If after SEVENTEEN YEARS you disagree with Mike so much, WHY do you continue to come here and comment? Is it because it is free? Wait, you said that low quality is what you get for free. I guess that explains why I don't pay for your comments and I really would not miss them one bit if you started charging.
Australia is on board and our government often acts as if we are the 51st state of the United States so I bet you it is "us" making the agreement so bad.
I say "us" because I am Australian and I am in no way involved in stuff like this and I refuse to be associated with it!
If we look at it on a purely legal basis, Ed probably does belong in jail. I think what he did was good and right and morally correct and I'm glad he did it but on a purely legal basis he did break the law.
The thing is, if the law is supposed to uphold our morals then the law is failing us.
I'll tell you how seeing a movie at home can help cinemas. How often have you seen a movie and thought "Man I wish I could see this at the cinema!" but because it's months (or even years) since it was at the cinema, too bad.
I saw "Star Wars" on TV in 1994 (at age 15) and went "Wow! I wish I could see this on the big screen". Three years later I (sort of) got my wish. Now could we please have a few more re-releases internationally?
...in many countries, hey. Well, I uploaded some old cartoons that are public domain in many countries because they are over 70 years old and their coopyright has expired but they were blocked worldwide.
I disputed the claim, pointing out (without profanity, which I felt plenty of) that the cartoons were public domain due to copyright expiring and that, yes, I understood they would be blocked in the USA as they are still under copyright there, but a worldwide block was a bit off.
The claim was upheld, so I sent up another cartoon, knowing it would probably be blocked and indeed it was, despite the fact that the copyright on it had expired in like 90% of the world in 2009. Again I was polite, pointing out that the copyright had expired in most countries thus making it public domain, which YouTube failed to cover in their "Learn more about copyright" section.
But then I ended with my rude bit, which was "If you can't respect our country's copyright laws, why the fuck should we respect yours?"
However, I did not get a response, nor do I expect to recieve one. However, this to me raises the point: Do we have the public domain, or do we have the same laws across all countries just becuse the USA says so? I am in Australia, our copyright tends to expire after 70 years for films.
Those albums may have been hits but they didn't spend years floating in and out of the sales chart. Even "The Wall" doesn't have the sales of "Dark Side". I do wonder, though, how much did they "owe" EMI for each album up to "Dark Side" considering their next album was with CBS/Columbia?
Gotta remember, their first few albums weren't even hits. Until "Dark Side Of The Moon" it was Pink Who? How much did they "owe" EMI before that album?
But I thought North Korea was cut off from the internet. So how can they go hacking? (I'm not convinced they were responsible for the Sony hack either!)
Oh no! Their show will have to run extra long on June 30 as it always starts at 11:59 and 59 seconds! Actually, Comedy Central will probably just run an extra commercial.
Our area has already abolished car registration stickers in favour of license plate readers. The reaction seems to have been non existent. Now excuse me while I tap the smart card to pay my fare for public transport. *ding* They won't track me, I don't have a car, I take the train.
I was with TPG. Their service was OK but their customer service was abysmal, with overseas call centre operators who would parrot out a script ("Reboot your modem, while you're on the phone with us, or we won't talk to you!") then get stuck and send out a technician.
We jumped ship to Internode, who were a little more expensive but we figured it would be worth it. We have had almost no problems with the service and their customer service is the best in the world! A self-owned call centre full of people who know what they are talking about and very helpful and very friendly and not in the least bit patronising. If you want a lesson in customer service, they are a shining example.
Shortly after we joined Internode as our ISP, they were bought by iiNet, about a couple of months later. So far nothing has changed. But if TPG's customer service is anything to go by, God help iiNet's customers! We are rapidly turning into the U.S. in terms of how many ISP's we have available. In fact, many TPG customers joined iiNet or Intenode to get away from TPG and are now considering Telstra and Optus for their ISP's, something previously unimaginable.
So if TPG's customer service is anything to go by, all iiNet customers will soon be merely a cash cow with no care and little responsibility taken, if any.
Why? Because most of what we watch on there isn't on DVD or the streaming services. But that's OK, because our DVR takes care of what time we watch it and commercials are simply fast-forward-ed anyway.
To be honest, we don't have "the full package" and soon we will have less channels than we currently do (unless we pay $20 per month extra because the price went up) but again it's OK because they're just channels we seldom watched anyway.
Mind you, if the price goes up again next year, we will wrap up watching what we are currently watching and dump them like a hot potato!
The state of New South Wales in Australia has done away with registration tickets and is relying solely on automatic license plate readers to determine if your car registration is up to date or not.
On the post: Funniest/Most Insightful Comments Of The Week At Techdirt
Why?
On the post: Australia's SOPA Gets The Green Light
Re:
On the post: Meet RCEP: Yet Another Big Bad Trade Agreement No One Has Heard Of
Australia
I say "us" because I am Australian and I am in no way involved in stuff like this and I refuse to be associated with it!
