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TiVo-like Application for XM Radio Under Fire
Strudelkugel writes "USA Today reports: 'Catching Blondie's reunion tour broadcast at 4 in the morning wasn't an option for XM satellite radio subscriber and single father Scott MacLean. "I was missing concerts that were being broadcasted when I was asleep or out," he said. So the 35-year-old computer programmer from Ottawa, Ontario, wrote a piece of software that let him record the show directly onto his PC hard drive while he snoozed.' As expected, the lawyers are coming out. Seems like a good idea, though. This capability might actually entice me to get an XM radio."
They're just upset because they're planning on introducing a similar feature in a couple months. I don't see how this is much different than something like Total Recorder. Just recording for yourself (time shifting) is perfectly legal fair use.
Wow. So this is the buy that wrote Microsoft Sound Recorder?
"Have you ever thought about just turning off the TV, sitting down with your kids, and hitting them?"
From TFA-
Music labels fear that the convenience of MacLean's software will lead millions more to copy and distribute songs over file-sharing networks such as KaZaA, a music industry source said.
"Millions more"? Aren't there a hell of a lot of people sharing music as it is? Something like 60 million people?
Even if all 2.1 million subscribers jump on the bandwagon, 2 million subcribers (Q2 - 2004, XM website) seems like a drop in the bucket.....TFA states that only something like 2400 subscribers have gotten a copy. 400 have paid.....The RIAA's got plenty more people to sue, and an archaic business model to sustain......
A thought though - if they aren't sharing, but only recording copies to listen to, doesn't that fall under fair use somewhere? Time shifting != illegal, right?
"
the Recording Industry Association of America said his organization had not reviewed the software, but said that in principle it was disturbed by the idea."
Tell us something we don't already know......
-thewldisntenuff
My MythTV HowTo
in 3, 2, 1...
Damn, it feels good...
There really isn't much hacking involved in making this application.
The XM-PCR device is an XM tuner that is controled by USB, but returns its audio to the PC by the line in port on a soundcard. The audio is digital comming off the XM signal, but it's analog by the time it leaves the black box. So, all the computer needs to do is activate a recorder on the line in port and away it goes...
There's drivers on the XM site for Windows, Mac and Linux. They're actively encuraging development, so it's not surprising somebody would come up with this idea.
What laws exactly is this breaking?
Catching Blondie's reunion tour broadcast at 4 in the morning wasn't an option for XM satellite radio subscriber
So he stayed up till 4AM programming.
RArr!
From the XM site itself...
The XM PCR revolution is in full effect. Across the XM Nation, we're excited to see independent developers creating fantastic new versions of the XM PCR software for a wide range of platforms including Mac OS X, Linux, and Windows.
So they want people to come up with creative software to use the XM PCR unit, but just not this way?...
I've got to be honest - I dont see how the RIAA lawyers can come down on this one. This kind of "Tivo like" software seems to be just a natural extension of the VCR time shifting as mentioned in the Sony Betamax case. As such, it is a perfectly legal use, regardless of what the RIAA fears that it will or could be used for.
.02
Just my
...if he used OGG VORBIS. Can you imagine the RIAA's press release about some guy converting a radio broadcast into some "ogg" files? I don't think so.
So the 35-year-old computer programmer from Ottawa, Ontario, wrote a piece of software that let him record the show directly onto his PC hard drive while he snoozed
Just like a legal timer record function on a VCR. How in the hell are the lawyers expecting to beat that precedent?
"Music labels fear that the convenience of MacLean's software will lead millions more to copy and distribute songs over file-sharing networks such as KaZaA, a music industry source said."
So they're suing him for creating easy to use software... great... time to sue Microsoft because everyone claims Windows is the easiest!
From the article, for those who didn't RTFA
"We remain concerned about any devices or software that permit listeners to transform a broadcast into a music library," RIAA spokesman Jonathan Lamy said.
Analog tape recorders have allowed people to add broadcasts to their music libraries since before I was born.
All this software does is make it a little more convienent than plugging an analog tape recorder into your XM receiver. It's stupid that they'd even consult their lawyers about this.
LK
"Hi. This is my friend, Jack Shit, and you don't know him." - Lord Kano
The more they restrict things the less I want their products. I'm already not buying so I guess that means I never will. It's a lot easier to live without non-free music than to live with it!
I still don't get how broadcast stations don't understand that people want stuff on demand. Tivo like products simple take a bad idea, and present it in a convient form for the consumer. Simply because a consumer wants to enjoy a service they pay for in they're own way, they assume that everyone is simply going to take everything broadcast and redistrubte it.
I've been using a free trial of Rhapsody, and I think this will be the future of broadcast for almost anything except for news or live events. (I'm not recommending Rhapsody for personal use, I doubt I'm going to continue using the service, as I only really enjoy the comedy section, and I only listen to Stephen Lynch and Monty Python)
They release a radio with USB connectivity and are surprised when someone figures out a neat and easy way to "Tivo" their content? Funniest reference in the article was to the fact that the RIAA and XM are busy figuring out if any copyright laws or user agreements were broken. Management really should have gotten a handle on this before the product was released.
why do I keep hitting the hjkl(s) key all the time in this editor?......
Well it works just like one. I think that they will have a hard time forcing him to shut it down. It is XM RADIO which still operates like radio! I fail to see why a judge would see to treat it differently from a regular radio and a tape recorder. Just because it MIGHT be used for mass distribution does not mean that it has.
When digital radio (music + sub-band containing song information) becomes mainstream, won't this type of software bring 'piracy' to the masses? Save every song onto your computer with appropriate ID3 tag, scan through every day and find the ones you like, delete the ones you don't. Even easier than recording internet radio.
"I think it would be a good idea" Gandhi, on Western Civilisation
A spokesman for the Recording Industry Association of America said his organization had not reviewed the software, but said that in principle it was disturbed by the idea. "We remain concerned about any devices or software that permit listeners to transform a broadcast into a music library," RIAA spokesman Jonathan Lamy said.
The RIAA and XM are both busy figuring out if any copyright laws and user agreements have been broken.
Nowhere in the article is there any mention of fair use rights or the legality of this sort of software. The RIAA is obviously very concerned about this, as it would definitely affect their willingness to release entire albums over the air. Blah.
My blog
Hey, maybe this will lead to the RIAA prohibiting the use of their music on radio and TV.
Hehe, The RIAA are being hit from all sides now it seems.
XM (Delphi) is coming out with the Skyfi2 pretty soon, which will have TiVo-like qualities... you can pause the radio and play it later, up to 30 minutes. It's only a matter of time for other features to take off.
When will you people learn?
Get Sirius, not xm
Since our air waves are ruled by the CRTC overlords, when did they allow XM to sell it's services.
From the XM FAQ
Is XM Service available in Canada and Mexico?
XM is only licensed to provide service to the US (All states except Alaska and Hawaii), its territories and adjacent waters. XM's satellite signal reaches into portions of Canada and Mexico near the U.S. borders however, XM's service is not currently sold in Canada, Mexico or any other region outside of the continental United States.
