>>>So it makes sense that they claim they lost money when you gained access to the work without payment.
Right. Because a poor person with no money, when he finds a burned copy of a Britney Spears CD-R in the trash, somehow caused RIAA to lose money./end sarcasm. I don't buy that. The poor person never could have purchased the legal pressed CD even if he wanted to. It's not lost profit because there was never a potential sale.
How does a lawsuit bring back a dead family pet, or a dead child that the police shot? We should prevent these abuses BEFORE they happen, same way we ban DUI *before* the accident happens not after. Let's require warrants to be issued or approved by judges first.
You have a good point, but now thanks to the Patriot Act of 2002, the "judge reviews warrant" step no longer needs to be done. The police write the warrant and then ram into the private person's house, without needing to swear an oath or ask a judge's permission.
>>>The ISPs have privacy policies that prohibit "publishing all [your] information on their website..."
But now this ruling means they don't have to. They could, tomorrow, decide to nullify the entire policy and say, "The courts ruled you have no expectation of privacy. Sorry." What could we do about it? Nothing.
I like the Concept of LED bulbs but not the expense. Last I checked it was over $50 for a 60 watt equivalent.
As for CFLs? I hate them. Conventional edison bulbs are superior tech to CFLs by eliminating mercury poisoning, dim turnons, premature heat-death, and high cost. I've had CFLs burn out prematurely (thus wasting $3 where a conventional bulb is only 20 cents). The CFLs turn-on and then take 4-5 minutes to reach full brightness (so I could read my book), or else not turn on at all during freezing winters. I hate them.
And don't call me a "troll". I am an electrical engineer and am allowed to post my professional opinion about the CFL.
>>>This action by our nation's military is deeply troubling.
Yes. We taxpayers are paying 10,000 * ~$25 == $25,000 so the Pentagon can hold a book burning. It's suppression of information and completely unacceptable. Also a waste of OUR money.
>>>"Technical Support: Your ignorance is my job security"
That's also the motto at retail stores. "You buy this new $2000 TV, and it will open up a whole new world of entertainment for you! Plus I can give this free credit card so it's like you're getting it for free!"
"Really?" asks the idiot customer. "No, no not really. I'm lying because that's what I'm paid to do. BTW want an extended warranty that isn't worth the paper it's printed on, but nets me an extra 5 dollars in my paycheck?" "SURE!" "Sucker....."
Let's reword your sentence a little bit, and see if you still share the same opinion: "You know, while I know it's popular opinion to hate on [RIAA and MPAA] on slashdot, doesn't it seem to me that it's the Russian government abusing their own laws in order to screw the opposition, rather than [RIAA and MPAA] sitting there plotting how to hurt people?"
Oh and the answer to your question is:
Yes the government is to blame, but so too are Microsoft, RIAA, MPAA, and their crush the individual citizen policies (like mailing out extortion letters: "Give us $5000 and we'll drop it. Else we're taking you to court filthy scum"). Okay I made up those last two words but that's the essence of the threat.
>>>That sounds like the same crap we get from law enforcement here in the [A$]. If a police officer sees a PC that does not run windows, they usually assume you are hiding something >>>
where A$ == EU, US, Canada, Australia, and so on. I don't think this is necessarily government poliy, but merely the innate instinct of human being to distrust things that are strange or unfamiliar to them. .
>>>I would not like to find out what explaining that to them would be like
Good grief... NEVER TALK TO POLICE. Exercise your inalienable right to speak freely AND exercise your inalienable right to not speak/ remain silent. See this video. Part 1 is the law professor, and Part 2 is the cop whose job is to entrap you into admitting guilt, even if you are completely innocent - http://youtu.be/i8z7NC5sgik .
Anyway while individual business owners may have morals, corporations are not owned by anybody (except stockholders). They do not reflect a desire for morality, but Id esire to increase the monetary income and don't give a frak about human rights. As we see with how Microsoft and Apple* treat individual citizens.
* *I'm thinking of the case where a British guy had his iPod start smoking and then blowup. Apple refused to replace it. Then they changed their minds and said they would, but only if the man agree o give up his Right to free speech (about the ipod) for the rest of his life.
Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't realize that not having money for trivial items was adequate justification for stealing them.
