I can see it now. The coming tattoo fashion trend...
(Tattooist) Hello, what can I do for you today?
(Customer) Hi, I'm gonna be coaching little league next month and I have to go get a Federal BioMetric Scan done, so what do you have in the "Stick-it-to-the-Man" category. Something large enough to go on my left butt cheek that will look good in their database and really 'pop' on the TSA data terminals.
(Tattooist) Well, quite a bit really. Let's see here. Here's a nice middle finger graphic...
(Customer)..Oh, I like the golden rays of light radiating out from the finger. Nice.
(Tattooist) ...and here's a popular one. J. Edgar Hoover in a cocktail dress...a customer last week had me add a string of pearls to the neckline, just there. And here's a big favorite...large block letter text of "KISS THIS, G-MAN!"
"When copies are free, you need to sell things which can not be copied."
So how do you keep people in the recording and other digitizable content industies from interpreting the above mantra as "Slap DRM on everything!".
How do you break the "DRM Works Myth" cycle? And why is the first stop on this frustration train, always a search for a technological solution? What is it about people that makes it so hard for them to get beyond the "Lock it Down" mentality? Is it possibly because that in nature, there is no equivalent to "Infinite Goods"?
Air comes to mind as a possible "Infinite Good". Nobody fights over air. (Yet?)
Ahhh... But I am in no way an "Apple FanBoy". These were the first Apple products I have ever purchased.
Why?
Because I was sick and damned tired of shitty software in cell phones. The stuff was making me furious to the point of being routinely livid. I am a software engineer and I know how EASY it is to do this RIGHT. But RIGHT was clearly not what any of the US cell companies were interested in. The iPhone software just works and does not insult my intelligence, nor waste my time, nor attempts to distract me with mindless teenager targeted eye candy nonsense. It respects me.
Am I completely satisfied? No. But I went from 2% satisfied to 95% satisfied in $400. Not bad, actually.
And even though Apple may have not learned from this experience, I'm fairly sure companies like FIC ARE, and are positioning themselves to take that 1.7 million unit market and grow that into a 25 million unit market with an open source iPhone clone.
I have no visibility on how many boxed phones are still in the channel but 700K of them sounds excessive.
Personally, I account for 3 of those missed AT&T activations. I won't do business with AT&T. I hate cell companies as it is. My parents taught me that "contracts are for suckers". So T-Mobile and I have an understanding. They keep their network up, and I'll keep buying pre-paid time.
When the iPhone came out I was thrilled with the software inside. For once, it wasn't a sensless, scatterbrained collection of endless drill downs slathered with teeny-twit color candy.
As soon as the JailBreak and Unlock was announced, I bought one for me, my wife and daughter.
As happy as I am, I'm still not satisfied as a customer. I want the AT&T lock removed from the phone. I want to write my own applications for the phone. Why?? BECAUSE IT IS NOT A DAMN PHONE!!! It is a quarter-tablet personal computer with a cell phone modem in it.
I am no different than millions of others. Why can't some company give me what I want? Why do they keep walking away from my money???
The next generation of content users have learned something important: it's no longer reasonable to take it on faith that content they don't have access to is good and worth paying for. They need to have access to the content itself, and will figure out for themselves if it's valuable -- and if it is, they'll want to do more with it than just read it. They want to share it, vote on it, discuss it, analyze it and many other things. Locking up the content makes it a lot more difficult and takes away much of the value. Taking away value from consumers isn't exactly a strategy for success these days.
Mike...
I am generally very impressed with your insights and written communications skills, and this paragraph stands out as probably some of your best work.
Your work also has a strong ethical undercurrent which hopefully others are picking up on.
"That's what makes it perverted. Men can get away with being sexually comfortable, but woman are labeled with all sorts of negative stereotypes. Some of those stereotypes can damage a young woman for life. Therefore, what's bad for one should be bad for the other. What's good for one should be good for the other. Equality."
Huh??
Equality is a totally artifical concept and has no basis in nature.
You would think me a loon if I insisted (like in Monty Python's "Life of Brian" ) that I be called "Loretta" and started demanding my "equality" to have a baby. Nevermind that whole not having a womb thing.
Men and Women are different. And I thank the Universe everyday I am reminded of that fact. If you're not happy with the way society treats women, you might try developing some strength of character and dropping the "Victim Mentality" and try serving the result up as a roll model for other women.
Hey, did I just ask you to "Man Up"?
See how easy it is to fall into the "You Should Be More Like Me/Us" trap??
Yes, while I don't buy any "emotional abuse" arguments in this situation, paternity IS a possibility and a 14 year old is too young to shoulder that decision/risk.
Still...How I would have longed to have been "groomed" by my junior high school spanish teacher.
