no, Minecraft has a much higher purchase rate because Notch isn't an asshat.
This, plus the cost of Minecraft is $15, paid once. They keep updating the software based on customer requests, and they support most, if not all operating systems. But mainly because Notch isn't an asshat.
I'd love to get the days back that I've spent playing that darn game. Addictive doesn't even come close to describing it...it is almost like Notch purified cocaine and put it into software.
Although, I'd say that creepers have to be the most asshat move Notch did to us players. I don't know how many times I had those things sneak up on me and blow me up.
30 bucks for 4 ebooks is a deal?! I hope you were being sarcastic.
It isn't. As I said, if the publisher dropped their price in half, it would be a deal. However, $30 for 4 ebooks is better than $14.99 for each of the four, for a series that is "hot" right now. I bought them because I wanted them, and the price was in a range I'd buy them at.
BTW, bought all of April Hamilton's books last night, and am beginning to read them. Also picked up R. Reid's Year Zero. Looking forward to reading through them all!
Early High price points are well and good for books that are already established. I can bet that when the next Game of Thrones book is published, people will buy it the moment it comes out even if it is $10+. I think their outcry of "undervaluing" books is them seeing low initial prices not milking early adopters. Of course, this leads to book sales being funneled to a few individually successful authors while shutting out thousands of others.
I agree that many people will buy the book when it comes out at $14.99, but it appears that the publisher of that series isn't too dense. You can buy the first four ebooks at $30, and each book is available for $8.99. I have them all, except the last one. However, I suspect if they dropped the price in half, they would get more than double the purchases they already have. I bought them at $30.00 because I saw the value, but I know that many people won't buy them because the paperbacks are $4.99 and they can't see the additional value of ebooks.
I have so many books in my physical library that I cannot see buying any more (need to buy a larger house,) but I still love reading so ebooks are the way for me to keep reading without needing a bigger house. I'd buy more ebooks if they were cheaper.
Actually, if I remember correctly, the reason Google put in the ContentID system was not because of the DMCA but rather in an attempt to make movie studios happy.
As one of those who was confused and thought this was a DMCA takedown -- we keep hearing about DMCA takedowns that I just assume every takedown is a DMCA takedown, I know, don't assume -- I have to say that I am still confused about this whole thing. I do appear to not be alone in my hatred for automated systems for dealing with these things though.
When will companies learn that making movie studios happy is hazardous to their business models?
April Hamilton seems to have some books I'd be interested in reading. Not much of a romance, mystery or poetry fan, but I might have to look into the others too.
''(vi) A statement that the information in the notification is accurate, and under penalty of perjury, that the complaining party is authorized to act on behalf of the owner of an exclusive right that is allegedly in-fringed.
So, although the law provides some balance, any given site can remove it. But that's the fault of the site, not the law.
True, and Google is definitely a little more proactive than others when it comes to taking down material. But it seems that it is too easy for people with automated systems to offload their costs of checking to see whether something really does fall under infringement on to those who wish to provide service to the public.
Even there, I would disagree. The law disagrees as well. There is no (and should be no) law against being wrong, even under oath. The law is against lying, which seems appropriate.
I have to wonder why the framers of DMCA put that statement into the law then, since apparently it can be safely ignored.
Law is, after all, about the balance of rights. No right, including constitutional rights, is absolute because can all be exercised in ways that impinge on other rights that are equally important. The majority of what the court system does is to find a balance so that everyone gets their rights infringed upon in the fairest possible way.
There is no balance here when it comes to DMCA. Anyone can claim they own something, even when they don't (as Scripps did here,) and it is gone. All that is needed is an accusation, whether it is true or not. There is no court system involved.
New Zealand actually has a monarch who has a cast range of around 32,000 miles. She lives in a palace, too!
And apparently she likes jumping out of helicopters with a parachute too. Or so I saw on TV once. Nice lady though, I can understand why you guys hang on to her. Though evil witches can sometimes be nice too, not saying that she is one, just saying they can be nice sometimes.
This is what has always prevented be from switching to Linux. There is just no hassle-free, foolproof way to run a Linux system and play all the PC games you want to play.
Considering all the DRM I have to wade through in most modern games, I'd say the same thing about Windows. I used to routinely not get to play all the PC games I wanted to play on a Windows box either...and don't get me started with Diablo III. I wanted to play that game until I learned that the company didn't want me to play that game, so I didn't.
To commit perjury, you have to say something that you know is not true. If you say something that you believe is factual, but turns out to be incorrect, that doesn't rise to the level of perjury.
Ok, so I am going to pull a Judge Posner and say it isn't perjury, but it is just as wrong. It is like me calling up the police and saying "I think my neighbor is killing his wife," when they are just having a little argument, and then being surprised when the SWAT team comes over. It is certainly a false reporting, and since the damage is just as severe (the person's 1st amendment rights get dumped as quickly as the video,) it should have equal consequences to the offender.
