RickMan’s Comments

• Mar 28th, 2018 @ 6:11am

  TV and Film what's the diff

  on Cannes Bans Netflix Films From Competition Because The Internet Is Bad (Or Something)
  In the end all movies go to the small screen.
• Dec 7th, 2017 @ 6:30am

  The Intercept is wrong

  on The Strange Fight Over Who Should Take John Conyers Spot Atop The Judiciary Committee
  I hope Techdirt has larger readership than the Intercept!
• Oct 25th, 2017 @ 6:09am

  BWC study asks the wrong question.

  on Police Camera Study Shows New Tech Having Little Effect On Misconduct And Excessive Force
  The question that this study should ask is; Are officers held accountable for actions recorded on BWCs? Has the footage been used to identify and punish bad acts or exonerate officers doing their duty to the public?
• Mar 10th, 2017 @ 6:47am

  Cable Companies Hide how big it is

  on The Cord Cutting The Cable Industry Says Isn't Happening, Keeps Happening
  Comcast sells high speed internet for $70/month, but sells you the basic triple play for as low as 79.99. So for $10, Comcast can claim higher cable subscription numbers.
• Jul 23rd, 2015 @ 10:17am

  Section 1201 is Like Gun Control

  on Car Hack Demonstrates Why Security Researchers Shouldn't Have To Worry About Copyright In Exposing Weaknesses
  The device circumvention prohibition only stops the law abiding people, and does not stop the criminals from hacking the car software.
  
  So your choice, customers and researchers where your the first to know, or we all get surprised by the bad guys.
• Jul 17th, 2015 @ 10:49am

  Revamped Patent Search

  on Google Revamps Patent Search To Actually Do What Patent Office Should Do
  This sounds great, but since it searches books and articles for prior art, I see Rights Corp sue patent holders for copyright infringement. A whole new area of Trolls trolling trolls.
• May 15th, 2014 @ 10:28am

  Communication with Foreigners

  on DOJ Says Americans Have No 4th Amendment Protections At All When They Communicate With Foreigners
  So if this is truly what the policy is, then it should be the same for all government communications with Foreigners, Foreign Governments, etc. They have no idea what will be done with those communications so by default they are public information. Since they are public information how can they be classified.
  
  So by the DOJs own logic they prosecuted Ms. Manning under false pretenses and have no reason to deny any FOIA requests for document concerning communications with foreign entities.
• Nov 27th, 2013 @ 6:42am

  Stopping 23andMe

  on Stopping 23andMe Will Only Delay The Revolution Medicine Needs
  Offer to share the DNA data with the NSA/FBI and FDA approval is assured.
• Aug 22nd, 2013 @ 9:33am

  The is a Promo

  on Signs Of The Times: Ohio School Hosts 'Counter-Terrorism' Bus Hijacking Drill
  This "drill" is not a waste of time but a promotion advertising that new show Starring Dermot Mulroney.
• May 8th, 2012 @ 10:29am

  What's the difference

  on Bad Lawsuit, Worse Timing: Beastie Boys Sued Over Infringing Samples On Seminal Albums
  What's the difference between punitive and exemplary damages, since the definition of punitive and exemplary damages contains punitive or punishment to discourage a repeat or others from doing the same thing.
• Mar 30th, 2010 @ 8:05am

  Fair Market Value

  on Smallville Creators Sue Warner Bros, Say They Never Got Fair Market Price For Their Work
  The jist of this argument is not that they are not getting the negotiated fee for the show, which is a percentage of what the product is sold for in the secondary market. The Hollywood Reporter (THR) explains this: Warner Brothers (WB) is under valueing the Smallville for foriegn markets by packaging it with several other less desirable products. Because WB owns the arm that creates and sells the package to others, then sets the value of each property in the package, the value of Smallville was valued at less then the fair Market value and the other properties were valued at a value higher than Market Value. This lowers the amount due Smallville's producers, and increases the value of the other shows, that are owned by WB. So WB makes more money at Smallville's Expense.
  
  Smallville's Producers feel that WB is taking advantage of their distribution power to unfairly keep revenue through an accounting trick, that artificially lowers the agreed moneys WB would pay to Smallville's Producers.
  
  Also it is time to End Smallville and the no tights no flight and start Metropolis in Flying in tights & a Cape.
• Jan 7th, 2010 @ 11:54am

  Bono is truely misinformed

  on Bono: We Should Use China's Censorship As An Example Of How To Stop Piracy
  I must say after ready his article he truly is clueless. Even his last statement about the World Cup, 'Starting the New Decade in Africa'. Except that a decade is 10 years. this is the last year of the first decade of the 21st Century. Most people unfortunately don't seem to understand that this is the 21st century because the last year of the 21st century is 2100, which is not a leap year. Most people also believe that year 1 marked the end of the first year but was actually the beginning of the new calendar, there was no year 0.
  
  So not to harp just on the decade issue, I want to point out that like many of the other comments he makes in his top 10 list (polution, physics, isps, etc.) he is just pushing up the common line from people who a.)invented strawman arguements to push their version of the truth or b.) push a popular but incorrect belief without presenting proof. The other point is that mistakes or proven misconceptions put forth as fact, can destroy or minimize the credability of your whole arguement or all 10 points you try to make, especially if the mistakes are well known and due to the fact that you are too lazy to verify said facts and be able to support them with proof.