No it's not justification but it's also ridiculous to say you "lost money" from an individual who could not buy your product even if they wanted too. I remember what it's like being a kid or teen - you WANT to buy the latest CD or video game, but your wallet is empty. So for RIAA to claim they "lost a sale" is pure bullshit. They lost nothing.
I don't think we should quit using credit, but I do think we need to go back to a Gold or Silver standard. From 1790s to 1920 the dollar lost zero value. It had the same purchasing power with very little variance.
But since 1920 the dollar has rapidly lost value. Today it's only worth 1% as much, as it was back then. Why? Because the Federal Reserve has been running the printing presses like mad (increased supply == decreased value of each paper dollar). Tying the dollar to gold again, so that one paper dollar == one dollar of gold, would stop this runaway devaluation of the People's paper based savings.
National Debt (credit extended to US by foreign nations) == over $140,000 per US household Personal Debt == about $80,000 in mortgage and $10,000 in credit cards per USH Unfunded Liabilities = $110,000 promised to Medicare and SS recipients (future retirees) per USH == TOTAL $230,000 currently owed plus $110,000 promised but unfunded = $340,000 per USH (approximately)
Yeah this cashfree, live on nothing-but-credit society is working out really great isn't? Oh and the claim the US is the "richest nation" simply isn't true. When a person is in debt, he is poor not rich. Now maybe we are not "as poor" as Greece (we don't owe as much per home) but we're still not as rich as Norway or Saudi Arabia with their abundant stocks of wealth, and zero debt.
You ought to tell that to the current crop in the White House.
And no I'm not talking about Obama..... like George Duh Bush he's just a puppet. I'm talking about the people doing the real work, and who consider 1984 & other novels not just interesting stories, but a good place to extract useful ideas. You guys thought VP Cheney was evil? He looks like Mussolini compared to folks like Van Jones and Anita Dunn.
Our current situation is more like a cross between 1984 and THX-1138. Neither story is spot on, but when you cross the two, you have a Consumer-driven economy where people buy worthless crap, only to toss it into the trash (1138). And the government spies on you via two-way CRTs to make sure you are doing your part (1984), or else they'll drag you in for reeducation.
It is the ultimate hell of Corporate-Government working together to suppress citizens. Like some new twisted form of Feudalism where the "Lord" is RIAA & Congress, while you are just a Serf required to "till the field" from 9 to 5, and then go out and buy shit, or else be jailed.
>>>That old lady that had been sued by the RIAA a couple years ago that didn't even have a computer. or RIAA suing the dead
Or RIAA suing teenagers that are not yet legal adults, and have no money (no job) to buy songs even if they wanted to. RIAA truly is out of control, and I still think a bullet in the CEO's head would do a lot of good for the American People. Yes I know they'd replace him but maybe the next CEO, fearing for his life, would stop terrorizing the public with extortion letters/lawsuits.
"From time to time the Tree of Liberty must be watered with the blood of Patriots and Tyrants. Rebellion is its natural manure." - Thomas Jefferson, 3rd president, author of Declaration of Independence, founder of the Democrats, and author of the phrase "separation of church and state"
Police now write their own warrants. And apparently you've not seen the videos on youtube where cops bust into citizens homes SS-style, shoot the pet dog or cat, and then start tearing into everything to find that gram of marijuana (you evil drug-sniffing scum).
The US is no longer the "free" country the Founders created in the 1780s. The Constitution is now just an inconvenient piece of paper that they pretend to pay lip service too but ignore, because they'd rather treat us like Wards of the government, rather than Sovereign individuals with rights.
Because if I have "no expectation of privacy" from my ISP, then that means they could publish all my information on their website in public view of everyone. My name, address, phone, credit card name (BofA), which sites I like to visit (sleepysex.com), or files download (sexygrandma.torrent). It is a lousy, lousy ruling.
Maybe it's time for us engineers/programmers to quit our jobs and become lawyers/judges because it's clear the current persons don't know jack about technology (see yesterday's ruling that says software can not be resold by a customer).
They too have stem cells. I told me niece's mom to save her baby teeth, but of course she didn't listen and threw them in the trash. (sigh). She also claims she didn't know the sun would cause her skin to freckle & wrinkle and wish someone had warned her (which I did; as did many many government PSAs). I wonder why it is some people don't listen?
