If you think about it, a mail truck with a load of Netflix DVD's has awesome bandwidth. Who needs fiber to the curb when we already have the USPS delivering to the curb? USPS FTW!
>>The entertainment cartels were here first - why should they have to change because some filthy pirates are stealing their money?
Actually, no. Musicians, poets, authors and other artists were around long before the entertainment cartels. And the modus operandi of artists was (and still is) to be inspired by and draw on the works of others.
Then cartels developed to "help" the artists, but even that charade is gone now. The entertainment cartels use crooked accounting and other methods to avoid paying artists. The filthy cartels are stealing their money.
At least the cable execs know the term "cable cutting" and are at the stage of being in denial. There are people upstream from them that seem to be assuming that cable TV will be their main programming outlet forever.
One day very soon there are going to be a lot of network and sports executives that are going to wake up and realize that their main outlet for the last few decades has dried up. They will realize that people have moved to all of those Internet outlets that the networks have neglected for so long. All of that stuff that they had considered "Premium Content" that the networks produce is not going to be in much demand because the alternative channels have already filled with alternative and reasonably priced content.
It seems like SmartMetric is being rather dumb about some of the basics of patent trolling.
First, a lawsuit troll generally benefits by filing the same or a similar suit against multiple companies. The troll gets some economies of scale because they can reuse a lot of their legal research. On the other hand, each defendant is likely to have to either do all of the research from scratch or hire an expensive specialty law firm to handle the case. Refiling an almost identical suit against the same defendant means that they also get to reuse their legal research.
Second, most trolls are hoping for a settlement. Suing a firm that is willing and able to defend itself in court pretty much rules out the route to a quick ROI.
Perhaps in this case SmartMetric thinks they have a chance of winning. But if that is the case, they probably need to get some new legal council. SmartMetric has already lost the case once and judges are notoriously cranky when it comes to refiling a lawsuit that has already been decided, especially if it is done in the same jurisdiction.
Basically we need a third party in the middle. Some type of fiscally conservative, clean government, keep-the-government- out-of-our-lives type of platform. (And no, I don't mean the Tea Party. They fail on at least two of the three criteria.)
In the long run third parties themselves have always died away in the US, but only because one of the other two parties adopts their agenda.
It is good to know that there is a way to stop sharing. I was preparing to cancel my Spotify account.
I still might cancel it because I don't like the way they have handled this. Now that they have pulled this stunt they have lost my trust. I don't fully trust any online service, but once a service proves that my lack of trust is justified I usually don't go back.
>>In the interest of being a freetard and helping you out, I will offer some assistance on making this definition for you.
>>Cyberlockers are herein defined as online storage that does not allow any of its ones or zeros to be used for infringing purposes.
Fail: You can upload infringing content to things like dropbox or Box.net. Or to your flash drive or your hard disk. Any system for storing files can store infringing files as well as non-infringing.
If they kill off cyberlockers now, it will clear the decks so that the next big thing that the MPAA hates can develop without competition from cyberlockers.
I have no idea what the next big thing is, but I am positive that the MPAA will hate it and proclaim that whatever it is will destroy the US economy and western civilization.
>>This just proves that people are unwilling to pay a fair price.
In a free market the producer does not dictate the price. It is not up to the producer to set a "fair price." The producer always has a price that they want or hope to get, but it is the consumers that get to decide what they are willing to pay for the product.
The $30 price just proves once again that the movie industry overvalues its content. Customers are just not willing to pay as much as the studios want them to pay. Lesson for the MPAA: "Consumer sovereignty's a bitch."
The reaction of movie theaters shows once again that many people in the industry don't understand that people go to movies for the "going to a movie" experience. But in my weaker moments I do feel bad for theater owners who are stuck in the very small pricing zone between the exorbitant royalties they have to send to the studios and the amount that customers are willing to pay. It leaves them very little room to improve the movie-going experience that customers actually want.
A good definition of software would be wonderful but let's face it, the current situation is so bad that a ban on software patents without a good definition of software would still be better than the current situation.
>>That last section seems to highlight and dare i say, praise, a record label. I thought Mike wanted all of them to die in a fire, and have them give everything away for free. That's the impression I get from some of the posters around here.
The label he is praising is an indie label that is willing to adapt to changing market conditions, not one of the RIAA companies who think they can use a Wayback Machine to turn back time to the 1970's when the big labels had life easy.
It isn't accurate to say we want the big labels to die. Most of the RIAA critics here are in fact big music fans, as is Mike himself. I think most of us here would like to see the big labels adapt to marketplace realities rather than trying to get the government to artificially prop them up. That would be good for music.
