The legal soup is the big reason I never became a DJ. You buy CDs, records and tapes. The say for private home use only. Buying the license and music for a public performance is prohibitive for the family reception, BBQ, event. You either go full time, risk legal action, or forget it.
Due to the restrictions on purchased music, it has little value to me as I can't use it for anything, including a wedding reception (the wedding itself) family party, school reunion, powerpoint slide show, or other weekend gig. It's only useful for private home use only. This is one of the reasons I don't buy CDs. You can't use them.
I have since become a weekend light jockey. The equipment is about the same price and there is no license headaches for the weekend warrior. A few pieces of truss, a couple crank up towers, a few fun lights, some extension cords and a good console (laptop!) and you are ready to set the ambiance. If you know the DJ's playlist, you can even match the beat to sync the lights very easily or sync to the sound.
Even brightly colored LED Christmas lights jazz up a truss at little cost with the right dimmer. (Not all dimmers and LED's work together)
I would love to know where and how you store all of the network information for your Public Access workstations.
Often a campus will have a Radius server. No log-in, no campus access. Often with student machines, they own them. Often the WWW is simply an auto-proxy away without a login. Boot, open browser, go to preferences, choose connections, choose proxy server, select autoproxy or if known, plug in the proxy info, close window and surf away. Start torrent.. point to USB drive. Don't log in to anything including/., email, banking, or anything on campus. Leave no trace that shows a tie to an identity. No user name, no password, zero knowledge. When done, shutdown with the power switch. No need to unmount a CD image.
Have you tried to surf your net without logging in? You may find you can find things while not logged in. Don't assume you can't surf just because of the stupid login prompt. Try it. Don't get caught.
The live CD doesn't come with Truecrypt installed. Having a live CD modified to include Truecrypt could be incriminating and give them reason to search further. Having a stack of Live CDs that you pass out for free does not raise an eyebrow. I pass them out all the time.
In a dorm, it's easy to loan out a USB drive to have it disappear.
I think you miss the point - black operations under false identity
Even further.. No identity. No login of any kind anywhere. Each login can be a new DHCP lease, new MAC address, etc. Log into nothing. They may find a jack was used somewhere in a lab or conference room, coffee shop, or a dorm commons, wireless router, etc. but beyond that, the ID trail is dead.
Bit Torrent in many places doesn't require a login.
I totally gave my username & password to someone else" excuse doesn't get very far in that case.
Did you miss the part of not logging in? The MAC address is of my Linksys. Neither the laptop or desktop have any sign of filesharing. Who connected to the router at some time or other is up to the investigators. This is a leave no tracks download. You may find the router, but it doesn't keep logs. Neither did the computer. The I gave out my username isn't even an option. My excuse is I didn't download. Here is my hard drive.. Nothing is erased. There is no P-P shared folder deleted or otherwise.
I have mixed feelings about this: on one hand, this is a really clever idea and a cool hack. On the other hand, the fact that DRM makes something like this necessary is truly infuriating.
I don't do DRM due to the incompatibility. It's up to the distributor to figure out how to provide a product the public will buy. DRM only works because enough people buy it. Otherwise DRM would be dead long ago.
Vote with your wallet. You vote counts. Quit voting against me. Down with DRM.
When I was studying Engineering, the most interesting case studies were the real life cases - actual original research and current theories.
I wonder if many of the engineering students have figured out that an Ubuntu Live CD and a USB hard drive leave no fingerprints on a computer. There are no deleted files. They never existed. DHCP with temporary leases and an editable MAC addresses finish out the playing card. Some networks will allow www through their proxy but not the campus network without a login.;-)
Not logged in, a new MAC address and DHCP lease, + no HD writes = no cache, history, or deletions evidence. Find a good place to stash that USB drive. That's the online privacy game at it's finest.
Was it general knowledge that the machines contained remote software. This is much more effective on somebody's locked down personal machine. It even works on a Linux machine. It leaves them wondering who rooted the box.
I would be willing to guess at least 4 9's of computer users have infringed copyright. (99.99%). Ever visit a webpage and right click and save as.. Copyright infringement. Ever forward an e-mail with cute photos? Copyright infringement. Ever use file save web page complete? Ever forward a cute joke online? Copyright infringement. Ever save a photo as a desktop background? Copyright infringement. Oh, ever find a background MIDI file on a page and save it? Copyright infringement.