Each cable tv episode costs 2-3 million to produce, and is only watched by an average of 1 million households (according to Nielsen). So you're talking about $2-3 per episode per person, or $40-60 for a whole season, just to break even. Times however many shows you watch each year.
Let's say 50. So ~$40-60 times 50 == $2000-3000 each year you'd be shelling out towards shows that used to come "free" with your current CATV or Satellite or FiOS internet subscription.
Ahhhh like how engineers and programmers work. Hourly rate. BUT even then you still have the company needing to protect those products from copying, otherwise the company will not make the money necessary to pay the engineers/programmers salaries.
Oh and I disagree with government hiring artists, because that's how pro-government propaganda is created. Or less heinous but just as annoying: Censorship of books/paintings the politicians don't like (example: paintings of nudes, or authors like Glenn Beck).
>>>So what? I'm still using the product of the author's labor without compensating them -- the fact the someone else threw a few bucks their ways doesn't change that.
Except the authors give libraries permission to buy a single copy (marked up), and then share it with their local patrons. So no harm; no foul. Same with video rental stores, which movie companies gave permission to buy a single copy and then rent to their local neighbors. .
>>>wanting authors to be paid does not imply that the best way to accomplish this is to have the government create an artificial monopoly on the making of copies.
Then you need to amend the Constitution to strike-out the copyright law, or convert it to copyleft(?) law, because that's exactly what the current Constitution gives government (and authors) the power to do. They have been granted a temporary monopoly over how many copies of Book A can be made.
I know nothing about performance copyright limits, so I will not comment on that.
False. The merchant credit contracts disallow them from charging extra for credit card transaction, but they are allowed to offer discounts for other transactions (cash, check, private store card). Gas stations do it routinely for truckers. ($1.95 per gallon diesel; $1.85 for cash)
Slashdot Mirror
>>>So it makes sense that they claim they lost money when you gained access to the work without payment.
Right. Because a poor person with no money, when he finds a burned copy of a Britney Spears CD-R in the trash, somehow caused RIAA to lose money. /end sarcasm. I don't buy that. The poor person never could have purchased the legal pressed CD even if he wanted to. It's not lost profit because there was never a potential sale.
THAT was my point.
>>>that's what lawsuits are for.
How does a lawsuit bring back a dead family pet, or a dead child that the police shot? We should prevent these abuses BEFORE they happen, same way we ban DUI *before* the accident happens not after. Let's require warrants to be issued or approved by judges first.
You have a good point, but now thanks to the Patriot Act of 2002, the "judge reviews warrant" step no longer needs to be done. The police write the warrant and then ram into the private person's house, without needing to swear an oath or ask a judge's permission.
>>>The ISPs have privacy policies that prohibit "publishing all [your] information on their website..."
But now this ruling means they don't have to. They could, tomorrow, decide to nullify the entire policy and say, "The courts ruled you have no expectation of privacy. Sorry." What could we do about it? Nothing.
I like the Concept of LED bulbs but not the expense. Last I checked it was over $50 for a 60 watt equivalent.
As for CFLs? I hate them. Conventional edison bulbs are superior tech to CFLs by eliminating mercury poisoning, dim turnons, premature heat-death, and high cost. I've had CFLs burn out prematurely (thus wasting $3 where a conventional bulb is only 20 cents). The CFLs turn-on and then take 4-5 minutes to reach full brightness (so I could read my book), or else not turn on at all during freezing winters. I hate them.
And don't call me a "troll". I am an electrical engineer and am allowed to post my professional opinion about the CFL.
>>>This action by our nation's military is deeply troubling.
Yes. We taxpayers are paying 10,000 * ~$25 == $25,000 so the Pentagon can hold a book burning. It's suppression of information and completely unacceptable. Also a waste of OUR money.
>>>"Technical Support: Your ignorance is my job security"
That's also the motto at retail stores. "You buy this new $2000 TV, and it will open up a whole new world of entertainment for you! Plus I can give this free credit card so it's like you're getting it for free!"
"Really?" asks the idiot customer. "No, no not really. I'm lying because that's what I'm paid to do. BTW want an extended warranty that isn't worth the paper it's printed on, but nets me an extra 5 dollars in my paycheck?" "SURE!" "Sucker....."
.
