Bob Webster 's Techdirt Comments

Latest Comments (62)

• On the post: This Weekend's Rally Against NSA Surveillance Gaining Steam

  

  Bob Webster ( profile ), 24 Oct, 2013 @ 03:55pm

  The NSA is out of control.

  The NSA is out of control. If the President ordered them today to stop surveillance on U.S. citizens, Germany, France, the U.K., Australia, and Japan, would they? I think not. The NSA is above (or below) the law and the U.S. Constitution.

• On the post: US Patent Office Seeking 'Partnership' With Software Community, Hoping To 'Enhance Quality Of Software Patents'

  

  Bob Webster ( profile ), 04 Jan, 2013 @ 11:06pm

  Enhance Quality?

  The best way to enhance the quality of software patents? Abolish them.
  
  A program is not an invention any more than an idea or a novel.

• On the post: California Attorney General Uses Twitter To Threaten United Airlines With Possible Legal Action

  

  Bob Webster ( profile ), 13 Oct, 2012 @ 08:33pm

  All you need is a policy. Any policy.

  This privacy policy has been in effect for several years now, and has served me faithfully.
  
  http://xpda.com/junkmail/privacy.htm
  
  (In case the link doesn't go through, the privacy policy consists of someone headed to an outhouse in the deep snow, with the caption "Close the Door Before You Go.")

• On the post: Sparkfun CEO Explains IP Obesity: Companies Who Rely Too Much On IP Flop

  

  Bob Webster ( profile ), 26 Sep, 2012 @ 09:20am

  Causation

  When a company's business is in decline for whatever reason, whether lack of innovation, poot marketing, or lack of management competency, they need money.
  
  Maybe the boss says, "We've got to increase revenue!" Someone pipes up, "We've got all this valuable IP we're not utilizing...".
  
  The company turns to lawsuits as a business so they execs can keep their jobs, since without income there's no money for salaries and bonuses.
  
  Even SCO used to produce something.

• On the post: Dear Ari Emanuel: We're All Meeting On The Internet, Come Join Us

  

  Bob Webster ( profile ), 01 Jun, 2012 @ 09:21pm

  The U.S. does not have a monopoly on creativity

  "One of our last remaining dominant American exports is our creativity."
  
  This may be, but it's not because people in the U.S. are any more creative than people elsewhere in the world. It's because the U.S. is losing its other exports. As the tech playing field levels, the U.S. can compete or it can lose.

• On the post: Church Sues Former Members For Posting A Negative Review Online

  

  Bob Webster ( profile ), 16 May, 2012 @ 04:37pm

  Cheeky

  Aren't Christians supposed to turn the other cheek? Blessed are the humble, but where's the humility in suing someone for a bad (even if inaccurate) review?

• On the post: Can Congress Work Like A Tech Startup?

  

  Bob Webster ( profile ), 11 May, 2012 @ 05:40pm

  The first three words...

  Can Congress work?

• On the post: To Read All Of The Privacy Policies You Encounter, You'd Need To Take A Month Off From Work Each Year

  

  Bob Webster ( profile ), 23 Apr, 2012 @ 09:20am

  Re: Median

  You could probably learn the definition of median in a place like the U of Florida Computer Science Dept. Oh, wait...

• On the post: To Read All Of The Privacy Policies You Encounter, You'd Need To Take A Month Off From Work Each Year

  

  Bob Webster ( profile ), 23 Apr, 2012 @ 08:15am

  Not all are complex.

  I feel the privacy policy on my personal site is one that many companies could emulate, copy, and, in the case of the RIAA and MPAA, steal.
  
  http://xpda.com/junkmail/privacy.htm
  (no rights reserved.)

• On the post: Hollywood Studio Execs Upset That President Obama Didn't Stay Bought; Insist They Won't Donate More

  

  Bob Webster ( profile ), 19 Jan, 2012 @ 11:50am

  Votes trump donations every time, as long as you have enough votes.

• On the post: DailyDirt: Fixing Photos And Fooling Folks

  

  Bob Webster ( profile ), 07 Dec, 2011 @ 11:32pm

  Doctored Images.

  It's a whole lot easier to deblur an image when it has been synthetically blurred. Caveat emptor.
  
  http://www.dpreview.com/news/2011/10/18/adobeclarifies

• On the post: Indie Rapper Tops Sales Charts By Connecting With Fans, Using Free Music

  

  Bob Webster ( profile ), 22 Nov, 2011 @ 09:10pm

  Not Bad...

  That guy is pretty good for a rapper!

• On the post: Pirate Party Building Up More And More Support: 9% Nationwide In Germany

  

  Bob Webster ( profile ), 11 Oct, 2011 @ 06:07pm

  Re:

  What about the Mugwamps? That's a party I could support.

• On the post: Austin Police Planned… Then Postponed Wardriving Plans In An Attempt To Shutdown Open WiFi

  

  Bob Webster ( profile ), 26 Sep, 2011 @ 09:21am

  Locked Doors

  It's a lot like police going around and telling people with unlocked front doors to lock them. Not a big deal, unless the list of people who leave their doors unlocked gets out.

• On the post: No, Angry Birds Is Not Costing $1.5 Billion In Lost Productivity

  

  Bob Webster ( profile ), 22 Sep, 2011 @ 04:46pm

  Angry Birder

  Angry Birds will save us a lot more than $1.5 billion if we can get members of Congress to spend their time on it.

• On the post: USPTO Rejects Two Rambus Patents… After It's Used Them To Win Patent Cases Against Companies

  

  Bob Webster ( profile ), 13 Sep, 2011 @ 07:41am

  Why?

  Why were the patents ruled invalid?

• On the post: DailyDirt: Safe Drinking Water

  

  Bob Webster ( profile ), 13 Aug, 2011 @ 08:13am

  Water, Water Everywhere

  People tend to forget that in some regions, there is more than enough water to drink, wash cars, water lawns, and even fill squirt guns. If the fresh water is not used, it runs into the ocean where it would require desalinization for drinking.
  
  Clean freshwater is a huge problem in some areas, but certainly not across the globe. It is a regional problem.

• On the post: DailyDirt: Safe Drinking Water

  

  Bob Webster ( profile ), 13 Aug, 2011 @ 08:12am

  Water, Water Everywhere

  People tend to forget that in some regions, there is more than enough water to drink, wash cars, water lawns, and even fill squirt guns. If the fresh water is not used, it runs into the ocean where it would require desalinization for drinking.
  
  Clean freshwater is a huge problem in some areas, but certainly not across the globe. It is a regional problem.

• On the post: Techdirt Files FOIA Requests Concerning ICE 'Anti-Piracy' Videos

  

  Bob Webster ( profile ), 16 May, 2011 @ 03:27pm

  ICE Technological Prowess

  You have to remember who we're dealing with here. ICE is not even capable of generating a random number!
  
  http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9216721/Computer_glitch_forces_U.S._to_cancel_visa_lottery_results

• On the post: FBI Hijacks Botnet, With Court Order… Then Issues Kill Signal To Millions Of Computers

  

  Bob Webster ( profile ), 15 Apr, 2011 @ 03:29pm

  If I can't or won't be secure, I would rather the FBI have control of my computer than a spammer.

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