I think this does fall in the realm of "stuff that matters".
Whatever one's personal feelings are regarding the P2P "community", the simple truth is that it's eventually going to change the way we buy music, movies, and probably everything we purchase in digital form. Personally, I find the whole thing fascinating.
Another truth is that while we can make all the ethical arguments we want, we (the geeks) are the ones to blame. Who creates the technology to make pirating so ridiculously easy? We do. Who dreams up and builds P2P networks that are nearly impossible to shut down? We do. Of course on the flip side we are also building the measures to prevent such copying or at least make it extremely difficult, but for every talented person doing their best to stop piracy there is another equally talented person ready to take on whatever challenge the other dreams up.
My point here is not to endorse anything, but rather to say that whatever you personally may think about the whole thing, the repercussions will effect us all.
Slashdot Mirror
I think this does fall in the realm of "stuff that matters".
Whatever one's personal feelings are regarding the P2P "community", the simple truth is that it's eventually going to change the way we buy music, movies, and probably everything we purchase in digital form. Personally, I find the whole thing fascinating.
Another truth is that while we can make all the ethical arguments we want, we (the geeks) are the ones to blame. Who creates the technology to make pirating so ridiculously easy? We do. Who dreams up and builds P2P networks that are nearly impossible to shut down? We do. Of course on the flip side we are also building the measures to prevent such copying or at least make it extremely difficult, but for every talented person doing their best to stop piracy there is another equally talented person ready to take on whatever challenge the other dreams up.
My point here is not to endorse anything, but rather to say that whatever you personally may think about the whole thing, the repercussions will effect us all.