Of photographers, joke writers, and music publishers, only music and movie producers get to rape the public this badly in the court system.
Can you imagine if Bonsai Kitten had a massive lawsuit campaign? Or how about your other um.. photo collection from the web?
Do you know anybody online who hasn't done any online copyright infringement? (not just music, anything copyrighted)
A fun variation is to take a photo of the bathroom with the seat up. Save the photo on your desktop and wait for your cube mate to use the restroom. Open the photo on the desktop. When he returns calmly mention that he left the seat up again.
When I was in a dorm, I put a box over the suspended ceiling. It contained a couple batteries, a buzzer, and a relay. The first battery ran the relay. When it ran down, it turned on the buzzer with the second battery. I think I started a bomb scare long after I was gone.
The prank I pulled is simple but extremely effective. I share a cube. I plugged in a wireless Logitech mouse into a rear USB port on the other computer. At random, I moved the mouse a tiny bit when they were trying to click on things. It took him 3 tries to hit the send button on his IM.
Way back when printers use ribbons and lots of metal parts instead of plastic, we used to take them apart and degrease them with Tri-Ethelene. We ran out of in our shop. We handed the new guy a Styrofoam cup and sent him out to the drum to get some. We didn't bother to tell him not to use the cup. This solvent eats foam slightly faster than gasoline.
My choice? Great! I want SciFi HD and Speed HD please!
That's what Comcast is counting on. You will pay for SD disguised as HD for 2-6 channels for $80/month for the package. These aren't in basic cable are they? For many people it's 80+ channels of crap with only 2-6 that they pay for. I dropped cable when it went over 12.95/month. I'm still waiting for a-la-carte so I can get just Discovery without subsidizing all the ESPN crap that runs up the price for those who have no interest in armchair sports.
In a nutshell, basic cable is mostly for the sports network just like a new PC is mostly an IE and MS Office platform. If I could cut that cost, basic may be a consideration again.
I just checked the schedule. Dirty Jobs and How it is made are both available online. I work nights. Online the shows are all on demand. On cable, they are on only at scheduled times. Re-run's are the pits. Online another missed episode are easly found. HD is no longer in HD. HD is incompatible with most TiVo boxes. Why spend the money.
This is why I laugh at people who buy HDTVs and expect some kind of massive improvement.
If they bought it for cable TV, I agree. I bought mine after the super bowl when it dropped $200 in price. It has a VGA connector. I now have an inexpensive 32 inch monitor that also displays current and future TV. I don't need a converter box.
I don't have cable TV or satellite TV. Most of the time, it's for DVDs and a computer monitor.
How many slashdotters in an area served by both have FiOS? Have cable?
Don't forget the no fee no compression route. I have a roof top antenna. Your choice, compressed to fit more channels, or poorer selection uncompressed for free.
The point is, you clearly aren't instilling moral values in your kids in some areas, and you don't seem to feel it's your responsibility to do so.
I simply know futility when I see it. I lived on a farm. It was legal to allow the cattle to drink from the stream. It is not permitted for the cattle to relieve themselves in the stream. I understand it, but explaining it to the cattle is difficult.
The kids have a large social circle. Telling them what they can't do with their friends permission is much like standing on the beach and forbidding the tide to come in. They know you don't always check every pocket in their backpack and they know you don't scroll through their playlist to chastise them anytime a song appears for which they don't own the CD.
If you want perfection, stand on the freeway and enforce the 55 mile/hour limit. Good luck.
Oh by the way, have you ever driven over the speed limit at any time? I just thought I would ask. You could be endanger lives by breaking the law!
Why don't your kids shoplift new headphones and steal someone's iPod, and have even more money for movies?
My kids figured out long time ago that when you copy the contents of an iPod, the original is still there. My kids don't steal the songs from someone else. They copy it with permission. They know better than to take something away from someone else.
Get it right. One is theft. The other is a copyright violation.
Granted, it doesn't cost as much to cut a CD as to make a (Hollywood) movie, but then there are only limited ways to get your money back, necessitating a higher unit-charge.
Checked the prices on DVD movies and their associated soundtrack CD's lately? There is a reason few soundtracks are sold.
But sadly, most of us are just too dumb to know better.
Are you kidding? Tell me again why Tower Records shuttered stores. Correction.. A few of us are jut too dumb to know any better. There fixed it for ya.