The double standard is actually an internal conflict for males.
Even if the RIAA/IFPI pulled the must unlikely and spectacular turn-around and produced a star-studded topless mia culpa where they actually gave back all the money taken in legal actions from fans THREE times over, the "Label" era of the recording industry would still be over.
Democratization of production, distribution and marketing is here to stay. Social Networking and Media site evolution were the last pieces of the puzzle.
"Now, as we've said from the beginning, if Comcast feels it needs to do this kind of traffic shaping, that's one thing -- but there's simply no good reason (and a number of bad ones) not to be upfront and let its customers know about this."
...But wouldn't this kind of consumer fraud (non-disclosure of terms of service) be more of an action for the Federal Trade Commision's Bureau of Consumer Protection?
From Wikipedia:
The Bureau of Consumer Protection’s mandate is to protect consumers against "unfair" or deceptive acts or practices in commerce. With the written consent of the Commission, Bureau attorneys enforce federal laws related to consumer affairs as well as rules promulgated by the FTC. Its functions include investigations, enforcement actions, and consumer and business education. Areas of principal concern for this bureau are: advertising and marketing, financial products and practices, telemarketing fraud, privacy and identity protection etc. The bureau also is responsible for the United States National Do Not Call Registry.
Back when we was cool and hangin' together, everytime he'd get good and coked up, that crazy so-an-so would spend about two god damned hours doing nothin but insulting Turkishness.
You should have heard some of that blisterin sh*t he layed down about Ataturk.
Yes, to their credit, they are doing the right thing, but they are also doing it to proactively keep operating expenses down in the future. DMCA notices take touch labor to process and document.
Darn. I must have gotten up on the cynical side of my bed this morning!
On the post: FBI Wants To Build Huge Biometric Database
Tattoos Too!
(Tattooist) Hello, what can I do for you today?
(Customer) Hi, I'm gonna be coaching little league next month and I have to go get a Federal BioMetric Scan done, so what do you have in the "Stick-it-to-the-Man" category. Something large enough to go on my left butt cheek that will look good in their database and really 'pop' on the TSA data terminals.
(Tattooist) Well, quite a bit really. Let's see here. Here's a nice middle finger graphic...
(Customer)..Oh, I like the golden rays of light radiating out from the finger. Nice.
(Tattooist) ...and here's a popular one. J. Edgar Hoover in a cocktail dress...a customer last week had me add a string of pearls to the neckline, just there. And here's a big favorite...large block letter text of "KISS THIS, G-MAN!"
And so on...
On the post: Kevin Kelly's Eight Key Scarcities
But isn't this what the record companies tried to
So how do you keep people in the recording and other digitizable content industies from interpreting the above mantra as "Slap DRM on everything!".
How do you break the "DRM Works Myth" cycle? And why is the first stop on this frustration train, always a search for a technological solution? What is it about people that makes it so hard for them to get beyond the "Lock it Down" mentality? Is it possibly because that in nature, there is no equivalent to "Infinite Goods"?
Air comes to mind as a possible "Infinite Good". Nobody fights over air. (Yet?)
On the post: Wall Street Noticing That The Math On iPhones Doesn't Add Up
Re: Re: I am 3 of those 1.7 million.
Why?
Because I was sick and damned tired of shitty software in cell phones. The stuff was making me furious to the point of being routinely livid. I am a software engineer and I know how EASY it is to do this RIGHT. But RIGHT was clearly not what any of the US cell companies were interested in. The iPhone software just works and does not insult my intelligence, nor waste my time, nor attempts to distract me with mindless teenager targeted eye candy nonsense. It respects me.
Am I completely satisfied? No. But I went from 2% satisfied to 95% satisfied in $400. Not bad, actually.
And even though Apple may have not learned from this experience, I'm fairly sure companies like FIC ARE, and are positioning themselves to take that 1.7 million unit market and grow that into a 25 million unit market with an open source iPhone clone.
Alan
On the post: Wall Street Noticing That The Math On iPhones Doesn't Add Up
I am 3 of those 1.7 million.
Personally, I account for 3 of those missed AT&T activations. I won't do business with AT&T. I hate cell companies as it is. My parents taught me that "contracts are for suckers". So T-Mobile and I have an understanding. They keep their network up, and I'll keep buying pre-paid time.
When the iPhone came out I was thrilled with the software inside. For once, it wasn't a sensless, scatterbrained collection of endless drill downs slathered with teeny-twit color candy.
As soon as the JailBreak and Unlock was announced, I bought one for me, my wife and daughter.
As happy as I am, I'm still not satisfied as a customer. I want the AT&T lock removed from the phone. I want to write my own applications for the phone. Why?? BECAUSE IT IS NOT A DAMN PHONE!!! It is a quarter-tablet personal computer with a cell phone modem in it.