Sounds like a grey market resale. Similar to the DBS grey market. You get an US address and subscribe. Since the border is not microwave proof we can pick up the signals.
I think he should be more worried about the CRTC coming for him.
If you get a PVR from Dish Network (they now carry Sirrus) you can already grab digital music... does that mean I should be wary of a subpoena now?
I usually just pause the station for 50 or 60 mins before I listen and then just FF through the songs I don't like. I don't feel like a criminal
Since last I looked XM isn't a licenced broadcast undertaking in Canada.
They knew the sticky legal situation that would occur if they developed this, so they just left that to someone else. Now they have what I would consider a "killer app" for satellite radio without legal reprecussions. I'm even considering getting a home xm unit because of this, I already have it in my car.
http://nerosoft.com/TimeTrax/index.asp
Since XM made the SDK for the USB XM radio in question, this is ridiculous. I don't see how this software could do anything but get them more subscribers & sell more radios. Go ahead and shoot yourself in the foot XM.
Given the courts decisions which have established
time shifting as a legitimate use of consumer recording technology, it's damned hard to imagine what law they think consumers might be breaking. It is not illegal for me to tape every broadcast of a television show and to build my own personal library. It would seem very difficult to argue that doing the same thing using XM radio would be any different.
There is much pleasure to be gained in useless knowledge.
The hope to beat it by buying off those in DC that write new laws.
Dear XM,
Over the past few months, I have been evaluating purchasing and subscribing to a satellite radio service. I have been weighing pros and cons of both yours and the Sirrius service. I mostly came up with even hands. However, your recent disappointing legal actions against Scott MacLean have helped me make my final decision. I will not be purchasing or subscribing to any XM satellite radio service, and I will encourage my friends and neighbors to avoid your service as well.
Thanks for your help,
Jeff
The problem is valid.
When you buy an album (be it a CD, on iTunes, wherever) you are paying the artist (and RIAA, unfortunately) for the right to repeatedly perform the work for your personal pleasure (no commercial broadcasts).
When a song comes in over the radio, only a (relatively small) fee is paid for the song to be used commercially and repeatedly.
If all users just grabbed their songs off broadcasts, then either artists wouldn't make any money (since there'd be a small handful of stations paying paltry payments for each album) or the cost of running a radio station would become higher than would ever be feasible to sustain (as each song would cost $1,000's to license to play on the air).
Songs coming from the radio are intended for listeners to hear once for every time the radio airs it.
Talk all you want about the RIAAs business model, you simply can't possibly claim there's any shred of hope of making money when people just snag all theirs songs off of radio.
and the problem is...?
With a VCR (now PVR on my digital satellite system) I have built up a library of movies over two decades. Oh heavens, here comes the MPAA!
Maybe INDUCE will REDUCE this.
I really need to know. Really bad.
with a line in to the mac and AudioHijack Pro. You set a time and it records. I'm sure you don't need to write your own special software.
Rumor was that the new SkyFi 2 was going to have USB connectivity built into the home cradles to provide XMPCR functionality. Now though, it seems like this will go away, which is a real shame. Also, the USAtoday article says that the most of the current radios cannot be hooked up to the computer, which is just wrong. Anything you can hear, can be recorded.
My question is, it seems pretty obvious to me that someone was going to do this, so why release the PCR at all? My guess is that they didn't want to offer online streaming like Sirius and wanted to pick up extra subscriptions for PCRs. Look what that got them. In any case, XM has a neat product and is doing well.
the riaa and mpaa are really stretching the term 'copyright infringement' if they weren't already from the get-go.
how can recording a service you legally subscribe to for your own personal use be even thought of as being illegal?
unless he's using the recordings to sell as a product, or to re-broadcast himself, there is nothing remotely illegal about anything of this nature. and if there is, the laws need to be changed.
"The user can leave the software running unattended for hours and amass a vast library of songs."
Please insert "crappy" before "songs". I've had XM for a year and it's rare to hear two worthwhile songs back to back on any station. They seem to focus on "deep tracks", defined to be the stuff fans of the band don't even like.
After a few hours of listening to my friend's Sirius, I regretted choosing XM, and only chose XM because they seemed to have the subscriber numbers to last long term.
"The area of penetration will no doubt be sensitive." ~ Spock
It also looks like Slashdot is a little behind on this news, it's been discussed since Tuesday on the XM developer's forum http://www.xmfan.com/viewtopic.php?t=27670.
One interesting post by the developer indicates that he has purged purchaser's personal information from his database:
As there has been some concern about contact information held by me, I have changed my database so that the only information stored is the issued key number. Email addresses and any other identifying information about purchasers is discarded immediately after the credit card validation process has completed.
The key number is derived from a one-way hash using your radio ID and some other internal information. It will work only with your radio, however no information (including the radio ID) can be derived from it.
I think everyone is missing the obvious here... recording the service is against the Terms of Service that everyone agrees to when they sign up for XM.
Man I cannot BELIEVE that people are saying stuff like this with a straight face:
... It's our expectation they will be shut down," he added. "We're also researching any potential legal violations.")))
.. provide the company with a list of purchasers.)))
((("That's a product that's not authorized by XM," Chance Patterson, vice president of corporate affairs, told Reuters last week.)))
Excuse me, but why does the world need YOUR permission to record broadcasts? Can I set my coffee cup next to the radio and illegally alter it's temperature?
I know the law is fucked up right now but this kind of stuff still continues to amaze me.
Yes, it's not authorized by XM, so what?
((("That program is something we don't condone
I was actually thinking of buying an XM radio and recording shows was a *specific feature I wanted*. I was planning on writing my own program to do what this guy is selling. How hard can it be? When I was a kid I used to record the radio all the time, that's probably why I'm a big music buyer now.
I'm not going to bother. XM is spawned from the same primordial ooze that the RIAA crawled from. These guys are all the same. You can't even jerk off within 10 feet of their "licensed product" without paying a fee.
(((Michael McGuire, an analyst at technology research firm Gartner. "It's very hard for policy and copyright law to keep up with the pace of technological change.")))
What does copyright law need to do, make sure it gets in the way of any product that comes out? It's funny how we have this constitution that's supposed to be a firewall from government, but it has a big open port: the copyright clause. Pretty soon, are whole legal system will revolve around some form of copyright, since everything is based on information. Just amazing and frightening.
((("We remain concerned about any devices or software that permit listeners to transform a broadcast into a music library,")))
Un-fucking-believable. One thing is for certain, you're not transforming any of my money into vacations in Europe anytime soon, Mr. RIAA exec.
(((In a letter seen by Reuters, XM's lawyers told MacLean to
And what will they do with that list I wonder? Report it to Tom Ridge? What on earth?????
20 years ago this kind of stuff would be great satire. I can't imagine what 20 years from now will be like. And honestly, I I don't want to.