I think there is one main group that is trying to kill off the major labels. That group is the RIAA. The RIAA is dedicated to making sure that the major labels remain united in their drive to commit group suicide.
>>Is this a regional thing? I'd never heard of this meaning for flashing headlights before.
I think it is a case of dying out rather than being regional. People who were on the road a lot used to use the flashing light signals. Because it involved interstate travel it wasn't really regional.
Generally truckers use one flash of the lights as a sign of recognition or to say thanks. Truckers used to use two or three flashes as a signal for a cop ahead. CB radios reduced the need. Now GPS and computer baby sitters that log or govern truck speed have greatly reduced the number of trucks that actually speed, and therefore you don't see nearly as many truckers signalling for speed traps as you did 30 or 40 years ago.
The nature of speed traps has also changed. In the 1950's and 60's speed traps were a pretty big deal to set up. They usually involved at least two police cars with one anchored in one spot for an extended period of time. Modern speed traps are much more mobile. With current technology, by the time you get a signal about a speed trap, it is likely to be gone.
Look at the picture of Obama signing the patent "reform" bill. He was surrounded by big pharma reps and their Congressional lapdogs with a few folk from the chemical industry thrown in to provide some variety.
Actually, it sounds to me like the BBB is the one who is engaged in "activities that reflect unfavorably on, or adversely affect the public image of the BBB or its Accredited Businesses."
The letter itself certainly reflects unfavorably on the BBB. They are dropping FeeFighter just because they don't like to be questioned about an activity that looks like it really, really needs to be questioned.
The Tea Party has no objection to the government making decisions about your private life. In fact they support it.
The difference is that the Tea Party thinks that it is fine if its own biases and prejudices are used to make the decisions about my private life.
Once you get past the IP issues, the Pirate Party's main themes seem to be "get government out of our private lives" and "stop corporate welfare."
There is a lot of sentiment along those lines in the US population. As our two parties seem to seek the extremes there are a lot of people in the middle who are sick of the whole thing. If the Pirate Party presented itself properly in the US I could see it getting a following very quickly. Passing things like Protect IP and ACTA could give a US Pirate Party a huge boost.
On the post: New US Postal Service Ad Campaign: Email Sucks, So Mail Stuff Instead
Re:
If you think about it, a mail truck with a load of Netflix DVD's has awesome bandwidth. Who needs fiber to the curb when we already have the USPS delivering to the curb? USPS FTW!
On the post: Everything Old Is New Again: 7 Years Ago Someone Else Tried To Sue WiFi Hotspot Operators Too
Of course with our current screwed up patent system it is entirely possible that someone has gotten a new patent on 20 year old technology.
On the post: FBI Successful In Breaking Up Yet Another Of Its Own Plots To Bomb The US
Of course they wouldn't do that. They would not want to step on ATF's turf.
On the post: Disney 'Analyst': My Lack Of Imagination Necessitates Passage Of PROTECT IP
Re:
Actually, no. Musicians, poets, authors and other artists were around long before the entertainment cartels. And the modus operandi of artists was (and still is) to be inspired by and draw on the works of others.
Then cartels developed to "help" the artists, but even that charade is gone now. The entertainment cartels use crooked accounting and other methods to avoid paying artists. The filthy cartels are stealing their money.
On the post: Time Warner Cable CEO Remains In Denial About Cord Cutting
One day very soon there are going to be a lot of network and sports executives that are going to wake up and realize that their main outlet for the last few decades has dried up. They will realize that people have moved to all of those Internet outlets that the networks have neglected for so long. All of that stuff that they had considered "Premium Content" that the networks produce is not going to be in much demand because the alternative channels have already filled with alternative and reasonably priced content.
On the post: Righthaven Loses (Big Time) In Colorado As Well
On the post: If At First You Don't Succeed As A Patent Troll, Just Sue Again
First, a lawsuit troll generally benefits by filing the same or a similar suit against multiple companies. The troll gets some economies of scale because they can reuse a lot of their legal research. On the other hand, each defendant is likely to have to either do all of the research from scratch or hire an expensive specialty law firm to handle the case. Refiling an almost identical suit against the same defendant means that they also get to reuse their legal research.
Second, most trolls are hoping for a settlement. Suing a firm that is willing and able to defend itself in court pretty much rules out the route to a quick ROI.
Perhaps in this case SmartMetric thinks they have a chance of winning. But if that is the case, they probably need to get some new legal council. SmartMetric has already lost the case once and judges are notoriously cranky when it comes to refiling a lawsuit that has already been decided, especially if it is done in the same jurisdiction.
