Comment Why Dinosaurs? (Score 1) 528
Of all the things to choose to study, you picked dinosaurs. What inspired you to go that route rather than something that could potentially be easier to merge with your religious beliefs?
Comment Re:Ugh. (Score 1) 331
This actually looks promising. No contract, pre-paid. I'd just need the money for the phone because I don't think my current one (HTC Incredible) will work with T-mobile. Thank you!
Comment Ugh. (Score 4, Funny) 331
Verizon's unlimited 3G meant I could play Pandora through my phone while I was driving without worrying about data caps.
My contract is up anyhow and I need to trim down expenses. I have the HTC Droid Incredible, which is a nifty enough little phone. All I really need is texting, email, and maybe some minimum amount of minutes. A camera on it would be convenient. I really don't want to move from Verizon because I know their coverage is solid, but I don't want to reward their greedy data tier plan behavior. Any recommendations?
Submission + - Search for Sun's Sibling Could Find Life's Cousin (discovery.com)
astroengine writes: "The search for "Earth-like" worlds just became even more Earth-like. Researchers of the University of Turku, Finland, have begun the search for the Sun's siblings in the hope that they may play host to exoplanets. As these stars "grew up" in close proximity our Sun inside a stellar nursery some 4.5 billion years ago, they may have shared more than just star-building materials. Through the biology-spreading hypothesis "pansermia," they may have also shared the basic building blocks for life. Two sibling candidates have now been found and the researchers hope to survey the two stars — that contain similar metals and are of a similar age to our Sun — for bona fide Earth-like worlds. Could these worlds have life? If they do, extraterrestrial life may have more in common with us than we ever imagined."
Submission + - MPAA Joins Google, Facebook, EFF In Repeat Infringer Copyright Battle (torrentfreak.com)
SolKeshNaranek writes: Synopsis: As the battle over the DMCA’s requirements and boundaries heats up, Google, Facebook, the EFF, Public Knowledge and now the MPAA have become involved in a copyright case currently being heard by the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals. Is it enough for a site to perform takedowns when copyright holders demand them, or must it also take additional steps to remove repeat infringers?
Article:
Flava Works, Inc v. Gunter is an ongoing case involving an adult studio plaintiff and a user-submitted video links/video embedding site.
It has become so important that some of the world’s leading Internet companies such as Google and Facebook, rights groups such as the EFF and Public Knowledge, and the biggest entertainment companies through the MPAA, have all become involved in the case.
First a little background. Marques Gunter owns a site called myVidster, a site designed for users to upload links and embed videos hosted on 3rd party sites. In 2010, adult studio Flava Works filed a copyright complaint against myVidster and 26 Doe users of its service.
Flava Works alleged that Gunter had failed to correctly police his site for infringement. Although Flava did not deny that Gunter had responded to specific takedown requests, the company said that despite being made aware of them, Gunter had done nothing to stop a sample of 26 repeat infringers who continually reposted links to infringing material on the myVidster site.
In July 2011, a contributory infringement claim was upheld and a preliminary injunction awarded against myVidster. The company was denied a DMCA safe harbor defense after it was said to have not done enough to deal with repeat infringement.
“[Gunter] removes videos from myVidster that are listed in DMCA notices, but goes no further. Beyond his mechanical response to the notices, Gunter refuses to concern himself with copyright protection,” Judge John F. Grady wrote.
“It is true that service providers are not required to police their sites for infringement, but they are required to investigate and respond to notices of infringement—with respect to content and repeat infringers,” Grady added.
Noting the importance of the case, late November 2011 the EFF and Public Knowledge filed an amicus brief. The pair said that Grady had gone too far with his interpretation of the DMCA and noted that the law “.does not say when and how service providers must terminate the accounts of ‘repeat infringers,’ nor does it define ‘repeat infringer’.'”
Also in November, Internet giants Google and Facebook signaled their interest in the case and their desire to have the original decision overruled. Their submission is complex, but boils down to a common theme.
“Lack of certainty not only harms established businesses like Google and Facebook, but may prevent investment in and development of the next Google or the next Facebook. A [recent study] found that imposing greater liability on Internet intermediaries for the actions of their users would have a devastating effect on investment in early-stage Internet companies,” the pair wrote in a joint amicus brief.