Easy. Too easy. Doesn't matter if you're right -- if you can't afford to defend yourself. He'll likely cave, rather than pay what it would cost to win in court. That's what's wrong with the USA legal system. Being right can still break you against a well-funded, throughly corrupt, opponent.
"It's the height of ridiculousness to say for those 9 lines you get hundreds of millions."
Why is it that entertainment producers work so hard to make their products not entertaining? To me, it seems pretty retarded, but, perhaps, I'm just not as wise and all-seeing as they are.
-- "Makes Little Debbie look like a pile of puke!" - Moe Szyslak
making use of this, or something similar when they return to radio this fall.
It's not for XM (yet), but I wonder how the RIAA feels about the Griffin Radio Shark?
They'll probably ignore it until there's a PC version.
Can anyone tell me how to set my sig on Slashdot?
Ugh - Blondie's reunion tour? No wonder he's single.
Somehow I can't help but find this particularly disturbing. I can *almost* (almost, but not) find it logical that RIAA record companies would want to crack down on file sharing. But suing someone for writing software that records music?
Not only are there already millions of programs out there that can do the same job (ie, recording line-in from the soundcard), although they may not categorize and name the files, it is not exactly breaking news that people can record the radio.
People have been recording radio shows for decades, and I even know people who have recorded shows on their computers, because tapes don't last 2 hours. What exactly has this man done wrong? We are at the point where we are suing people for merely writing useful utilities. This is beyond "too far", it is plain disturbing.
Get a satellite DVB card for your computer.
Get program http://audiorip.dvbnetwork.com/
Point your dish to one of the DISH networks satellites or BellexpressVU.
I'll record radio stream directly to your computer. You can record multiple audio channels at the same time if they're in the same satellite transporder. And if you put the magic software that decripts the nagra encryption. then you can get the sirius radio channels and do exactly the same.
I'm all for supporting the artists, but I am already paying 10 bucks a month for XM radio (actually it'll be about 21 a month, with my second radio, and the Opie and Anthony premium subscriptions). If I want to record a few songs for my own personal use, as long as I don't put them up on Kazaa, who the hell's business is that - this is supposed to be my damned right, and the artists ARE getting paid. XM needs to pull the stick out of its ass re: their EULA, and the RIAA needs to die.
You can't sell people on a product (the XM PCR) and the freedoms and flexibility it gives you (seriously, read their marketing copy selling these things), then get pissed when people start paying you money in order to take advantage of its freedoms and flexibility using third party software.
in anticipation of the extreme bandwidth costs associated with being slashdotted.
Setting his threshold to 5, Sparky eliminated most of the trolls on /.
XM already has a product that allows time-shifting, although only for 30 minutes. It seems they're fully in support of your rights, as long as they get to control them. http://www.delphi.com/news/pressReleases/pr29451-0 8182004
Don't know; Don't care; Don't ask
What's scary isn't the application itself -- it's the idea that a company can demand the list of purchasers.
WTF? They're going to go after people recording songs off the radio now?
Imagine Sen. Hatch on the 5pm news:
"Jizz will destroy the hard work thousands of people. If we allow jizz to spread, thousands of jobs will be lost. Not to mention the kids, what will all this jizz everywhere do to the kids?"
itadakimasu
in other news from USA Today:
"Number 2 is Number 1"
"America's Favorite Pencil"
USA Today... the newspaper that's not afraid to tell it like it is: Everything's going to be just fine
With apologies to the Simpsons...
-- Is "Sig" copyrighted by www.sig.com?
I know how to do that without paying subscription
Get a satellite DVB card for your computer.
Get program http://audiorip.dvbnetwork.com/
Point your dish to one of the DISH networks satellites or BellexpressVU.
I'll record radio stream directly to your computer. You can record multiple audio channels at the same time if they're in the same satellite transporder. And if you put the magic software that decripts the nagra encryption. then you can get the sirius radio channels and do exactly the same. You can also get the video channels and record them virgin Mpeg2 stream.
i just bought one of these XM PCRs. i have been thinking about XM for quite a while, mostly for my car, but when i heard about this TimeTrax software, and found out the receiver is only ~$40, i bought one right away. after listening to it for a week (and being able to take it on vacation, along with my laptop) i hink xm is much better than am/fm. there is a much wider variety of stations (25 rock/hits stations, compared to 6 or 7) and they play a lot of good new music, and old music. (and, also a lot of the same crap on regular radio, but i think the good stuff more than makes up for it).
so anyway, i love the idea of timetrax. it's not like i'm going to record everything off of xm, and then cancel my subscription, and then never buy a cd. rather, there are some songs i would like to listen to a few more times than they get played, and i want to be able to record shows that i'd miss otherwise, or might want to listen to again sometime. i understand that officially, XM can't support actions like this, but threatening legal action against it only gonna piss people off, and i bet this functionality will end up selling a lot of these XM PCRs. i'm one new subscriber already.
Except we told Digital Convergence to FOAD in the CueCat: case and they did. Specifically I told them to "Come get some" and they never took me up on the offer.
http://beau.org/~jmorris/linux/cuecat/
Democrat delenda est
This is precisely the sort of situation that the EFF typically looks into, and precisely the sort of reason that you (and I) should support the EFF if you like how they intervene on behalf of "the little guys."
No, really! I'm one of the *good* lawyers!
b) Use Limitations.
You may not reproduce, rebroadcast, or otherwise transmit the programming, record the programming, charge admission specifically for the purpose of listening to the programming, or distribute play lists of the programming. Notwithstanding the provisions of Section 9*, we or any of our programming partners may prosecute violations of the foregoing against you and other responsible parties in any court of competent jurisdiction, under the rules and regulations of the FCC, and other applicable laws. Subscription to the Service does not grant you the right to use any of our or our partners' trademarks.
So - does this trump Fair Use or what? Obviously complicated by the whole Canada thing - but what about here?
9. RESOLVING DISPUTES.
In order to expedite and control the cost of disputes, you agree that any legal or equitable claim relating to this Agreement, or the Service (referred to as a "Claim") will be resolved as follows:
c) Exceptions.
Time shifting (recording something for later playback) is PERFECTLY legal. Read the wikipedia article, you stupid idiots :o
</rant>
-b0lt
got sig?
He may want to go a step farther a strap a have pound of thermite to the top of that drive... just i case.
Si vis pacem, para bellum! For evil to succeed good men need only do nothing!
Yes, it's not authorized by XM, so what?
XM Radio is a subscription service, which is much more likely to create a binding contract than any click-wrap around a free service. Having little interest in the service, I haven't read the TOS myself, but I'd imagine that it could provide for severe penalties should a subscriber be found liable of using the Service to infringe copyright.
I have very recently purchased car stereos, two of them, one for each car. Nice systems, MP3 players, with XM option.
I was considering the XM deal. Until I read this article. Now it will *never* happen.
The only reason I needed to buy into XM was that it was available. But now, the XM broadcast people have given me a strong negative that will not be easy for them to undo! I was in a position to refrain from doing business with them, and now I will refrain. Probably forever.
