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A Love Song For Napster

Posted by michael on from the all-I-do-is-kiss-you-through-the-bars-of-this-rhyme dept.

CyberLeader writes: "Discover Magazine has an article in both their print and online editions by musician and virtual reality pioneer Jaron Lanier in which he conducts a thought experiment on the logical consequences over the current content control battles. A chilling excerpt: 'By 2005, every stream of sound had to present the right documentation to a pair of headphones or speakers- or the music couldn't be played. Before long people were hoarding old analog speakers. In 2006, the recording industry persuaded eBay to refuse to list them.'"

3 of 252 comments (clear)

  1. All right, who's been handing out the stupid pills by freeBill · · Score: 5

    Lanier is not making any predictions here. He is conducting a thought-experiment to try to extrapolate the RIAA-MPAA logic to the necessary extreme.

    His purpose is clearly to destroy the industry logic by a technique called "reductio ad absurdum." When you flame him for the absurdity of his conclusions, you are agreeing with him. You are proving his point, which is that the goals of the industries which are trying to exploit the producers of intellectual property cannot be achieved without an absurd result.

    BTW, my favorite part of this idea is the concept that geeks who are capable of constructing an analog speaker might become the heroes of an underground economy. (Note to the irony-impaired: I do not believe this will really happen.)

    --
    Eternal vigilance only works if you look in every direction.
  2. Here's an idea... by Smallest · · Score: 5
    if SDMI gets off the ground and they (sony and pals) actually start trying to sell these copyright-enforcing players, don't buy them.

    don't throw out your CD-RWs, your CD players, your old receiver from 1993, your cassette player or your gasp turntable! keep them, use them, encourage record companies (with your wallet) to keep producing CDs compatible with current players.

    if nobody buys the new fancy gear, They lose.

    -c

    --
    I have discovered a truly remarkable proof which this margin is too small to contain.
  3. YKYBHTLW.... by ktakki · · Score: 5
    You know you've been reading Slashdot too long when...
    • You see this illustration accompanying the story and you're reminded of Goat Sex Man
    • The words "© Copyright 2000 The Walt Disney Company" at the bottom of the article provoke a bout of ironic chuckling that doesn't stop until you hit your head against the wall a few times.


    My head hurts.

    k.
    --
    "In spite of everything, I still believe that people
    are really good at heart." - Anne Frank
    --
    "In spite of everything, I still believe that people are really good at heart." - Anne Frank