Our first place winner on the insightful side this week is James Burkhardt who responded to the news of Microsoft’s looming ebook shutdown by sharing his approach to dealing with such content:
People have looked at me askew because I download every audible book I buy (>200 titles) and strip the DRM. I started this project 3 years ago, and was concerned Audible wouldn’t survive Amazon’s inevitable collapse (this was before amazon started reporting a profit). Now I keep it up for any number of future catastrophes.
In second place, we’ve got TheResidentSkeptic responding to the suggestion that complaints about TV streaming exclusivity are hypocritical when compared to calls for a la carte cable channels:
Not quite the same. This version would be like driving to Burger King for the burger, then to McDonalds for Fries, then to Wendys for a Frosty.
We want a single supplier/account wherein we can choose the channels in a given accurately priced package. I want SyFy, BBC, and whoever has Captain Slow’s Worldwide Adventures with the Hamster and the Orangutan. she wants her channels. I’m not putting up with a dozen channels all with the same 10 over the top/under the bottom taxation schemes.
For editor’s choice on the insightful side, we start out with one more nod to first place winner James Burkhardt, who also had an insightful take on Nintendo as a company:
The reason Nintendo won’t adopt a positive approach to fan works is simple. They retain the culture of a toy company, not a media content company.
Nintendo releases content as though it were a toy company, and the fact that Nintendo consoles always seem to be out of stock is the evidence of this. Meeting demand isn’t their goal. Having the must have toy or game that is sold out everywhere is what they want. Its why they never produce enough Amiibo in a run, why there was only one insufficient planned run for the NES Classic. Its why they don’t fully leverage their back catalog and make a nexflix for Nintendo games, instead only paying lip service to the concept. Its why they sold out of 3ds consoles every Christmas, without any more stock to ship out. Nintendo wants to be the company with that hype and demand behind their toy, and they will manipulate supply to get it.
Fan works disrupt that exclusive supply aura. Anything that uses a Nintendo IP needs to feed into this self aggrandizing pipeline to build that hype as part of Nintendo’s carefully coordinated marketing strategy. Fan works don’t do that.
Next, we’ve got TFG responding to the bizarre idea that you “couldn’t ask for a better outcome” than Microsoft deleting ebooks and giving refunds:
Sure you could. You could ask for the problem not to have occurred in the first place. DRM should never have been applied. In fact, it should probably be illegal.
Over on the funny side, our first place winner is an anonymous commenter who is surely seeking additional investors for this exciting new venture:
I’m starting a company, it’s called 5G Blockchain Inc.
I don’t know what we will do yet, but we’ve already got VC funding at a valuation of $1 billion.
In second place, we’ve got Stephen T. Stone responding to a regular raving critic who labelled it “inhuman” to repeat the “same schtick” for years on end:
Hey now, don’t be so hard on yourself. You’re not that bad.
For editor’s choice on the funny side, we start out with one more from Stephen T. Stone, this time in response to a college targeting its own campus newspaper with a public records request:
Huh. So there is a First Amendment crisis on a college campus!
Finally, we’ve got That One Guy summing up Lindsay Graham’s demands for more magical perfect moderation online, and specifically our question about how he expects people to achieve it:
Oh that’s easy: ‘Nerd harder.’
That’s all for this week, folks!
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Author: Leigh Beadon