I am no different than millions of others. Why can't some company give me what I want? Why do they keep walking away from my money???
On the post: Dow Jones Execs Talk Murdoch Out Of Dropping The Paywall
Wow...
Mike...
I am generally very impressed with your insights and written communications skills, and this paragraph stands out as probably some of your best work.
Your work also has a strong ethical undercurrent which hopefully others are picking up on.
On the post: Latest Fear Mongering Report: Parents! Pedophile Teachers Are Text Messaging Your Kids! Be Afraid!
TheDock22 / Equality
Huh??
Equality is a totally artifical concept and has no basis in nature.
You would think me a loon if I insisted (like in Monty Python's "Life of Brian" ) that I be called "Loretta" and started demanding my "equality" to have a baby. Nevermind that whole not having a womb thing.
Men and Women are different. And I thank the Universe everyday I am reminded of that fact. If you're not happy with the way society treats women, you might try developing some strength of character and dropping the "Victim Mentality" and try serving the result up as a roll model for other women.
Hey, did I just ask you to "Man Up"?
See how easy it is to fall into the "You Should Be More Like Me/Us" trap??
On the post: Latest Fear Mongering Report: Parents! Pedophile Teachers Are Text Messaging Your Kids! Be Afraid!
Re: Double standard..
Still...How I would have longed to have been "groomed" by my junior high school spanish teacher.
The double standard is actually an internal conflict for males.
On the post: EMI Threatens To Leave IFPI
Thom is Right.
Democratization of production, distribution and marketing is here to stay. Social Networking and Media site evolution were the last pieces of the puzzle.
On the post: Prince Takes Down Another Video With His Music Playing In The Background
An Open Letter to Prince's Mom.
Your son is behaving badly. Please do something about it.
Thank you.
Signed,
GeneralEmergency on behalf of the rest of the planet.
On the post: FCC To Investigate Comcast Filtering; Questions Why Comcast Wasn't Forthcoming
Ummm....I'm confused.
...But wouldn't this kind of consumer fraud (non-disclosure of terms of service) be more of an action for the Federal Trade Commision's Bureau of Consumer Protection?
From Wikipedia:
The Bureau of Consumer Protection’s mandate is to protect consumers against "unfair" or deceptive acts or practices in commerce. With the written consent of the Commission, Bureau attorneys enforce federal laws related to consumer affairs as well as rules promulgated by the FTC. Its functions include investigations, enforcement actions, and consumer and business education. Areas of principal concern for this bureau are: advertising and marketing, financial products and practices, telemarketing fraud, privacy and identity protection etc. The bureau also is responsible for the United States National Do Not Call Registry.
On the post: Did Amazon Cash In Big On Oprah Viewers' Confusion?
I was actually hoping that TechDirt was...
(Sigh.)
On the post: Thailand Sliding Down The Slippery Slope Of Net Censorship
Another thing about the King of Thailand...
You should have heard some of that blisterin sh*t he layed down about Ataturk.
Burns my ears just rememberin some of it!
On the post: Thailand Sliding Down The Slippery Slope Of Net Censorship
The King?? The King of Thailand???
I've called him ten times in the last two months and whenever someone does pick up, I keep getting the same old "He's out washing his Elephants" line.
Man, I am so Cheesed.
A word of advice... Never, ever, loan the King of Thailand money for hookers.
On the post: eBay Strikes Back, Sues For Frivolous DMCA Takedowns
Let's not be too proud of eBay here...
Darn. I must have gotten up on the cynical side of my bed this morning!
On the post: Patent Attorney Ups Bounty On Troll Tracker, Apparently Doesn't Like Anonymous Speech
Here we go again....
I am the Patent Troll Tracker.
Why are patent attorneys such asshats?
On the post: The Porn Parallel To Viacom Suing YouTube: Vivid Sues PornoTube
Re: exciting job
On the post: NSFW Trademark Actually NSF Those Without Humor
Hmmm...
On the post: Clean-Tech Bubble? How Cliche
Drat!
Pay more attention to market trends and sell off the stocks of tech companies that still use "IsDirty" bits or flags.
Whew!
On the post: Can Someone Channel Ron Paul Supporter Energy For Good Instead Of Annoyance?
The real RonPaul question for TechDirt is...
And can free "Political Lunacy" be part of a viable business model?
Hmmmm, Did I cross the line there just now?
On the post: Would A Customized Newspaper Save The Industry?
Reading "Papers" is primitive and backward!
Any besides, think of those wasted trees!
If all of that paper did not get made, think of how many more Witches we could burn with that wood!
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