The reason you don't see Linux software in bricks and mortar stores is because MS have always done one thing right, and that is maintain their monopoly.
At least on the "end-user" brick and mortar shops. My regular computer shop sells RedHat and Debian DVDs, and provides hardware with Linux installed as part of their configuration process (at a price far cheaper than the OEM Windows install.)
So, no, you won't find it at Best Buy, but you can at Walmart.com.
I've been considering switching to a Linux system for my next home computer, but I honestly have enough trouble as it is with compatibility and drivers with Windows.
All my machines at home are Linux, and my work machine is now Linux with Windows running in a VM for the Windoze-only apps we have to run (mainly just IE to access the crappy Windows/IE-Only java apps we have to use.)
Never would dream of going back. Many of my games work fine under Wine, using playonlinux or cross-over as front end. Most of my GoG games already are supported on Linux, and Torchlight works fine as well.
Microsoft decided to cancel all of my licenses when I stopped paying for technet, so I moved over to Linux pretty quickly and wondered why I didn't move earlier (I was already running Linux on a number of machines.)
Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: This is not an exception
The better plan is to push back. We need Congress to act, but not by holding yet another worthless hearing. What we need is to repeal the DMCA.
I agree. Repealing DMCA and revisiting copyright to figure out how to fix its failures (and bring it back to what the forefathers intended when they wrote the Copyright Clause into the Constitution) are the only way. However, for a stopgap, having Congress and the President push for enforcement of the penalty of perjury would go a long way to stop this madness. If I can submit an automated takedown request with no risk to me, I'll do it with impunity. But when the police show up and arrest me, or fine me for each time I submit a fraudulent takedown request, then I'm going to start hiring employees to make sure that the system is issuing correct takedowns and avoiding issuing invalid ones.
Stupid take down notices aside, i am glad i watched it last night, i got to watch the greatest achievement the human race has ever done...the complexity of it made landing on the moon seem like a walk in the park
This. Though landing on the moon was quite an accomplishment too. They had done this once before with Phoenix, but that one didn't have nearly as many moving parts, and wasn't as heavy as this one (770 lbs vs 2K lbs.) And everything was done by the robots autonomously (since there was about 8 minutes delay between curiosity and NASA vs the 4 second delay between Earth and the Moon.
What made me sad is the main stream media barley mentions it, Romney and Obama can fight any day, but something like this rarely happens.
The majors seem to not like science much...probably harder to sell than video games responsible for murder, and proves them wrong a lot. However, the news websites I read all had tons of coverage, and even the local bird-cage liner had a full story on it, so it is getting some coverage after the fact.
I loved watching the live coverage of the landing, though I know others found it "boring" because they didn't have live video of the landing (it takes time to download that much data.)
Seems likely that it would cost at least $500 to prove that a takedown request was in bad faith as opposed to just an innocent mistake.
Last time I checked, an innocent mistake, under DMCA, is perjury. You sign on the dotted line (electronically, apparently,) that under the penalty of perjury, that you certify that the information contained in the notification to be true and accurate, and that you have the authority to act on behalf of the owner. Since they aren't the owner, nor have authority, they are violating that clause. And an innocent mistake kinda goes against the true and accurate part. It should be up to the person filing the notice to make sure they aren't making an innocent mistake before they issue a notice to block someone-elses 1st Amendment rights.
Jane Austen may be fiction but it's not SCIENCE FICTION.
Since Jane Austen's works are all in the public domain, we could easily rewrite them to include robots....
On the other hand: there are a great number of Sci-Fi movies (classics even) that are nowhere near the Sci-Fi channel.
Amen brother. When I had cable, I watched the Science Channel far more than Sy-Fy, because the Science Channel tended to play far more Science-Fiction movies and made-for-TV versions of Science Fiction books, complete with discussions from Scientists on the movie (ala History Channel's Real-to-Reel.) Science Channel even played classics like Firefly, which Sy-Fy never played. Only thing I was happy about Sy-Fy for was the first six years of Stargate SG-1, but really, Showtime had more to do with that then Sy-Fy.
So it is ok when the MAFIAA does it, but not when folks here do it. And keep in mind that Mason provided the source for his speculation, as well as criticism of the speculation ("Depending on the overlap...") He has done far more than the MAFIAA has ever done in presenting the data.
Call your representative and demand a hearing into what Scripps did.
Can I borrow a few thousand Benjamin's? That appears to be the only way they actually listen to me.
On the post: How Having A Good Sense Of Humor Helps Cope With Piracy And Succeed Despite It
Re: Re:
This, plus the cost of Minecraft is $15, paid once. They keep updating the software based on customer requests, and they support most, if not all operating systems. But mainly because Notch isn't an asshat.
