I wouldn't put it past Hollings to try to slip this through as an amendment to antiterror legislation. RIAA has already tried this.
It's rather humorous to read the RIAA's take on this. Of course considering the source, I tend to believe the "trying to add an amendement" side of things.
It's good because the long-term viability of TiVo, Inc. was very much in doubt without a deal like this. I, for one, like my TiVo and would like it to continue to dial-up and get programming data for a few more years. If TiVo, Inc. goes belly up, my TiVo becomes a big paper weight.
Anyway, the market seems to think it's a good thing for TiVo... stock is up about 23% today.
I can sort of see where you're coming from, but you are indeed paying for a service (and not just hardware). That service is the program data. Every night the thing dials up and updates that data. They can't provide that service for free and expect to make any money.
Now, unlike Ultimate TV, TiVo has a "lifetime" subscription option. I think it's about $250 one time deal for the life of the box. So at least there is a way to avoid a permanent montly fee.
Not only that, but the dual tuner DirecTV / TiVo (I hate calling it DirecTiVo... I don't know why) can handle 3 streams at once. 2 recording and one playback simultaneously. I have a Sony SAT-T60 and it handles this stuff with no problem.
I can't imagine being a TV watcher without TiVo (or at least something similar). I watch less TV now, watch what I want to watch, and always have a library of programs that interest me ready to go at any time. There's always an episode of Battlebots, Junkyard Wars, Simpsons, or Space Ghost just sitting there waiting to be watched.
Huh? Then how is it that Senator Hollings from South Carolina and Senator Stevens from Alaska are so interested in putting forth legislation to help companies that seemingly have very little interests in their respective communities?
Do you think the PEOPLE of South Carolina and Alaska are the ones ASKING for the "Security Systems Standards and Certification Act"?
It would make marginally more sense if the legislation was brought forth by politicians from states in which companies exist that are most likely to benefit (such as California in this case). But since campain donations reach across state borders, so does loyalty and representation.
Email isn't the way to contact them. As witnessed by the pathetic legislation being put forth, many of our lawmakers have no grasp of technology. Email and internet communication has it's place, but if you want their attention write a letter or call them or fax them or try to meet them. If you really want their attention, donate to their campain fund. As distasteful as that might seem.
You know the phrase "The way to a man's heart is through is stomach."? Well, the way to a politicians head is through his campain fund. That's the sad ugly truth.
OK, there's good geeks... those are the ones who can fix their mom's computer over the phone in two easy steps, who can help their sister's fiance' shop for a new TV, who have their homes networked so they can watch their hacked TiVo in any room of the house...
And then there's the bad geeks. The ones that give the rest of us a bad name. They don't bathe often enough, they wear thick glasses (when thin ones would do), they have pocket protectors, and they wear big honkin' Dick Tracy watches on their wrist.
"Sesame Street has always stood for mutual respect and understanding," a spokeswoman said. "We're outraged that our characters would be used in this unfortunate and distasteful manner. This is not at all humorous.The people responsible for this should be ashamed of themselves. We are exploring all legal options to stop this abuse and any similar abuses in the future."
Now tell me exactly what are they going to do? Sue some random guy at a protest on the other side of the world?
"Lawmakers represent those interests which supply the greatest campain funding."
Sorry, but despite what they would have you think, they DO NOT represent YOU, or ME, or any other member of the "public"... unless of course they have very large wallets.
Politics have gone downhill ever since the US Supreme Court decision in Buckley v. Valeo. By making campaign spending a constitutionally protected form of speech, and essentially legalizing bribery, we created a system where the average member of Congress spends most of his waking hours trying to raise money, just to compete with some other person who might do the same thing.
The draft legislation has is authored by Senator Hollings (D-SC). As this newsforge.com article points out...
...there are five major media and entertainment companies in the top 20 list of Hollings' most generous campaign donors. They include AOL Time Warner ($33,500), Fox parent News Corporation ($28,224), Viacom's CBS ($16,632), the National Association of Broadcasters ($22,000), and Walt Disney Co. ($18,500). The individual donors from those companies include a flock of high-ranking executives from various News Corp/Fox subsidiaries, Viacom CEO Sumner Redstone, and Ted Turner from AOL Time Warner. Since 1995, employees from companies producing television, movies, music, and other media content have sent Hollings $287,534, making the entertainment industry his second most generous supporters.
Sucks, huh? Well whip out the checkbook and fork over a few hundred grand and maybe "our" side of things can be represented too...
Ironic. The NY Times, which requires the annoying free registration, has a piece about privacy laws.
You do have a choice, you know. Your local newsstand probably carries the New York Times. You could go there, put down your $0.50 (or whatever it costs) and read the article completely anonymously.
I can just imagine some poor network admin trying to figure out who the heck is using their network to surf for pr0n (and imagine the PHB trying to figure out who they need to fire).
But seriously, with wireless it seems like it would be incredibly difficult to trace the unauthorized user. Land based hacks are usually done over the internet rather than by physically connecting to their network. As a result, there's usually logs to help track down the person(s) using the network.
