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Microsoft Pushes Copyright Education Curriculum
Dotnaught writes "Backed by a study that says teens show more respect for copyrights when told of possible jail time for infringement, Microsoft is launching a new intellectual property curriculum to educate kids about IP law. To support its teachings, Microsoft has launched MyBytes, a Web site where students can create custom ringtones, share content — "their own content," as Microsoft makes clear — and learn more about intellectual property rights."
How we know is more important than what we know.
I have no problems at all with educating kids on copyright law (at about the same time that other civics classes are taught), but this just reeks of propaganda.
Quo usque tandem abutere, Nimbus, patientia nostra?
...All in all you're just another brick in the wall
When you create a profile, one of the avatars you can pick is a copyright symbol.
The 19th century called. They want their Communist Manifesto back.
The world's burning. Moped Jesus spotted on I50. Details at 11.
Ya know it's not illegal right?
Seems the education campaigns are already working.
How we know is more important than what we know.
I know that copying music is illegal... I know it's wrong, that's enough for me.
See, that's the difference between the sheeple and informed people. You really don't know it's wrong. You've just been educated to think it's wrong.
As for me, I know that copying music is illegal in some countries, but I know it's NOT wrong - specially if the RIAA engages in monopolistic behavior.
Reality isn't black and white, my friend. And it doesn't have shades of gray either, that would be thinking in 1-D. Reality comes in COLORS. Some nice, some ugly. And there are many viewpoints.
In the beginning, there were computers... the hardware... the software was free. People were paid to write programs, but the programs weren't sold "as a product without guarantees." Then Bill Gates said "let there be profit where there was none!" And so there was.
And it came to pass that there was wailing and gnashing of teeth while Microsoft made billions upon billions of dollars and a monopoly was built.
And it came to pass that while open source and free software was never really gone, but it has regained popularity as much of the afore mentioned wailing and gnashing goes on. And as open source and industries using it gained popularity, there were flying chairs as well.
There are other ways to get your computers to deliver the results you want and it doesn't have to cost any money. Microsoft doesn't want anyone to know that so they'll frighten kids with fire and brimstone to protect their business model. Brilliant! But should Microsoft be teaching religion in schools? What they SHOULD be teaching is their programmers to write safe and secure code.
According to the Terms of Service at the bottom of the page, by posting pictures to flickr you give them a license to use said pictures in the promotion of the site. From the ToS: Yahoo! does not claim ownership of Content you submit or make available for inclusion on the Service..
Giving a license != giving ownership.
Klingon programs don't timeshare, they battle for supremacy.
Zero
One or two
Three to seven
As many as I like; I own it. I think you know what to do...
I live in constant fear of the Coming of the Red Spiders.
Just keep this crap away from public schools. This is the type of corporate propaganda that belongs in marketing, advertisements, and sponsored events. NOT in a tax-supported educational system.
And screw them all:
1) I not only make digital copies of software media, but I will happily provide a replacement to friends, family, or customers who lose theirs. Why? Because its the PRODUCT KEY which makes the magic, NOT the CD.
1a) I am sensitive, however, to certain products which just require media from a previous version to qualify for an upgrade. I do not just "hand out" copies; you have to prove to me that you legitimately own the product. And I am quite fond of saying "NO."
2) I make copies of my CDs in VBR MP3 format for use on my portable devices and home computers.
3) I rip and convert my DVDs for use on my portable devices.
Oh, and I do not always put caps back on pens, fold or hang my laundry, and every once in a while I also use the last of the toilet paper without replacing it.
I also do not use a single bit of pirated or unpaid software (I would say "unregistered," but there are a few free packages like RealPlayer I refuse to register due to spam issues.) No, really. But sometimes I wish I did, as it seems the pirates have fewer hurdles through which to jump and are able to spend more time enjoying software than dealing with licensing issues.
MS pushing copyright education (and the whole WGA thing) is somewhat ironic when you consider MS owes their monopoly almost entirely to piracy. And buy pushing this agenda, they actually are more at risk of pushing the install base to "get legal" with more economical alternatives (i.e. Linux).
Had MS not been the required platform for gaming through the 90s, users would have been less likely to become familiar and congregate around it. Since home users constantly needed the new whiz-bang DirectX or 32-bit OS support to keep gaming, and the shear ease by which your average person lost the OEM install disc, the number of pirated systems grew. When it came time for the hardware upgrade, they got another copy of Windows with the box, and then a year later, pirated another version of Windows over it to keep up with the new gaming features again. For every $5 lost OEM install (C'mon, who really goes out and buys a copy of Windows?), they made a few $50 sales of Age of Empires or Halo, or a $300 (never actually priced it) sale of Office. So MS owes perhaps the majority of its install base to pirate upgrades.
Had Vista not been such ass to deal with, almost certainly no one would be using XP today regardless of how awful it is. In one sense, it would just be a lot more logical for MS to declare Windows Home editions free for home use and keep that install base not looking over their shoulders and not learning about alternatives.
Do they tell you how to work the OEM / CAL / coa / ETC rules that some IT people have a hard time working them selfs?
As a high school teacher I'm all for this program.
That's why I downloaded it over bittorrent, made fifty copies and am selling the curriculum to other teachers for $50 a copy (digital). I'm so glad that Microsoft has found a way for me to make some money.
Thank you MS. You guys are the greatest!
Yeah, I'm as old as my UID would suggest.
I have no problems with educating kids on copyright law, so long as it's done correctly. In particular, I am opposed to "abstinence only" education. While it is true that abstaining from file sharing is an effective deterrent to its harmful effects (financial ruin, bankruptcy, incarceration if the RIAA gets its way), studies have shown that students in abstinence-only copyright education classes aren't any less likely to download copyrighted materials. Therefore, classes should also cover "safer" downloading practices, which effectively avoid the scrutiny of law-enforcement and reduce chances of being the victim of harmful effects of file-sharing. The use of encrypted connections and anonymizing networks such as Tor, and basic techniques used to procure copyrighted material from newsgroups rather than insecure p2p protocols, etc., would all be covered in a well designed cirriculum.
