Let's start our own university, then. I mean, seriously, I almost went to the headmaster's office (in Norway, btw) when I learned that for the new classes two years behind me, they didn't bother to teach you even C, but jumped straight to Visual Basic.
So how about it? Let's start our own university in... uhm... Manila. Yeah, that's it. Summer year round, cheap living...
I spent 2.5 years doing middleware in thehealth sector. Not a single one of our clients had a Windows solution. Things were primarily running on Sun boxes or AS/400s. The only reason we didn't develop our own full package, was that there are certain certification issues involved.
I do recall very vividly, however, that the Hospital at the University of Pennsylvania in Philly have their own home grown system running on UNIX boxes. You might want to talk to them.
Toronto. People in Canada are actually free, compared to the US. And there's concepts, such as protection from corporate abuse. Y'know... the apartment complexes can't screw you around as easily as they can in the US. And people are less paranoid, of course. Though I'm still young, so this is not necessarily my final destination. There's an entire world out there I'd like to see.:^)
...there... the door. If you don't like the laws in the US, then just go live somewhere else, before they have completely taken over your life. (I already did.)
Soda Cans dont need names. Neither do term papers (I am writing a paper on gravitational mechanics, I shall call it "Newton").
So... instead of going to "/papers/gravitational mechanics.rtf", you'd rather browse open about 200 documents on your drive and read the first paragraph of each one, to seeif you have the correct document?
Or you want all your documents to be represented on your desktop, and the only way you'll find that one specific document is by remembering which one it was - and if you don't remember, you open every single one of them to figure out which one it is you needed?
This is analogous with spreading your entire CD collection on the floor, your CDs have no labels, and to play that one specific song, YOU have to remember exactly which one of these identical CDs it is on, and what track it is on, not to mention, where that track begins on the CD. I mean, why do you have to number the tracks on the CD and force yourself to start listening to the beginning of a "track"... no... let us all ALWAYS punch in the exact minute/second/sector to start playing from.
Seriously, when a computer asks you for a filename, it is because you are saving pieces of information that you want to be able to just pull back out at any time. What better way than to give the file a small descriptive name that tells you what the contents are... instead of just tossing it at the table. It's a time saver.
How many times haven't you had your friends over, everybody have a can of coke, put it on the same table... you go out to do something, go back, and you all wonder... "which can is mine again?"
In the case of a can of coke, it doesn't really matter that much, because the content is EXACTLY the same, perhaps the amount might be a little different. When you're saving *specific* files of information, however, you are dealing with UNIQUE objects.
When the cop pulls you over, he doesn't want to see your paper about fusion or the URL of slashdot, he wants to see your driver's license. You have to produce that one specific document. Are you not glad that this one specific document is identifiable? And that you know where it is? (/trousers-current/back.pocket/wallet/licenses/dri vers.rtf - where trousers-current is a symbolic link to the pair of trousers you're currently wearing. Make sure to mv wallet to trousers-current from trousers-previous before putting trousers-previous in/apartment_complex/floor_8/laudry_room/washing_mac hine/)
What I'm getting at here? Real life SURE DOES have a hierarchy of folders.
Anyway, why call your paper "Newton", when it really ought to be stored as "/college/papers/gravitational mechanics.rtf"?
20. If a million people use a Web site simultaneously, doesn't that mean that we must have a heavy-duty remote server to keep them all happy? No; we could move the site onto a million desktops and use the internet for coordination.
What is described here is Usenet. An article starts in one location, and spreads out over a network of Usenet servers, and anyone can hook up to their LOCAL server to retrieve it.
It could also be used to describe IRC. At this abstraction layer, he is discussing methodologies that are already in place for certain jobs. You know... Where applicable. But he takes these methodologies and apply them to everything, as if there is only one correct way of doing something, no matter what it is you're doing.
Since he brought up cars himself, this would be analogous with Nissan predicting the end of the 'net, because in the future, we will all DRIVE to the web sites, instead of sitting at home and hog your DSL connection. (If your ISP actually gets around to install your DSL connection, but that's besides the point.)