But this seems incredibly tough... if the cracker didn't go anywhere on the network that would give themselves away (such as logging into hotmail to check their mail), I would guess that it would damn near impossible to find out who was sneaking into the network... even if/when they were actually connected. I would guess that the wireless network might get the MAC address of the card being used to get into the network, but even that likely wouldn't get you anywhere.
But, while speeding doesn't leave a record of itself, ebook copying does and so leaves a legacy, a record of the crime
The way things are headed, I can GUARANTEE you that things like speeding WILL INDEED be monitored. It starts slowly, but we're already on that slope. Put a toll transponder in your car. We've already seen these transponders used to track people. Next up, you'll get a ticket if you jump on a toll road and get from Exit A to Exit B in an average time that would exceed the speed limit.
But why stop there? These things are cheap enough. Make them mandatory in all cars. Monitor your car speed through GPS. Violate the speed limit, get a ticket in the mail. Plus tracking devices can help the cops find any car at any time because they're ALL being tracked. That's a GOOD thing, right? Fight crime, right?
This country is going to hell quickly. I fear for the life that my son is going to have.
Of the MANY letters that I've written to our lawmakers regarding this issue, I've only received ONE response and that was from Sen. John Kerry (MA). His "excuse" was that we needed the DMCA to comply with the WIPO trade agreement.
Actually I'm not sure we know that Dante and Randal are "still" working at the Quik-Stop (and video store respectively). The opening scene is a scene directly from Clerks. ("I'm not even supposed to BE here today!") I think the timeline of Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back starts in the middle of Clerks... though there would be some inconsistency there as Jay and Bob appear at the end of Clerks.
Who knows.... it was a damn funny movie though.
-S
Re:But the cost of a CD must have increased
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RIAA To Target CD-R
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Oh, I'm sure the absolutely pathetic state of the music industry had nothing to do with lost sales, right?
The media (radio, TV, newspapers, etc.) and the content providers (RIAA, MPAA, etc.) are quickly converging on being a single corporate entity. The result of which has been a complete homoginization of all things creative and interesting about music. Is it any wonder that sales are down. There's simply nothing good to listen to... and if there is it's damn hard to find because there's no interesting radio stations anymore.
-S
So now the RIAA owns ALL music?
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· Score: 3, Insightful
nearly one out of two consumers surveyed downloaded in the past month and nearly 70 percent burned the music they downloaded
Yea, I've downloaded music and burned it to CD in the past month... but not music that's under RIAA control.
Or did she just forget that little bit about there being actual LEGAL uses for this technology? Just because someone downloads music and burns it to CD does not mean that a copyright infringement has just taken place. And it does not mean the RIAA has just been monetarily damaged.
This link from sf.freesklyarov.org shows that Adobe is a pretty busy company when it comes to swinging the lawyers about.
I see two other Adobe Systems, Inc. cases on there plus the Skylarov case (which Adobe isn't officially involved in, but it was their actions that brought about the arrest.
Slashdot Mirror
Cesium... must be an OS that locks up all the time.
-S
Wil, we know you're reading...
Don't you think that fighting the evil doings of the MPAA and having an acting career in Hollywood are mutually exclusive activities?
-S
It's rather humorous to read the RIAA's take on this. Of course considering the source, I tend to believe the "trying to add an amendement" side of things.
-S
Written by Lee Greenwood. From the song "God Bless the U.S.A." on the album American Patriot. Released on EMD/Capitol.
Oh, by the way, EMD/Capitol is a member company of the RIAA.
It disgusts me to see a crowd of people proudly singing that song for exactly the reason you mentioned. Free? Yea, right.
-S
It's good because the long-term viability of TiVo, Inc. was very much in doubt without a deal like this. I, for one, like my TiVo and would like it to continue to dial-up and get programming data for a few more years. If TiVo, Inc. goes belly up, my TiVo becomes a big paper weight.
Anyway, the market seems to think it's a good thing for TiVo... stock is up about 23% today.
-S
I can sort of see where you're coming from, but you are indeed paying for a service (and not just hardware). That service is the program data. Every night the thing dials up and updates that data. They can't provide that service for free and expect to make any money.
Now, unlike Ultimate TV, TiVo has a "lifetime" subscription option. I think it's about $250 one time deal for the life of the box. So at least there is a way to avoid a permanent montly fee.
-S
Not only that, but the dual tuner DirecTV / TiVo (I hate calling it DirecTiVo... I don't know why) can handle 3 streams at once. 2 recording and one playback simultaneously. I have a Sony SAT-T60 and it handles this stuff with no problem.
I can't imagine being a TV watcher without TiVo (or at least something similar). I watch less TV now, watch what I want to watch, and always have a library of programs that interest me ready to go at any time. There's always an episode of Battlebots, Junkyard Wars, Simpsons, or Space Ghost just sitting there waiting to be watched.
-S
Huh? Then how is it that Senator Hollings from South Carolina and Senator Stevens from Alaska are so interested in putting forth legislation to help companies that seemingly have very little interests in their respective communities?
