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Fighting RIAA Without an Attorney
2think writes "Yahoo News is reporting that Patricia Santangelo of New York will be taking on the RIAA in court without an attorney. It seems that Ms. Santangelo has committed over $24,000 due to her case and simply cannot afford to continue with the services of an attorney." From the article: "Her former lawyer, Ray Beckerman, says Santangelo doesn't really need him. 'I'm sure she's going to win,' he said. 'I don't see how they could win. They have no case. They have no evidence she ever did anything. They don't know how the files appeared on her computer or who put them there.'"
Let me get this out of the way first - my original post was questionably topical, so I'll accept the off-topic modding. But a troll it was not; that's just piffle, and mod should have thought it over a little more.
As was pointed out, I'm not the typical music consumer - my music consumption habits are the product of having the wool lifted from my eyes, and the tunes being put back into my ears. Also, music is extremely important to me, and I am willing to go to some rather great lengths to enjoy it. I'll avoid that discussion, lest you all think I'm really nuts.
Your challenge re: vinyl transcription to CD is one I would readily take up. At least with my equipment, I'd be able to tell the vinyl from the copy in about five seconds. That's about how long it takes me to tell the difference between a first and second press of Peter Gabriel's first solo record (the Atco, car in the rain) - differentation between digital and analog source is a trivial matter compared to the latter. This is not a jest, and it's not bragging - it's part of what I do for a living, and I'm good at my job.
Anyway, short answer: you are all correct. Long answer, you're all semi-correct but your equipment is extremely mundane and you've likely never heard a really decent phonograph or set of electronics in your lives. Until about ten years ago, I hadn't either.
And if dispelling the analog myth is so trivial, why hasn't analog been six feet under since 1982?
There's a Starman, waiting in the sky / He'd like to come and meet us, but he hasn't got the time.
Eh, I don't buy this argument in regards to "Fascism" and having money for Lawyers. Fascism wasn't caused by the Corporation having money and ties to the government. Fascism was caused by the People of the states electing Fascist parties into power. Hitler didn't become the leader of Germany in the early 1930s because Krupps had the ability to crush the volk in court, Hitler rose to power because the National Socialist Party appealed to the German people and they elected the party to enough seats they could run the show.