I'd love to get the days back that I've spent playing that darn game. Addictive doesn't even come close to describing it...it is almost like Notch purified cocaine and put it into software.
Although, I'd say that creepers have to be the most asshat move Notch did to us players. I don't know how many times I had those things sneak up on me and blow me up.
On the post: The Daily Show's Awesome Re-imagining Of How Whistleblower Thomas Drake Was A Spy
Re: Re:
On the post: The Daily Show's Awesome Re-imagining Of How Whistleblower Thomas Drake Was A Spy
Re:
On the post: Traditional Publisher Ebook Pricing Harming Authors' Careers
Re: That is NOT a deal
It isn't. As I said, if the publisher dropped their price in half, it would be a deal. However, $30 for 4 ebooks is better than $14.99 for each of the four, for a series that is "hot" right now. I bought them because I wanted them, and the price was in a range I'd buy them at.
BTW, bought all of April Hamilton's books last night, and am beginning to read them. Also picked up R. Reid's Year Zero. Looking forward to reading through them all!
On the post: Traditional Publisher Ebook Pricing Harming Authors' Careers
Re:
I agree that many people will buy the book when it comes out at $14.99, but it appears that the publisher of that series isn't too dense. You can buy the first four ebooks at $30, and each book is available for $8.99. I have them all, except the last one. However, I suspect if they dropped the price in half, they would get more than double the purchases they already have. I bought them at $30.00 because I saw the value, but I know that many people won't buy them because the paperbacks are $4.99 and they can't see the additional value of ebooks.
I have so many books in my physical library that I cannot see buying any more (need to buy a larger house,) but I still love reading so ebooks are the way for me to keep reading without needing a bigger house. I'd buy more ebooks if they were cheaper.
On the post: How Google's ContentID System Fails At Fair Use & The Public Domain
Re: Re:
As one of those who was confused and thought this was a DMCA takedown -- we keep hearing about DMCA takedowns that I just assume every takedown is a DMCA takedown, I know, don't assume -- I have to say that I am still confused about this whole thing. I do appear to not be alone in my hatred for automated systems for dealing with these things though.
When will companies learn that making movie studios happy is hazardous to their business models?
On the post: Legit Ebook Lending Site Taken Down By An Angry Twitmob Of Writers [UPDATED]
Re: Re:
April Hamilton seems to have some books I'd be interested in reading. Not much of a romance, mystery or poetry fan, but I might have to look into the others too.
On the post: UCF Student Makes Class Registration Easier; Receives Academic Probation For His Troubles
Re: Re: Re: Priority Registration
Using http://my.ucf.edu/robots.txt returns error 404.
To the previous AC...you are apparently hogging the stuff: puff, puff, pass.
On the post: Curiosity's Mars Landing Video Disappears From YouTube Due To Bogus Copyright Claim
Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re:
17 USC 512
''(vi) A statement that the information in the notification is accurate, and under penalty of perjury, that the complaining party is authorized to act on behalf of the owner of an exclusive right that is allegedly in-fringed.
So, although the law provides some balance, any given site can remove it. But that's the fault of the site, not the law.
True, and Google is definitely a little more proactive than others when it comes to taking down material. But it seems that it is too easy for people with automated systems to offload their costs of checking to see whether something really does fall under infringement on to those who wish to provide service to the public.
On the post: Curiosity's Mars Landing Video Disappears From YouTube Due To Bogus Copyright Claim
Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re:
I have to wonder why the framers of DMCA put that statement into the law then, since apparently it can be safely ignored.
Law is, after all, about the balance of rights. No right, including constitutional rights, is absolute because can all be exercised in ways that impinge on other rights that are equally important. The majority of what the court system does is to find a balance so that everyone gets their rights infringed upon in the fairest possible way.
There is no balance here when it comes to DMCA. Anyone can claim they own something, even when they don't (as Scripps did here,) and it is gone. All that is needed is an accusation, whether it is true or not. There is no court system involved.
On the post: Why Are New Zealand Prosecutors Seeking To Suppress All Images & Video Of Megaupload Raid?
Re: Re:
And apparently she likes jumping out of helicopters with a parachute too. Or so I saw on TV once. Nice lady though, I can understand why you guys hang on to her. Though evil witches can sometimes be nice too, not saying that she is one, just saying they can be nice sometimes.
On the post: Game Developers Concerned About A Potentially Closed Windows 8
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Considering all the DRM I have to wade through in most modern games, I'd say the same thing about Windows. I used to routinely not get to play all the PC games I wanted to play on a Windows box either...and don't get me started with Diablo III. I wanted to play that game until I learned that the company didn't want me to play that game, so I didn't.
