"inciting detrimental group behavior is far from a new thing, and should be punished."
So I suppose you are for punishing Ghandi? Or Martin Luther King, Jr? Or any one of many other civil disobedians.
You fail logic. Unless of course it was your intention to imply that Ghandi's and King's actions were "detrimental". I've always thought of them as positive actions.:P
well, that and the vendor with the "free" apples has them stashed in a warehouse behind him. Oh, and the good apples are hidden in a mountain of crappy apples and old shoes. And the vendor can't tell me where to find the golden delicious that I'm looking for.
Me, I'm going to skip both vendors and go to the third guy who pays the farmer and who's got an all you can eat special on apples for $10. My buddy is going to get a few apples from the 99 cent vendor. Why do we do this? Because our time is worth something to us.
I didn't think they were assuming that total sales would go up. I think they were assuming that iTMS sales would go up. Of course if total sales stayed the same, CD sales would go down in response as well.
But you're right, it's still not a good assumption. A lot of people buy an mp3 player and rip CD's. They continue to buy and rip CD's. iTunes makes this easy as well.
As for myself, I don't like buying music. I like Napster's rental model. I try a lot of different music with it. The only problem I have is that the collection isn't complete. There aren't a lot of holes in Napster's collection, but it's annoying when you find one. There's also the issue of 30% fewer songs on the Napster.ca over Napster.com.
I noticed that you sort of got stomped on for that mistake. I guess I should scroll down before posting.:P
As for Christ being bent out of shape, I would think that that had a lot to do not just with being crucified, but what went along with that. Taking the entire penalty for all of the human race. The death of Christ had a spiritual component as well which I believe would have been a lot worse. The crucifixion seems to be there as a physical indicator of all the other stuff.
Just a thought. I'm not expressing it that well unfortunately...
"Christian apologist" implies that Christians have something to apologize for.
No it doesn't. You're misunderstanding the word "apologist". An apologist is someone who engages in Apologetics. Lewis was an apologist, and thinking that the word is perjorative is just incorrect.
As for Aslan knowing that he would not die... You're suggesting that Christ didn't know that he would be raised from the dead on the third day?
The ruling isn't that NTP can't settle with RIM. It just says that that particular deal will not be enforced. NTP claims that the deal was not finalized. The ruling doesn't prevent NTP and RIM from reaching another agreement. NTP is holding out for more money from RIM. The number I heard on the radio yesterday was "around 1 Billion".
Clearly NTP thinks they'll get more by not accepting the 450 million.
Ignore it. Write software that routes around it. That's what they do with their searching right now. Wait until a significant percentage of the hardware fails. Swap in another container when that happens. Throw away the old container or fix it if it's cost effective.
Well, to each their own. I like the service. If you don't then I guess it's not for you.
About the DRM. If you don't like it, that's your beef, but I see no problem in principle. Their DRM lets me download my music to a player and take it with me. I see no problem. iTMS lets you download your music to a player and take it with you. Again, no problem. I just prefer subscription to a la carte.
I DO see problems with DRM in an iTMS style purchase model. If I buy a song I want to actually be able to do anything I want with it. (Use Winamp, whatever). But with Napster I'm not buying the music. I don't want to buy it. As soon as I'm unhappy with the service or I see something I prefer, I quit. In a model like that, DRM makes sense. Without DRM that model wouldn't be available to me.
I doubt you'll get an iTMS plug-in because I suspect that Apple would have to agree to it. Why would they do that? They like the iPod-iTunes duo.
About the too much clicking though, I think you misunderstood me. No clicking at all in an interface? That wouldn't work for me. I'm just talking about the fact that I have to click a drop down menu to indicate a search for artist or track or whatever, click again in the text box for my search terms, and click again to begin the search. iTunes has a single box that refines my search every time I type a character. Much nicer.
I don't think you don't have to break it to me, you have to break it to the record companies. P2P isn't going to go away unless they get a better business model to replace it. The subscription model is one if they don't screw it up. If they don't screw it up, (or only screw it up very minimally, people like me will flock to the service.
If they screw it up badly, then Limewire and all the networks like it will continue to thrive and they lose. I really hope they don't screw it up.
