Public CD Copying Machine in Australia

kanad writes: "With all the news of banning cd burners, taxing blank CD-Rs, DMCA, and whatnot in the U.S., here's a breather from Australia. Some stores have installed coin-operated CD copying machines. Basically it's very simple: put the CD to be copied and a blank CD in two different slots and drop your coins and Presto! In 10 minutes you get a copy. It even bypasses some anti-copying measures. ... Obviously the burden of not violating copyright rests with the user under Australian law, which is the same as that applied to photocopiers. Today evening I saw the machine and it's really cool. Wonder what would happen to this machine in U.S. and Europe."

Comments

The trappings of fame...

[Gerv]

Zac Kingston of Adelaide folk duo Linus, which is about to record its second album, said the new machines threatened to destroy smaller acts.

Wow! Linus has a tribute band...

Gerv

Limited use

[Anonymous Coward]

The poster doesn't mention that it only works on Kylie Minogue CD's. Which renders it fucking worthless for most everybody.

digitally identical copies of CDs . . .

[AlaskanUnderachiever]

I can see it now. Setting up shop right across from CompUSA and BestBuy . . . "I need 55 copies of Warcraft III. . you know. . just in case I lose a few. . oh yeah and a dozen Calagari TrueSpace 5.0 backups while you're at it."

I can tell you

[the_2nd_coming]

Wonder what would happen to this machine in U.S. and Europe

RIAA Lawyer: we are sueing this store's ass off for contributing to the theft of music

Defence Lawyer: Ummm Dude, they have the rights to make back up copies of their CDs.

RIAA Lawyer: no they don't, back in 98 we had a party where the US congress and the entertainmnet industry whiped out our dicks and pissed on all the US copyright law. Now we get to piss al over the consumer, see. *whips out dick and pisses on the defence lawyer and onlookers*

in the U.S.

[llamalicious]

The machine would be monitored by a surveillance team, and SWAT squad 24x7.

The RIAA/Senate approved team would use high-powered digital binoculars to take pictures of those copying CD's and the label of the CD they are copying. Hooked to a RIAA central database of copyrighted labels, the team's computer system would alert them to possible copyright infrigement and the SWAT would be activated.

Surveillance: We've got a Metallica copy in-progess. Mobilize SWAT Unit Charlie Omega Papa Yankee

SWAT: Ok, Sectors 2 and 3 take the rear of the copy device. Sector 1, you're with me, we'll provide coverage from the lingerie aisle. On 1 we go, 3... 2... 1... Swarm Swarm Swarm !!!

Well, maybe I'm just being paranoid...

does it work with other things ?

[Adolf Hitroll]

I'd like to put a pizza in one slots and a slice of bread in the other, will I get a second, fresh pizza or does it only apply to the lame digital entertainment shits ?
Honestly, if you have the choice between twice as much pizza or a duplicate Britany Spirz CD, what would you take ?
the duplicate ? But you don't need to create your own junk cds when you have AOL :-)

This isnt only in Adelaide

[lord_ashaman]

I Live in Sydney, and i've seen one of these machines bout 3 months ago outside a really crappy little supermarket in Frenches Forest. It is about half the Size of a person, the one i saw was blue and red. It had two CD Drives, top one is the reader, bottom one is the burner, only does CD-R no re-writeable.i was bored and had money to play around with so i gave it a go. worked fine.

The only bad thing is you have to stand there for ten minutes while it burns, i think they should have a little screen with something to do like a version of pong even!!

Re:Well, now that the cat is out of the bag

[the_2nd_coming]

you think that they are above murder?

please Jack even LOOKS like a mobbster. I am sure that he has connections.

If this machine were in the U.S......

[hillct]

[W]hat would happen to this machine in U.S.?

I can see it now. An angry mob of greasy little MPAA/RIAA lawyers would drag the machine into an empty soccer field, and in a fit of rage, take out all their frustrations upon it, taking turns kicking and beating it until it relented and agreed NEVER EVER copy another CD, even for archival purposes.

Re:Another completely far wing article

[Sc00ter]

Hell, you could use that copy machine to kill somebody.. just get a couple friends, lift, drop on victim, repeat until dead.

Re:$70 million a year loss?

[ryanvm]

Music Industry Piracy Investigations spokesman Michael Speck said illegal copying already cost the Australian industry $70 million a year.

I'd really like to know the source of this number.

Well, it probably includes $65 million worth of legal fees.

Re:Another completely far wing article

[linzeal]

Thats the reason I don't use coke machines. They always have a picture of a coke machine killing a human on front of them.

I've actually used one of these... not so good...

[swagr]

My CD came out upside-down. And although I was making a copy of Slackware, the copied CD was Men at Work.

Re:$70 million a year loss?

[Proaxiom]

Source? It's what they call a SWAG.

Scientific Wild Ass Guess.

"Well you see we looked at the numbers of CD-Rs sold, and figured that every one of them is used for music piracy, and guessed that if no one had access to pirated music they would all purchase legitimate CDs instead, at a cost of $130 per disc, because we could milk them for whatever price we want, and they would purchase two of each CD because people like to have backups, and then we did some multiplication..."

Re:Stealing the invisible

[(void*)]

But future economics will be based on the intangible.

Which newsletter is it you subcribe to, and how may I subscribe, so that I too, may know the future?

Re:Another completely far wing article

[Quixadhal]

NEWS FLASH!

Discovery of Fire will enable thousands of cavemen to commit arson! Our neolithic future is now uncertain! We must STOP THEM!

This thing better have some weight to it!

[splume]

"Wonder what would happen to this machine in U.S. and Europe."

Well, depending on what part of the contry (USA) you put this thing in, I can see a couple of red-necks loading this baby on the back of their pickup and driving off with it (cough West Virginia cough). If people have tried to rip off ATM's, soda machines, and newspaper dispensers, what makes you think they wouldn't go after this thing? I really hope they load the base of this puppy with some lead or cement.

Re:Well, now that the cat is out of the bag

[FFFish]

The Valenti name has plenty of mob associations:

"In the wake of the infamous Apalachin Conference in November 1957, the New York State Crime Commission began an investigation of the individuals from New York who attended the meeting. Constenze "Stanley" Valenti, the recognized boss of the Rochester Family, and his brother Frank were jailed for civil contempt after failing to answer the questions of the commission members."

"By 1920, the Morello-Terranova-Saietta rule was being seriously challenged by Guiseppe Masseria. The challenge would not last long. Vincent Morello was murdered on East 116th Street and later powerful ally, Umberto Valenti, was ambushed by Masseria gunmen."

"Uno "sgarro" commesso in ambienti criminali: ...Filippo Musica, e della sua fidanzata, Elisa Valenti, di 24 anni, assassinati l'altra notte con colpi di fucile davanti ..."

"[Raymond] Valenti ...told her that he belonged to the Mafia. Valenti poked Ricker in the chest and warned her that if she talked to the IRS, she would be in trouble, too..."

A "James J. Valenti" is/was a member of the Tampa mob family.

"Ucciso a Scordia Gaetano Valenti, secondo gli inquirenti affiliato al clan Di Salvo."

As you can see, the Valenti name is well-established in the mob circles.

Now, can anyone trace ol' Jack's family tree...?