Do you think the PEOPLE of South Carolina and Alaska are the ones ASKING for the "Security Systems Standards and Certification Act"?
It would make marginally more sense if the legislation was brought forth by politicians from states in which companies exist that are most likely to benefit (such as California in this case). But since campain donations reach across state borders, so does loyalty and representation.
-S
You know the phrase "The way to a man's heart is through is stomach."? Well, the way to a politicians head is through his campain fund. That's the sad ugly truth.
-S
And then there's the bad geeks. The ones that give the rest of us a bad name. They don't bathe often enough, they wear thick glasses (when thin ones would do), they have pocket protectors, and they wear big honkin' Dick Tracy watches on their wrist.
Egads!
-S
Now tell me exactly what are they going to do? Sue some random guy at a protest on the other side of the world?
Or maybe they've forgotten that parody is a protected form of fair use and free speech.
-S
"Don't give up Liberty in the zeal to defend it."
What do you think? Keep the old one, or replace with the new one?
-S
"Lawmakers represent those interests which supply the greatest campain funding."
Sorry, but despite what they would have you think, they DO NOT represent YOU, or ME, or any other member of the "public"... unless of course they have very large wallets.
Yesterday's "interview" with Jamie Love, he stated the problem very suscinctly...
The draft legislation has is authored by Senator Hollings (D-SC). As this newsforge.com article points out...
Sucks, huh? Well whip out the checkbook and fork over a few hundred grand and maybe "our" side of things can be represented too...
-S
I've had the same response from Kennedy on the many letters I've sent to him.... nothing. Senator Kerry (D-MA) has at least written back a few times.
-S
You do have a choice, you know. Your local newsstand probably carries the New York Times. You could go there, put down your $0.50 (or whatever it costs) and read the article completely anonymously.
-S
"OK, who just farted in here?"
"Oh, that's just Joe using his methane powered cell phone."
I can't wait to be riding in a car/bus/subway full of these things.
-S
I can just imagine some poor network admin trying to figure out who the heck is using their network to surf for pr0n (and imagine the PHB trying to figure out who they need to fire).
But seriously, with wireless it seems like it would be incredibly difficult to trace the unauthorized user. Land based hacks are usually done over the internet rather than by physically connecting to their network. As a result, there's usually logs to help track down the person(s) using the network.
But this seems incredibly tough... if the cracker didn't go anywhere on the network that would give themselves away (such as logging into hotmail to check their mail), I would guess that it would damn near impossible to find out who was sneaking into the network... even if/when they were actually connected. I would guess that the wireless network might get the MAC address of the card being used to get into the network, but even that likely wouldn't get you anywhere.
Is that true, or am I missing something here?
-S
The way things are headed, I can GUARANTEE you that things like speeding WILL INDEED be monitored. It starts slowly, but we're already on that slope. Put a toll transponder in your car. We've already seen these transponders used to track people. Next up, you'll get a ticket if you jump on a toll road and get from Exit A to Exit B in an average time that would exceed the speed limit.
But why stop there? These things are cheap enough. Make them mandatory in all cars. Monitor your car speed through GPS. Violate the speed limit, get a ticket in the mail. Plus tracking devices can help the cops find any car at any time because they're ALL being tracked. That's a GOOD thing, right? Fight crime, right?
This country is going to hell quickly. I fear for the life that my son is going to have.
-S
Of the MANY letters that I've written to our lawmakers regarding this issue, I've only received ONE response and that was from Sen. John Kerry (MA). His "excuse" was that we needed the DMCA to comply with the WIPO trade agreement.
Sigh...
-S
I hate to dissapoint you, but that may have been true before you got the AudioTron. It runs Windows CE.
-S
Actually I'm not sure we know that Dante and Randal are "still" working at the Quik-Stop (and video store respectively). The opening scene is a scene directly from Clerks. ("I'm not even supposed to BE here today!") I think the timeline of Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back starts in the middle of Clerks... though there would be some inconsistency there as Jay and Bob appear at the end of Clerks.
Who knows.... it was a damn funny movie though.
-S
Oh, I'm sure the absolutely pathetic state of the music industry had nothing to do with lost sales, right?
The media (radio, TV, newspapers, etc.) and the content providers (RIAA, MPAA, etc.) are quickly converging on being a single corporate entity. The result of which has been a complete homoginization of all things creative and interesting about music. Is it any wonder that sales are down. There's simply nothing good to listen to... and if there is it's damn hard to find because there's no interesting radio stations anymore.
-S
Yea, I've downloaded music and burned it to CD in the past month... but not music that's under RIAA control.
Or did she just forget that little bit about there being actual LEGAL uses for this technology? Just because someone downloads music and burns it to CD does not mean that a copyright infringement has just taken place. And it does not mean the RIAA has just been monetarily damaged.
-S
They're right up there with Adobe, the MPAA, and the RIAA.
-S
I see two other Adobe Systems, Inc. cases on there plus the Skylarov case (which Adobe isn't officially involved in, but it was their actions that brought about the arrest.
-S