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But with more limited libraries.

"More" limited, but Netflix's US library is extremely limited. In my 30-dvd queue of non-obscure stuff, usually only 4-5 are ever available for streaming.

The online streaming situation sucks. It's horribly broken. A nice example: Game of Thrones

You're confusing commas and semicolons.

You're confusing "you're" and "your"; as long as we're being pedantic

Here's a link for you: http://theoatmeal.com/comics/semicolon

Grammar nazis should have perfect grammar. Next you time you write one of these stupid posts, you better get out your English textbook.

Since this is Slashdot, I'm going to anonymously mock you for your grammatical errors and give you a URL that shows the proper usage of an apostrophe: http://theoatmeal.com/comics/apostrophe

Ironically, they all do.

http://theoatmeal.com/comics/irony

High five?

Obligatory Oatmeal

My only disagreement is this:

Just because the DVD won't be available until the fall is not justification to download it freely. Oftentimes cable channels like HBO want to play the show over-and-over several times (for subscribers) before releasing it to everyone else. Movie studios do the same thing (release to theaters first; DVD later).

http://theoatmeal.com/comics/game_of_thrones

...paying for text messaging (which literally costs carriers nothing)...

You are using that word and I literally do not think you know what it means.

I think the Oatmeal explained it best. Bring out the GayRoller!

http://theoatmeal.com/comics/apple

http://theoatmeal.com/comics/irony You should probably read this comic about Irony before you start to tell others about Irony

The Oatmeal describes this phenomenon perfectly.

Or he could check out: http://theoatmeal.com/comics/irony

http://theoatmeal.com/comics/game_of_thrones

I could have GoT on my drive in minutes if I really wanted it - in HD would take a bit longer. I have at least two sources I could go through and neither of them would shower me with spam or anything else unseamly. Sure, I won't get the DVD extras but I seldom watch those. When I rip a BD I do save off the director's sound track though and if it was a DVD I store it lock stock and menu which my front-end plays without flinching. I can peruse tons and tons of media without getting off the couch. I can stream it to my portable devices anywhere, and I can stream media from my portable devices to my TV.

Do I still prefer store bought media? Yup, I prefer it because I process the video myself with my settings for the best picture. I then throw it in a box in my storage space never to see it again unless someone wishes to borrow it. why in this world have that stuff out where thieves can see it and where I must pore through it looking for it when I want to watch it? Even binders didn't work well for me, I'm way happier with everything ripped and ready to go!

Having never heard of this software before and hearing about it now I'm betting that usage is again about to shoot up! :-)

The "content providers" really need to get a clue. this comic says it all IMO -> http://theoatmeal.com/comics/game_of_thrones

They make it ever harder to get content and then wonder why people are sharing more and more. I have pretty much ceased downloading MP3 because I can easily and cheaply get them from Amazon. I have pretty much ceased BUYING E-books because publishers jacked prices through the roof and I can download them in SECONDS. I download and save TV shows for later viewing often even though I have a couple of TiVO and record many of the same shows. That saves me the EFFORT of pulling them off my TiVO, editing them, compressing them, and copying them. If the transaction is easy ala Amazon's MP3 (which even copy to cloud storage!) then the sales will come. Perhaps it won't be at the astronomical prices these idiots dream of but it sure beats a lost sale doesn't it? Their idea is to bottle things up such that everyone is FORCED into their business model - I'm sorry but that's not going to ever happen. Make the transaction friction-less, have an extensive easy to use catalog, and make it cheap enough I'll buy it like some throwaway app in an app store and "content" will sell like hotcakes.

Now then, I'm off to download and check out this new program. It will sure beat having folks over with portable drives for swap parties or participating in huge Torrent clouds!

Likewise, fantasy novels in which human characters transform into non-humans are affected if those characters have sex.

Please?

If ever there were a good time to actually care about Pants picking Edward over Jacob... I got with Team WhichEverIsTheWerewolfSoWeCanGetItBanned.

I know people love to whine about how over-priced movies are, and how that justifies your piracy, but seriously, these are two block busters from 2010 for the price of a McDonald's meal. What's it going to take to stop you pirating this stuff?

I don't actually "pirate stuff" hardly at all, but do you want the real answer?

The first thing to understand is that different people turn to piracy for different reasons. The one you're ostensibly arguing against is this one. And that is the reason why your argument fails: The problem is not "DVDs should be $10." The problem is that a legitimate copy of a sufficiently recent show or movie is not available. Not for $10, not for $20, not for $50. And by the time it is available on DVD, $20 is no longer an attractive price because you've already seen the content (one way or another) and it frequently isn't worth $20 to buy something old that you've already seen.

But there is an implicit assumption in your argument that bears pointing out: Even if you improve the attractiveness of legitimate offerings, that will never "stop" piracy, because people turn to piracy for different reasons. What it will do is increase revenues, because you do convert the subset of pirates who turn to piracy because of a lack of attractive legitimate offerings, in exactly the same way that iTunes did for music and substantially reduced music piracy.

But it won't stop people who turn to piracy for reasons other than lack of legitimate availability. There is a large subset of pirates who do it because they consider "fuck the MPAA" to be a public service. If you want to convert those people, you have to adopt a strategy that targets them -- like the MPAA publicly (and in actual fact) abandoning its lobbying campaign to enact legislation and treaties that support DRM and impinge civil liberties.

I'd still rather pay 10c for a fast and simple criminal service that treats me with respect than pay $20 for a legitimate fiddly DVD that treats me like a criminal... (also this)

I want the same question asked worldwide, otherwise the Pirate Bay stays the only option for many.

Oblig The Oatmeal comic on this topic.