-fb Everything not expressly forbidden is now mandatory.
e rvice.html</a>
Section b:
"b) Use Limitations.
You may not reproduce, rebroadcast, or otherwise transmit the programming, <i>record the programming</i>, charge admission specifically for the purpose of listening to the programming...." (Emphasis mine)
So, it's against the Terms Of Service of the subscriber...thus, the reason legal action is probably going to be taken...
There are 4 boxes to use in the defense of liberty: soap, ballot, jury, ammo. Use in that order. Starting now.
We need to come up with a new, OSS, audio standard. Then name said standard ".jizz".
Or we could use the existing name ".spx" (which officially stands for Ogg Speex, a talk-radio codec) and make anti-consumer advocates, such as the RIAA, its member labels, and its bought-and-paid-for senators, appear racist:
About Us - Press Room - Login ... Please call Jennifer Markham (202) 380-4315. Contact Information. Press Contact:
Chance Patterson, VP Corporate Affairs chance.patterson@xmradio.com. ...
www.xmradio.com/newsroom/ - 15k - Cached - Similar pages
Hell, even Tivo is more enlightened than this.
Let them know what you think....
All my previous sigs now look like this one, I wish they were permanetly recorded when used.
Having been lawyered out of tens of thousands by my ex and her shylocks, I can attest to the fact the only way to unleach lawyers is to burn them off with a flame.
he'd still have to use a magnesium strip and a blowtorch to light it...
at that rate, he should also place a video camera in a good place to view the event, you know, documentation of the destruction of documentation (it's phun to watch)
...I would simply laugh in their faces.
He's here in Canada, where there is nothing illegal about such software. The RIAA has no standing here, so they can't touch him. Neither can XM. We have no dumbass DCMA-esque legislation. "Fair use" is pretty well established here in favour of the consumer.
I think their lawyers know this, and hope to scare him sufficiently to get him to give up the list of people who have purchased his software so they can go after the ones in the US.
I hope he holds his ground. Canadians don't intimidate that easily.
Yaz.
Too bad, I for one though am not interested in paying for radio though. But I do like my Knaotix LIV HDD Installer CD als has a side benefit of being a Live CD. www.kanotix.com if anyone is interested.
So let's say I decided to start recording this same analog signal with, say, my good ol tape player. Would they be after me then? Probably not - because it's almost impossible to physically get it sent to 5 million other people rather quickly. Any time the RIAA notices that somehow "its" content could even possibly be sent from one person to another and they don't get a profit they're going to whine about it, and they sure are big whiners, with deep pockets too.
I almost want to go buy a XM radio and this software just becuase the RIAA thinks it's illegal.
Well, I guess they better ban CDs, DVDs, and all MP3/audio players then!
AC comments get piped to
I wrote some scripts while ago to record public radio (CBC) from the radio and download it into my mp3 player awhile ago.. this didn't require anything more exotic than a cron job on my linux server and a sound card. It sounded fine.
I fail to see how this could possibly be illegal. On the other hand, I don't live in the USA. What about if I connected it to my satellite reciever? A TIVO will work on that fine, and there's over a hundred radio stations on there.
Seriously. Anyone can do this with lame, mp3enc or something like that, a wav recorder, a command line interface to their mp3 player, and cron. Isn't unix cool?
..don't panic
What much more interesting is that this same guy has written an ActiveX component which you can use to write more applications like his -- and which is free for non-commercial use. Hackers, start your editors!
"As expected, the lawyers are coming out. Seems like a good idea, though. This capability might actually entice me to get an XM radio."
Why would you ever want to do that? The problem with FM radio today is that there's pretty much three companies controlling it -- Emmis, Clearchannel and Disney.
NATIONWIDE.
Why would you want to pay (and agree to a license?!) for "fixed radio", which has the same problem that all channels are run by the SAME company?
Diplomacy is the art of saying "nice doggy" until you can find a rock.
Just as a point of interest, DirecTiVo -- the combination of TiVo and DirecTV -- won't allow you to record the 40 or so music channels. It's probably the same irrational people. When XM does allow recording, they'll do it in such a way that they can block it for selected shows.
It's called "line in"
check into it...
what stops you from using this on fm or am radio anyway. you set a time and record your line in on your soundcard, and you set a time to shut it off, who cares.
For those of you that don't know, you can also get a PCR modded to include TOSLINK Digital Out. I have one and it sounds very good, although the XM music feeds are not nearly CD quality (as other Slashdotters have already pointed out), and the talk radio sound quality is sometimes pretty bad due to the amount of compression they use.
As I've said so many times before, when are the media companies going to realize that the shift has happened. I'm sure the buggy whip manufacturera bemoaned the advent of the high-tech automobile and might have even wanted to outlaw them or require that all automobiles, by law, have to sport a fully functional buggy whip, but it didn't happen that way.
Big media, instead of plugging the dike with thumb-like legal shenannigans, should be expending their efforts in finding a new business model that will actually work instead of pissing off their paying customers. The march of technology is relentless and people are resourceful. It's nothing but a losing game for RIAA and MPAA to try and stop it. Wake up, folks.
"Do the Right Thing. It will gratify some people and astound the rest." - Mark Twain
"Do the Right Thing. It will gratify some people and astound the rest." - Mark Twain
Since I wrote an open source control app for the XMPCR and published it on Sourceforge, do I have to fear a bunch of jackbooted lawyers banging on *my* door? Do I just ignore this, or do I pull the files off Sourceforge and hope nothing comes of it?
Quite a conundrum, this is. The XM web site seems to encourage independent developers, but will that change?
I subscribed to XM about a month after they went live. I have one of the original receivers in my car, and an XMPCR on my shelf hooked up to my stereo. I'd toss both into the junkbox and cancel if they begin go into a litigious frenzy against the people who helped make them popular. This kind of action by companies (like SCO) against their own customers has sickened me enough.
Bringing the XMPCR to Linux was something I took on because there was a need. Because of my giving away something I had fun writing, a program that people have found useful, do I need to fear being dragged into court like Grokster? I thought the rules of fair use (the Betamax decision) still stood.
Thoughts? Advice?
The RIAA has a Canadian branch, they just do their barratry and harassment through that division.
So far they've managed to steal about $30-50 from my pocket for CDRs through their levies on blanks. The fact that I use them primarily for data backup is irrelevant -- they forced the Canadian government to dip into all our pockets for the "piracy losses" of their failing business model.
I do not fail; I succeed at finding out what does not work.
You Sir...
Get a Gold Star, and get to move to the front of the class.
Thank you Sir for a fine point. As the "Last Ultra-Left Gun Owner" I bow to you and your sharp mind and incisive commentary, may your life only know happiness and peace.
Sera
Slashdot, where armchair scientists get shouted down and armchair theologians get modded up.
Wouldn't it have just been easier to use streamripper and found an Internet radio station broadcasting the Blondie concert?
John Kerry is a Joke!
tradition in the US.
