I don't necessarily agree that Napster helps sales but I disagree with your "proof".
Using your logic how do you explain the movie industry's attempt to outlaw video machines in the not too distant past when video marketing is a huge portion of their revenue today? In retrospect, it seems like a no brainer.
People are fallible and they don't always realize the "obvious".
Another problem with your proof is your somewhat naive underestimation of greed. Just because Napster boosts sales doesn't mean the recording industry wouldn't love to kill Napster and create its own equivalent. Why leave the potential profits to Napster when you can so handily shut it down and create your own money making clone?
Is this a Bush administration initiative or was the filing planned before his election?
The first update seems to be dated the beginning of February with the addition of Mr. Daniel S. Alter (Esq.!!!!!!) so it would seem to me that this is a Bushism. A very alarming Bushism considering Bush had been in power for less than a month on 2/8. This is at the top of the administration's priority list in the first month?
If this is the case, then we have definite evidence of what four years of Bush are going to bring us - government siding with corporate interests at the expense of everything else. Way to go...
For an industry reporting revenues of $15b a year in the U.S. alone and deathly fearful of the internet it seems that $1b over 5 years is small potatos compared to the perceived loss of control.
Somehow, I don't think the Luddites will accept...
From what I understand, the girl performed her barbie test on all of 15 adults and 30 children. This hardly seems statistically enough to infer what she inferred so I wouldn't call it a complete science project. However, it is an interesting basis for further investigation.
Still, who can blame her when she is surrounded by spineless, politically correct drones intent on denying that the world is not perfect?
It is conceivable to have a name obfuscation server to allow secure file renaming such that the original name cannot be easily deduced from the obfuscated name. Usage would be as follows:
user opens 'obfuscate' client, types in title and performer name: Enter Sandman, Metallica.
client server exchange
'obfuscate' client returns the obfuscated name: '12f64723ff.mp3'
user uses Napster to search for '12f64723ff.mp3'
user renames to whatever he likes
For the absolutely paranoid, the following steps could be taken to disallow 'abuse' by big labels:
strong cryptography for the name obfuscation.
to disable rapid mapping of files - deliberately slow server response or a client intensive authentication mechanism such as Hashcash.
It would be possible to map part of the renaming scheme and ban certain files but if the implementation is done right, it would be too difficult to do on a massive scale.
I wrote it and my intent wasn't to imply that all Belgians are pedophiles.
It was only meant to stress the hypocrisy of things when the Belgian police was very quick to arrest those dangerous Napster users while letting the likes of Marc Dutroux run wild for months murdering 8 y/o girls.
Imposing such taxes (the article said $80 a machine) would incur a huge increase in IT spending all across the board for all companies that use computers (are there any that don't use computers anymore?).
The music industry will not be fighting the little man in the street anymore - Mercedes Benz, BASF, BMW, Bayer AG, Deutsche Bank and many other behemoths will not look too kindly on such an expense and wield a considerable lobbying power that the music industry can't even dream of.
As long as the average joe can put pencil to paper and write whatever he wants (with the odd spelling mistake) books will live.
The thought of trying to control content on a book is scary stuff - it would be a return to the church induced dark ages of forbidden books and the imprisonment of people disseminating ideas on paper.
I'm sure someone will come up one day with the brilliant idea of banning "analog" pens, pencils and paper to "protect the rights" of authors.
This is off-topic so shoot me. I submitted the story to slashdot but somehow I don't think they will post it.
Slashdot has silently added more ads at the bottom - taking a sizable portion of the screen. This in an apparent attempt to counter the top ad's fatal flaw - most people scroll down to read the discussion and miss it. Also, it seems that slashdot has abandoned the ethic of posting only nerd interest related ads.
I find issue 3.1 - "Save resources retrieved from the Web on the local system using the appropriate system naming conventions." - plain silly and the proposed 'fix' would be annoying.
For anyone familiar with windows, the 'fix' would be like the annoying Notepad behavior of appending.txt to everything you save.
Their solution implies that the browser knows best which is rarely the case.
Instead of fixing a browser that isn't broken, people should suffix their files properly.
Even as the Apollo 11 crew--Armstrong, Aldrin, and Collins--were sitting on the launch pad, the only "documentation" on the AGC program was the listing itself
If commented code was good enough for Apollo 11, my commented code is good enough for my boss...
If any of the later stages mentioned in the article were to come true, the U.S would start on the slippery slope of decline thus making the whole issue unimportant as it would affect only a backwater - the world will march on, with our without the U.S.
Re:Answered this before, but..no Kremlim purity
on
The Pledge
·
· Score: 1
I do not advocate communist thought control - far from it. I just don't understand why Hollywood films feature so often in/.
