Slashdot Mirror
Creative Boycotts CeBit Over MP3s
underwhelm writes "According to ZDNet, Creative Labs is boycotting CeBit because the trade show has banned all MP3-related devices, presumably at the behest of the 'content industry.'"
← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)
CeBIT and Creative were argueing about the target audience. MP3 and copyright issues were *not* the problem, a very loud consumer-oriented booth was. CeBIT wants to become a business fair (again), but Creative wants to attract consumers.
As someone who has worked on CeBIT as booth personnel, let me tell you that multimedia booths are a real problem. There are regulations against too loud exhibitors, but many companies on CeBIT don't care. The organizers are now trying to enforce these rules a little bit more.
CeBIT did *not* ban Creative, but *Creative* decided not to be there. Instead, Creative will be on next years' largest German consumer fair, the "Funkausstellung". This fair is not a specific IT business fair, but targets your average TV / vcr / dvd / stereo / videogame consumer.
I *am* getting a bit nervous about Slashdot's namecalling recently.
------------------
------------------
You may like my a cappella music
I recently attended a conference and the Australian Online Musics industry. There was one panel on 'Digital Downloads' that demonstrated just this sort of mentality on the part of high-moment-of-inertia-type music executives, most of them were talking about how MP3 wasn't the appropriate format and then proceeded to plug their own ideas on the subject. One proposal even involved encoding the music with "unbreakable" encryption and requiring a user to log on to a central server for the key.
Finally one of the panel stood up and said. I'm sorry, MP3s are here you're too late. There is hardware available, consumers like it and it has already been adopted as the defacto standard. You have no place to decide whether it gets adopted or not.
I stood up and clapped.
:wq
Having spent the better part of the last four months on a project to build an mp3 player for commerical sale, I can tell you that this statement is WRONG. MP3 is incredibly expensive, and if Fraunhoeffer don't want you to license it, you won't.
Commercial decoding:
15k annual pre-pay + 2.50 / item shipped.
Commercial encoding:
Their object code:
15k annual
$250k minimum
$5.00/copy shipped
Their patents:
15k annual
$2.50/copy shipped.
This is US dollars. I hardly consider this "free" by any means. They have over 13 patents on the format alone, who cares if you can encode it? You can't USE it unless you pay!
Our project was scrapped because of these costs, and management's inability to grasp that there are other formats.
Vorbis is free. Period. You can get and change the code. You can make free players. You can make commerical players. You can use it in your other products. No one will come after you with a team of lawyers for not paying for Vorbis.
I get sick of hearing about how "open" mp3 is.
The copper bosses killed you, Joe. 'I never died', said he.
Never doubt the power of government(s) making something illegal.
Exactly. Just like Marijuana is illegal, as are "bongs." And we know nobody uses those right....right?
There's only one thing more powerful than big business - and that's the will of the people. When the public is divided, politicians can do whatever they want. In this case, i think we all know where the public stands (the vast majority, at least) - all the corporate money in the world won't save a politician once he's been voted out of office.
FluX
After 16 years, MTV has finally completed its deevolution into the shiny things network
"It is seldom that liberty of any kind is lost all at once." -David Hume
According to the local press, the differences between CeBit and Creative are not about MP3, but about their conduct on the last CeBit.
CeBit is currently a large fair, in fact it is the larges computer trade show on earth. Hannover cannot longer take all the people.
CeBit tried to split the show into a consumer show called "CeBit Home" and tried to promote the curent CeBit as a strictly business tradeshow. They have not been doing well: CeBit Home is actually shrinking, and many consumer product specialists are showing on the main CeBit.
Specifically: Creative undermined their marketing strategy at the last CeBit by having a loud and gaming oriented booth at the supposedly business oriented main CeBit. CeBit directorate wanted Creative to switch over to CeBit home, but Creative was not interested into a shrinking low profile fair.
© Copyright 2000 Kristian Köhntopp
Ohh, righty then, we better call for some new laws then ...
--
Why pay for drugs when you can get Linux for free ?
echo '[q]sa[ln0=aln80~Psnlbx]16isb572CCB9AE9DB03273snlbxq' |dc
I mean, CeBit is just a major technology Convention. its purpose in being is to keep tech companys aware of what each other are doing, and to hype up the media, so they can sell products to people that like gadgets, right?
And everyone knows that MP3s and related technology are'nt enjoyed by people that will spend rediculously large percentages of their personal income buying gadgets, right?
Its just a fad, and its a good thing that the MPAA and its friends are keeping the research going on 8-tracks, as thats where its at.
-- Crutcher --
#include <disclaimer.h>
-- Crutcher --
#include <disclaimer.h>