In the early part of the twentieth century, a fellow by the name of Anthony Comstock gained extrordinary powers using a similar tactic to that used by the RIAA today, ie a moral crusade against vice. Instead of thieving child porn traders Comstock was convinced obscenity and birth control would destoroy the nation.
Comstock's enormous power came from the creation of a private organization called the New York Society for the Supression of Vice. Eventually, this private organization was allowed to place officers in US Post Offices to read through the mail looking for obscenity. This had nothing to do with the law per-se, he was simply well connected and feared.
So, in the US it is quite possible, and even normal for a non-governmental agency to take on police powers despite the fact that this does not seem to make sense under law.
Yup. I would havbe to say that this is worse than SCO! At least their case is something that hasn't really been addressed bfr!
(And no, that's not an XM antenna on the roof of my car... :P )
I think there is actually a mod out there to add either a coaxial or optical connector to your XM, though i think someone might have already posted about that...
I have digital cable with around 30 DMX music stations. Tivo records those just fine. Do I get to go to jail now?
another case of cooperate america protecting what is "thiers" at the consumers cost. No matter what way you look at it the end user always gets f'd in the a. Thats american buisness nowadays.
The DMCA contradicts itself, which is why companies have had some success on eroding fair usage. In this case XM MIGHT have cause for concern.
Here are the relevant sections in the dmca.
Title 17, chapter 12 section 1201 part c section 1 from dmca:
"Nothing in this section shall affect rights, remedies, limitations, or defenses to copyright infringment including fair use under this title."
But,
Section 1201 part b section 1:
"No person shall manufacture, import, offer to the public, provide, or otherwise traffic in any technology, product, service, device, component, or part thereof, that - "
part B:
"has only limited commercially significant purpose or use other than to circumvent protection afforded by a technological measure that effectively protects a right of a copyright owner under this title in a work or a portion thereof"
So, if someone makes a product that say copies a dvd even if its only for fair use, it could be construed as circumventing a technological measure(breaking encryption). Thus it could be said that they can be held liable for copyright infringement.
Think this is far-fetched? Its already happened. Look at 321 studios and what has happened to their company.
Now, looking at that example, the question comes down to whether this poor guy broke ANY form of encryption, or broke any technological measure to allow people to achieve fair usage. If he did, then he can be held liable.
This is what XM is talking about when they say they are looking into the matter. I think its cruddy too, but if they can prove he broke a technological measure, then copying XM will never happen.
That is unless you code it yourself. You see, everyone still has the right to fair-usage, but no one can sell or distribute tools to allow fair-usage if there is any form of encryption involved.
Just like breaking DVD encryption, you can do it legally, but you just can't give the software out(legally).
To me, it seems pointless. The wheel must be reinvented everytime, but what can we do with laws such as the DMCA, which just contradicts itself.
Wait till you try this... RadioRipper
Why Wouldn't XM radio love this feature... think about how many people will sign up with hopes to record. XM IS NOT TRYING TO SHUT THIS GUY DOWN... they sent the letter under direction of the RIAA. QUOTE FROM XMFAN.COM: "$20 says XM doesn't give a sh*t. They have to put on the corporate defensive smiley, however. It's the RIAA that would be muscling this. XM isn't gonna fight the RIAA... 70 channels of XM's content depend on them. " Deep down they love the idea, and want people to spend the subscription fee to have XM Radio. But due to fears of the RIAA (on which they rely on A LOT of their programming) and the hell they've already been through from the NAB, they have to remain on their side. If they fought the RIAA, the RIAA would pull their licensing of the music that XM Plays (and they control a LOT of music!), so XM really doesn't have a choice but to "pretend" to be against this device. From a business standpoint, it's great for getting in new subscribers.
he used to run an excellent email service for people with cell phones called dogphone. Really miss the service. I can't say I'm so keen on the XM Radio though - at least not yet anyway.
If this program, legal as it is, can withstand the judicial extortion just launched, the world's four music publishers will have to accelerate things and that could be a serious set back to them. Chances are that they will move right to content free, commercial radio right away. This might impede the transition to a subscription model. That's where cable TV is today, right? Can you tell me that it's any better now than broadcast TV used to be? Oh, poor greed heads, trapped between current music models and taking it to the next level: subscription based, DRM'd broadcasts.
Friends don't help friends install M$ junk.
Except, if I understand this correctly, the guy is Canadian. The legal system is considerably saner here. We already have court rulings in his favour from previous CRIA lawsuits (_not_ the RIAA, but basically the same thing). Moreover, it's considerably harder to buy legislation or court rulings in Canada. They might run him into the ground, but they will not get legal precedant, and if he can fight he might actually stand a chance.
RsG
No, they didn't. Or more precisely, none of the third party software for the PCR out there today was initially developed with one. The OpenXM project was the first, and they reverse-engineered the protocol.
And for all those bringing up fair use rights and the like, those are rights you have in the absense of more restrictive agreements. If the next audio CD you buy comes in a shrink-wrap license that limits your use, then there's potentially no fair use for that either.
(Up-front note: I find Tivo's suggestions useless)
I'm still waiting to see a XM radio that will rememeber song preferences. I can't stand certain songs, and basically any song by certain no-talent ass clowns. I want to be able to push a "this sucks" or "this rules" button when a song is playing.
If a song comes on that has a negative score, it should seek to another station in search of a positive-scored song, and failing that, at least one that isn't also negative. These radios seem to be able to see the playlist for all channels at once, so it should be smart enough to jump straight to a good song without having to check a bunch in the middle first. ("Hey, Monster Magnet on 43, jump there now!")
Now for the catch: I want this in the car. My Alpine XM deck has 6 presets, and I'm going to wear out the "next preset" button if something doesn't change. There is just too much crap music out there to stay on any one station for more than 2 songs.
C'mon, electronics companies. Make it happen. You'll have a large market of people who don't like anything beyond the point where they graduated high school. Like me.
Here is the code he wrote:
/bin/sh
:(
$ at 4 inthefuckingmorning
warning: commands will be executed using
at> wavrec Blondie.wav
at> oggenc Blondie.wav && rm -f Blondie.wav
job 86 at 2004-08-27 04:00
slashdot removes the EOT because it's in brackets
rawrec -t howeverlong | lame options /wherever/filename.mp3
And it's going to be outlawed?
Here in the UK, where we have DAB (Digital Audio Broadcasting), Pure Digital have made a DAB radio called The Bug which allows you to pause and rewind 'live radio' (sound familiar Tivo fans?) as well as record shows for later enjoyment.
Nobody's lawyers' seem to be jumping up and down about this over here - I guess it just fits in with 'fair use' rights of broadcast content we tend to enjoy here in the UK!
