Is An Antiquated Relic That Has No Place In The Digital Age
Re: What a nightmare!
Its not registering "just" to be eligible, its so that the tax credit can be claimed by your supporters. There doesn't appear to be anything stopping someone from not registering and just requesting non-tax-exempt donations (like via Kickstarter).
What constitutes fraud?
What constitutes art? Just because you don't like something, or don't think its art, doesn't mean that it isn't.
Only rich people can use tax credits.
That's not so much of an issue with the procedure, but a failing in the tax system. And again, there's still nothing stopping someone from donating and not worrying about the tax credit portion.
Someone will feel ripped off.
then no one is going to invest.
And again, you are worrying about the wrong things.
People who are giving money to artists are not only doing it to get a monetary benefit, or to get some product. We are doing it to support the artists, to support their work, and to support art in general.
Why is it so difficult to understand that not all actions are entirely based on a monetary benefit? Yes, I work and get a paycheck - but I get more out of my job than just a paycheck, I get the knowledge that I'm helping to secure my employer's computers, and thus our customer's information and billions of their dollars and investments. And I realize that coming from someone who works at a bank, this sounds weird - but it's not just about the money.
On the post: Feds Tie Themselves In Legal Knots Arguing For Domain Forfeiture In Rojadirecta Case
Re:
Somehow, the US government has convinced itself, or been convinced by someone, that Puerto 80 indeed created a self aware artificial intelligence, and that entity did not reside on the servers, but in the domain names. Thus, they must sieze the domain names to prevent the extinction of biological life, or more likely, to control it so the government gets to decide what it decides to exterminate.
On the post: Wil Wheaton Reminds Us That Torrents Are Awesome, And Not Just For Pirated Movies
Re: Re:
Last Sunday's Game of Thrones 1.3GB episode downloaded in less time it took to walk downstairs, nuke something in the microwave, and walk back up.
On the post: Who Needs SOPA When Courts Will Pretend SOPA Already Exists?
Re: Re: Re: Re: Re:
Would it be the court in the Dajaz case? Hmm, no. Mooo.com? Nope. Megaupload? Nope.
Keep spinning. Maybe you'll get good at it one day.
On the post: Very Few Companies Fight Back Against Patriot Act Gag Orders
Hold on...
But we need CISPA so that private companies will share information with the government!
On the post: UK ISPs Are Already Planning To Offer Porn Filters -- So Who Needs New Legislation?
Re:
But that flies in the face of 6000 years of the dominant organized religions. We all know that the beliefs of bronze age people are much more important than anything we could possibly think of today.
/s
On the post: Microsoft-Funded BitTorrent Disruptor Won't Make Pirates Pay, But Might Break The Law
Re: Re: Re:
This briefly worked back when Morpheus/Kazaa/Limewire were the main sources. Two things happened: they started to implement peer based ratings, then the copyright holders killed those networks off (kinda). Pirates moved on to the next platforms, and now anyone who regularly uses torrents knows to pay attention to the ratings and comments which fill up quickly with "Fake" for that stuff.
You can't fight automated with manual
Tell that to China, with their near inexhaustible supply of cheap labor. Tell that to the spammers who blow through CAPTCHAs with ease by using humans en masse who think they're doing something else.
On the post: Microsoft-Funded BitTorrent Disruptor Won't Make Pirates Pay, But Might Break The Law
Re: Re:
Thanks for the link, though. I especially liked the part about Microsoft contributing 20k lines of code for server virtualization, and after a few years of work, that part is down to 7k, and is now less buggy and supports more devices. Hadn't heard that one before.
On the post: Judge Ridicules Oracle's Risky Choice To Forego Statutory Damages And Seek Bigger Payout
9 cents
9 lines of infringing code / 15 million lines of code * $150,000 = $0.09 = 9 cents
On the post: It's Amazing The Lengths 'Music Supporters' Will Go To In Trying To Trash Success Stories
Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Speaking of cabals...
I guess the sarcasm didn't come through on the first part, but my brain was still recovering from the astoundingly insane quote.
On the post: After the German Pirate Party's String Of Successes, Here Comes The Backlash
Re:
On the post: Game Of Thrones On Track To Be Most Pirated Show Of 2012; Pirates Still Asking HBO For Legitimate Options
Re: Legitimate versions? Try getting a cable subscription!
I'll pay $5 per episode of GOT. Why does HBO want me to buy cable when they would make LESS money from me if they offered a downloadable option themselves, plus force me to pay for a whole bunch of crap I don't want or need?
Time Warner price list for my area:
Digital TV $85.49/mo
If bundled with Time Warner Cable Internet $82.49/mo
Equipment
Digital Box (Each) $6.46 ea/mo
Universal Remote Control $0.36 ea/mo
Premium Channels
One premiums $15.99/mo
Standard Internet (10 Mbps download, 1 Mbps upload)
Standalone $57.95/mo
With Digital TV $50.45/mo
Ok, so for 10 episodes of GOT per season, HBO would get $50 from me if they offered a DRM-free HD downloadable option online.
However, if I buy cable, even if Time Warner gives them every penny of the premium subscription (which they don't), they'd get $47.98. And I would need to pay an extra $396.78 above that for something I don't need.
So, thanks, but no thanks. I'll pirate it.
I'm not costing them a penny. They are refusing to give me an option to pay them $50, for content they have already made and in which they could trivially setup a way to sell it to me.
On the post: SOPA Supporters Urge White House To Use Secretive TPP Process To Insert Draconian New IP Laws
Re:
Many companies and interest groups give money to both sides in campaigns.
This, by the way, is the definition of political corruption.
On the post: SOPA Supporters Urge White House To Use Secretive TPP Process To Insert Draconian New IP Laws
Re: Why?
The trade groups don't represent the artists, they represent the labels/studios.
The trade groups also exist to deflect outcry against unpopular ideas away from the labels. Even on Techdirt, I would bet that half of the average commenters who use the term "MAFIAA" would have trouble naming the big labels and studios. Just like in political campaigns, SuperPACs are able to get away with running the most negative and inaccurate ads without causing the candidate they are aligned with much backlash.
On the post: Old Habits Or New Envy? Microsoft Bans 3rd Party Browsers On Windows RT
Re:
On the post: Indian ISPs Told To Block Access To Vimeo
Re: Vimeo
http://vimeo.com/29950141
On the post: It's Amazing The Lengths 'Music Supporters' Will Go To In Trying To Trash Success Stories
Speaking of cabals...
What this may mean is that a small, rich, vocal cabal of music fans could grow to have an undue impact on the way music progresses, as artists within this direct patronage model have to appease those that put food on their table.
Replace one word here: "fans" to "executives" - and you'd have much of what was wrong with the recording industry for decades. And instead of most of the money from fans getting to the artists as with Kickstarter, almost nothing went from the executives to the artists (except for the miniscule number of superstars).
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