On the post: Curiosity's Mars Landing Video Disappears From YouTube Due To Bogus Copyright Claim
Re: Re: Re: Re:
Ok, so I am going to pull a Judge Posner and say it isn't perjury, but it is just as wrong. It is like me calling up the police and saying "I think my neighbor is killing his wife," when they are just having a little argument, and then being surprised when the SWAT team comes over. It is certainly a false reporting, and since the damage is just as severe (the person's 1st amendment rights get dumped as quickly as the video,) it should have equal consequences to the offender.
On the post: Game Developers Concerned About A Potentially Closed Windows 8
Re: Re:
At least on the "end-user" brick and mortar shops. My regular computer shop sells RedHat and Debian DVDs, and provides hardware with Linux installed as part of their configuration process (at a price far cheaper than the OEM Windows install.)
So, no, you won't find it at Best Buy, but you can at Walmart.com.
On the post: Game Developers Concerned About A Potentially Closed Windows 8
Re: Re:
All my machines at home are Linux, and my work machine is now Linux with Windows running in a VM for the Windoze-only apps we have to run (mainly just IE to access the crappy Windows/IE-Only java apps we have to use.)
Never would dream of going back. Many of my games work fine under Wine, using playonlinux or cross-over as front end. Most of my GoG games already are supported on Linux, and Torchlight works fine as well.
Microsoft decided to cancel all of my licenses when I stopped paying for technet, so I moved over to Linux pretty quickly and wondered why I didn't move earlier (I was already running Linux on a number of machines.)
On the post: Curiosity's Mars Landing Video Disappears From YouTube Due To Bogus Copyright Claim
Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: This is not an exception
I agree. Repealing DMCA and revisiting copyright to figure out how to fix its failures (and bring it back to what the forefathers intended when they wrote the Copyright Clause into the Constitution) are the only way. However, for a stopgap, having Congress and the President push for enforcement of the penalty of perjury would go a long way to stop this madness. If I can submit an automated takedown request with no risk to me, I'll do it with impunity. But when the police show up and arrest me, or fine me for each time I submit a fraudulent takedown request, then I'm going to start hiring employees to make sure that the system is issuing correct takedowns and avoiding issuing invalid ones.
On the post: Curiosity's Mars Landing Video Disappears From YouTube Due To Bogus Copyright Claim
Re:
This. Though landing on the moon was quite an accomplishment too. They had done this once before with Phoenix, but that one didn't have nearly as many moving parts, and wasn't as heavy as this one (770 lbs vs 2K lbs.) And everything was done by the robots autonomously (since there was about 8 minutes delay between curiosity and NASA vs the 4 second delay between Earth and the Moon.
What made me sad is the main stream media barley mentions it, Romney and Obama can fight any day, but something like this rarely happens.
The majors seem to not like science much...probably harder to sell than video games responsible for murder, and proves them wrong a lot. However, the news websites I read all had tons of coverage, and even the local bird-cage liner had a full story on it, so it is getting some coverage after the fact.
I loved watching the live coverage of the landing, though I know others found it "boring" because they didn't have live video of the landing (it takes time to download that much data.)
On the post: Curiosity's Mars Landing Video Disappears From YouTube Due To Bogus Copyright Claim
Re: Re:
Last time I checked, an innocent mistake, under DMCA, is perjury. You sign on the dotted line (electronically, apparently,) that under the penalty of perjury, that you certify that the information contained in the notification to be true and accurate, and that you have the authority to act on behalf of the owner. Since they aren't the owner, nor have authority, they are violating that clause. And an innocent mistake kinda goes against the true and accurate part. It should be up to the person filing the notice to make sure they aren't making an innocent mistake before they issue a notice to block someone-elses 1st Amendment rights.
On the post: Over 400,000 Homes Have Cut The Cord So Far This Year... But Cord Cutting Is Still A Myth?
Re: Pride and Predjudice and Zombies!
Since Jane Austen's works are all in the public domain, we could easily rewrite them to include robots....
On the other hand: there are a great number of Sci-Fi movies (classics even) that are nowhere near the Sci-Fi channel.
Amen brother. When I had cable, I watched the Science Channel far more than Sy-Fy, because the Science Channel tended to play far more Science-Fiction movies and made-for-TV versions of Science Fiction books, complete with discussions from Scientists on the movie (ala History Channel's Real-to-Reel.) Science Channel even played classics like Firefly, which Sy-Fy never played. Only thing I was happy about Sy-Fy for was the first six years of Stargate SG-1, but really, Showtime had more to do with that then Sy-Fy.
On the post: Curiosity's Mars Landing Video Disappears From YouTube Due To Bogus Copyright Claim
Re: Re: Re: Re: This is not an exception
So it is ok when the MAFIAA does it, but not when folks here do it. And keep in mind that Mason provided the source for his speculation, as well as criticism of the speculation ("Depending on the overlap...") He has done far more than the MAFIAA has ever done in presenting the data.
Call your representative and demand a hearing into what Scripps did.
Can I borrow a few thousand Benjamin's? That appears to be the only way they actually listen to me.
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