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Posted on Techdirt - 1 September 2012 @ 12:00pm

Nospacesorspecialcharacters's Favorite Techdirt Posts Of The Week

from the follows-instructions-too-closely dept

Alright, here's a play-by-play of the posts that caught my attention between bashing the keyboard, drinking copious amounts of coffee and munching the odd cheese and pickle sandwich.

  • Last week saw the end of the biggest patent trial in history so far and the result wasn't in favor of innovation. But as the pieces of wreckage continue to be picked up and examined, Apple may be wishing one juror would now shut-up. Yes this was the post where Techdirt readers had their 'Aha moment'.

  • This was the week Tim Cushing confessed the Authors Guild latest luddite act makes him want to go all 50 Shades of Grey on a book;
    I'm pretty sure that if I buy a Scott Turow hardcover, I can then rip it from its binding, shove it through the scanner and make my own PDF. From that point on, I can paste it all back together, cross out Turow's name and write "BY TIM CUSHING" all over the cover and put it in the 25-cent bin at the next garage sale, all without fear of litigious reprisal.
    There's a fanfic story in there somewhere... involving a beer glass... or something.
  • An artist decides to take the bold step of going royalty-free in order to see where it ends up and what the world makes of it. Previously I had never heard of Shuho Sata. Now I have. See what I did there?

  • More heartwarming news in the form of one half of our favorite antagonists getting less money-that-really-should-go-to-artists;
    Perhaps the studios are recognizing that they're better off no longer throwing good money after bad.
  • Since I travel a lot for work, the news that hotel locks are easily hackable has got me concerned. I already have to hide my PVC suit from the maid and now this?! Needless to say I'll be checking my hotel bill extras for '1x electronic door lock - $50'.

  • Whilst on the subject of security... this week Mike wrote an excellent post which was about a scientist who is a bank robber. Apparently he was so good at it Chris Nolan contacted him about making a movie about his life. I didn't really read it, I just skimmed the post to the last paragraph where he wrote "this other story that Cerf told at a different Moth event about his life as a bank robber".

  • How silently, how silently the wondrous gift... of public domain is taken away! Another all too familiar story of a Media Overlord sending a DMCA notice to the little town of YouTube to give the message a new creative work is about to be taken down.

  • Speaking of DMCA notices, no sooner than was LendInk back up and running, they received a 'Congratulations' card.. no wait... it was a DMCA notice! Timothy's final summary is what made it hit my favorites list however;
    As an author myself, I can't tell my peers how liberating it is to not give a damn about anyone who wishes to share my work. It alleviates me of all the drama against readers. It alleviates me of all potential missteps against legitimate services. It alleviates me of the responsibility for any ripple effects those missteps might cause. Have I read every word of the contracts I've signed? Yes. Do I understand every word of them. Of course not. Because I don't have to.
  • Is it just me or is spending time with the TSA like spending time with your parents? If they're not criticizing your choice of fashion, they're drilling you for every little detail about what your future plans are... who you're seeing... are you an American citizen.... Now as someone who has had their arse felt more than once by the border agency divas, I know the humiliation that can come from a border couture faux pas. But when they start smiling and asking you about your trip, that's when it gets really creepy, as summarized by Tim C;
    Here's the problem, though. It's nearly impossible for the average human being to chat normally with someone who has the power to indefinitely detain or otherwise screw up their travel plans for any number of nebulous "violations." There's no such thing as an innocuous or friendly question when it comes to an agency with a reputation for acting irresponsibly, vindictively and ignorantly, depending on the situation. No one is ever going to feel comfortable just handing out additional personal information, no matter how anecdotal, to someone who can use any misstep as an excuse to search, detain or otherwise inconvenience anyone and everyone.
What, you haven't heard of silicon heaven?

Finally, being a UK citizen, I know that by writing this post I've deprived a hard-working American of doing it. Well, just so you know, you're welcome to write one of your own -- just don't steal mine (CC-ND-NC).

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