About the foreign music thing. I'm actually referring more to the RIAA than Napster. It's their choice to license their music to Napster.com but not to Napster.ca. But doing so is a mistake if they want Napster.ca to thrive and make money for them.
Or is there something else above the RIAA preventing them from licensing the same music to Napster.ca as to Napster.com. (I can't think what that might be).
Not really. The copyright has never been on the exact bits. No-one has ever claimed it was unless they were trying to set up a straw man.
Since the copyright was never about exact copies, proving that they're not exact bit for bit copies is irrelevent. (And just adds noise to the conversation).
You mean with Napster working with the labels blessing? Because that's where Napster is right now.
I'd say that the success of iTunes has a lot more to do with Apple's savy marketing and the quality of the product than the legal woes of the first incarnation of Napster.
Absolutely. I just listened to the little music I had before. I almost never bought music and when I did, it was from second hand CD stores. Then P2P happened. I've got more music than I can listen to and my tastes have really expanded. (Of course I also went to college in the meantime, so that might have had an effect too).
But P2P is a hassle. As easy as Limewire is, it's not as easy as I'd like it to be. (Although it is easier than going to a store and finding what I'm looking for).
The napster subscription model works for me though. As long as they work out the small problems. I wouldn't have considered something like Napster before P2P. I wouldn't have felt any desire to have it because my musical tastes weren't that large.
Having just signed up for the new Napster a couple of days ago, I think they might actually have something worthwhile.
The subscription model is good. I still don't trust buying something digital that I can't copy. I also tend to have tastes that change all the time. For $10 per month I get "everything". Even if the DRM is crackable, why would I bother doing it? I'm still going to want to get new music and $10 per month isn't going to break the bank.
Napster downloads fast and it's simple. Limewire and the like are cheaper, but they're slightly more of a hassle and my time is worth something to me.
It does have a few problems though...
The subscription model breaks down unless they've got virtually everything I'd want to listen to. This means they need to have everything. Everything Independent music, foreign music, all of it. If it's just favoured RIAA stuff only or even worse, RIAA stuff without they're best music it'll fail.
They've got 1 million songs available in the UK and the US, but only 700,000 in Canada? I asked them about it, and they said it was because of different music licensing in different countries. So... Fix it! That's an excuse not a reason.
Having part of library unavailable for streaming/download and available only for purchase as tracks are sold in iTunes. Lame. If I wanted to buy music a la carte, I'd go with iTunes. Apple sells them for less anyway. That goes with point #1. The subscription has to be total or people will continue to use other P2P. And if they're using P2P, they might stop using Napster.
Charging extra for letting you listen to your music on a DRM-enabled mp3 player. This should be basic service. It just looks greedy.
The searching interface needs improvement. Too much clicking required.
The software should not crash. Which it did when I was listening to my first song. It got messed so badly I had to use System Restore to get it back. No problems since then though. It might have had to do with upgrading to Windows Media Player 10. (I see no reason to do that again and confirm my suspicion.
I hope they fix the problems. Overall, I like the service.
I've lost track of how many lame Science vs. Religion / Evolution vs. ID / Modernism vs. Irrationalism pseudo-debates have popped up on my usual boards. It's the same thing over and over and over and over and over...
It's been done. For the love of all things holy, please stop posting stories like this and move on to something new. Just don't do another, "The RIAA & MPAA are hatching a plan to slaughter us in our beds" story...
I teach and run the network at a small independent Christian school in British Columbia. One issue that came up last year was bullying via internet. The typical student verbal bullying can get even nastier when it's done online oddly enough. (I don't know why that is, perhaps the physical separation computers provide reduces the "think before you speak" mentality).
Annonymity does a lot less for protection from predators when the predators are your peers.
I see this as a problem without a very good solution. I actually have my students create anonymous blogs in my classes and I go through the dangers of putting personal information online. I prefer a "teach discernment and good judgement in a relatively safe environment" rather than a reactionary approach, but it's still not a perfect solution.
