We couldn't even move the masses from FB to Google+.

What in the fuck makes these guys think people will move to Diasporia?

Honestly...I think if Apple loses on the Motorola patents, they'd almost rather strip out the offending functionality from iOS than cross-license.

Realistically, Siri would be by far the biggest hit to Apple if Moto wins (assuming they win on all). The rest are, well, fairly benign or mandated for FRAND licensing if I recall correctly.

All I can say is....holy fuck. I was not expecting anything this strongly against Samsung.

I mean, I always thought that Samsung was infringing one some....but I expected some of Apple against Samsung too. While still ongoing, so far a big resounding No there too.

Wow.

IIRC, Downgrade Rights only apply on volume licensing.

I do know, 100% for certain, that OEM copies of Windows do NOT have downgrade rights at all.

A) You can't. There's nothing you can do. And the RIAA, the associated labels, or even indie labels can't protect you.
B) You can't. There's nothing you can do. And the RIAA, the associated labels, or even indie labels can't protect you.

The only thing you can do to prevent yourself from getting sued for infringement is to not release an album. Period, that's it, end of fucking list.

Now, one suggestion I did see above...and IANAL, but form a LLC & release the album under the LLC banner. Worst case, all they can get is your profit to date.

You cannot stop some asshole from suing you, whether they are correct or not in suing you. You cannot prevent a so-called "jury of your peers" and/or a Judge from making an incorrect decision.

There is nothing you can do. Let me drill this again. There is nothing you can do. Nothing.

Realistically....you can't do fuck all.

In reality, if someone wants to try to sue the pants off you, they will. Hell, you could get sued by some asshole that hasn't even released a song yet but can (try to) show that he wrote similar music or lyrics before you did.

There's nothing you can do to protect yourself. NOTHING.

Of course....what the industry doesn't tell you...they can't protect you either against some lunatic asshole that thinks (correct or not) that you ripped off his creation.

So realistically....you're fucked whether you release RIAA or indie. So just don't be that asshole that releases with the RIAA.

Actually, I'd say it is closer to...the RIAA would rather destroy the entire recording industry than modify their business model from that which made them all filthy rich until the last decade or so.

They've fucking lost it. They have absolutly no comprehension or understanding that they don't mean shit anymore. Nobody NEEDS the RIAA or the major labels anymore. Anyone with a few thousand can create a damned good recording studio, cut an album, release it online independently (and to streaming sites), thereby cutting the RIAA entirely out of the equation.

But at the heart, you are correct...the RIAA says a song has a value of x. The world says the same song has a value of x/50. THe RIAA has decided that if they can't get x, they don't want anything.

I'm not saying it doesn't work for anyone. I'm saying that anyone willing to trade their TIME in a greater than 1:1 ratio is a fucking moron. ANY gains you might theoretically get are offet entirely by the "extra" you get forced into.

Its stupid. You are intentionally valuing yourself lower than what the MARKET deems you are worth, in terms of compensation per hour worked. You are intentionally giving away hours you could have used on things for yourself FOR FREE to your employer for some illusion of flexibility.

Honestly, if you're willing to do this, then good for fucking you. I actually have some self respect.

Except where management refuses to pay overtime. Many have mentioned in the comments here...."Work >40 hours, put in for 40 hours". Again, we are talking about people putting in extra UNAPID time here.

What does the employer get?? Really??? Lets see what I can come up with, off the top of my head...
1. The employer gets one less workstation they have to buy (since EVERY telecommuter I know is all BYOD).
2. One less workstation that they need to power.
3. One less body they need to cool the building space from (Air conditioning).
4. A reputation for being an employer that values work-life balance.
5. Employees that routinely are MORE productive in the same timeframe than their at-the-desk coworkers (I'm too lazy to google studies, but I've read them).
6. Claims of being a greener company since commute hours are reduced.
7. Ability to have more employees in less physical space (which carries per sqft leasing savings).
8. Not providing coffee/tea/whatever the employer gives for beverages to staff.
9. If the employer has things like on-site daycare or on-site cafeterias/etc (obviously in BIG companies), then less strain on those resources and lower costs.
10. Happier and less stressed employees.

So yeah....the employer gets nothing out of a telecommuter....obviously we should trade many many hours of our lives for the ability.

OK...let me try another angle...

I think we can agree that the "norm" is an 8-hour workday, 5 days a week, for FT employment. Yes, salaried means you are paid to "get the job done" not "put in the hours" - but lets be fair here too....depending on juristiction, most salaried employees are not legally considered overtime exempt (I know legally, I am not). So again, in theory, >40/week means time and a half for overtime.