>>>Yeah, but if it had been Apple or Google only the corrupt lawyers would've been blamed and not the whole organization.
Clearly he don't me very well, do he Doc?
- C64love (hater of all megacorps) ;-)
Let's reword your sentence a little bit, and see if you still share the same opinion: "You know, while I know it's popular opinion to hate on [RIAA and MPAA] on slashdot, doesn't it seem to me that it's the Russian government abusing their own laws in order to screw the opposition, rather than [RIAA and MPAA] sitting there plotting how to hurt people?"
Oh and the answer to your question is:
Yes the government is to blame, but so too are Microsoft, RIAA, MPAA, and their crush the individual citizen policies (like mailing out extortion letters: "Give us $5000 and we'll drop it. Else we're taking you to court filthy scum"). Okay I made up those last two words but that's the essence of the threat.
>>>That sounds like the same crap we get from law enforcement here in the [A$]. If a police officer sees a PC that does not run windows, they usually assume you are hiding something
>>>
where A$ == EU, US, Canada, Australia, and so on. I don't think this is necessarily government poliy, but merely the innate instinct of human being to distrust things that are strange or unfamiliar to them.
.
>>>I would not like to find out what explaining that to them would be like
Good grief... NEVER TALK TO POLICE. Exercise your inalienable right to speak freely AND exercise your inalienable right to not speak/ remain silent. See this video. Part 1 is the law professor, and Part 2 is the cop whose job is to entrap you into admitting guilt, even if you are completely innocent - http://youtu.be/i8z7NC5sgik
.
I don't. Last MS product I bought was Office 97.
Anyway while individual business owners may have morals, corporations are not owned by anybody (except stockholders). They do not reflect a desire for morality, but Id esire to increase the monetary income and don't give a frak about human rights. As we see with how Microsoft and Apple* treat individual citizens.
*
*I'm thinking of the case where a British guy had his iPod start smoking and then blowup. Apple refused to replace it. Then they changed their minds and said they would, but only if the man agree o give up his Right to free speech (about the ipod) for the rest of his life.
(1) How do I do that?
(2) Wouldn't that also interfere with my connectability for downloading?
A RIAA anonymous coward wrote:
Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't realize that not having money for trivial items was adequate justification for stealing them.
No it's not justification but it's also ridiculous to say you "lost money" from an individual who could not buy your product even if they wanted too. I remember what it's like being a kid or teen - you WANT to buy the latest CD or video game, but your wallet is empty. So for RIAA to claim they "lost a sale" is pure bullshit. They lost nothing.
P.S.
I don't think we should quit using credit, but I do think we need to go back to a Gold or Silver standard. From 1790s to 1920 the dollar lost zero value. It had the same purchasing power with very little variance.
But since 1920 the dollar has rapidly lost value. Today it's only worth 1% as much, as it was back then. Why? Because the Federal Reserve has been running the printing presses like mad (increased supply == decreased value of each paper dollar). Tying the dollar to gold again, so that one paper dollar == one dollar of gold, would stop this runaway devaluation of the People's paper based savings.
National Debt (credit extended to US by foreign nations) == over $140,000 per US household
Personal Debt == about $80,000 in mortgage and $10,000 in credit cards per USH
Unfunded Liabilities = $110,000 promised to Medicare and SS recipients (future retirees) per USH
==
TOTAL $230,000 currently owed plus $110,000 promised but unfunded = $340,000 per USH (approximately)
Yeah this cashfree, live on nothing-but-credit society is working out really great isn't? Oh and the claim the US is the "richest nation" simply isn't true. When a person is in debt, he is poor not rich. Now maybe we are not "as poor" as Greece (we don't owe as much per home) but we're still not as rich as Norway or Saudi Arabia with their abundant stocks of wealth, and zero debt.
Source (plus some googling)
- http://usdebtclock.org/
You ought to tell that to the current crop in the White House.
And no I'm not talking about Obama..... like George Duh Bush he's just a puppet. I'm talking about the people doing the real work, and who consider 1984 & other novels not just interesting stories, but a good place to extract useful ideas. You guys thought VP Cheney was evil? He looks like Mussolini compared to folks like Van Jones and Anita Dunn.
You're right.