------------ jay*arr*tee
what did this guy expect? If you make and sell a product like this you're going to get sued! Thats the American way! XM Radio have no idea what this product could be used for so they are scared, they figure their best course of action is to sue because none of their other subscribers (apart from slashdot readers) will either know or care. I dont know the full details but this looks like an open and shut DMCA violation. Now we all know the DMCA is pile of shit that came out of the mouths of some fuckwit senators but to XM its a free lunch ticket, are they really going to pass it over? Software like this is already illigal which is why its very very important we distribute it to as many people as we possibly can and shit on this law 'til it's knees deep, but you have to distribute it carefully and anonymously. Selling it in public is going to get you in trouble just like selling forbidden plants or speech.
Just remember the American way:
1) ??
2) lobby
3) legislate
4) litigate
This comment does not represent the views or opinions of the user.
Ok i read the whole story, this isnt even a DMCA issue! there is no issue here! He is absolutely not violating the DMCA hes just doing something that everyone has been doing for years: taping off the radio and then writting the artist/song name on the side of the tape, the only difference is the tape recorder is a computer and the pen is a script. Selling it isnt even violating anything - since when are you not allowed to sell a product that works with someone elses? Fucking XM and fucking RIAA are going to proceed to RUIN this mans life which is why i can happily say i have never ever given either of them my money, can you say the same thing? The general public are going to stand for this and let corporate cunts walk all over them.
This comment does not represent the views or opinions of the user.
I call bullshit on that statement. First of all, the ruling authority is the Sony vs. Universal (Betamax) case which grants individuals the fair use right to record television shows for personal viewing and sharing, also called timeshifting.
It would seem that the same rule would apply to radio broadcasts. Therefore, your argument is that a stated more restrictive license would overrule this fair use right. That is completely untested in court and there are no legal authorities which support that specific position.
The counter-argument is that there are certain rights that simply cannot be contracted away, even if they are explicitly restricted in a license. For example, take the reverse engineering restriction found in almost all licenses. It's basically unenforceable. In every case where there was pure reverse engineering, the licensor who sues has lost on the fair use grounds.
None of us knows what courts will decide. The DMCA throws another challenge into the point because I am sure XM Radio encrypts their data so the technical method for doing the timeshifting could be important to some judges. But in the end, until a court says so, the issue is not clear.
If the Sony-Betamax decision did not apply to radio, then there would have been a great controversy over the ability to easily record live radio programs on cassette tape. That ability predates the VCR issue completely, and as far as I know, is perfectly legal.
Creative Spelling Copyright (2002). May use without Persimmons
Instead of thieving child porn traders Comstock was convinced obscenity and birth control would destoroy the nation.
And today, most doctors are convinced obesity and the lack of girth control will destoroy the nation.
Vintage computer adverts: http://www.vintageadbrowser.com/computers-and-software-ads
Blowtorch my ass, all he needs is potassium permanganate and glycerin.
I think we're aloud to download music anyways, so long as they insist on the stupid duty on blank media and MP3 players!
As one of the first 400 customers (according to USA Today), I can say that this software works as advertised. There have even been several useful updates since I first downloaded it.
Even if they got their hands on the customer list, what can they do? I dont think downloading kazaa is an illegal offense.
XM is just covering their asses when the RIAA comes after them. They knew that apps like this would be written when they released the product. They wanted it to happen. And, what easier, safer way to get free high quality music than by satellite. XM probably saw that market oportunity and that is partly why the hardware only costs $50 (or less, I got my XM PCR for $40 online)
There are programs that have allowed you to do this for a long time, Total Recorder pro for one...
I satisfied my term agreement a few months ago... while the service is nice, I will not support, financially or otherwise, illegal activities on the part of XM or RIAA. This guy is selling an enabler for Fair Use. Nothing wrong with that. If you make his software illegal, you have to make tape recorders, computers, and anything else that can make an analog recording, illegal as well..
Also, sexual pervs love our products.
Indeed, were the times that different?
:
http://www.colonialhall.com/hancock/hancock.php
says of those times
"and the counsels of her statesmen were employed to keep them in humble subjection. This was the object, when royalty grasped at their charters; when restrictions were laid upon their commerce and manufactures; when, by taxation, their resources were attempted to be withdrawn, and the doctrine inculcated, that it was rebellion for them to think and act for themselves."
As an aside to this discussion of MP3 quality, I have notice (and I am sure others have too) that certain songs encode horibbly in MP3 (even with much tweaking of bitrates, etc). A good example of this Layla by Eric Clapton, it seems that background percussion starts to modulate the whole song (and no I was not on drugs at the time). Does anyone know of a website that gives suggestions for these tough nuts?
"Just remember, it takes a village idiot." -- The Motley Fool.
You're fundamentally right, but the guy you responded to hits a great point... saying something is "digital quality" is not meaningful.
Is analog quality "bad" and digital quality "good"?
So just because the Dish, or Comcast Digital is "digital", that doesn't make it better; it makes it worse than analog, but I guess its not sexy to say "lower picture quality, but MORE channels, and its good enough for you, moron".
"You signed some sort of subscriber agreement for your service "
Actually, you don't. You sign up over the phone (that's what I did). There are terms and conditions, but you don't sign them. Its not clear how they're applicable.
At best (or worst, depending on your viewpoint), they can cut off your receiver.
Well, nothing encodes very well at 128kb/s. Even AAC is marginal at 128kb/s.
Bump layla up to 256kb/s fixed or variable, and magically, layla will sound fine.
This seems to me (and I am mostly assuredly not a lawyer), be saying that if you do something illegal involving their service, they will try to prosecute you.
That's true even if you've never owned an XM receiver, and even if they don't tell you that in "terms of service".
You were mistaken. Which is odd, since memory shouldn't be a problem for you
I'm an XM subscriber and the compression is rather obvious on most channels. Classical and jazz seem to fair a bit better. I can't imagine how this would sound compressed even further.
Firearm ownership is a constitutionally protected right, owning an XM is not.
So you'd think the NRA would understand that his right was considered so important by the founding fathers that they felt the need to leave it in.
I'm reading on the forums at XMFan.com that XM will stop selling the USB-based PCR radio altogether, largely because of this software.
1) that sucks, 'cause I wanted to figure out how to integrate the PCR into my in-house MP3 network, and
2) it's crazy that they stop selling a product just because a small number of purchasers are doing something they don't like with it.
I wonder how long it'll be before someone figures out how to modify the car tuner (XM Direct, if it ever ships) to be computer controlled...
Anyway, I just thought I'd mention it. I haven't seen official confirmation (it's still on the XM website, for example), but the mods on XMFan seem to be in the know, and they're saying it's true.
*sigh*
From the article:
"We remain concerned about any devices or software that permit listeners to transform a broadcast into a music library," Now - 20 years ago, I had a tape recorder with which I used to record a lot of broadcasted music. My whole music library came from radio broadcasts at this time. I don't recall anybody being sued for recording on tapes, or people being "concerned" about it, although a tape recorder would also qualify as a "device". Suing everyone or even thinking about suing people as soon as they move, is that the 21th century idea of freedom?