I could see why a school might resort banning blogs if they have some of the worse problems. Still, it's a difficult rule to enforce. Actually, it might be a good test. If it's anonymous enough that no one can find it, then you don't need to shut it down./kidding.:)
Gore helped to get the government involved and secured major funding in the earliest stages of the internet.
Yes he did. It's still a foolish comment to make. He seems to be attempting to be claim more credit than he is due. Had he said "I helped secure vital funding to get the internet started", he wouldn't be mocked like this. Of course, politicians make foolish comments all the time, so it's not like no one else has ever done anything like this before, but Gore put his foot in his mouth, and now he's mocked for it. Part of being in public life unfortunately.
"During my service in the United States Congress, I took the initiative in creating the Internet
It makes it clear that he wasn't claiming to have coded it all by himself, but it seems to confirm that he wasn't trying to claim credit for it. Not the smartest quote I think...
I'm no expert on the Jim Crow laws, (not being an American and all that), but wouldn't such an argument fall apart on the basis that denying blacks the right to vote was always against the constitutional guarantees of equality?
In other words, since it was never legitimate to deny Steve's ancestors the right to vote, that cannot be used against Steve. In other words, you can't legally use an illegal action as a weapon.
Your other problem is that rights are always determined on an individual basis in US law. Not on the basis of group. You Americans don't have any group rights, only individual ones. So Steve's ancestry cannot be used to restrict his rights because they are HIS rights. Not his ancestral group rights.
err... I think that was my point. I may end up using OSX.
As for the malware thing. It's not a big deal. I simply don't get spyware. I don't even find it a big hassle to avoid spyware. Cleaning off other people's boxes after they've really let them go is a different matter, but I've had approximately the same amount of trouble with my own XP machines that my former roommate had with his OSX machines. (Not much).
But once you can run Windows on Apple hardware, it will be like switching from a Hyundai to a BMW
Exactly! I don't want to give up my Windows box, and I can't justify another computer. But if I can buy a Mac Box and set it up to dual-boot to XP, that's a totally different story.
In fact, I most likely will do that when the Intel Macs come out. I'm still not planning on switching, but it just might happen now. (Even if it doesn't, Mac will probably get a sale out of me).
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The school suspends the student for being a pain. (Oh, we call it "Disrupting the school environment")
Me, I'm going to skip both vendors and go to the third guy who pays the farmer and who's got an all you can eat special on apples for $10. My buddy is going to get a few apples from the 99 cent vendor. Why do we do this? Because our time is worth something to us.
But you're right, it's still not a good assumption. A lot of people buy an mp3 player and rip CD's. They continue to buy and rip CD's. iTunes makes this easy as well.
As for myself, I don't like buying music. I like Napster's rental model. I try a lot of different music with it. The only problem I have is that the collection isn't complete. There aren't a lot of holes in Napster's collection, but it's annoying when you find one. There's also the issue of 30% fewer songs on the Napster.ca over Napster.com.
As for Christ being bent out of shape, I would think that that had a lot to do not just with being crucified, but what went along with that. Taking the entire penalty for all of the human race. The death of Christ had a spiritual component as well which I believe would have been a lot worse. The crucifixion seems to be there as a physical indicator of all the other stuff.
Just a thought. I'm not expressing it that well unfortunately...
As for Aslan knowing that he would not die... You're suggesting that Christ didn't know that he would be raised from the dead on the third day?
Clearly NTP thinks they'll get more by not accepting the 450 million.
sure... but they still provide a filter to filter out the legal porn for those who'd rather not have it show up in their searches.
About the DRM. If you don't like it, that's your beef, but I see no problem in principle. Their DRM lets me download my music to a player and take it with me. I see no problem. iTMS lets you download your music to a player and take it with you. Again, no problem. I just prefer subscription to a la carte.
I DO see problems with DRM in an iTMS style purchase model. If I buy a song I want to actually be able to do anything I want with it. (Use Winamp, whatever). But with Napster I'm not buying the music. I don't want to buy it. As soon as I'm unhappy with the service or I see something I prefer, I quit. In a model like that, DRM makes sense. Without DRM that model wouldn't be available to me.
