Mike Brown 's BestNetTech Comments

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  • On the post: John Steele Tries To Get Out Of Alan Cooper's Lawsuit By Arguing That The Use Of 'Alan Cooper' Was 'Coincidental'

    Mike Brown ( profile ), 21 Oct, 2013 @ 05:19pm

    "So, argument number two from Steele: signing someone else's name to a legal document in a court isn't deceptive if no one can be shown to be deceived."

    Now his Prenda gig is turning to crapola, maybe Steele can get a job at the NSA. He seems to get his legal strategies out of the same playbook.

  • On the post: NSA Collects Email Contact Lists, Instant Messaging Chat Buddy Lists From Overseas With No Oversight At All

    Mike Brown ( profile ), 14 Oct, 2013 @ 07:08pm

    Re: Apparently ranked by unpopularity:

    You and your Google bashing! Give it a rest.

    Yahoo and Hotmail predate Gmail by 10 years! It stands to reason that they'd have significantly more accounts for the NSA to snoop into.

  • On the post: NSA Collects Email Contact Lists, Instant Messaging Chat Buddy Lists From Overseas With No Oversight At All

    Mike Brown ( profile ), 14 Oct, 2013 @ 06:12pm

    Well I guess we owe a great big "thank you" to all those heirs of assassinated Nigerian warlords. By spamming us with their requests to take thier money, they were actually shielding us from the NSA's email dragnet.

  • On the post: All It Takes Is Two Words To Wipe Away One Of The Pillars Of Free Speech Online

    Mike Brown ( profile ), 24 Sep, 2013 @ 05:37pm

    Re: Gut Section 230

    You've got to be kidding. Look kid, I'll give you the benefit of the doubt that you might actually be OOTB. I happen to be one of the guys who punches the "report" button after about 90% of his posts. If you read a bunch of them, they all start to sound the same. If it's not some attack that has nothing to do with the article it's posted on, it boils down to bla bla Google sucks, bla bla Mike won't tell me what his stance is bla bla bla. It's tiresome and childish, and many of us are just tired of it. On occasion he has managed to put something out there that's at least thought provoking, and in those cases, I swallow my pride and hit "insightful." He has an opinion or two about taxing the hell out of what he calls "unearned income" (from patent/copyright trolling, etc) that I can certainly agree with, but that's about it.

    No one here has ever censured him, nor have they CENSORED him, for that matter. Every single one of his diatribes has always been and continues to be exactly ONE CLICK AWAY, so if that's your thing, go read them. Despite being behind a mouse click, his posts still manage to generate a series of responses that take his points head on, so I challenge you to read those too.

    It takes many people clicking "report" to make a post hidden. It shouldn't take a rocket scientist to figure out why it's always him.

  • On the post: Not Funny: NJ Supreme Court Says Judges Can't Do Stand Up

    Mike Brown ( profile ), 20 Sep, 2013 @ 01:59pm

    Re: Al Franken

    Sonny Bono and Fred Grandy also come to mind.

  • On the post: FISA Court Admits That Snowden Debate Is Helpful, And That More Rulings Should Be Declassified

    Mike Brown ( profile ), 13 Sep, 2013 @ 01:45pm

    Re:

    "You all were right, and I was wrong." -- No politician, ever.

  • On the post: Thai Airways Tries To Cover Logo On Crashed Plane, Gets Egg On Face Instead

    Mike Brown ( profile ), 11 Sep, 2013 @ 03:26pm

    Re:

    I'm pretty sure all those passengers already knew what airline they were flying, and have their boarding passes to prove it. No worries though, they'll get compensation for their inconvenience in the form of free tickets.

    Since this is evidently their standard operating procedure, you'd think they would keep giant tarps on hand to throw over the wreckage of their planes. That way they can literally cover up accidents, without damaging the paint job.

  • On the post: Author Claims We've Learned Enough From The Snowden Docs And The Rest Should Be Destroyed

    Mike Brown ( profile ), 11 Sep, 2013 @ 03:54pm

    We've Learned Enough?

    "We've Learned Enough?" Yes, if you define "enough" by Clapper's dictionary. Something tells me that statement, like so many of Clapper's, won't stand up to scrutiny. So far the leaks seem very deliberately timed to expose abuses of the Constitution without creating an international panic. My guess is, the process of bringing all the dirt to light is just getting started.

    No one other than Ed Snowden and his trusted inner circle has any idea how much dirt he got his hands on. And that's what's making the news so interesting lately--the NSA has no idea either, so the minute they try to put a positive spin on the latest rumor, out comes another leak to debunk it.

    The chaos we're seeing in Washington right now is all well and good, but I predict it will pick up steam the closer we get to Election Day.

  • On the post: Feds Now Demanding Internet Companies Hand Over User Passwords Too

    Mike Brown ( profile ), 25 Jul, 2013 @ 08:50pm

    Re: Re: With properly implemented storage of passwords.....

    Because the terrorists use Facebook to communicate with each other, and those bastards won't accept the NSA's friend requests.

  • On the post: Teen Tweets Stupid 'Threat,' Surprisingly Manages To Avoid Terrorism Charges

    Mike Brown ( profile ), 15 Jul, 2013 @ 07:54pm

    Isn't Social Media Awesome?