Our current situation is more like a cross between 1984 and THX-1138. Neither story is spot on, but when you cross the two, you have a Consumer-driven economy where people buy worthless crap, only to toss it into the trash (1138). And the government spies on you via two-way CRTs to make sure you are doing your part (1984), or else they'll drag you in for reeducation.
It is the ultimate hell of Corporate-Government working together to suppress citizens. Like some new twisted form of Feudalism where the "Lord" is RIAA & Congress, while you are just a Serf required to "till the field" from 9 to 5, and then go out and buy shit, or else be jailed.
>>>That old lady that had been sued by the RIAA a couple years ago that didn't even have a computer. or RIAA suing the dead
Or RIAA suing teenagers that are not yet legal adults, and have no money (no job) to buy songs even if they wanted to. RIAA truly is out of control, and I still think a bullet in the CEO's head would do a lot of good for the American People. Yes I know they'd replace him but maybe the next CEO, fearing for his life, would stop terrorizing the public with extortion letters/lawsuits.
"From time to time the Tree of Liberty must be watered with the blood of Patriots and Tyrants. Rebellion is its natural manure." - Thomas Jefferson, 3rd president, author of Declaration of Independence, founder of the Democrats, and author of the phrase "separation of church and state"
Warrants? Ha.
Police now write their own warrants. And apparently you've not seen the videos on youtube where cops bust into citizens homes SS-style, shoot the pet dog or cat, and then start tearing into everything to find that gram of marijuana (you evil drug-sniffing scum).
The US is no longer the "free" country the Founders created in the 1780s. The Constitution is now just an inconvenient piece of paper that they pretend to pay lip service too but ignore, because they'd rather treat us like Wards of the government, rather than Sovereign individuals with rights.
>>>Why?
Because if I have "no expectation of privacy" from my ISP, then that means they could publish all my information on their website in public view of everyone. My name, address, phone, credit card name (BofA), which sites I like to visit (sleepysex.com), or files download (sexygrandma.torrent). It is a lousy, lousy ruling.
Maybe it's time for us engineers/programmers to quit our jobs and become lawyers/judges because it's clear the current persons don't know jack about technology (see yesterday's ruling that says software can not be resold by a customer).
They too have stem cells. I told me niece's mom to save her baby teeth, but of course she didn't listen and threw them in the trash. (sigh). She also claims she didn't know the sun would cause her skin to freckle & wrinkle and wish someone had warned her (which I did; as did many many government PSAs). I wonder why it is some people don't listen?
Anyway if you have kids save their teeth.
Each cable tv episode costs 2-3 million to produce, and is only watched by an average of 1 million households (according to Nielsen). So you're talking about $2-3 per episode per person, or $40-60 for a whole season, just to break even. Times however many shows you watch each year.
Let's say 50. So ~$40-60 times 50 == $2000-3000 each year you'd be shelling out towards shows that used to come "free" with your current CATV or Satellite or FiOS internet subscription.
Ahhhh like how engineers and programmers work. Hourly rate. BUT even then you still have the company needing to protect those products from copying, otherwise the company will not make the money necessary to pay the engineers/programmers salaries.
Oh and I disagree with government hiring artists, because that's how pro-government propaganda is created. Or less heinous but just as annoying: Censorship of books/paintings the politicians don't like (example: paintings of nudes, or authors like Glenn Beck).
>>>So what? I'm still using the product of the author's labor without compensating them -- the fact the someone else threw a few bucks their ways doesn't change that.
Except the authors give libraries permission to buy a single copy (marked up), and then share it with their local patrons. So no harm; no foul. Same with video rental stores, which movie companies gave permission to buy a single copy and then rent to their local neighbors.
.
>>>wanting authors to be paid does not imply that the best way to accomplish this is to have the government create an artificial monopoly on the making of copies.
Then you need to amend the Constitution to strike-out the copyright law, or convert it to copyleft(?) law, because that's exactly what the current Constitution gives government (and authors) the power to do. They have been granted a temporary monopoly over how many copies of Book A can be made.
I know nothing about performance copyright limits, so I will not comment on that.
False. The merchant credit contracts disallow them from charging extra for credit card transaction, but they are allowed to offer discounts for other transactions (cash, check, private store card). Gas stations do it routinely for truckers. ($1.95 per gallon diesel; $1.85 for cash)