On the post: US, EU, Canada, Japan, Australia & Others To Sign ACTA This Weekend, Despite Legal Concerns
Re: Re:
In the long run third parties themselves have always died away in the US, but only because one of the other two parties adopts their agenda.
On the post: How Not To Make Music Social: The Way Spotify And Facebook Did It
I still might cancel it because I don't like the way they have handled this. Now that they have pulled this stunt they have lost my trust. I don't fully trust any online service, but once a service proves that my lack of trust is justified I usually don't go back.
On the post: House Version Of PROTECT IP To Cover Cyberlockers Too
Re: Definitions are easy.
>>Cyberlockers are herein defined as online storage that does not allow any of its ones or zeros to be used for infringing purposes.
Fail: You can upload infringing content to things like dropbox or Box.net. Or to your flash drive or your hard disk. Any system for storing files can store infringing files as well as non-infringing.
On the post: House Version Of PROTECT IP To Cover Cyberlockers Too
I have no idea what the next big thing is, but I am positive that the MPAA will hate it and proclaim that whatever it is will destroy the US economy and western civilization.
On the post: DirecTV Admits Almost No One Wants To Pay $30 To Watch A Movie At Home
Re:
In a free market the producer does not dictate the price. It is not up to the producer to set a "fair price." The producer always has a price that they want or hope to get, but it is the consumers that get to decide what they are willing to pay for the product.
On the post: DirecTV Admits Almost No One Wants To Pay $30 To Watch A Movie At Home
The reaction of movie theaters shows once again that many people in the industry don't understand that people go to movies for the "going to a movie" experience. But in my weaker moments I do feel bad for theater owners who are stuck in the very small pricing zone between the exorbitant royalties they have to send to the studios and the amount that customers are willing to pay. It leaves them very little room to improve the movie-going experience that customers actually want.
On the post: Petitioning The Government Against Software Patents
On the post: Labels Dropping Out Of Spotify Are Totally Missing The Point
Re:
The label he is praising is an indie label that is willing to adapt to changing market conditions, not one of the RIAA companies who think they can use a Wayback Machine to turn back time to the 1970's when the big labels had life easy.
It isn't accurate to say we want the big labels to die. Most of the RIAA critics here are in fact big music fans, as is Mike himself. I think most of us here would like to see the big labels adapt to marketplace realities rather than trying to get the government to artificially prop them up. That would be good for music.
I think there is one main group that is trying to kill off the major labels. That group is the RIAA. The RIAA is dedicated to making sure that the major labels remain united in their drive to commit group suicide.
On the post: Is It A First Amendment Violation To Get Pulled Over For Flashing Your Lights To Warn Others Of Cops?
I think it is a case of dying out rather than being regional. People who were on the road a lot used to use the flashing light signals. Because it involved interstate travel it wasn't really regional.
Generally truckers use one flash of the lights as a sign of recognition or to say thanks. Truckers used to use two or three flashes as a signal for a cop ahead. CB radios reduced the need. Now GPS and computer baby sitters that log or govern truck speed have greatly reduced the number of trucks that actually speed, and therefore you don't see nearly as many truckers signalling for speed traps as you did 30 or 40 years ago.
The nature of speed traps has also changed. In the 1950's and 60's speed traps were a pretty big deal to set up. They usually involved at least two police cars with one anchored in one spot for an extended period of time. Modern speed traps are much more mobile. With current technology, by the time you get a signal about a speed trap, it is likely to be gone.
On the post: Obama Administration Trying To Move Away From Allowing Countries To Ignore Patents To Save Lives
On the post: Criticize The Better Business Bureau... And They'll Pull Your Accreditation
The letter itself certainly reflects unfavorably on the BBB. They are dropping FeeFighter just because they don't like to be questioned about an activity that looks like it really, really needs to be questioned.
On the post: Pirate Party Takes 9% Of The Vote In Berlin Elections, Wins A Bunch Of Seats In Parliament
Re: Re: Re:
The difference is that the Tea Party thinks that it is fine if its own biases and prejudices are used to make the decisions about my private life.
On the post: Pirate Party Takes 9% Of The Vote In Berlin Elections, Wins A Bunch Of Seats In Parliament
Re:
There is a lot of sentiment along those lines in the US population. As our two parties seem to seek the extremes there are a lot of people in the middle who are sick of the whole thing. If the Pirate Party presented itself properly in the US I could see it getting a following very quickly. Passing things like Protect IP and ACTA could give a US Pirate Party a huge boost.
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