Re:It all depends on your reason ...
on
Penguin2Apple
·
· Score: 2
Your first post made it sound like you do not distiguish between an idealist and a zealot. A zealot is willing to die for his beliefs, an idealist generally isn't. I doubt you will find many real Linux zealots. I consider myself a Linux idealist, yes I will take extra effort to accomplish a task in Linux, even if there is already a Windows solution, however, if it was death or Windows, you can bet I'd be installing Windows. If by your definition I am a zealot, then so be it, but I'd guess, by that standard, there are far more Windows zealots, then Linux AND Mac zealots combined, per capita.
Have we strayed far enough off-topic yet?
My Karma is capped, or nearly capped, so I don't mind.
I think TiVo sees the hackability of its systems to be a selling point. Maybe if the company who made the iOpener (anyone remember thier name ?) had embraced the those who wanted to extend the usabilty of thier machines, they might still be around.
Re:It all depends on your reason ...
on
Penguin2Apple
·
· Score: 2
I meant that if one is using Linux over other, possibly more appropriate, operating systems, simply because of ideology, then that person is a zealot.
I think you use the word zealot too freely here. Someone who would cut off thier own hand rather than use another OS is a zealot. Picking Linux as your OS of choice based on ideology seems pretty reasonable to me. After all we choose many things based on ideology, religion and politics come to mind. Women who oppose abortion, will tend to choose doctors who also oppose abortion, even if thier are better choices. Ideology should not be the only reason someone should pick Linux, but it is a valid reason none the less.
What kind of twisted capitalism is Mundie cheerleading here?!
The kind where Microsoft is the only game in town. Perhaps we need a new word or phrase to describe it. Much like we say Marxist Communism as opposed to Soviet Communism, we have Microsoft Capitalism as opposed to Competitive Capitalism.
Well there's always the beacon of freedom using Linux: aka China...
I was thinking more along the lines of Germany, my wife and I lived there for 4 years and we speak a bit of the language. They also have a much deeper penetration of Linux, both in the government and in the private sector, so my skills would be more sellable there. Of course they have a much higher tax rate there, but on the other hand they have a flawless public transportation system, an effective police force and a workable public health system, none of which we have here.
the recording industry association of america is not in fact the most powerful lobby in the federal government. there are people with bigger markets who stand more to lose who also oppose the SSSCA.
This is true, the Computer makers certainly have a much bigger market and deeper pockets than the music industry. Problem is, of all the hardware companies out there, only Intel weighed in. Don't you think if Michael Dell had wanted to be there he would have been ? Fact of the matter is, it is more money in his pocket, because he gets money on both sides. He will make money on Geeks in the know, stocking up on systems, before the deadline and then he makes money selling new, compliant systems to everyone else. All the hardware makers are in the same situation. Microsoft owns the patent on the DRM Operating System, they may license it to Apple, but you can bet they will not license it to anyone else or will charge $50 million dollars for it, further entrenching themeselves as an unstoppable monoploy. So my question is WHO ? Who is going to stand up to the Music Industry ?
Just for the record, I have done everything I can, I have written both my Senators and my Congressman, I have made campaign contributions to canidates I like and I have contributed as much money as I can afford to the EFF. Short of quitting my job and picketing Hollings office, there isn't much more I can do. Now we need just 999,999 more people to do the same and we might make a dent.
Disable the features you paid for as a lifetime subscriber.
Then I am back having a perfectly good PVR, minus the service, but one I can manually program. I wouldn't like it, but I could live with it. As far as I am concerned, the lifetime subscriptions have already paid for themselves.
Call me cynical but what if they diabeled the boxes right before they went belly up?
What possible reason would they have for doing that ? To screw the people who supported them ? Why would they open themselves up to criminal prosecution (destroying the private property of 250,000 +people) ? You make no sense.
Put one of those wireless netcams in it. Give it to the hot chick down the hall, Instant Free DormPorn. Of course this is very illegal and I am not responsible for the beating you will recieve from her boyfriend and subsequent jail time if you get caught.
