GrayArea’s Comments

• Jul 22nd, 2015 @ 1:52pm

  There goes the neighborhood

  on FCC Signs Off on AT&T DirecTV Merger, And Early Indications Are The Conditions Are Hot Garbage
  I have been a happy DirecTV subscriber for around sixteen years now. Guess I will be looking for new options. -sigh-
• Jan 5th, 2015 @ 7:09am

  Re: Re:

  on Leaked Emails Reveal MPAA Plans To Pay Elected Officials To Attack Google
  I think you found the perfect word to describe the situation: appeasement. How well has that worked out, historically speaking?
• Oct 17th, 2014 @ 9:37am

  Re: Really

  on Neil deGrasse Tyson Attacks 'Startup Culture,' Demonstrates Lack Of Understanding About Innovation
  Fertility and Farming are not larger issues to the human race? (See my post above about the usefulness of apps.) My point is that just because what people are currently doing is not what we traditionally think of as R&D problem-solving, does not mean that it is not serving the same purpose. Tyson seems to be missing this point entirely. For good examples of how this works in gaming, check out this TED talk by Jane McGonigal - http://www.ted.com/talks/jane_mcgonigal_gaming_can_make_a_better_world?language=en
• Oct 17th, 2014 @ 6:54am

  Societal Change

  on Neil deGrasse Tyson Attacks 'Startup Culture,' Demonstrates Lack Of Understanding About Innovation
  He's missing the mark entirely by dismissing apps as being unimportant to solving problems. Apps (and their assorted physical tie-ins) are changing how we live our lives as humans. From the apps that tell farmers in Africa when to plant crops to the period tracker that helps couples improve their chance at fertility, we are seeing improvements in our daily lives on a global scale from apps. Yes, there is a lot of trash out there just made to raise money. But it is inconsequential to the myriad of changes in the way people live, work, and interact, that apps have made.
• Apr 14th, 2014 @ 7:52am

  Splitting the NSA

  on Obama Tells NSA To Reveal, Not Exploit, Flaws... Except All The Times It Wants To Do The Opposite
  Then they would spend even more resources fighting each other. But hey, the entertainment value might be worth it. Spy vs. Spy.
• Apr 14th, 2014 @ 7:41am

  Re: Re: Re: Re: I would never trust this government

  on Funniest/Most Insightful Comments Of The Week At Techdirt
  The term you are looking for to properly describe the U.S.A. is democratic republic, which is what the founders intended (not trusting in the mob rule of a full democracy). Unfortunately, it has become an oligarchy.
• Sep 18th, 2013 @ 7:43am

  Teachers

  on Underzealous Prosecutor Fails To Press 'Terroristic Threats' Charges Against Professor Who Jokes About Shooting Up His Campus
  They cannot prosecute a professor for threatening his students in such an obviously joking manner, because every teacher of any sort as done it and is not going to stop. You just have to teach one class to know why. The "adorable little things" quote is so accurate - even when dealing with adult students. The glow you get when they get it right is the high that keeps you in teaching, the dumb expressions when they are deliberately obtuse makes you want to smack some sense into them. This is a universal.
• Jun 20th, 2013 @ 6:21am

  (untitled comment)

  on More Details Emerge As States' Attorneys General Seek To Hold Back Innovation On The Internet
  Why am I not surprised to see Chris Koster from Missouri on this list? When it comes to trying to make or change laws in a way that takes the most freedom from the people, there is usually a Missouri politian involved. If the law involves a fundamental misunderstanding of how the internet works (intentional or not) then it doubles the chance.
• May 17th, 2013 @ 11:06am

  Re:

  on A Framework For Copyright Reform
  I want my letter of marque and I want it now. It's past time to take to the seas and seek our fortune and fame!
• Dec 14th, 2012 @ 8:05pm

  (untitled comment)

  on NYTimes Columnist Proves That Among Billions Of Tweets Some People Say Stuff You Don't Care About
  We have now proven that among a whole bunch of techdirt stories, we've found one where someone talks about something we don't care about.
  
  This is not the article you were looking for. Move along.
• Dec 14th, 2012 @ 7:56pm

  beer foam

  on DailyDirt: Beer Googling
  If you brew your beer yourself, Nottingham yeast has lovely tiny bubbles that I think are just about perfect.
• Feb 22nd, 2012 @ 12:06pm

  News?

  on NSA: 'Anonymous Might One Day Hack Power Grids!' Anonymous: 'Huh?!?'
  I seem to remember a time when U.S. news agencies reported on events that had actually happened. You had to go to campaign advertisements to get to this level of what-if. Or maybe I'm just remembering it poorly through the filter of childhood.