I doubt you'll get an iTMS plug-in because I suspect that Apple would have to agree to it. Why would they do that? They like the iPod-iTunes duo.
About the too much clicking though, I think you misunderstood me. No clicking at all in an interface? That wouldn't work for me. I'm just talking about the fact that I have to click a drop down menu to indicate a search for artist or track or whatever, click again in the text box for my search terms, and click again to begin the search. iTunes has a single box that refines my search every time I type a character. Much nicer.
If they screw it up badly, then Limewire and all the networks like it will continue to thrive and they lose. I really hope they don't screw it up.
About the foreign music thing. I'm actually referring more to the RIAA than Napster. It's their choice to license their music to Napster.com but not to Napster.ca. But doing so is a mistake if they want Napster.ca to thrive and make money for them.
Or is there something else above the RIAA preventing them from licensing the same music to Napster.ca as to Napster.com. (I can't think what that might be).
Since the copyright was never about exact copies, proving that they're not exact bit for bit copies is irrelevent. (And just adds noise to the conversation).
I'd say that the success of iTunes has a lot more to do with Apple's savy marketing and the quality of the product than the legal woes of the first incarnation of Napster.
But P2P is a hassle. As easy as Limewire is, it's not as easy as I'd like it to be. (Although it is easier than going to a store and finding what I'm looking for).
The napster subscription model works for me though. As long as they work out the small problems. I wouldn't have considered something like Napster before P2P. I wouldn't have felt any desire to have it because my musical tastes weren't that large.
The subscription model is good. I still don't trust buying something digital that I can't copy. I also tend to have tastes that change all the time. For $10 per month I get "everything". Even if the DRM is crackable, why would I bother doing it? I'm still going to want to get new music and $10 per month isn't going to break the bank.
Napster downloads fast and it's simple. Limewire and the like are cheaper, but they're slightly more of a hassle and my time is worth something to me.
It does have a few problems though...
Seriously...
I've lost track of how many lame Science vs. Religion / Evolution vs. ID / Modernism vs. Irrationalism pseudo-debates have popped up on my usual boards. It's the same thing over and over and over and over and over...
It's been done. For the love of all things holy, please stop posting stories like this and move on to something new. Just don't do another, "The RIAA & MPAA are hatching a plan to slaughter us in our beds" story...
do people actually use foe lists? Seems like a waste of time to me...
Annonymity does a lot less for protection from predators when the predators are your peers.
I see this as a problem without a very good solution. I actually have my students create anonymous blogs in my classes and I go through the dangers of putting personal information online. I prefer a "teach discernment and good judgement in a relatively safe environment" rather than a reactionary approach, but it's still not a perfect solution.
I could see why a school might resort banning blogs if they have some of the worse problems. Still, it's a difficult rule to enforce. Actually, it might be a good test. If it's anonymous enough that no one can find it, then you don't need to shut it down. /kidding. :)
I meant to say that the quote makes it look like he was trying to claim credit for it.
You might want to check out what the phrase "begging the question" actually means.
I'm no expert on the Jim Crow laws, (not being an American and all that), but wouldn't such an argument fall apart on the basis that denying blacks the right to vote was always against the constitutional guarantees of equality? In other words, since it was never legitimate to deny Steve's ancestors the right to vote, that cannot be used against Steve. In other words, you can't legally use an illegal action as a weapon. Your other problem is that rights are always determined on an individual basis in US law. Not on the basis of group. You Americans don't have any group rights, only individual ones. So Steve's ancestry cannot be used to restrict his rights because they are HIS rights. Not his ancestral group rights.
As for the malware thing. It's not a big deal. I simply don't get spyware. I don't even find it a big hassle to avoid spyware. Cleaning off other people's boxes after they've really let them go is a different matter, but I've had approximately the same amount of trouble with my own XP machines that my former roommate had with his OSX machines. (Not much).
Exactly! I don't want to give up my Windows box, and I can't justify another computer. But if I can buy a Mac Box and set it up to dual-boot to XP, that's a totally different story.
In fact, I most likely will do that when the Intel Macs come out. I'm still not planning on switching, but it just might happen now. (Even if it doesn't, Mac will probably get a sale out of me).