Make Something Positive From The Verge Copyright Strikes

I posted my reaction on Vox Media copyright striking Bitwit and ReviewTechUSA for their reaction videos to The Verge PC build guide video last week. Bitwit and ReviewTechUSA since then appealed and got the copyright strikes removed by YouTube

Nilay Patel, editor-in-chief at The Verge, stated that this situation could have been avoided if content creators had reached out to him first before making videos. As many content creators pointed out, fair use under the copyright law doesn’t require asking permission to make videos. I called that situation #adulting since it was similar to Bill Maher adulting Stan Lee and superhero fans.

We will learn a new hashtag, #SomethingPostive.

Read more “Make Something Positive From The Verge Copyright Strikes”

Why Is The Verge #Adulting The YouTube Tech Community?

After I posted my video last week about Bill Maher “adulting” Stan Lee, comic book, and superhero fans, a friend asked if I was worried that Bill Maher or HBO would copy strike my video.

I told him I was not.

My video was fair use under the copyright law because I took five short clips from Bill Mayer’s video to provide context and added my own commentary. If Bill Maher did not want the renewed attention, he should not have doubled down on a controversial blog that he posted just days after Stan Lee’s death and made his video just days before a Stan Lee’s tribute in Hollywood.

Why do I bring this up now?

Vox Media, the parent company of The Verge, brought renewed attention to their terrible PC build guide video from five months ago by copyright striking two popular reaction videos from Bitwit and ReviewTechUSA. Although YouTube removed the copy strikes from the videos, The Verge’s justification for “adulting” the tech community was much worse than copy striking the videos in the first place.

Read more “Why Is The Verge #Adulting The YouTube Tech Community?”

Why Is Bill Maher “Adulting” Stan Lee, Comic Book & Superheroes Fans?

Kevin Smith, Mark Hamill, the team behind “Spider-Man: Into to Spiderverse,” Clark Gregg, and many others gave a special tribute to Stan Lee at the famed Chinese Theater in Hollywood. The proceeds for that event went to the Hero Initiative, a charity to help comic creators with health expenses. However, no good deed ever goes unpunished on the Internet. Bill Maher doubled down on his blog post that he posted after Stan Lee’s death in November 2018, describing comic book and superhero movie fans as children who need to grow up. Looks like someone is #adulting pop culture again.

Read more “Why Is Bill Maher “Adulting” Stan Lee, Comic Book & Superheroes Fans?”

Get Microsoft Certified With Confidence Voucher

In my Microsoft certification video four months ago, I talked about the “Replay Exam” special offer of an exam voucher with one retake exam good for one year. That special offer expired last week on January 31, 2019. The new special offer is called “Get Certified with Confidence” and expires on May 31, 2019. The new special offer is identical to the old special offer with some changes: the exam voucher comes with two retake exams good for six months. The good news is that you get twice as many retake exams. The bad news is the initial and retake exams must be taken in half the time. Is the “Get Certified with Confidence” special offer still a good deal?

Read more “Get Microsoft Certified With Confidence Voucher”

Three Options For Retiring Windows 10 MCSA/MCSE Certifications In 2019

When I started looking at my Microsoft certification options for the New Year, I saw the announcement that the Windows 10 Microsoft Certified Solutions Associate (MCSA) and the Mobility Microsoft Certified Solutions Expert (MCSE) being retired on March 31, 2019. Somehow I missed that announcement before I posted my Exam Replay certification video last October.

Here are the replacement certification exams:

  • The Windows 10 MSCA exams being replaced by the Microsoft 365 Modern Desktop Administrator Associate exams, “Windows 10” (MD-100) and “Managing Modern Desktops” (MD-101).
  • The Mobility MCSE exams being replaced by the Microsoft 365 Enterprise Administrator Expert exams, “Microsoft 365 Identity and Services” (MS-100) and “Microsoft 365 Mobility and Security” (MS-101).

Here are three options for getting Microsoft certified in early 2019.

Read more “Three Options For Retiring Windows 10 MCSA/MCSE Certifications In 2019”