None of this matters anyway. WHEN (notice I didn't say if) the SSSCA passes, all Operating Systems besides Windows XP and Apples OS X (MS will give them a license so as not to appear as a monopoly) will be illegal, because Microsoft owns the patent on the idea of a DRM Operating Systsem, the government mandated anti-copying technology will be a closed standard and reverse engineering it will be illegal under the DMCA.
And the odds that the buyer of Tivo will honor those lifetime subscriptions? If they are losing as much money as everyone says, I'd bet that lifetime subscriptions go away real fast.
Have some faith, they are a good Company, with a good business model. Besides, I would still have two perfectly good PVR's, only difference is I'd have record manually and I'd be out $450 ($200 for one, $250 for the other), I lost a lot more than that when the Stock Market crashed and everyone lost money.
Am I the only one here who bought lifetime service?
Nope, I have two TiVo's and two lifetime subscriptions. I figure even if TiVo starts to go under, someone will buy them out. I am suprised someone hasn't already, TiVo is an idea whose time has come. Like it or not, this is the future and the content providers need to embrace this, not try to litigate it out of existance. If the cable comapnies want more control, all they have to do is license the technology (or buy out the company) from TiVo or Replay and integrate the function into thier cable boxes, minus the fast fowrward and add $4.95 to the customers bill.
For my household, I see no sensible alternative here. We had a bargain, but... they are altering the bargain. I will pray that they do not alter it any further.
I don't know why the parent was moderated as funny, it is a fair statment. However, TiVo is a company that is in business to make money, in order to do this they provide a service. Like most business, they must occasionally raise prices to keep up with the raising costs of doing business. This is especially important to a company like TiVo, which has yet to turn a profit. I personally feel $12.95 a month is perfectly reasonable for easy TV recording, but to be honest, I own two TiVo's and paid for the lifetime subscription on both, and this is what I recommend.
Thats right, Don't bother. Instead write to the CEO's of the companies that make our computers. Michael Dell has alot of clout, when he talks, people listen, including President Bush. If he and his fellow CEO's can be convinced that the SSSCA is bad for business, they themselves will lobby congress for us. CEO's get alot less mail than Politicians, they also take Email seriously. To a Politician we are a small demographic, easily ignored, but to Michael Dell and his peers, we are customers, or potential customers, we are their bread and butter, we are the ones who pay for thier $20 million dollar houses. If each one of the CEO's of the top 5 OEM's recieves even a 1000 emails, they will listen. As always, be polite, be clear, but make them understand, that we vote with our money.
Re:I will accept copy protection.
on
SSSCA Hearing
·
· Score: 2
The only way I would except copy protection is if it is a Free and Open Standard. Meaning it is Free, as in Beer to anyone who wants to implement it and Open to anyone who wants to look at it, but then there would be no reason to do it all.
Re:Don't write your Congressmen
on
SSSCA Hearing
·
· Score: 2
But sending an email to your senator is so easy their's no reason not to do it.
You are correct, and I did write my Senator Kay Baily Hutchinson (R-TX) last year when the SSSCA reared it ugly head the first time. The response I got was the she in fact supported Digital Signatures for EShopping. This showed me, she and her staff did not understood what the issue was and didn't care enough to find out what the issue was before responding to me. I wrote back saying as much, I included a copy of my letter and her response, and told her, based on this incident, I doubted her ability to represent me on issues which were important to me. I have as yet to recieve a response. You see why in this paticalar case I would feel Michael Dell would better represent me.
Don't write your Congressmen
on
SSSCA Hearing
·
· Score: 2
Thats right, Don't bother. Instead write to the CEO's of the companies that make our computers. Michael Dell has alot of clout, when he talks, people listen, including President Bush. If he and his fellow CEO's can be convinced that the SSSCA is bad for business, they themselves will lobby congress for us. CEO's get alot less mail than Politicians, they also take Email seriously. To a Politician we are a small demographic, easily ignored, but to Michael Dell and his peers, we are customers, or potential customers, we are their bread and butter, we are the ones who pay for thier $20 million dollar houses. If each one of the CEO's of the top 5 OEM's recieves even a 1000 emails, they will listen. As always, be polite, be clear, but make them understand, that we vote with our money.
The law was somewhere between a nuisance and a non-issue.