Here is a smattering of statistics taken at random by pressing those cute little topic images at the top of today's/. page.
Let's count the number of articles from the beginning of the year for each topic:
Films: 13 (of which 11 are somehow related to/. nerd subjects)
Justice: 2
PDA: 5
Gnome: 5
Games: 25
So films rank second after games and far ahead of any other topic (do I hear "escape, escape, escape from reality!"?)
I also agree with our european counterpart's observation that too much attention is given to Hollywood productions. There is a whole other world out there.
um, how does this movie qualify as a/. topic?
Is there anything remotely nerdish about the film?
Is there anything about this film except that JonKatz likes films in general and this one in particular?
If/.ers wanted to discuss movie reviews I'm sure they could find a WB, E! or some such drooling fan web board.
Topic moderation should be introduced...
Not to mention the lowly cut & paste.
A user could inadvertantly (or maliciously) cut text from one VM window and paste in another VM window using the host system's clipboard.
Re:CSS if not a copyright enforcement device
on
DVD Case Follow-Up
·
· Score: 1
I hear ya!
CSS if not a copyright enforcement device
on
DVD Case Follow-Up
·
· Score: 2
I don't understand why no one challenges the premise that CSS is a copyright protection device.
Why is it accepted as fact when it is obvious that CSS has nothing to do with copyright protection - a CSS encrypted disc can be duplicated ad nauseam just like an unencrypted disc.
Why doesn't someone just state the obvious - CSS is simply about generating more money by creating artificial market barriers and designated hardware vendors.
Maybe then the whole case will be dismissed as a non-copyright issue which has nothing to do with the DMCA...
And for someone who probably includes himself among the 'very intelligent' you have missed the biggest problem with cloning. Clone an infertile man and you will get an infertile clone, if the sterility is a genetic problem.
This infertile clone will also demand the "right" to a child of his own and will want to be cloned as well...
It's a human ponsi scheme...
It doesn't make sense that the music labels will settle for a subscription fee only system.
Something tells me Napster plans to migrate to a "copyright protected" music format later on so that they can squeeze out more money from people with expiration dates and "play-only-on-this-computer" authentication.
If they don't, they lose too much of their much cherished control over music. $10 a month won't make up for the amounts of music people will download.
Maybe slashdotters should show some spine for a change and boycott the movie which will be released by the industry litigating the DeCSS case.
It is just pathetic to see/. pretend to care about free speech and then proceed to drool uncontrollably over a hyped up film...
Slashdot Mirror
I don't necessarily agree that Napster helps sales but I disagree with your "proof".
Using your logic how do you explain the movie industry's attempt to outlaw video machines in the not too distant past when video marketing is a huge portion of their revenue today? In retrospect, it seems like a no brainer.
People are fallible and they don't always realize the "obvious".
Another problem with your proof is your somewhat naive underestimation of greed. Just because Napster boosts sales doesn't mean the recording industry wouldn't love to kill Napster and create its own equivalent. Why leave the potential profits to Napster when you can so handily shut it down and create your own money making clone?
So why haven't these hyper intelligent dolphins made any attempt at teaching us the sounds for "sea urchin" or "gimme more fish"?
Maybe they are not all that intelligent....
Time to return to the log cabin in Montana...
Notice another worrying trend. The Napster case is already being used as a reference ruling... yikes!
Is this a Bush administration initiative or was the filing planned before his election?
The first update seems to be dated the beginning of February with the addition of Mr. Daniel S. Alter (Esq.!!!!!!) so it would seem to me that this is a Bushism. A very alarming Bushism considering Bush had been in power for less than a month on 2/8. This is at the top of the administration's priority list in the first month?
If this is the case, then we have definite evidence of what four years of Bush are going to bring us - government siding with corporate interests at the expense of everything else. Way to go...
It's not "GPS circuits"!! This is a GPS feature! Get your terms right...
For an industry reporting revenues of $15b a year in the U.S. alone and deathly fearful of the internet it seems that $1b over 5 years is small potatos compared to the perceived loss of control.
Somehow, I don't think the Luddites will accept...
From what I understand, the girl performed her barbie test on all of 15 adults and 30 children. This hardly seems statistically enough to infer what she inferred so I wouldn't call it a complete science project. However, it is an interesting basis for further investigation.
Still, who can blame her when she is surrounded by spineless, politically correct drones intent on denying that the world is not perfect?
- user opens 'obfuscate' client, types in title and performer name: Enter Sandman, Metallica.
- client server exchange
- 'obfuscate' client returns the obfuscated name: '12f64723ff.mp3'
- user uses Napster to search for '12f64723ff.mp3'
- user renames to whatever he likes
For the absolutely paranoid, the following steps could be taken to disallow 'abuse' by big labels:It would be possible to map part of the renaming scheme and ban certain files but if the implementation is done right, it would be too difficult to do on a massive scale.
