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Savebetamax.org National Call-in Day
Rinisari writes "Savebetamax.org, a project of Downhill Battle, has set up a national call-in day for September 14th. They ask that on that day, each person signed up call a specific congressperson about the INDUCE act in an effort to keep a steady stream of calls all day. The "Save Betamax" nomenclature comes from the fact that the INDUCE act could reverse the decision in the 1984 Sony v. Universal case regarding Sony's Betamax VTRs and copying of copyrighted movies."
A chance to slashdot congress!
W..w..W - Willy Waterloo washes Warren Wiggins who is washing Waldo Woo.
...was "damn, are they DECADES to late! These Sony BetaMax nuts are worse than Mac people or Amiga owners -- and that is saying something."
Learning HOW to think is more important than learning WHAT to think.
a conspiracy to affect communications and actions of the country's leaders.
who the hell do these people think they are anyway deserving the attention of congressmen? they don't even pay the campaign bills.
Considering what the RIAA is doing, music, movie, and other media companies shouldn't be given any privledges at all, nevermind the ability to veto technologies because they don't like them...
Umm the 80's called... they want their format back.
We've heard from these Downhill Battle people before. They proposed the a scheme to try to collect Apple/Pepsi winning-cap codes for iTunes downloads that neglected the fact that there were limits to how many songs a given person could download, neglected the fact that the rules said non-transferable, and that the group didn't disclose just how they selected the artists they wanted to favor.
In short, these guys come up with nice ideas that don't work due to real world constraints.
This is perhaps one of the most important legal battles in this area for quite a while. If the Betamax decision is overturned, it will be an enormous setback to proponents of fair use. As for the INDUCE act? Not only is it full of ridiculously vague wording, but it boggles the mind in terms of the rights it would take away. If it passes, things could change in a big way . . . and not for the good of the people, but for the good of the big corporations backing it.
And this, boys and girls, is why we at least read the description of the article, even if we don't RTFA. We're trying to save the right to fair use on media, not trying to save the abandoned video format.
If Congress was actually in session, it might cause congresscritters to talk about the fact that their office phone people are getting overloaded.
Of course, annoying a congresscritter's staff is a good way to NOT get whatever you want. Staff members sometimes have the critical influence over the congresscritter they work for on technical issues they don't understand.
I hear alot of people claiming that the intent of the law is only to go after so called bad actors, and will not be used against VCR makers or computer makers. What those people forget is that in court, the intent of the law doesn't matter, only the actual wording. Anyone using the intent of the law as a defense in court will lose and possibly be laughed out of court. That means this law will be used to sue Apple, Intel, IBM, and Microsoft for making general purpose computing hardware. Even with the new wording, the EFF mock complaint against the ipod is still valid, as apple could have used "reasonable measures" such as only allowing the ipod to play DRM encoded files and have Itunes verify the CD is a pressed CD and not burned before allowing any ripping. The same applies to general purpose computers, which could have been locked down like the Xbox to only run OSes and software that use strong DRM and require checking with central servers before a document or whatever can be transfered (to prevent a user from retyping a copyrighted work like a book by hand). Keep in mind no one intended the DMCA to be used against third party printer cartriges, but it was.
For those of you who don't want to read the decision or Downhill Battle's site, the Betamax decision is what basically allowed us the technology of DVD/CD burners, tape recorders, and VCR's (along with possibly P2P networks) by saying that, just because some people are using them (VCR's at the time) to participate in illegal activities (copying copyrighted movies or shows), the technology itself is not the culprit. Therefore, the technology is legal. This is a vital decision for the technological world and a good thing to get involved in if you can.
Man, the US... Land of the free.
I'm not too worried, I live in Canada. It's a little better here.
Maybe Canada will have to occupy the US soon to liberate it. =P
While I also support our 'data rights', this is a lost cause at this point. Its over, and we have lost.
Congress does *not* give a damn about the citizens, they are only concerned about the people that line their pocketbooks ( i.e. the 'media' and other large corporations ).
The very structure of this country has changed, and the citizens are going to be mowed over.
Fight it all you want, but id rather pick battles that aren't lost already.
The 2nd revolution is long over due, before the "American experiment" fails, and its remains fall into hardcore socialism.
---- Booth was a patriot ----
Almost, not quite. Beta and BetaMax are two different animals.
Beta was Sony's commercial endeavour and it was quite the hit, as you are claiming. BetaMax was the related, but different physical tape, consumer attempt that died a horrid death.
Learning HOW to think is more important than learning WHAT to think.