This is true, I got stopped in Montana once back in the early 80's, I was going about 90 Mph on the highway and the Cop didn't give me a speeding ticket, he gave me a $5 ticket for wasting natural resources, which apparently was gas, which I paid on the spot.
User-friendliness isn't as important as people think, but it's an useless debate anyway, because SuSE which has all OS-configuartion nicely integrated in KDE is more easily usable than Windows TODAY.
I don't know who said it, but they said it well.
Usability is not everything. If usability engineers designed a nightclub, it would be clean, quiet, brightly lit, with lots of places to sit down, plenty of bartenders, menus written in 18-point sans-serif, and easy-to-find bathrooms. But nobody would be there. They would all be down the street at Coyote Ugly pouring beer on each other.
for those customers so the cost is probably more like $35 for XP Home.
I don't know about XP, but when ME was THE consumer OS, even smaller chain stores got it for under $25. If you order a Dell system and you get your reciept, it lists Windows at a cost of $0, which in corporate speak means the cost is so small they can recoup its cost on other parts. But you are right, at $350, the most expensive part of the system is the motherboard, with integrated sound, video and possibly network interface, a $35 OS is probably one of the cheapest parts, if not THE cheapest part of the system.
If not ESR or RMS, then who ? The Free and Open Software movement needs someone to represent them. By your standards ESR and RMS may be a little "Out There", but they say what needs to be said and aren't affraid to take a little heat for it. Have you ever heard Michael Dell speak ?, Ballmer ? or even Jobs ? They rant just the same about how their way is the best way. I would even go so far as to say Ballmer is a spaz. nobody calls them zealots and don't fool yourself, they are. The only difference is they wear $1000 suits and live in $20 million dollar houses. The question is who would be better ?
And its exactly this attitude and action which will create a huge market opportunity for some non us person or entity to manufacture and distribute parts and finished products that are free of these absurd encumberments.
This is very true, look at stand alone DvD players, how many models have a method for disabling Region coding ? I have bought several over the last couple of years and all of them have had some way to do it. The reason these companies do it is because they sell the same product in many regions and they need an easy way to change the codes, which reduces manufactering costs. I also suspect for many companies they consider this a selling point as well.
What I see happening if the SSSCA passes, we will see hardware produced overseas being built with DRM, but there will be a backdoor for disabling it, so they can turn it on for units sold in the US and turn it off for everyone else. It may even happen that they put in a "Universal" mode, which will allow you to both use the protected content, while not preventing you from exercising your fair use rights, as many DvD players have a region free setting. Of course it is also likely this information will be "Leaked" and either the method for doing so will be published on the net or some clever hacker will write the six lines of C code required to change the setting.
It is my opinion the EFF has bungled every attempt it has made to get the DMCA declared unconstitutional. The EFF has poured millions of dollars into various defences and failed to deliver even one decisive action in its favor, even though supporters of the DMCA has failed to prove any loses what so ever to piracy. The problem seems to be is the EFF is playing a defensive game, it is only reacting as issues arise. Most of the time they react badly.
The RIAA and the MPAA fight dirty, they only go after cases where they know they will win and public opinion will be with them. They have deep pockets and lots of lawyers. But there is a chink in thier armor, when they threatened Felton, the EFF reacted by immeaditly going public, when public opinion turned against the RIAA they backed down, Felton gave his speech and then the EFF lost in court by winning. What should have happened is when Felton recieved the threatening letter he should have forced the RIAA to file the suit by writing the following message back.
TO: RIAA From: Prof. Felton Subject: DMCA Body: BLOW ME!
This almost certainly would have produced the desired effect, once the lawsuit was filed, and the rest would have been history. Of course 20-20 hindsight is a wonderful thing.
Another thing the EFF should consider is going on the offense and filing a class action lawsuit against everyone who has presued prosecution under the DMCA or possibly the US Government. In order to do this real harm must be shown, and this is were the real problem is. I personally consider loss of freedom of speech, freedom of the press and fair use, to be real loss. However in post 9/11 America, I seem to be alone, personal freedom is at an all time low and no one cares. In order to carry out a class action lawsuit, the EFF would need to prove real financial loss on the part of the victims and prove direct profit on the part of the defendent. Not an easy task when the RIAA and the MPAA have already characterized themselves as the victims of Hacker, Pirates, Thieves and dope smoking hippies.
