This will blow over soon enough. The weak link in this business is the content providers, of all things.
They've gone out of their way to create systems that prevent copying, keep rights secure etc., but when the entire world is using those systems, one clever network will release their new hit show "In Copy-Protect Free!" format. From then on, it'll be a selling point, and within a year there won't be any more protected shows at all (who's going to be able to push a show that you can't watch at your leisure? It's so "last year"...)
Consumers are helpless against big changes, but when one greedy exec goes after an unguarded revenue stream, it'll all fall apart. It's annoying that we have to fight this fight so often, but in the end they undo their own evils.
There are some companies that would love to support ogg vorbis without having control... but at the same time, given how most open-source projects grow, I doubt that the lack of a corporate sponsor would actually KILL the format.
My big question is whether or not this will hurt companies that plan to use.ogg files. Not knowing a thing about the intricacies of the law here, I'm guessing that merely distributing the files, if you're incorporated, puts you at risk for a lawsuit. Beyond a small minority of geeks trading a "contraband" format,.ogg would be dead to the world.
I want to use.ogg. I've been waiting a long time for it. The question now becomes how much money I've got to spend to defend it. I really hate patents.
On the other hand, if more people who wanted to vote Nader without thinking about the details of how the politics would play out, next time around the Democrats would spend MUCH more time wooing Nader-minded voters, and you've effectively preserved the essence of the democracy.
As is stands, Democrats are assuming that only 2-4% of the population really cares about that kind of thing, which is hardly worth changing the platform for.
There are a lot of specs on the Japanese Sony website... 800x600, browser, good mailing capabilities, memory stick, A/V in etc... looks pretty good for a webpad... very good for my in-laws in Japan (still using a typewriter and all)
At least officially, they haven't released a price on it yet. It says it's "open", which tends to mean that retailers can set their own prices pretty widely. And that tends to mean the price nosedives after a few weeks.
With any luck, it'll be dirt cheap from competition by mid-January...
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This will blow over soon enough. The weak link in this business is the content providers, of all things.
They've gone out of their way to create systems that prevent copying, keep rights secure etc., but when the entire world is using those systems, one clever network will release their new hit show "In Copy-Protect Free!" format. From then on, it'll be a selling point, and within a year there won't be any more protected shows at all (who's going to be able to push a show that you can't watch at your leisure? It's so "last year"...)
Consumers are helpless against big changes, but when one greedy exec goes after an unguarded revenue stream, it'll all fall apart. It's annoying that we have to fight this fight so often, but in the end they undo their own evils.
There are some companies that would love to support ogg vorbis without having control ... but at the same time, given how most open-source projects grow, I doubt that the lack of a corporate sponsor would actually KILL the format.
My big question is whether or not this will hurt companies that plan to use .ogg files. Not knowing a thing about the intricacies of the law here, I'm guessing that merely distributing the files, if you're incorporated, puts you at risk for a lawsuit. Beyond a small minority of geeks trading a "contraband" format, .ogg would be dead to the world.
I want to use .ogg. I've been waiting a long time for it. The question now becomes how much money I've got to spend to defend it. I really hate patents.
As is stands, Democrats are assuming that only 2-4% of the population really cares about that kind of thing, which is hardly worth changing the platform for.
At least officially, they haven't released a price on it yet. It says it's "open", which tends to mean that retailers can set their own prices pretty widely. And that tends to mean the price nosedives after a few weeks.
With any luck, it'll be dirt cheap from competition by mid-January...