Disqus - Latest Comments for Matt

Re: Is it Ever Okay to Steal Entertainment?

Matt — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 09:35:34 -0000

For the sake of debate, here are my objections to the rules you outlined above.

Music you've already paid for: The problem I see here is that one basically absolves themselves of any personal responsibility for caring for their own property by following this rule. With just about anything else you own, it's your responsibility to take care of it. And if you don't, you'll need to eventually purchase a replacement. One could make the argument that since there's no negative impact on the content producer that makes it okay. But I'm not sure that's entirely sound. There may be no direct impact on the content producer, but if by downloading a copy you're supporting a platform that others use for less moral reasons, then there is still arguably a negative impact.

Movies & TV from used/rental stores: This argument I find even more dubious. The problem here is that the amount of used sales (that the studio does not receive payment for) is directly tied to the amount of new sales (that they do receive payment for). At the end of the day, the amount of used copies available must be less than or equal to the number of copies that have sold new. By making a copy of a used DVD, you're breaking this rule. Here's an example. Suppose a studio has sold 200 copies of a DVD and 100 of those copies have been resold to the used market. If you have 101 people lined up to purchase used copies, the 101st person must instead buy it new. Now suppose the 1st person waiting on a used copy instead takes it home, copies it, and returns it. Now there are 101 used copies but still only 200 new sales. That person's actions have indirectly deprived the content holder of compensation for their work.

I've seen a lot of people make justifications for piracy, and have even tried to justify a lot of it to myself in the past. At this point in my life though, I don't believe that it's hardly ever really justified. The biggest problem I see that breaks most peoples' arguments is that there are just too many entertainment options available. If you can't find a particular movie/book/video game in your price range, there are thousands, perhaps even millions, of other options to fill your time that will fit your budget that do not require you to violate somebody's rights as a copyright holder.

That said, I do have one situation where I believe a person is perfectly justified in breaking the copyright. If content has digital restrictions on its usage that are undisclosed at the time of sale, and the point of sale will not take a return, then I think that the user is entitled to break the copyright in order to use the product as it was sold to them.

Re: Take This Rule of Thumb Quiz

Matt — Fri, 11 Jan 2008 09:54:09 -0000

I do have problems with a few of their tips, most notably the suggestion to go with an ARM. While technically, you may be able to play the game and come out ahead, I think the reality is that fixed rate is the better option for the vast majority of Americans.

I also have a problem with the way the one about leasing a car is phrased. They give the impression that leasing and buying a car should be valid options an equal amount of the time. Like with ARM's I think the amount of times that leasing a car is the better option is significantly lower than the alternative.

A realize that the point of the article is simply to point out that these rules of thumb don't always apply to everyone, but I think that some people could get the wrong idea from reading it.

Re: Black Friday and Your Spending Habits

Matt — Mon, 22 Oct 2007 11:27:35 -0000

I will definitely be spending more this year. The reason being that I have been setting money aside for gifts every month this year, instead of trying to cram it all into my November and December paychecks as I have in the past.

I don't mind looking for good deals, but braving the madness of the crowds on Black Friday just doesn't seem worth it to me. I'll be looking for deals elsewhere.

Re: Is Your Job One of the Top 25?

Matt — Tue, 05 Jun 2007 10:46:49 -0000

One thing I noticed when comparing the highest paying jobs to the lowest paying jobs was the amount of people who work in those jobs. For instance, the article says there are only 15,000 Petroleum Engineers in the US, and only 500 Prosthodontists. While there are almost 2.3 million fast food cooks, and 3.5 million cashiers. The fact of the matter is that these jobs pay well because there are very few people with the skills necessary to do them.

Of course the glaring exception on that list is lawyers. The article states that there are over 500,000 of them in the US.

Re: Is Your Job One of the Top 25?

Matt — Tue, 05 Jun 2007 10:31:47 -0000

#24 Petroleum Engineer, although being only 24 years old my salary is obviously below the industry average.

Re: 7 Ways To Kill Your Net Worth

Matt — Fri, 04 May 2007 10:03:11 -0000

I agree with your take on #3. That may make a good rule of thumb, but that's not really looking at the big picture. For instance, I spend somewhere between 25% and 30% of my net income on my car payment. While this may seem like an absurd amount on the surface, it means I'll have it paid off within the next 6 months. Right now, it only has 14,000 miles on it, so it's likely to last me close to 7 or 8 more years after I've paid it off and I'm avoiding a lot of interest by paying it off so early.

Re: Men: Do You Like Electric Razors?

Matt — Tue, 10 Apr 2007 13:20:17 -0000

I can't stand electric razors. I've owned two pretty high quality electric razors in the past, neither of which seemed to work for me. They never seem to shave close enough and they always seem to miss spots even if I run over them 3 or 4 times.

Re: Kyle Brady: A Blog - American Lobby Groups Need to Disappear

Matt — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 17:08:37 -0000

I agree with with most of this. I would just like to emphasize that it's not just corporate lobbyists who are the problem but all lobbyists. As an example, just about anyone who can add two and two together has known for decades that Social Security is a program headed for disaster once
the Boomers reach retirement age in mass, yet it remains politically unnassailable thanks in large part to the AARP.

Any program that puts the interests of select groups ahead of the general public is a corruption of democracy.

Re: Manjoo on “Grand Theft Auto 4″ hysteria

Matt — Fri, 25 Apr 2008 10:22:48 -0000

We all know how these kids are getting these games, their parents are buying it for them. According to a 2006 study by the ESA, 86% of children under the age of 18 get their parents permission to buy games and 91% say their parents are present at the time of purchase.

Re: The Technology Liberation Front » Archive » The ACLU and Media Hysteria

Matt — Wed, 21 May 2008 18:38:44 -0000

For what it's worth I read the post on Techdirt and agreed with pretty much everything you said. I just didn't have anything to add to post a comment about.

Re: The Technology Liberation Front » Archive » Interviews

Matt — Tue, 27 May 2008 14:34:36 -0000

Here are some questions I would ask Patri.

What are some of the technical limitations to Seasteading?
What size do you envision these communities starting at?
How large do you envision them growing?
Do you yourself plan to join/start one? If so what do you envision as some of the major hurdles once the community has been launched? How would you address these issues?
What industries to you foresee supporting these communities to make them viable for the long term?