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Your first post made it sound like you do not distiguish between an idealist and a zealot. A zealot is willing to die for his beliefs, an idealist generally isn't. I doubt you will find many real Linux zealots. I consider myself a Linux idealist, yes I will take extra effort to accomplish a task in Linux, even if there is already a Windows solution, however, if it was death or Windows, you can bet I'd be installing Windows. If by your definition I am a zealot, then so be it, but I'd guess, by that standard, there are far more Windows zealots, then Linux AND Mac zealots combined, per capita.
Have we strayed far enough off-topic yet?
My Karma is capped, or nearly capped, so I don't mind.
I think TiVo sees the hackability of its systems to be a selling point. Maybe if the company who made the iOpener (anyone remember thier name ?) had embraced the those who wanted to extend the usabilty of thier machines, they might still be around.
I meant that if one is using Linux over other, possibly more appropriate, operating systems, simply because of ideology, then that person is a zealot.
I think you use the word zealot too freely here. Someone who would cut off thier own hand rather than use another OS is a zealot. Picking Linux as your OS of choice based on ideology seems pretty reasonable to me. After all we choose many things based on ideology, religion and politics come to mind. Women who oppose abortion, will tend to choose doctors who also oppose abortion, even if thier are better choices. Ideology should not be the only reason someone should pick Linux, but it is a valid reason none the less.
What kind of twisted capitalism is Mundie cheerleading here?!
The kind where Microsoft is the only game in town. Perhaps we need a new word or phrase to describe it. Much like we say Marxist Communism as opposed to Soviet Communism, we have Microsoft Capitalism as opposed to Competitive Capitalism.
Well there's always the beacon of freedom using Linux: aka China...
I was thinking more along the lines of Germany, my wife and I lived there for 4 years and we speak a bit of the language. They also have a much deeper penetration of Linux, both in the government and in the private sector, so my skills would be more sellable there. Of course they have a much higher tax rate there, but on the other hand they have a flawless public transportation system, an effective police force and a workable public health system, none of which we have here.
HHMMM..Think she might suspect something if there is a wire attached to the teddybear leading to your apartment ?
the recording industry association of america is not in fact the most powerful lobby in the federal government. there are people with bigger markets who stand more to lose who also oppose the SSSCA.
This is true, the Computer makers certainly have a much bigger market and deeper pockets than the music industry. Problem is, of all the hardware companies out there, only Intel weighed in. Don't you think if Michael Dell had wanted to be there he would have been ? Fact of the matter is, it is more money in his pocket, because he gets money on both sides. He will make money on Geeks in the know, stocking up on systems, before the deadline and then he makes money selling new, compliant systems to everyone else. All the hardware makers are in the same situation. Microsoft owns the patent on the DRM Operating System, they may license it to Apple, but you can bet they will not license it to anyone else or will charge $50 million dollars for it, further entrenching themeselves as an unstoppable monoploy. So my question is WHO ? Who is going to stand up to the Music Industry ?
Just for the record, I have done everything I can, I have written both my Senators and my Congressman, I have made campaign contributions to canidates I like and I have contributed as much money as I can afford to the EFF. Short of quitting my job and picketing Hollings office, there isn't much more I can do. Now we need just 999,999 more people to do the same and we might make a dent.
Disable the features you paid for as a lifetime subscriber.
Then I am back having a perfectly good PVR, minus the service, but one I can manually program. I wouldn't like it, but I could live with it. As far as I am concerned, the lifetime subscriptions have already paid for themselves.
Call me cynical but what if they diabeled the boxes right before they went belly up?
What possible reason would they have for doing that ? To screw the people who supported them ? Why would they open themselves up to criminal prosecution (destroying the private property of 250,000 +people) ? You make no sense.
Put one of those wireless netcams in it. Give it to the hot chick down the hall, Instant Free DormPorn. Of course this is very illegal and I am not responsible for the beating you will recieve from her boyfriend and subsequent jail time if you get caught.