Comments?I wrote it and my intent wasn't to imply that all Belgians are pedophiles.
It was only meant to stress the hypocrisy of things when the Belgian police was very quick to arrest those dangerous Napster users while letting the likes of Marc Dutroux run wild for months murdering 8 y/o girls.
Imposing such taxes (the article said $80 a machine) would incur a huge increase in IT spending all across the board for all companies that use computers (are there any that don't use computers anymore?).
The music industry will not be fighting the little man in the street anymore - Mercedes Benz, BASF, BMW, Bayer AG, Deutsche Bank and many other behemoths will not look too kindly on such an expense and wield a considerable lobbying power that the music industry can't even dream of.
As long as the average joe can put pencil to paper and write whatever he wants (with the odd spelling mistake) books will live.
The thought of trying to control content on a book is scary stuff - it would be a return to the church induced dark ages of forbidden books and the imprisonment of people disseminating ideas on paper.
I'm sure someone will come up one day with the brilliant idea of banning "analog" pens, pencils and paper to "protect the rights" of authors.
This is off-topic so shoot me. I submitted the story to slashdot but somehow I don't think they will post it.
Slashdot has silently added more ads at the bottom - taking a sizable portion of the screen. This in an apparent attempt to counter the top ad's fatal flaw - most people scroll down to read the discussion and miss it. Also, it seems that slashdot has abandoned the ethic of posting only nerd interest related ads.
Another .com bust in the works?
Strike one off from the linux distribution confusion...
I find issue 3.1 - "Save resources retrieved from the Web on the local system using the appropriate system naming conventions." - plain silly and the proposed 'fix' would be annoying.
.txt to everything you save.
For anyone familiar with windows, the 'fix' would be like the annoying Notepad behavior of appending
Their solution implies that the browser knows best which is rarely the case.
Instead of fixing a browser that isn't broken, people should suffix their files properly.
From the article:
If commented code was good enough for Apollo 11, my commented code is good enough for my boss...
If any of the later stages mentioned in the article were to come true, the U.S would start on the slippery slope of decline thus making the whole issue unimportant as it would affect only a backwater - the world will march on, with our without the U.S.
I do not advocate communist thought control - far from it. I just don't understand why Hollywood films feature so often in /.
/. page.
/. nerd subjects)
Here is a smattering of statistics taken at random by pressing those cute little topic images at the top of today's
Let's count the number of articles from the beginning of the year for each topic:
Films: 13 (of which 11 are somehow related to
Justice: 2
PDA: 5
Gnome: 5
Games: 25
So films rank second after games and far ahead of any other topic (do I hear "escape, escape, escape from reality!"?)
I also agree with our european counterpart's observation that too much attention is given to Hollywood productions. There is a whole other world out there.
um, how does this movie qualify as a /. topic?
/.ers wanted to discuss movie reviews I'm sure they could find a WB, E! or some such drooling fan web board.
Is there anything remotely nerdish about the film?
Is there anything about this film except that JonKatz likes films in general and this one in particular?
If
Topic moderation should be introduced...
Not to mention the lowly cut & paste.
A user could inadvertantly (or maliciously) cut text from one VM window and paste in another VM window using the host system's clipboard.
I hear ya!
I don't understand why no one challenges the premise that CSS is a copyright protection device.
Why is it accepted as fact when it is obvious that CSS has nothing to do with copyright protection - a CSS encrypted disc can be duplicated ad nauseam just like an unencrypted disc.
Why doesn't someone just state the obvious - CSS is simply about generating more money by creating artificial market barriers and designated hardware vendors.
Maybe then the whole case will be dismissed as a non-copyright issue which has nothing to do with the DMCA...
And for someone who probably includes himself among the 'very intelligent' you have missed the biggest problem with cloning. Clone an infertile man and you will get an infertile clone, if the sterility is a genetic problem.
This infertile clone will also demand the "right" to a child of his own and will want to be cloned as well...
It's a human ponsi scheme...
It doesn't make sense that the music labels will settle for a subscription fee only system.
Something tells me Napster plans to migrate to a "copyright protected" music format later on so that they can squeeze out more money from people with expiration dates and "play-only-on-this-computer" authentication.
If they don't, they lose too much of their much cherished control over music. $10 a month won't make up for the amounts of music people will download.
Maybe slashdotters should show some spine for a change and boycott the movie which will be released by the industry litigating the DeCSS case. /. pretend to care about free speech and then proceed to drool uncontrollably over a hyped up film...
It is just pathetic to see