On the post: Twitter Just Cut Off Politwoops In Another Effort To Keep The Platform Closed
It does Tell Us Something
Which tells us nothing...
No, it tells us that Twitter is full of shit!
On the post: Elected Officials Grudgingly Admit Snowden Forced This Debate On Surveillance... As White House Insists He Belongs In Jail
Morals?
The thing is, if the law is supposed to uphold our morals then the law is failing us.
On the post: This Week In Techdirt History: May 17th - 23rd
Home Video Vs Cinemas
I saw "Star Wars" on TV in 1994 (at age 15) and went "Wow! I wish I could see this on the big screen". Three years later I (sort of) got my wish. Now could we please have a few more re-releases internationally?
On the post: YouTube Reinstates Metal Gear Video Konami Took Down, Warns Konami Not To Be Jerks
YouTube And The Public Domain
I disputed the claim, pointing out (without profanity, which I felt plenty of) that the cartoons were public domain due to copyright expiring and that, yes, I understood they would be blocked in the USA as they are still under copyright there, but a worldwide block was a bit off.
The claim was upheld, so I sent up another cartoon, knowing it would probably be blocked and indeed it was, despite the fact that the copyright on it had expired in like 90% of the world in 2009. Again I was polite, pointing out that the copyright had expired in most countries thus making it public domain, which YouTube failed to cover in their "Learn more about copyright" section.
But then I ended with my rude bit, which was "If you can't respect our country's copyright laws, why the fuck should we respect yours?"
However, I did not get a response, nor do I expect to recieve one. However, this to me raises the point: Do we have the public domain, or do we have the same laws across all countries just becuse the USA says so? I am in Australia, our copyright tends to expire after 70 years for films.
On the post: Pink Floyd's Roger Waters Declares Silicon Valley A 'Gallery Of Rogues And Thieves'
Re: Re: Re: Pink Floyd
Close: Australia. Small town Australia at that.
Those albums may have been hits but they didn't spend years floating in and out of the sales chart. Even "The Wall" doesn't have the sales of "Dark Side". I do wonder, though, how much did they "owe" EMI for each album up to "Dark Side" considering their next album was with CBS/Columbia?
On the post: Pink Floyd's Roger Waters Declares Silicon Valley A 'Gallery Of Rogues And Thieves'
Pink Floyd
On the post: Pentagon Also Looking To Set Up A Branch Office In The Silicon Valley
Re: North Korean Hackers?
On the post: DailyDirt: Time, Time, Time. See What's Become Of..
Using The Extra Second
I'm going to turn my foreplay into fiveplay!
On the post: DailyDirt: Time, Time, Time. See What's Become Of..
@midnight
On the post: YouTuber Angry Joe Swears Off Nintendo Videos After The Company Claimed His Mario Party 10 Take
Re: Re: Re: Pure, endless greed
On the post: DHS Takes Another Stab At License Plate Database, But This Time With More Privacy Protections And Transparency
New South Wales, Australia
On the post: Australian Court Says Dallas Buyers Club Copyright Trolling May Proceed, With Some Caveats
TPG Customer Service
We jumped ship to Internode, who were a little more expensive but we figured it would be worth it. We have had almost no problems with the service and their customer service is the best in the world! A self-owned call centre full of people who know what they are talking about and very helpful and very friendly and not in the least bit patronising. If you want a lesson in customer service, they are a shining example.
Shortly after we joined Internode as our ISP, they were bought by iiNet, about a couple of months later. So far nothing has changed. But if TPG's customer service is anything to go by, God help iiNet's customers! We are rapidly turning into the U.S. in terms of how many ISP's we have available. In fact, many TPG customers joined iiNet or Intenode to get away from TPG and are now considering Telstra and Optus for their ISP's, something previously unimaginable.
So if TPG's customer service is anything to go by, all iiNet customers will soon be merely a cash cow with no care and little responsibility taken, if any.
On the post: USPTO Demands EFF Censor Its Comments On Patentable Subject Matter
Striesand Effect
On the post: Cord Cutting Denial Is Alive And Well
We ADDED Cable Just Last Year!
To be honest, we don't have "the full package" and soon we will have less channels than we currently do (unless we pay $20 per month extra because the price went up) but again it's OK because they're just channels we seldom watched anyway.
Mind you, if the price goes up again next year, we will wrap up watching what we are currently watching and dump them like a hot potato!
On the post: Congressional Rep. John Carter Discovers Encryption; Worries It May One Day Be Used On Computers To Protect Your Data
Re: Who Is Watching C-SPAN
On the post: Cops To Congress: Please Leave Us And Our License Plates Readers Alone
New South Wales, Australia
On the post: Open Letter To Key EU Copyright Working Group Calls For 'Balanced Representation Of Views'
That Stupid Berne Convention
Next >>