Sure, if I drive to my web site, I would definitely know where I was, and I could give my URLs by longitude and latitude, but it is hardly efficient. I like my file system, thank you very much, it is a really neat way of organizing my files, and then pull them out directly by name.
Every method, every architecture has its specific use, it can not be applied everywhere. It is quite obvious that the author of the article is a visionary who only sees things from the end user point of view and doesn't realize the architecture behind it.
He presents nothing more revolutionary than Microsoft's implementation of "Favourites", that someone so brilliantly pulled out as an example of why I should start using Internet Explorer instead of Netscape.
"See, Microsoft invented this new feature called 'favourites', where I can store my favourite web sites, so that I can go back to them later, without writing down the web site. And Netscape doesn't have favourites." - ever hear of bookmarks, buddy?
Except, if I take this story and put it in the hands of this author, he'd be presenting it as "in the future, there will be no files, only bookmarks. We will have no documents, only links."
That's right! I want a better seat in my subway car, I don't need no better engine! And my computer? I don't need a faster CPU or a better operating system. I don't need a better word process, I don't care about the web browser or the Internet or Slashdot... because all that is just old news. Instead, I will be on the lookout for the NEW thing that is about to come... and it will be platform independent, so I can toss out my 233 MHz P-II and start using my good old Spectrum again.
In my office? I don't need no friggin' filing cabinet, I like to have all my files just spread all over the desk and on the floor and the bathroom. I don't need to organize them! I don't need no "folder" and "filing cabinet" system! It's all about systems! I'm pulling out my "systems be gone" spray now.
My next computer... will be an anarchist! It will run whatever it wishes to run, whenever it wants to run it, without asking me. It will do whatever the hell it pleases, because that's what it pleases to do. And it won't care at all about what *I* want to do... you know... kind'a like running Windows...
Are we all prepared for the Y10k crisis??? My God, we only have 8000 years to prepare ourselves! I saw an ad the other day about someone being Y3K compliant... I'd be a lot more impressed if they were Y10k compliant. Not to mention Y64k (as in 65536) compliant...
Interestingly, fairly professional movie equipment is becoming increasingly cheaper. I personally got a device called "Dazzle" for $200, that allows me to convert video to high quality MPEGs and edit them. The results are actually pretty good, so I would not be surprised if we soon saw more "home made" music videos and movies, just like we now SEE more of the home made music at MP3.com.
Computers are also getting more powerful, so special effects can also be created cheaply by "anyone". The bottom line here is that with a $10k budget (including purchase of all the equipment you need), you and your friends could actually make a really great film in your spare time.
Yes, I'm working on one.
WRT Matrix II: On the IMDB, they used to list the Eaton Centre in Toronto as a filming location. They took this out, even though large parts of the Eaton Centre has been closed while they are building something "new and exciting" for quite a while now. And yes, here and there, you can see the same thick cables you usually see around movie production trucks.
Speaking of movie production trucks, my room mate saw Keanu Reeves at the movie set at Bathurst and Bloor the other day. The trucks have been parked up along Bathurst for a couple of weeks now. And David Hasselhoff is filming something across the street from where my room mate works. Not many options on the 2000 releases at IMDB: http://us.imdb.com/Name?Hasselhoff,+David
How about, rather than just a checkbox, create your own budget in the section called "How would you like to see your money split up between the different government institutions?" Politicians wouldn't even have to worry about planning a budget anymore, it would be completely democratic use of the tax money. Y'know...if nothing else, I would LOVE to see what the budget would end up like... anyone care to put together an advanced online "budget voting booth"? And don't forget that field "Secret government programs that we won't tell you about"...:^)
Two words: The Arrow. There was another word in there, like the company name or whatever... but remember that jet that the Canadians built that was WAY better than the inferior American technology? They were even planning on how it could be used to launch sattelites. Had it not been for the most stupid decision in the history of Canada (not like Canada isn't known for making stupid decisions), Canada might very well have beaten the US to the moon, based on the innovations of a commercial company with national pride.