None of this matters anyway. WHEN (notice I didn't say if) the SSSCA passes, all Operating Systems besides Windows XP and Apples OS X (MS will give them a license so as not to appear as a monopoly) will be illegal, because Microsoft owns the patent on the idea of a DRM Operating Systsem, the government mandated anti-copying technology will be a closed standard and reverse engineering it will be illegal under the DMCA.
And the odds that the buyer of Tivo will honor those lifetime subscriptions? If they are losing as much money as everyone says, I'd bet that lifetime subscriptions go away real fast.
Have some faith, they are a good Company, with a good business model. Besides, I would still have two perfectly good PVR's, only difference is I'd have record manually and I'd be out $450 ($200 for one, $250 for the other), I lost a lot more than that when the Stock Market crashed and everyone lost money.
It was modded as funny because it's a Star Wars allusion. Darth Vader to Lando Calrissian.
Okay, I feel stupid. My wife, who got it, is administering the Clue Stick now.
Am I the only one here who bought lifetime service?
Nope, I have two TiVo's and two lifetime subscriptions. I figure even if TiVo starts to go under, someone will buy them out. I am suprised someone hasn't already, TiVo is an idea whose time has come. Like it or not, this is the future and the content providers need to embrace this, not try to litigate it out of existance. If the cable comapnies want more control, all they have to do is license the technology (or buy out the company) from TiVo or Replay and integrate the function into thier cable boxes, minus the fast fowrward and add $4.95 to the customers bill.
For my household, I see no sensible alternative here. We had a bargain, but... they are altering the bargain. I will pray that they do not alter it any further.
I don't know why the parent was moderated as funny, it is a fair statment. However, TiVo is a company that is in business to make money, in order to do this they provide a service. Like most business, they must occasionally raise prices to keep up with the raising costs of doing business. This is especially important to a company like TiVo, which has yet to turn a profit. I personally feel $12.95 a month is perfectly reasonable for easy TV recording, but to be honest, I own two TiVo's and paid for the lifetime subscription on both, and this is what I recommend.
Thats right, Don't bother. Instead write to the CEO's of the companies that make our computers. Michael Dell has alot of clout, when he talks, people listen, including President Bush. If he and his fellow CEO's can be convinced that the SSSCA is bad for business, they themselves will lobby congress for us. CEO's get alot less mail than Politicians, they also take Email seriously. To a Politician we are a small demographic, easily ignored, but to Michael Dell and his peers, we are customers, or potential customers, we are their bread and butter, we are the ones who pay for thier $20 million dollar houses. If each one of the CEO's of the top 5 OEM's recieves even a 1000 emails, they will listen. As always, be polite, be clear, but make them understand, that we vote with our money.
The only way I would except copy protection is if it is a Free and Open Standard. Meaning it is Free, as in Beer to anyone who wants to implement it and Open to anyone who wants to look at it, but then there would be no reason to do it all.
But sending an email to your senator is so easy their's no reason not to do it.
You are correct, and I did write my Senator Kay Baily Hutchinson (R-TX) last year when the SSSCA reared it ugly head the first time. The response I got was the she in fact supported Digital Signatures for EShopping. This showed me, she and her staff did not understood what the issue was and didn't care enough to find out what the issue was before responding to me. I wrote back saying as much, I included a copy of my letter and her response, and told her, based on this incident, I doubted her ability to represent me on issues which were important to me. I have as yet to recieve a response. You see why in this paticalar case I would feel Michael Dell would better represent me.
Thats right, Don't bother. Instead write to the CEO's of the companies that make our computers. Michael Dell has alot of clout, when he talks, people listen, including President Bush. If he and his fellow CEO's can be convinced that the SSSCA is bad for business, they themselves will lobby congress for us. CEO's get alot less mail than Politicians, they also take Email seriously. To a Politician we are a small demographic, easily ignored, but to Michael Dell and his peers, we are customers, or potential customers, we are their bread and butter, we are the ones who pay for thier $20 million dollar houses. If each one of the CEO's of the top 5 OEM's recieves even a 1000 emails, they will listen. As always, be polite, be clear, but make them understand, that we vote with our money.
The law was somewhere between a nuisance and a non-issue.
This is true, I got stopped in Montana once back in the early 80's, I was going about 90 Mph on the highway and the Cop didn't give me a speeding ticket, he gave me a $5 ticket for wasting natural resources, which apparently was gas, which I paid on the spot.