So, lets take that 40 hour per week "norm". Now hey...I like the idea of being home when the kids get home from school as much as the next parent, so I'll run with that. Let us examine what is likely an "average" day for the person that does a standard 8:30-5 type post. Obviously, the commute time is the potential massive variable, but hey...I'll do this as my own life:

6am - wake up, shit/shower/shave
6:15-7:45 - Breakfast, help kids get their shit organized, etc
7:45 - leave for work. Drop off kids at school on the way
8:25 - arrive at work. Work all day (8 hour workday)
5:00 - leave work, drive home
5:45 - arrive home, start prepping supper
6:15 - supper
6:45 - take kid to soccer (or whatever activities happen in your household with the kids)
8:00 - Homework
9:00 - start putting youngest to bed
9:30 - hey look, I actually have 5 minutes to myself! WOOHOO! Relax, work on MY homework, watch some TV, etc
10:30 - fuck wife
11:00 - go to bed
11:00-6am - sleep

Now....lets take that same schedule, but now I'm going to be home at 3 instead of 5. Doing this will also cost me a minimum of 1 extra hour on an average day, for the "flexibility"...

6am - wake up, shit/shower/shave
6:15-7:45 - Breakfast, help kids get their shit organized, etc
7:45 - leave for work. Drop off kids at school on the way
8:25 - arrive at work. Work all day (6 hour workday)
3:00 - leave work, drive home
3:45 - arrive home, kids come home, homework
4:45 - Make up hour of work (now 7 hours on the workday)
5:45 - start prepping supper
6:15 - supper
6:45 - take kid to soccer (or whatever activities happen in your household with the kids)
8:00 - Put in an hour's work (Now at 8 hours total worked)
9:00 - start putting youngest to bed
9:30 - Make up more time at work...the additional hour I still owe (9 hour workday)
10:30 - Fuck wife
11-6am - sleep

So in that schedule I've gained ~ 2 hours of being in the same physical building as my kids, but I've lost all the free time I have to put into myself, whether much-needed relaxation, or self-improvement. Also, to gain those 2 hours in the physical building costs me 3 hours of that time effectively away from my kids doing work anyway! I've also only paid a 1 hour penalty for this flexability - TFA is suggesting a mind-boggling 2 1/2 hours daily, 7 days a week, is the price of that flexibility. So tell me...find me the extra hour and a half in the schedule above that I haven't even accounted for.

Now...would I give up SALARY to leave work at 3pm daily? Possibly. But time is already far too prescious a commonity to even consider giving up. You can't magically make more hours in the day...once that time is used, it is gone forever.

THAT is why I call people that are willing to trade time for flexability morons.

Oh, and your comment on being laughed out of court? Thank god I live in the magical land known as Canada, where there are actual laws that protect workers from being terminated without cause. God I feel for the people who live in at-will employment states.

What's funny in this is we're both arguing the value of our time. But somehow, and I don't know where, the boat left & you aren't on the boat.

My time is the most valuable commonity I posess. I demand a high value for my time, and my work/life experience allows me to command a high value for my time.

I am NEVER willing to give away my time for free to anyone but my family. That doesn't mean that it doesn't happen - my employer is not immune in any way to this screw-the-worker attitude of today. But, quite honestly, I've managed to draw a line in the sand & I simply refuse to respond to anything non-emergency outside of my normal working hours. And I'm sure eventually I'll be replaced by someone that will, and assuming that I have nothing in my work record to justify the turfing it will be one hell of a wrongful termination suit when that happens.

I don't necessarily care so much about what my salary is...and I've traded salary for additional vacation time & other benefits in the past. But I care 100% about my time...and 5pm to 8:30am is MY FUCKING TIME. I'm not looking to make more money...I WANT MY GODDAMN TIME. Those 20 hours a week (from TFA) of unpaid time...that's time I could spend with my kids, helping with homework, taking some classes to improve myself....quite frankly, ANYTHING but giving it away to some corporate bastard that only gives a shit about sqeezing every last drop of life from me before tossing me in the dumpster and replacing me with another moron willing to have the life squeezed from him.

Honestly....if you don't value your time enough that you're willing to give it away for nothing to people that don't give a fuck about you or your welfare...then you're an idiot & deserve to have the life sucked out of you. All we are....all we have to give...are the 24 hours in a day we have for whatever duration of life we happen to get.

You're correct in that capitalism is a race to the bottom. I don't deny that. You are also corrent in that if you provide a service cheaper than I, then you're going to get the gig and I'm SOL.

But lets also take this to the extreme. You're an entry-level IT geek getting say $12/hr. You are formally paid for 40 hours work, but you're effectively working 80 hours (and, the key in this whole discussion....UNPAID).

Your net effective pay is $6/hr, NOT $12/hr. NOW....does that violate your state minimum wage laws?

Capitalism in its purest form IS a race to the bottom...but you advocate a wild-west where eventually effort put in will have a worth to the corporation of $0. SOMEBODY has to stand up and protect the workforce from the corporation. PEOPLE are not a race to the bottom, and if you think that, then I honestly feel sorry for you.