With such important issues at stake, and with their interests leaning more towards holding service providers liable wherever they can, on April 4th the MPAA added their amicus brief to the mix. The MPAA wants Judge Grady’s 2011 ruling upheld.
“Contrary to the assertions of myVidster and amici Google and Facebook, search engines and social networking sites are not the only businesses that desire certainty in a challenging online marketplace,” MPAA wrote. “MPAA member companies and other producers of creative works also need a predictable legal landscape in which to operate.”
“By advertising infringing material, refusing to terminate any of its users’ accounts, and failing to identify and stop infringers who repeatedly embedded links to unauthorized video streams and displays, myVidster did not qualify for safe-harbor protection,” the MPAA continued.
Again, the brief submitted by the MPAA is highly complex, but it too can be boiled down to a simple interest.
“Given the massive and often anonymous infringement on the internet, the ability of copyright holders to hold gateways like myVidster liable for secondary infringement is crucial in preventing piracy,” the MPAA states.
In keeping with that theme and according to a statement from Flava Works CEO Phillip Bleicher seen by AVN, Flava Works are also suing the web hosts of myVidster.
US-based Voxel.net and Netherlands-based LeaseWeb.com are said to be on the hook “for failing to remove MyVidster.com from its servers despite dozens of DMCA notices alerting Voxel.net and LeaseWeb.com that Gunter was a repeat infringer. Under DMCA, safe harbor no longer applies to sites that fail to remove repeat infringers.”
Flava Works, Inc v. Gunter, currently up before the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals, is one of the most important copyright-related cases around and definitely one to keep an eye on.
Related articles:
Google, MPAA and isoHunt Clash in Court: http://torrentfreak.com/google-mpaa-and-isohunt-clash-in-court-110423/
Google’s the Largest Torrent Search Engine, isoHunt Tells Court: http://torrentfreak.com/googles-the-largest-torrent-search-engine-isohunt-tells-court-110315/
Google Gets Involved in BitTorrent Search Engine Lawsuit: http://torrentfreak.com/google-gets-involved-in-bittorrent-search-engine-lawsuit-110220/
Article:
Flava Works, Inc v. Gunter is an ongoing case involving an adult studio plaintiff and a user-submitted video links/video embedding site.
It has become so important that some of the world’s leading Internet companies such as Google and Facebook, rights groups such as the EFF and Public Knowledge, and the biggest entertainment companies through the MPAA, have all become involved in the case.
First a little background. Marques Gunter owns a site called myVidster, a site designed for users to upload links and embed videos hosted on 3rd party sites. In 2010, adult studio Flava Works filed a copyright complaint against myVidster and 26 Doe users of its service.
Flava Works alleged that Gunter had failed to correctly police his site for infringement. Although Flava did not deny that Gunter had responded to specific takedown requests, the company said that despite being made aware of them, Gunter had done nothing to stop a sample of 26 repeat infringers who continually reposted links to infringing material on the myVidster site.
In July 2011, a contributory infringement claim was upheld and a preliminary injunction awarded against myVidster. The company was denied a DMCA safe harbor defense after it was said to have not done enough to deal with repeat infringement.
“[Gunter] removes videos from myVidster that are listed in DMCA notices, but goes no further. Beyond his mechanical response to the notices, Gunter refuses to concern himself with copyright protection,” Judge John F. Grady wrote.
“It is true that service providers are not required to police their sites for infringement, but they are required to investigate and respond to notices of infringement—with respect to content and repeat infringers,” Grady added.
Noting the importance of the case, late November 2011 the EFF and Public Knowledge filed an amicus brief. The pair said that Grady had gone too far with his interpretation of the DMCA and noted that the law “.does not say when and how service providers must terminate the accounts of ‘repeat infringers,’ nor does it define ‘repeat infringer’.'”
Also in November, Internet giants Google and Facebook signaled their interest in the case and their desire to have the original decision overruled. Their submission is complex, but boils down to a common theme.
“Lack of certainty not only harms established businesses like Google and Facebook, but may prevent investment in and development of the next Google or the next Facebook. A [recent study] found that imposing greater liability on Internet intermediaries for the actions of their users would have a devastating effect on investment in early-stage Internet companies,” the pair wrote in a joint amicus brief.
With such important issues at stake, and with their interests leaning more towards holding service providers liable wherever they can, on April 4th the MPAA added their amicus brief to the mix. The MPAA wants Judge Grady’s 2011 ruling upheld.