They used to have these... I remember seeing ads in British magazines like Sinclair User, advertising call-in adventure games. Granted, the girl was a machine, and you gave orders by pressing numbers ("If you wish to leave the room, press 1 now. If you wish to slay the ogre, press 2 now") but the idea was there, and it was implemented. This was mid- to late 80s. I never tried it, because not only was it a toll number, paying for the minute, but it was an overseas call, too. And those were REALLY expensive back then...:^)
Remember Eureka? Not only did it have a few real time scenes where you had to act... FAST... but if you solved all five adventures FAST enough, you won the big prize... something like GBP 100000 or so, was it?
This is what Bill Gates means is disasterous, though. When everybody gets to learn about the getAllPasswordsFromRemoteMachineWithNoNeedForAuthe ntication() call...
I noticed this trend more in the US than anywhere else I have lived. More specifically, I used to live in Atlanta. Could do little other than work, eat and sleep. Getting together with others after work always had to be "consumption related". Couldn't find anything that was free anymore, except Creative Loafing. No sidewalks anywhere but downtown, so you can't just go for a walk. Really badly polluted air. You get the idea.
Having grown up in Norway, lived in Canada and the US, and been on trips to most places in Europe, Australia and New Zealand, having seen most of the US, I have found this disturbing trends more in the US than anywhere else.
In the US, I pretty much had to get an attourney to protect my rights as an individual, to stop large bullying corporations from stepping all over me. I eventually got fed up and moved back to civilization.
Quite similar (so this post is kind'a redundant, I guess)... Try telling people "gard.scriba.org" and when they read it back to me to make sure they spelled it right, they tell me "www.gard.scriba.org.com" AGH!!!
I received in an eZine about web promotion, and article about "is your domain safe?" - and they mentioned that... well... you can't do much about the "http://www" bit, and you can't do anything about the ".com" bit... but what's in between... AAARRGGGHHH!!!
Interestingly, this seems to be a problem only in the US. Everywhere else in the world, people are aware of other TLDs than.com. In Canada, for example, people are used to.ca domains, so they don't see ".com" as the only TLD, and therefore grasp the concept of ".org", ".net" and so forth.
If it hadn't been for the international audience (myself included) of Slasdot, I'd suggest that slashdot moved to a ".us" domain, so that people who don't grasp the concept don't get to the site. Imagine... http://slashdot.holland.mi.us/:^)
All you need to do is to make your own MP3 of yourself reading your own Slashdot article about Metallica, then make it available on Napster as What_I_Think_Of_Metallica.mp3. You'll soon have Metallica on your tail for a copyright infringement that you didn't do.
Please explain to me how your assertion differs signifigantly from the following statement: "I agree that rich people have the rights to things they own, but they have a responsibility to let other people take it."
It differs because I did not ask people to go steal the music. I am indeed saying that Metallica has all the right in the world, and yes, it is wrong to copy their songs. However, given their wealth, they should be giving more things freely. I know that it might be a hard concept to grasp, and it's not mathematical, but the more you give, the more you get.
Clearly, we do not live in the same world. I refer you to The Bill and Melinda Gates foundation, the largest charitable foundation in the world, which gave $57 million dollars this year to prevent the spread of AIDS in Africa. Or to the official "Microsoft Giving" page.
So things have changed. There are other examples, but I can't think of them off the top of my head. But for the sake of the argument, let's look at Metallica - at one point, they were the rebels. So what if anyone copied their music, it was great PR. It got them filthy rich. Then they got greedy and decided to strike down on any unauthorized reproductions. A substantial amount of people are now turning away from them.