    This kid is an idiot, but I blame everyone who called the police for the brouhaha.

    Dear NSA: Here's a tip for you that should save you a ton of money and labor. You don't need to scoop up tons of data on all of us because apparently there are millions of armchair terrorism experts on Twitter who seem perfectly happy to do the work for you. I would assume the "threats" they are uncovering are just as likely as the ones you're uncovering in your massive dragnet.
    /sarc

  • On the post: How Important Are YouTube Game Videos To Game Companies?

    Mike Brown ( profile ), 02 Jul, 2013 @ 09:06pm

    "As for video's of games, watching a vid of a game is not the same as playing the game, but it sure does make you want to try them."

    Exactly. People post their gameplay because they LIKE THE GAME, and they want to show off the cool things they can do. How can anyone see this as anything other than free advertising? I bought Guild Wars 2 based on an Angry Joe video that I bumped into completely by accident. He was so positive about it, I bought it right away.

  • On the post: Broadcasters To FCC: Now That Our Audience Is Gone, Can We Swear More?

    Mike Brown ( profile ), 26 Jun, 2013 @ 05:43pm

    Re: Re: Re:

    I'm all for modernizing the guidelines a bit, because times change. I think to a certain extent, networks are recognizing that. You would never have seen shows like Modern Family, Will and Grace, or Two Broke Girls in the 70's.

    And no, you don't need obscenity to have a successful show. I don't think there's been a single episode of Big Bang Theory where Sheldon didn't use the word "coitus" at least once, and it's funny every time.

  • On the post: Edward Snowden Charged With Espionage By US Government

    Mike Brown ( profile ), 21 Jun, 2013 @ 06:14pm

    Re:

    What, they didn't have dictionaries where you went to school?

    See the problem here is that we seem to be living in a culture where it's okay to alter the meaning of words to suit nefarious purposes, like trying to make trumped up charges stick. Copying DVD's or what have you is "stealing," pointing out that our government is violating the Constitution is "espionage." Pretty soon, disagreeing with moronic posts like yours is "hate speech"?

  • On the post: New Bill Would Stop Patent Trolls From Hiding Behind Shell Companies

    Mike Brown ( profile ), 22 May, 2013 @ 05:12pm

    Re:

    Me neither, but I still predict this bill will die. If you have the means to set up shell companies to hide behind, you can afford to make contributions to certain political campaigns, too. A small start-up that's just trying to make an honest buck or two doesn't often have that luxury.

  • On the post: New Bill Would Stop Patent Trolls From Hiding Behind Shell Companies

    Mike Brown ( profile ), 22 May, 2013 @ 04:54pm

    Re:

    I don't think we read the same article.

  • On the post: First Hand Account Of Judicial Smackdown Of Prenda In Minnesota

    Mike Brown ( profile ), 22 May, 2013 @ 04:38pm

    Re: Re: Re: Re:

    Alice Cooper is also a man. Just sayin'.

  • On the post: Did Paul Duffy's Wife Admit That He Was Engaged In Interstate Extortion On Facebook?

    Mike Brown ( profile ), 15 May, 2013 @ 01:25pm

    Re:

    Actually, I have to agree with her on that point. Downloaders ARE the worst kind of thieves imaginable: they download all day and all night, and despite all of their efforts, not one single title has ever gone missing.

  • On the post: Monsanto Wins Case Of Seed Patents; Planting Your Own Legally Purchased & Grown Seeds Can Be Infringing

    Mike Brown ( profile ), 13 May, 2013 @ 06:56pm

    Re: Here's some reductio ad ridiculum

    Well, I'm 1/4th German via my grandmother on my father's side. I guess I should keep that to myself or some Monsanto-disciple will blame me for the Holocaust.

  • On the post: Monsanto Wins Case Of Seed Patents; Planting Your Own Legally Purchased & Grown Seeds Can Be Infringing

    Mike Brown ( profile ), 13 May, 2013 @ 06:50pm

    Re: Re: Re: Patenting Nature

    oops, I meant "patent" not "copyright." Rookie mistake.

  • On the post: Monsanto Wins Case Of Seed Patents; Planting Your Own Legally Purchased & Grown Seeds Can Be Infringing

    Mike Brown ( profile ), 13 May, 2013 @ 06:48pm

    Re: Re: Patenting Nature

    I think it's absolutely ridiculous to claim copyright on DNA. Here's why: each generation of organisms only gets half of its DNA from each of its parents. So unless a Monsanto soybean is planted and pollinated by another Monsanto soybean plant, I would say that the resulting generation was only half Monsanto. The next generation only 1/4th, and so on.

    If an organism only owes half of its DNA to a Monsanto seed, is it still a Monsanto seed, or is it something new (a derivative work, if you will)? If not half, how about 1/4th? 1/8th? At what point is a plant "not Monsanto enough" to fall under their IP?

    Given enough time, Monsanto could claim that all soybeans grown in North America are theirs, because the wind blows pollen every which way, and sooner or later their trademarked genes may turn up anywhere.

    This is insanity. Let's be honest: Monsanto did not "invent" anything. They observed nature. They realized that there are different varieties of soybeans all over the world. they picked a few with characteristics they liked, cross-pollinated them, and managed to fool someone into thinking the result was a new "invention."

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