“Contrary to the assertions of myVidster and amici Google and Facebook, search engines and social networking sites are not the only businesses that desire certainty in a challenging online marketplace,” MPAA wrote. “MPAA member companies and other producers of creative works also need a predictable legal landscape in which to operate.”
“By advertising infringing material, refusing to terminate any of its users’ accounts, and failing to identify and stop infringers who repeatedly embedded links to unauthorized video streams and displays, myVidster did not qualify for safe-harbor protection,” the MPAA continued.
Again, the brief submitted by the MPAA is highly complex, but it too can be boiled down to a simple interest.
“Given the massive and often anonymous infringement on the internet, the ability of copyright holders to hold gateways like myVidster liable for secondary infringement is crucial in preventing piracy,” the MPAA states.
In keeping with that theme and according to a statement from Flava Works CEO Phillip Bleicher seen by AVN, Flava Works are also suing the web hosts of myVidster.
US-based Voxel.net and Netherlands-based LeaseWeb.com are said to be on the hook “for failing to remove MyVidster.com from its servers despite dozens of DMCA notices alerting Voxel.net and LeaseWeb.com that Gunter was a repeat infringer. Under DMCA, safe harbor no longer applies to sites that fail to remove repeat infringers.”
Flava Works, Inc v. Gunter, currently up before the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals, is one of the most important copyright-related cases around and definitely one to keep an eye on.
Related articles:
Google, MPAA and isoHunt Clash in Court: http://torrentfreak.com/google-mpaa-and-isohunt-clash-in-court-110423/
Google’s the Largest Torrent Search Engine, isoHunt Tells Court: http://torrentfreak.com/googles-the-largest-torrent-search-engine-isohunt-tells-court-110315/
Google Gets Involved in BitTorrent Search Engine Lawsuit: http://torrentfreak.com/google-gets-involved-in-bittorrent-search-engine-lawsuit-110220/
Comment To be fair to Obama... (Score 3, Informative) 807
The detention legislation was attached to the military spending bill for the next year and he did release a signing statement specifically stating that he didn't like it.
Comment Re:You COULD care less? (Score 1) 435
Well, only Sith deal in absolutes so your hatred of those people is perfectly natural.
Comment Not a very new problem. (Score 3, Informative) 234
http://bit.ly/rCBPp7 You don't know where that link goes until you click it. So, what do you do?
Comment What's a "knowledge economy"? (Score 5, Insightful) 135
Is it where companies hoard patents on irrelevant things and use them to sue the pants off competitors?
Comment Re:Looks like a good game, but I wont be playin'. (Score 2) 389
I'm bemused that you won't be playing a Star Wars game because there will be too many Star Wars fans playing it. Isn't that a bit like saying you won't eat at a restaurant because there's too many people eating there that like the food?
Comment The problem with metrics is (Score 2) 223
that it always sounds like a good idea when you're thinking of implementing it and few people go beyond the "this sounds like a good idea" phase to the "how can I game the metric I just thought up?" phase.
Comment Re:Who gets their name written in the history book (Score 1) 210
Whoever patents it first.
Comment Re:No Public Domain (Score 1) 320
My grandfather recorded a TV show that had John Stossel as the TV host. The whole thing was about property ownership being awesome and public property just ending up with the tragedy of the commons. It even went so far as to say that conservation of wild animals is better if someone owns them for profit, offering the example of some park raising a protected buffalo herd and selling tickets every year for people to come watch them get herded across part of the park. It was interesting, but I couldn't watch more than half of the show as I got tired of the bullshit it contained.
Comment He's justifying the consolidation, (Score 3, Insightful) 231
not disputing it. By asserting that profit margins are thin (so the incentive to take risks is lower), that media companies are messy businesses (apparently, he believes organized media output is a myth), and that the corporations listed are so large that controlling all departments is a tall order, he doesn't seem to think the consolidation is anything to worry about. His fact checking is minimal, mostly constrained to making fun of some math gone wrong and telling everyone that his bullshit detector is going off. The infographic itself is pretty neat, but the post criticizing is hardly worth reading, much less linking.
Comment Re:What's rogue about him? (Score 1) 129
Change that to was. He's apparently dead now.
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Gee, Toto, I don't think we're in Kansas anymore.