As a point of the matter - I did copy a friend's CDs when I went to middle- and high school. Because I liked the music so much, I bought the CDs years later, when I could afford it. So did I illegaly "preview" the music? I guess so. But had I not been able to copy the music then, I would not have gotten as attached to it, and probably never goten the CDs myself in the end. Which means that in the long run, this "illegal copy" turned into a delayed profit for them, rather than no profit at all.
On the flip side, because of the incredibly rediculous lawsuits going on these days, it is also in my might to not support RIAA. As such, I do my best to avoid buying any products that support any member of RIAA. And no, I don't even download songs from any band associated with RIAA. Downloading would get me attached to the song. Getting attached to the song means that I would eventually cave in and buy the CD and support the artist. Instead, I'm looking at all the other music there is in the world, that RIAA doesn't own.
With RIAA sueing newsreaders, it is only a matter of time before they sue Netspace, Microsoft and Opera for making web browsers that could potentially be used to download MP3s, they'll sue Microsoft for makig an operating system with a file system that could potentially be used to store illegal MP3s, but what will be most fun is to see them sue Al Gore for inventing the Internet... I mean, he was just asking for it, now, wasn't he?
You can enforce copyrights - even on software - if you, for a fee, register the source at the Library of Congress. For some reason, I don't think Microsoft has done this.:^)
...the entire society has changed. For those of you (the majority, I assume) who watched Fame back in 1980, go see Center Stage. Not nearly as good as Fame, but in a way, the difference between the two movies represent the social differences between 1980 and 2000. It is sad, really.
For the "Metallica has all the right in the world" advocates... I agree to this. Metallica does have all the right in the world. However, the wealthier you are, the more responsibility you have to share that wealth. Look at McDonald's, for example - they solved a lot of PR problems just by starting to donate to charities. Microsoft, on the other hand, got a lot of bad press, when Bill Gates commented that they would NOT give ANY money to any charities any time soon.
There is also the other factor, that what you give to the world, you get back threefold. It really is good karma to give things away. Within limits, of course, (gotta maintain that self sustaining balance) but the better off you are, the more you're able to give. And it will only do you good in the long run.
Of course, I am now actively boycotting anything that comes out of RIAA, and I'll be buying my CDs from non-RIAA organizations like mp3.com instead. Not because they are executing their "rights", but because they are being greedy, and are radiating bad karma.
Slashdot Mirror
Let's start our own university, then. I mean, seriously, I almost went to the headmaster's office (in Norway, btw) when I learned that for the new classes two years behind me, they didn't bother to teach you even C, but jumped straight to Visual Basic.
So how about it? Let's start our own university in... uhm... Manila. Yeah, that's it. Summer year round, cheap living...
I spent 2.5 years doing middleware in thehealth sector. Not a single one of our clients had a Windows solution. Things were primarily running on Sun boxes or AS/400s. The only reason we didn't develop our own full package, was that there are certain certification issues involved. I do recall very vividly, however, that the Hospital at the University of Pennsylvania in Philly have their own home grown system running on UNIX boxes. You might want to talk to them.
Toronto. People in Canada are actually free, compared to the US. And there's concepts, such as protection from corporate abuse. Y'know... the apartment complexes can't screw you around as easily as they can in the US. And people are less paranoid, of course. Though I'm still young, so this is not necessarily my final destination. There's an entire world out there I'd like to see. :^)
...there... the door. If you don't like the laws in the US, then just go live somewhere else, before they have completely taken over your life. (I already did.)
So... instead of going to "/papers/gravitational mechanics.rtf", you'd rather browse open about 200 documents on your drive and read the first paragraph of each one, to seeif you have the correct document?
Or you want all your documents to be represented on your desktop, and the only way you'll find that one specific document is by remembering which one it was - and if you don't remember, you open every single one of them to figure out which one it is you needed?
This is analogous with spreading your entire CD collection on the floor, your CDs have no labels, and to play that one specific song, YOU have to remember exactly which one of these identical CDs it is on, and what track it is on, not to mention, where that track begins on the CD. I mean, why do you have to number the tracks on the CD and force yourself to start listening to the beginning of a "track"... no... let us all ALWAYS punch in the exact minute/second/sector to start playing from.
