* Posts by PHPonSnails

7 publicly visible posts • joined 26 Sep 2009

NORKS powers down whole towns to find pirates

PHPonSnails

No - it can't be true!

You cannot seriously be suggesting that copyright infringement can have positive results. Don't you even care about the creative industries?

(I was going to put a note about irony here, but it would probably be wasted)

The UK's copyright landgrab: The FAQ

PHPonSnails
Stop

Q: Is there anything in which Andrew Orlowski's knee doesn't jerk towards copyright maximalism?

A. No.

Anyway, here's an alternative viewpoint. I can't be arsed to retype it all here. Feel free to rip it off if you want to.

http://mark.goodge.co.uk/2013/04/the-copyright-orphanage/

PHPonSnails

Re: so, can I use this...?

That's clearly not an orphan work, as it's very recognisable and anyone who recognises it knows who owns it.

Your comment, though, does illustrate one of the problems with this debate, which is that very many opponents of the Act obviously don't have a clue what an orphan work actually is.

PHPonSnails

Re: Two sides to the orphan issue?

Excellent point, very well put.

Google revives ‘network computer’ with dual-OS assault on MS

PHPonSnails
Jobs Horns

It isn't a standalone device if you still need to plug it in

Tablets and cloudbooks will only become a serious contender to replace, rather than complement, a standard PC when they're capable of updating and installing whatever software they use, and copying data, entirely over the air without the need for a dedicated host unit. The iPad's biggest weakness is that it has to be connected to a Mac or PC running iTunes in order to transfer data between it and other devices, or even between apps on itself. that's a huge design flaw which is just waiting to be exploited by other manufacturers.

Why the Advocate General got Google AdWords wrong

PHPonSnails

Misunderstanding of how search works

There's an interesting comment in the Out-Law article linked here, about Interflora suing M&S for using their trademark as an ad trigger. The article says that part of the lawsuit claims that "when a user enters the search term INTERFLORA or similar into the Google search engine, it is the intention of that user to look for [Interflora or its associates]."

The problem with that is that it's complete bollocks. If I google for "interflora", my intention is to look for anything *relevent* to Interflora. That may well be Interflora's official site, but it might also be consumer comments about them, news articles about them, and, yes, even possible alternatives or competitors. It's not for Interflora to decide what I can see when I google them, that's a matter between me and Google. And, where relevant, Google's advertisers. I'm capable of making up my own mind what links to follow.

UK webhosts in champagne throwing cat fight

PHPonSnails
Happy

Poundhost grovel better, too

Poundhost did actually apologise for the cockup with the email addresses, and promised to take steps to ensure it never happens again as well as disciplining the errant member of staff responsible. RapidSwitch, on the other hand, seem to think that breaking the law on unsolicited commercial email is entirely justified and not something to apologise for.