So...
When a grown-up told you that something was naughty what was the first thing you did when their back was turned?
Exactly. Expect copyright infringement to grow exponentially as a direct result of this MS program.
No compensation will be paid with respect to the use of your Submission, as provided herein. Microsoft is under no obligation to post or use any Submission you may provide and Microsoft may remove any Submission at any time in its sole discretion."
These are the same teens who are having unprotected sex, smoking cigarettes, drinking alcohol, driving cars at unsafe speeds, and continuing to indulge in drugs. Maybe if we told them about the consequences of those behaviours, they'd stop doing them as well.
What about the wider subject of ethics? Pretty handy for MS to focus only on the area that is of interest to them while acting like complete bastards in other areas (offence to bastards unintended).
Engineering is the art of compromise.
From http://www.mybytes.com/help.html All users have the choice to either pay or not pay credits for songs they take, just like in real life. You'll get to see if other users like your tracks, and if they're giving you credit for using your creation. That sounds like "How would YOU like it if..."
1178161 is prime...
Just like teens will stop using pot when told of possible jail time for toking. How could this possibly not work?
"Every great cause begins as a movement, becomes a business, and eventually degenerates into a racket." -- Eric Hoffer
Yes the "War on Drugs" and the threat of "jail time" has made drugs almost non-existent amongst the youth!
...
So...
1. Educate youth with FUD
2.
3. Profit!
I have an idea. How about a fast OS you WANT to pay for?
Kids want to share with their friends what they deem cool. When I was a kid, we shared electronics, books, tapes (copies), records (copies) and knowledge.
The survey link results from the information week article is broken. The URL leads to:
We're sorry, but we were unable to service your request. You may wish to choose from the links below for information about Microsoft products and services.
So we don't even get to read the sampling/demographics on the kids they surveyed.
Nevertheless, Microsoft wants to correct teens' woeful ignorance. To do so, it has turned to Topics Education, a developer of custom curricula, to create a curriculum called "Intellectual Property Rights Education" for middle school and high school teachers. The Microsoft-sponsored curriculum consists of Web-based resources and case-study driven lesson plans that aim to engage students about intellectual property issues.
I will sue my local school district and Microsoft if they don't offer a counter curriculum called "Fair Use" and "Public domain". This course needs to teach kids about past copying abuses by Microsoft and how they used their Monopoly money to pay for the court sealed settlements that people are not allowed to read.
To support its teachings, Microsoft has launched MyBytes, a Web site where students can create custom ringtones, share content -- "their own content," as Microsoft makes clear -- and learn more about intellectual property rights.
To support my teachings to my kids on property rights, I've installed x/k/Ubuntu on all the computers in the house. They can create, share, sell, and distribute anything they what. They can even pass out Linux CDs to all their friends (they have). I teach my kids its OK to grab an MP3 off the main home server and play it on your MP3 player. Its not OK for them to give that MP3 away to their friends. I teach my kids the difference between ownership and free speech/ownership restrictive EULAs.
In August 2006, the site was shuttered and this explanation was subsequently posted: "Despite the significant progress we made on addressing the concerns raised about the original Captain Copyright initiative, as well as the positive feedback and requests for literally hundreds of lesson kits from teachers and librarians, we have come to the conclusion that the current climate around copyright issues will not allow a project like this one to be successful."
Here we go again, Microsofts favorite defender Captain Copyright. I forget what Captain Copyright said about Kerberos authentication. I also forget about what Captain Copyright did to the evil villains who were pillaging STAC. The DrDOS People counted on Captain Copyright but he didn't show up to defend them. What did Captain Copyright say again to the people who built their own computers without Windows? Oh Yeah, were thief's for not installing Windows.
If Microsoft would just worry about writing good programs for computers (Apple/Linux/ARM/Palm/Whatever) and stop trying to be the cyber police I might look at their products again (!Not. BSD/Linux is much faster and less maintenance). Until then Microsoft is still just a marketing company which happens to make an O/S for PCs.
My opinion (my animosity towards Microsoft does not equate to animosity for people who use Microsoft products),
Enjoy.
It's just the normal noises in here.
I have no problem with education. Even about copyright law. So lets educate the kids. Lets teach them what cut of the profits the artist actually gets. Lets teach them the very limits of absurdity that the existing laws can support. Show them that the current laws are unfair not only to the consumer but also to the artist. Oh yeah and gladly take MS' money to do it. Oh they want to CONTROL THE CONTENT. Not a chance. Find another patsy. But we'll take your money happily.
These posts express my own personal views, not those of my employer
Summary: http://www.ipreducation.com/ipr_curriculum_overview.pdf Lesson One: http://www.ipreducation.com/pdfdownload.php?pdf=IntellWhat_final.pdf&email=RIAA@sucks.tv Lesson Two: http://www.ipreducation.com/pdfdownload.php?pdf=RuleofLaw_final.pdf&email=RIAA@sucks.tv Lesson Three: http://www.ipreducation.com/pdfdownload.php?pdf=Music_final.pdf&email=RIAA@sucks.tv Lesson Four: http://www.ipreducation.com/pdfdownload.php?pdf=ProtectRespect_final.pdf&email=RIAA@sucks.tv On another note: Does anybody else find that ipreduacation parses as IP Reeducation, rather than IPR Education? More seriously, though. Let's go over this one with a fine toothed comb, work it up, and bury it along with Captain Copyright.