Seriously, when a computer asks you for a filename, it is because you are saving pieces of information that you want to be able to just pull back out at any time. What better way than to give the file a small descriptive name that tells you what the contents are... instead of just tossing it at the table. It's a time saver.
How many times haven't you had your friends over, everybody have a can of coke, put it on the same table... you go out to do something, go back, and you all wonder... "which can is mine again?"
In the case of a can of coke, it doesn't really matter that much, because the content is EXACTLY the same, perhaps the amount might be a little different. When you're saving *specific* files of information, however, you are dealing with UNIQUE objects.
When the cop pulls you over, he doesn't want to see your paper about fusion or the URL of slashdot, he wants to see your driver's license. You have to produce that one specific document. Are you not glad that this one specific document is identifiable? And that you know where it is? (/trousers-current/back.pocket/wallet/licenses/dri vers.rtf - where trousers-current is a symbolic link to the pair of trousers you're currently wearing. Make sure to mv wallet to trousers-current from trousers-previous before putting trousers-previous in /apartment_complex/floor_8/laudry_room/washing_mac hine/)
What I'm getting at here? Real life SURE DOES have a hierarchy of folders.
Anyway, why call your paper "Newton", when it really ought to be stored as "/college/papers/gravitational mechanics.rtf"?
What is described here is Usenet. An article starts in one location, and spreads out over a network of Usenet servers, and anyone can hook up to their LOCAL server to retrieve it.
It could also be used to describe IRC. At this abstraction layer, he is discussing methodologies that are already in place for certain jobs. You know... Where applicable. But he takes these methodologies and apply them to everything, as if there is only one correct way of doing something, no matter what it is you're doing.
Since he brought up cars himself, this would be analogous with Nissan predicting the end of the 'net, because in the future, we will all DRIVE to the web sites, instead of sitting at home and hog your DSL connection. (If your ISP actually gets around to install your DSL connection, but that's besides the point.)
Sure, if I drive to my web site, I would definitely know where I was, and I could give my URLs by longitude and latitude, but it is hardly efficient. I like my file system, thank you very much, it is a really neat way of organizing my files, and then pull them out directly by name.
Every method, every architecture has its specific use, it can not be applied everywhere. It is quite obvious that the author of the article is a visionary who only sees things from the end user point of view and doesn't realize the architecture behind it.
He presents nothing more revolutionary than Microsoft's implementation of "Favourites", that someone so brilliantly pulled out as an example of why I should start using Internet Explorer instead of Netscape.
"See, Microsoft invented this new feature called 'favourites', where I can store my favourite web sites, so that I can go back to them later, without writing down the web site. And Netscape doesn't have favourites." - ever hear of bookmarks, buddy?
Except, if I take this story and put it in the hands of this author, he'd be presenting it as "in the future, there will be no files, only bookmarks. We will have no documents, only links."
Anyway... enough ranting...
That's right! I want a better seat in my subway car, I don't need no better engine! And my computer? I don't need a faster CPU or a better operating system. I don't need a better word process, I don't care about the web browser or the Internet or Slashdot... because all that is just old news. Instead, I will be on the lookout for the NEW thing that is about to come ... and it will be platform independent, so I can toss out my 233 MHz P-II and start using my good old Spectrum again.
In my office? I don't need no friggin' filing cabinet, I like to have all my files just spread all over the desk and on the floor and the bathroom. I don't need to organize them! I don't need no "folder" and "filing cabinet" system! It's all about systems! I'm pulling out my "systems be gone" spray now.
My next computer... will be an anarchist! It will run whatever it wishes to run, whenever it wants to run it, without asking me. It will do whatever the hell it pleases, because that's what it pleases to do. And it won't care at all about what *I* want to do... you know... kind'a like running Windows...