User-friendliness isn't as important as people think, but it's an useless debate anyway, because SuSE which has all OS-configuartion nicely integrated in KDE is more easily usable than Windows TODAY.
I don't know who said it, but they said it well.
Usability is not everything. If usability engineers designed a nightclub, it would be clean, quiet, brightly lit, with lots of places to sit down, plenty of bartenders, menus written in 18-point sans-serif, and easy-to-find bathrooms. But nobody would be there. They would all be down the street at Coyote Ugly pouring beer on each other.
for those customers so the cost is probably more like $35 for XP Home.
I don't know about XP, but when ME was THE consumer OS, even smaller chain stores got it for under $25. If you order a Dell system and you get your reciept, it lists Windows at a cost of $0, which in corporate speak means the cost is so small they can recoup its cost on other parts. But you are right, at $350, the most expensive part of the system is the motherboard, with integrated sound, video and possibly network interface, a $35 OS is probably one of the cheapest parts, if not THE cheapest part of the system.
he's it's worst enemy.
If not ESR or RMS, then who ? The Free and Open Software movement needs someone to represent them. By your standards ESR and RMS may be a little "Out There", but they say what needs to be said and aren't affraid to take a little heat for it. Have you ever heard Michael Dell speak ?, Ballmer ? or even Jobs ? They rant just the same about how their way is the best way. I would even go so far as to say Ballmer is a spaz. nobody calls them zealots and don't fool yourself, they are. The only difference is they wear $1000 suits and live in $20 million dollar houses. The question is who would be better ?
And its exactly this attitude and action which will create a huge market opportunity for some non us person or entity to manufacture and distribute parts and finished products that are free of these absurd encumberments.
This is very true, look at stand alone DvD players, how many models have a method for disabling Region coding ? I have bought several over the last couple of years and all of them have had some way to do it. The reason these companies do it is because they sell the same product in many regions and they need an easy way to change the codes, which reduces manufactering costs. I also suspect for many companies they consider this a selling point as well.
What I see happening if the SSSCA passes, we will see hardware produced overseas being built with DRM, but there will be a backdoor for disabling it, so they can turn it on for units sold in the US and turn it off for everyone else. It may even happen that they put in a "Universal" mode, which will allow you to both use the protected content, while not preventing you from exercising your fair use rights, as many DvD players have a region free setting. Of course it is also likely this information will be "Leaked" and either the method for doing so will be published on the net or some clever hacker will write the six lines of C code required to change the setting.
It is my opinion the EFF has bungled every attempt it has made to get the DMCA declared unconstitutional. The EFF has poured millions of dollars into various defences and failed to deliver even one decisive action in its favor, even though supporters of the DMCA has failed to prove any loses what so ever to piracy. The problem seems to be is the EFF is playing a defensive game, it is only reacting as issues arise. Most of the time they react badly.
The RIAA and the MPAA fight dirty, they only go after cases where they know they will win and public opinion will be with them. They have deep pockets and lots of lawyers. But there is a chink in thier armor, when they threatened Felton, the EFF reacted by immeaditly going public, when public opinion turned against the RIAA they backed down, Felton gave his speech and then the EFF lost in court by winning. What should have happened is when Felton recieved the threatening letter he should have forced the RIAA to file the suit by writing the following message back.
TO: RIAA
From: Prof. Felton
Subject: DMCA
Body: BLOW ME!
This almost certainly would have produced the desired effect, once the lawsuit was filed, and the rest would have been history. Of course 20-20 hindsight is a wonderful thing.
Another thing the EFF should consider is going on the offense and filing a class action lawsuit against everyone who has presued prosecution under the DMCA or possibly the US Government. In order to do this real harm must be shown, and this is were the real problem is. I personally consider loss of freedom of speech, freedom of the press and fair use, to be real loss. However in post 9/11 America, I seem to be alone, personal freedom is at an all time low and no one cares. In order to carry out a class action lawsuit, the EFF would need to prove real financial loss on the part of the victims and prove direct profit on the part of the defendent. Not an easy task when the RIAA and the MPAA have already characterized themselves as the victims of Hacker, Pirates, Thieves and dope smoking hippies.