This is for you: http://theoatmeal.com/comics/apple

End Piracy, not Liberty!

You're right, I don't like it. I don't think "piracy" is a real problem, and people who use that word for anything that doesn't involve actual ships tend to be on the wrong side of the copyright debate.

I prefer Kitten BBQ = bad!.

Here are some blacked-out webcomics:

• Questionable Content
• Ctrl+Alt+Del
• Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal
• The Oatmeal (this one will be hard to take a screenshot of, as it's an animation)
• Dinosaur Comics
• Something Positive
• Nedroid

Incidentally, half of these I hadn't even heard of before today; I only know of them now because they chose to protest SOPA! Also, Penny Arcade isn't blacked out but has an anti-SOPA banner, and XKCD hasn't updated yet.

Oh, BTW, since I personally cannot name characters in just about any movie, does that mean they are all gimmicky crap? Or just that I've watched Empire Strikes Back many times since it came out, including when I was an impressionable kid, and read the LOTR in book form decades before the movie, versus watching Avatar a total of once?

Interesting. Perhaps part of the reason you've watched Empire Strikes Back so many times is that you enjoyed the story? I mean, I don't think we're breaking new ground here if we say that special effects (e.g. explosions, 3D, explosions in 3D) don't make up for flat characters or a weak story.

http://theoatmeal.com/blog/apps

And here is the correct solution to the problem.

Obligatory Why some emails go unanswered

The Oatmeal to the rescue.

They had it coming. Oatmeal Netflix parody:

http://theoatmeal.com/comics/netflix

My fat American ass shoving honey coated whole wheat pretzels into my gaping maw while surfing the internet?

This imagery reminds me of the humor style of the guy who does The Oatmeal.

*oh my god, a girl is trying to talk to me on Slashdot, quick, reply with something that will impress her!*

I also snort.

I just snorted milk out my nose!

My fat American ass shoving honey coated whole wheat pretzels into my gaping maw while surfing the internet?

This imagery reminds me of the humor style of the guy who does The Oatmeal.

*oh my god, a girl is trying to talk to me on Slashdot, quick, reply with something that will impress her!*

I also snort.

My fat American ass shoving honey coated whole wheat pretzels into my gaping maw while surfing the internet?

This imagery reminds me of the humor style of the guy who does The Oatmeal.

Relevant: http://theoatmeal.com/comics/sriracha

I suppose we should add "messing with my sonar buoys" to the list.

lit up with speculation that this is a deliberate move to exclude Mono because of its emulation of Microsoft .NET

No, once apply Occam's Razor and ignore the conspiracy angle it's quite obvious that it's "a deliberate move to exclude Mono because" it sucks dead dingo kidneys.

(Cue the pedants who will argue into the wind about an improper usage of Occam's Razor. a.k.a. Howler Monkeys)

"it's release"!? For the love of... ok, refresher course...

The Oatmeal

State of the Web, Summer 2011

http://theoatmeal.com/pl/senior_year/science

Clue: http://theoatmeal.com/comics/online_gaming

You, sir, need to read http://theoatmeal.com/comics/apostrophe and call us back in the morning!

Try this: http://theoatmeal.com/comics/misspelling

Actually it would be (unfortunately) God 1,800,000, Science 0. 1.8 million have died from AIDS, and (as far as we know) science has yet to provably cure anyone of HIV or AIDS.

As far as Pat Robinson goes, I'm sure he's just waiting for you to be flattened by the homosexual steamroller that Jerry Falwell was nice enough to warn us about.

I do have to say, though, as someone with family in the 'Bible Belt', I wouldn't mind running a steamroller over you a few times for your casual disregard for their risk of death due to natural disaster, simply because of their proximity to people you hate. It'd be fun to watch. In the meantime, though, feel free to catch AIDS and die before this gets FDA approval.

literal copies of Apple product

... as in same rounded rectangle shape except with different hardware and software?

Yeah, that's pretty literal.

Reminds me of this comic: What it's Like to Play Games Online as an Adult.

The two situations are totally different. [interstitial spin redacted] This is a case of breach of contract, nothing else.

No, this is a case of irony. Furthermore, I am unwilling to engage your spin because I do not conflate law with morality.

Is it illegal if a pawn shop that has been intentionally receiving stolen goods has said goods embezzled? Yes.
Is it ironic & amusing when said pawn shop owner whines about how they have been wronged in this manner? Yes.

So, while you might be correct from a legal standpoint, I find it to be a completely different issue when considered from a moral perspective.

we (the US) are literally stuck between a rock and a hard place.

Forgive the off-topic, but: http://theoatmeal.com/comics/literally

Unless I'm missing something also, it's probably the fact that a large majority of the population doesn't actually understand what the the word irony actually means.

This is appropriate for your comment. Read the entire comic, but I think it's important that you pay particular attention to the very last point along with the advice that trails it.

I can understand getting the latest one of your old one breaks and there's not much price difference. What we're talking about here is mass buying, sight unseen and throwing the old one (still perfectly good) in the trash.

This seems appropriate here: http://theoatmeal.com/comics/apple

Unfortunately there's other considerations to be made like... making sure you don't become "invisible" to your employer/manager.

That's not always a bad thing

You would look much smarter if you do the space magic thing on "alot".

It's a shame this ruling didn't happen before the whole The Oatmeal vs. FunnyJunk situation occurred. Especially since FJ was ostensibly profiting from the hundreds of stolen images, I doubt it would have been considered fair use.

http://theoatmeal.com/comics/design_hell

That is all.

Slashdot usually automatically hyperlinks urls. Sorry for the site's malfunction. If the zombies ate the copy/paste center, though, this should help you: Linky for the copy/paste impaired.