Really, this whole RIAAMAAASSHOLE/RMAPIAZAAA whatever you call this bunch of idiots, doesn't make any more sense. They only care about getting more money, and that should stop.
This is really getting infuriating to me.
Long ago, I used to record radio broadcasts of obscure opera on my VCR, because the quality was better using VCR tapes than casettes. I used my VCR to record radio. Now I am to understand that I cannot use my computer to do this. Okay, that's logical.
Uh-oh! These guys better run!
...a small quantity of sulphuric acid will ignite the magnesium, which will then burn straight down through the hard drive, the desk, the floor and continue down until it meets a large enough mass that will stop it. the basement should do it for sure. I suppose if he's in an apartment building with concrete flooring, that also might stop it, but I'd be sure before trying it...wouldn't want to burn through the downstairs neighbors. 8^)
Anyone know of anything similar for Sirius instead of XM?
A very wise man, indeed, and an entertaining and thought provoking author. Thanks for the link, too.
"Do the Right Thing. It will gratify some people and astound the rest." - Mark Twain
"Do the Right Thing. It will gratify some people and astound the rest." - Mark Twain
NPR makes almost all of their shows available online.
Seriously, though. After Betamax and TiVo lawsuits, what makes them thing they're so special? Hell, you can't even use the DMCA in this case as he's only grabbing the analog of the broadcast.
LilMikey.com... I'll stop doing it when you sto
Even HDTV is far from immune to this problem- watching what little of the Olympics that I have in HDTV and from my watching some other programs, it just does not handle high motion scenes well at all. The perfect example of this was the women's platform diving I happened to catch. Gorgeous picture and clarity when they were focussed in on the divers preparing for their dives, but as the cameras tracked the divers as they tumbled and twisted through the air towards the water, the background behind them that was flying by at high-speed became a sea of macroblocks and artifacts. I've seen even worse on some PBSHD shows- there was a special about a high-desert lake where there was a shot of a huge flock of waterfowl floating on the lake that all of a sudden took flight together- the picture degenerated to being essentially a bunch of white and blue blocks.
I noticed the fallibility of mp3 when listening to a 192kb/s encoding of Wax Ecstatic by Sponge. The drums were uniformly warped into some weird technoish noise. Weird. (Of course, it might have been some idiot re-encoding 64kb/s or such.)
According to Delphi, XM has withdrawn the XM PCR from the market - the only ones still available are those still in the channel. As well, the "advanced home kit" for the forthcoming SkyFi2 radio, which includes a USB port which functions the same as the XMPCR, has been cancelled. Both of these actions have been taken solely because of this third-party TimeTrax software.
I'm deaf in one ear and can't hear out the other, (too many Iron Maiden concerts) but I have never noticed digital artifacts on any of XM's music stations, only on the news/talk/sports channels. From what I understand, XM is NEAR CD quality. I don't have the patience to find out what the actual bit-rate is, for the purpose of blathering it in this post, but XM sounds great to me.
http://www.techyrants.com
Two things:
The EULA for XM explicitly FORBIDS THIS ACTIVITY.
and
This falls directly WITHIN the definition of FAIR USE.
You can bet the EFF will jump on this case and fight it hard. This is the sort of thing that XM will likely not settle out of court and this is also the kind of case the EFF lives for. This is actually great news.
-davidu
# Hack the planet, it's important.
It seems to me that the real problem is that the record industry is losing money because they are producing overpriced junk. The people in charge don't want to be blamed so they point the finger at p2p and digital recording off of these radio streams. If they can keep on blaming other people for their own failures then they think they have more job security. They say that the problem is what could be done with this software instead of its intended use. I wonder if this could be a good arguement to take away our right to bear arms.
A few years ago there was a big uproar in the Ottawa Valley area because the RCMP were cracking down on people who had DirecTV dishes on their house (DirecTV is illegal in Canada -- it's not approved by the CRTC). There were news reports of the RCMP entering homes with DTV dishes and taking not only the reciever and dish, but anything that was attached to the dish. I know people who flat out threw DTV dishes and recievers into the trash based on the FUD created by the raid stories. I wonder if you get caught with an XM reciever in your car if they'll take your ride?
See this google query for information. Apparently one of the people hard-hit by the raids sued the RCMP and a Judge was rather critical of the RCMP for allowing DirecTV "cops" to supervise the raids.
This is precisely the sort of situation that the EFF typically looks into
They do? I don't think the EFF is as effective or active as we all would like to believe.
I had a similar situation -- a company sent me a C&D letter. In my case it was because of a photograph on my web site. It was a picture of me on vacation. This company claimed to own the copyright to my vacation photos and threatened to sue me into oblivion if I didn't take down the picture.
I told EFF. Filled out all the proper forms and guess what happened -- exactly nothing. So, the picture came down and the bad guys won.
I support the EFF and its mission. But don't count on them to be there for you when it's your turn.
World's tallest building rises in the desert
Some people think a 1 speaker transistor radio sounds great. Those people are blessed, because they're easily satisfied. For anybody who isn't so blessed, its a curse, because it means you're not happy until the sound is better.
God bless 'em.
Hmm.
.ogg, and tags them. They have a lot of good one-off artists, stuff you can't get on kazaa or bittorrent.
I've been working for a week or so on a similar system that records streams off of RealRhapsody, a listen-on-demand internet radio service, (14 day free trial, ha!), splits them, encodes them to
My package is kind of piecemeal--some perl scripts for tagging, HardDiskOgg, custom noise filters, custom silence detectors, etc. Nevertheless it works really well and quality is identical to the originally stream (sounds like ~100kbps to me).
I'd like to make it available on the web; no sense other people should repeat my work. But I don't want to get sued; being a student and all. So what's the best way to go about publishing this kind of software, similar to the XM Radio software, above?
Or should I just keep it to myself and never breath a word of its existence? Because I want it for my own use first.
Whats the deal?
~paranoia
I can tell the difference between xm and sirius vs a cd. Heck even my mp3's or good shoutcast sound better. And That is on my car stereo. I have not even considered running sirius or xm through my home stereo for fear i might cry.
We may experience some slight turbulence and then...explode. -Capt. Mal Reynolds
You got to love /. were else can you learn....
Si vis pacem, para bellum! For evil to succeed good men need only do nothing!
I'm pretty sure I've seen the word analog somewhere in the article... If the guy records the analog output of the radio, I don't see how DMCA applies. Long live the analog hole
If con is the opposite of pro, is Congress the opposite of progress?
Newbie C question: How does that SIG work? Why are you allowed to stick stuff like that inside a printf()?
Ok, this is for all your lawyer wannabes out there:
This is going under the fact that its still 100% legal to time-shift media for personal use, which of course is subject to change in the future if congress gets it way..
The rest of this discussion is based on the above, and that NO commercial gain is involved, that Its all 'freely' shared...
1 - It would be legal for person A to record show A.
2 - Its also legal for person B to record show A.
3 - If user C slept thru show, he still had a right to record it.
4 - Why cant user B give C his recorded copy.. ( for free ) since C has a right to record the same show.