Are we all prepared for the Y10k crisis??? My God, we only have 8000 years to prepare ourselves! I saw an ad the other day about someone being Y3K compliant... I'd be a lot more impressed if they were Y10k compliant. Not to mention Y64k (as in 65536) compliant...
Interestingly, fairly professional movie equipment is becoming increasingly cheaper. I personally got a device called "Dazzle" for $200, that allows me to convert video to high quality MPEGs and edit them. The results are actually pretty good, so I would not be surprised if we soon saw more "home made" music videos and movies, just like we now SEE more of the home made music at MP3.com.
Computers are also getting more powerful, so special effects can also be created cheaply by "anyone". The bottom line here is that with a $10k budget (including purchase of all the equipment you need), you and your friends could actually make a really great film in your spare time.
Yes, I'm working on one.
WRT Matrix II: On the IMDB, they used to list the Eaton Centre in Toronto as a filming location. They took this out, even though large parts of the Eaton Centre has been closed while they are building something "new and exciting" for quite a while now. And yes, here and there, you can see the same thick cables you usually see around movie production trucks.
Speaking of movie production trucks, my room mate saw Keanu Reeves at the movie set at Bathurst and Bloor the other day. The trucks have been parked up along Bathurst for a couple of weeks now. And David Hasselhoff is filming something across the street from where my room mate works. Not many options on the 2000 releases at IMDB: http://us.imdb.com/Name?Hasselhoff,+David
And what if I never heard of the band, and was unaware of the fact that the file was being distributed illegally?
Come on, now... he could recycle the "Microdrive" trademark for the new version of his C5. I want a C5!!! :^)
How about, rather than just a checkbox, create your own budget in the section called "How would you like to see your money split up between the different government institutions?" Politicians wouldn't even have to worry about planning a budget anymore, it would be completely democratic use of the tax money. Y'know...if nothing else, I would LOVE to see what the budget would end up like... anyone care to put together an advanced online "budget voting booth"? And don't forget that field "Secret government programs that we won't tell you about"... :^)
Two words: The Arrow. There was another word in there, like the company name or whatever... but remember that jet that the Canadians built that was WAY better than the inferior American technology? They were even planning on how it could be used to launch sattelites. Had it not been for the most stupid decision in the history of Canada (not like Canada isn't known for making stupid decisions), Canada might very well have beaten the US to the moon, based on the innovations of a commercial company with national pride.
They used to have these... I remember seeing ads in British magazines like Sinclair User, advertising call-in adventure games. Granted, the girl was a machine, and you gave orders by pressing numbers ("If you wish to leave the room, press 1 now. If you wish to slay the ogre, press 2 now") but the idea was there, and it was implemented. This was mid- to late 80s. I never tried it, because not only was it a toll number, paying for the minute, but it was an overseas call, too. And those were REALLY expensive back then... :^)
Remember Eureka? Not only did it have a few real time scenes where you had to act... FAST... but if you solved all five adventures FAST enough, you won the big prize... something like GBP 100000 or so, was it?
IMHO, just about *any* movie is better than Plan 9. Never watched Linux, though. Can't find it on IMDB, either.
This is what Bill Gates means is disasterous, though. When everybody gets to learn about the getAllPasswordsFromRemoteMachineWithNoNeedForAuthe ntication() call...
Having grown up in Norway, lived in Canada and the US, and been on trips to most places in Europe, Australia and New Zealand, having seen most of the US, I have found this disturbing trends more in the US than anywhere else.
In the US, I pretty much had to get an attourney to protect my rights as an individual, to stop large bullying corporations from stepping all over me. I eventually got fed up and moved back to civilization.
I received in an eZine about web promotion, and article about "is your domain safe?" - and they mentioned that... well... you can't do much about the "http://www" bit, and you can't do anything about the ".com" bit... but what's in between... AAARRGGGHHH!!!
Interestingly, this seems to be a problem only in the US. Everywhere else in the world, people are aware of other TLDs than .com. In Canada, for example, people are used to .ca domains, so they don't see ".com" as the only TLD, and therefore grasp the concept of ".org", ".net" and so forth.