Taking this to its logical conclusion, why cant user D, which is across the country that was at work that day get copy from user C?
The copy that is being spread around is not the original quality, as its been compressed and/or recorded from the TV/radio. So its not the same quality as going out and purchasing it from the store... It is the same 'version' that all users have a right to record for their own personal use.
This would also be the same issue for MP3 songs, if they were *ever* on the radio, then its no different if you share them in a *lossy* format to other people that had the *right* to record it themselves, again for their personal use..
Now if you do a bit-copy of a CD/DVD then distribute that, or if it's an unreleased copy ( such as still in theaters, or a screener ) then of course this analogy doesn't apply.. but I'm not talking of those cases...
This also makes the assumption that the original 'broadcast' was not 'subscriber only', or all 4 users were subscribers to the same service.
So I guess it boils down to, what is wrong legally with this analogy, and why is the 'industry' allowed to continue to harass their customers for doing what is currently LEGAL for us to do?
While this does sound OT, it really isnt.. We have the right to time shift any broadcast we are legally alowed to consume, be it across the airwaves on PBS, or via XM satellite. It makes no difference..
---- Booth was a patriot ----
since one of XM's primary investors is ClearChannel, burglar of musical culture. That's why I bought Sirius Satellite Radio, which has comparable programming.
I'm still shocked that Howard Stern, now-perennial ClearChannel hater, is even entertaining the notion of going to XM...
akad0nric0
This sentence no verb.
Even worse, we allow (and often compel) private organizations to wield MORE powers than what the government is allowed. Your example of Comstock's organization looking through people's mail is illegal for the government to do without reasonable cause. A modern-day example would be mandatory drug testing. The government cannot directly force it on private citizens because the Constitution doesn't allow that, so they write stipulations into every contract with private companies that they must drug-test all of their employees. So if you want to sell ANYTHING to the government, you must drug-test your employees. Since you're not compelled to work there, the Constitution is side-stepped.
In an unrelated note, a spokesman for Hizbollah, commenting on the latest U.N. effort at ensuring peace in the Middle East, said, "We have not reviewed the document, but are in principle against any plan which allows Jews to continue to live."
Although it's getting a bit far from the topic. I just want to add something here which is that these examples of private groups being more invasive than the government really puts the lie to the idea that community based internet access subsidized by community utilities are somehow more dangerous to people's freedoms than existing telecoms who roll over their records to anybody who asks without even a subpeona.
You're right this hasn't been tested, which means it could be ok or maybe not. When a judge decides we'll know. I for one wouldn't bet on which will trump the other "fair use" or contract law.
This does bring up an interesting point though. Many of these new services are for the most part un-regulated and are governed more by a service agreement than government rules and regulations. There are lots of rights that are generally agreed cannot be contracted away, but the number of things for which we agree to specific written contract terms for today is enoromous compared to even 25 years ago. How many licenses and service agreements did you agree to last week. I don't think the courts have even come close to catching up.
But this ISN'T radio... it's not broadcast openly and freely in the public airwaves.
$40USe rs/ xmpcr-toslink-digital-output-board.html
http://www.myradiostore.us/xm-radio-receiv
"I have Sirius, and it suffers from a signficant amount of digital artifacts."
what about the broadband (non-radio) TCP stream which sirius offers?
"All Sirius subscribers have a login and password so they can stream Sirius channels over the internet"
is it compressed, like the radio version?
do you know the resolution?
how does the quality compare to CD?
here, and more specifically, here :)
although the tips about chemical ignition of magnesium/thermite were very helpful and not on those pages
You are absolutely correct to point that out. As the Supreme Court stated:
"No issue concerning the transfer of tapes to other persons, the use of home-recorded tapes for public performances, or the copying of programs transmitted on pay or cable television systems was raised."
They explicitly stated that there decision did not cover the sharing of the recordings. It is also interesting to note their exclusion of "pay or cable television systems" which is something XM Radio would fall under. They were not saying it did not, only that it was not an issue before them to decide. You cannot infer anything from that statement when it comes to court cases. Therefore, timeshifting was established as clearly legal and ... well ... that was pretty much the sum total.
One must remember that the Supreme Court also noted that their decision was made in the absence of further restrictions by Congress. Unfortunately, the DMCA may be the basis for those further restrictions. We will see.
There are a few folks who believe that if they GET the signal, it's theirs to do with as they see fit including satellite TV and radio.
I'm not saying they're right, by any means. I think a line is crossed when you have to decrypt a signal to get the content...
If all you have is a hammer, everything looks like a nail.
Very well said.
If all you have is a hammer, everything looks like a nail.
I've been archiving late night audio programs for years using the freeware Audiograbber:/ download.html
http://www.audiograbber.com-us.net
You just need an old radio with headphone jack and a 3.5mm stereo to 3.5mm stereo connector cable to go from headphone jack on the radio to the line-in on your PC.
With the Fraunhofer MP3 codec, you can record direct to MP3. Audiograbber will allow you to set a recurring timer.
All that stuff inside the printf is a single expression. The ?: and , operators allow you to stick tons of stuff into one expression. As for how it prints the fractal, the secret is really the ~c&r part; it decides whether to print a ` or # character at each point in the triangle. The rest of the code just drives the loop and prints out spaces to format it nicely.
Its not as good as the over-the-air stream; its fine for listening on a PC, but that's about it.
One signficant downside of the TCP Stream is that its only the music, none of the talk channels which probably comprise close to half of the offerings. This is disappointing, since having NFL streams in my house would be terrific.
You were mistaken. Which is odd, since memory shouldn't be a problem for you
I'm guessing a bit here, but the difference (my perception)
between Sirius and XM is....
Sirius steams existing commercial stations, over satellite AND internet. Less production cost to them (although they may create their own 'stations" as well.
XM does not have standard broadcast supplementing their cost structure... they are directly competing against broadcast, rather than deriving income, shaving costs, by working along with them.
Even if both charged 10 bucks a month or whatever, XM has a bigger stake in their broadcast as their "own intellectual property", and don't want anyone beating them to a yet to be announced service they probably want to charge extra for.
Can you get a satellite radio that receives both XM and Sirius at the same time? If not, that is a shame, and one of these companies is going to bite the dust. Customers want choice and service. Maybe they can merge...
Free downloads?
Good for you.
I don't appreciate paying for your music.
I do not fail; I succeed at finding out what does not work.
I've seen just this product for linux:
http://freevo.webalias.com/xmdaemon.html
I'm not saying they're right, by any means. I think a line is crossed when you have to decrypt a signal to get the content...
I disagree. If they want to shower me with radiation, and then tell me what I can and can't do with the radiation they are causing to pass through my body, they can come tell that to me personally. They'll get to meet the katana I keep in the closet fairly personally as well.
MORTAR COMBAT!
So WiFi, Dish TV, DirecTV, XM, Sirus, and all the wireless networks are free, according to you?
If all you have is a hammer, everything looks like a nail.