If it hadn't been for the international audience (myself included) of Slasdot, I'd suggest that slashdot moved to a ".us" domain, so that people who don't grasp the concept don't get to the site. Imagine... http://slashdot.holland.mi.us/ :^)
All you need to do is to make your own MP3 of yourself reading your own Slashdot article about Metallica, then make it available on Napster as What_I_Think_Of_Metallica.mp3. You'll soon have Metallica on your tail for a copyright infringement that you didn't do.
If this wasn't enough, I'm still working to try to resolve the billing issues, because BellSouth and BellSouth.net keep pointing fingers at eachother.
- Please explain to me how your assertion differs signifigantly from the following statement: "I agree that rich people have the rights to things they own, but they have a responsibility to let other people take it."
It differs because I did not ask people to go steal the music. I am indeed saying that Metallica has all the right in the world, and yes, it is wrong to copy their songs. However, given their wealth, they should be giving more things freely. I know that it might be a hard concept to grasp, and it's not mathematical, but the more you give, the more you get.- Clearly, we do not live in the same world. I refer you to The Bill and Melinda Gates foundation, the largest charitable foundation in the world, which gave $57 million dollars this year to prevent the spread of AIDS in Africa. Or to the official "Microsoft Giving" page.
So things have changed. There are other examples, but I can't think of them off the top of my head. But for the sake of the argument, let's look at Metallica - at one point, they were the rebels. So what if anyone copied their music, it was great PR. It got them filthy rich. Then they got greedy and decided to strike down on any unauthorized reproductions. A substantial amount of people are now turning away from them.As a point of the matter - I did copy a friend's CDs when I went to middle- and high school. Because I liked the music so much, I bought the CDs years later, when I could afford it. So did I illegaly "preview" the music? I guess so. But had I not been able to copy the music then, I would not have gotten as attached to it, and probably never goten the CDs myself in the end. Which means that in the long run, this "illegal copy" turned into a delayed profit for them, rather than no profit at all.
On the flip side, because of the incredibly rediculous lawsuits going on these days, it is also in my might to not support RIAA. As such, I do my best to avoid buying any products that support any member of RIAA. And no, I don't even download songs from any band associated with RIAA. Downloading would get me attached to the song. Getting attached to the song means that I would eventually cave in and buy the CD and support the artist. Instead, I'm looking at all the other music there is in the world, that RIAA doesn't own.
With RIAA sueing newsreaders, it is only a matter of time before they sue Netspace, Microsoft and Opera for making web browsers that could potentially be used to download MP3s, they'll sue Microsoft for makig an operating system with a file system that could potentially be used to store illegal MP3s, but what will be most fun is to see them sue Al Gore for inventing the Internet... I mean, he was just asking for it, now, wasn't he?
You can enforce copyrights - even on software - if you, for a fee, register the source at the Library of Congress. For some reason, I don't think Microsoft has done this. :^)
Obay your master... master...
Master of puppets are pulling your strings...
bla bla bla... Now they are going to sue me for quoting "Master of puppets". Woops! There I did it again, by mentioning the title of the song...
For the "Metallica has all the right in the world" advocates... I agree to this. Metallica does have all the right in the world. However, the wealthier you are, the more responsibility you have to share that wealth. Look at McDonald's, for example - they solved a lot of PR problems just by starting to donate to charities. Microsoft, on the other hand, got a lot of bad press, when Bill Gates commented that they would NOT give ANY money to any charities any time soon.
There is also the other factor, that what you give to the world, you get back threefold. It really is good karma to give things away. Within limits, of course, (gotta maintain that self sustaining balance) but the better off you are, the more you're able to give. And it will only do you good in the long run.
Of course, I am now actively boycotting anything that comes out of RIAA, and I'll be buying my CDs from non-RIAA organizations like mp3.com instead. Not because they are executing their "rights", but because they are being greedy, and are radiating bad karma.