P-P is a great deal, even when you have to buy a 30 Gig iPod to enjoy it. The Labels are too stupid to market back inventory into price points that will enable bulk sales. Bulk sneakernet transfers are the norm instead.
In some locations, where Tower Records and other retailers are gone, it's Wal * Mart or Wal * Mart. Unless you look the other way while I borrow a loaded iPod, there are few options for kids without credit cards. Schoolyard trading is now the de-facto established method of filling an iPod. I know. I have 2 teens at home. The RIAA waiting till they are in college to educate them is a big mistake. By then they already know where the good music comes from. Something needs to be done to attract younger shoppers. Shutting them out by closing doors and forcing stupid pricing is not the way. Less than 10 CD's for a C note doesn't happen to someone with a paper route. That money is for new headphones, better iPod, the movies and other social activities.
You may criticize me for not stopping it. Other than banning music players, there isn't much to be done when the kids visit friends houses. They may be heavily monitored online to prevent a RIAA lawsuit for making available, but it's hard for them to see what goes on in the friends home. Throttled P-P was able to be monitored. The Comcast throtteling is a blessing for parents. Media Sentry can't download anything to prove it is really a RIAA property. Thanks Comcast. The only downer is I have to use somebody's generosity for the latest Ubuntu ISO and am unable to provide it on Bittorrent. Thank goodness Portland State University has a fat pipe. Thanks guys!
A 30 Gig iPod transfer is a little harder to catch than a torrent and only takes about 30 minutes. These kids aren't dumb. They know how to slide into the shadows out of view. The RIAA isn't making P-P go away. It's returning to sneakernet. In spite of the sneakernet, P-P seems to have little decline. Too bad they haven't figured out the product is too expensive for their intended market.
They are all in direct competition for people's ears as they commute.
The manufactures have been force feeding the receivers on the auto manufactures as too few opted to buy a receiver. I don't have any data on the number of subscriptions dropped when the free trial ended. The fact is they are not meeting their subscription goals by a long shot.
The competition is not in the commute, but the long haul truckers. They are overpriced to compete effectively for the 30 minutes to an hour commuters spend listening. Some people with longer trips may consider a subscription, but most just don't spend the time on the road to justify the cost.
Does anybody have figures for the number of factory installed receivers which have dropped the subscription?
Slashdot Mirror
The legal soup is the big reason I never became a DJ. You buy CDs, records and tapes. The say for private home use only. Buying the license and music for a public performance is prohibitive for the family reception, BBQ, event. You either go full time, risk legal action, or forget it.
Due to the restrictions on purchased music, it has little value to me as I can't use it for anything, including a wedding reception (the wedding itself) family party, school reunion, powerpoint slide show, or other weekend gig. It's only useful for private home use only. This is one of the reasons I don't buy CDs. You can't use them.
I have since become a weekend light jockey. The equipment is about the same price and there is no license headaches for the weekend warrior. A few pieces of truss, a couple crank up towers, a few fun lights, some extension cords and a good console (laptop!) and you are ready to set the ambiance. If you know the DJ's playlist, you can even match the beat to sync the lights very easily or sync to the sound.
Even brightly colored LED Christmas lights jazz up a truss at little cost with the right dimmer. (Not all dimmers and LED's work together)
I would love to know where and how you store all of the network information for your Public Access workstations.
/., email, banking, or anything on campus. Leave no trace that shows a tie to an identity. No user name, no password, zero knowledge. When done, shutdown with the power switch. No need to unmount a CD image.
Often a campus will have a Radius server. No log-in, no campus access. Often with student machines, they own them. Often the WWW is simply an auto-proxy away without a login. Boot, open browser, go to preferences, choose connections, choose proxy server, select autoproxy or if known, plug in the proxy info, close window and surf away. Start torrent.. point to USB drive. Don't log in to anything including
Have you tried to surf your net without logging in? You may find you can find things while not logged in. Don't assume you can't surf just because of the stupid login prompt. Try it. Don't get caught.
Why stash the drive?
Truecrypt, baby.
The live CD doesn't come with Truecrypt installed. Having a live CD modified to include Truecrypt could be incriminating and give them reason to search further. Having a stack of Live CDs that you pass out for free does not raise an eyebrow. I pass them out all the time.
In a dorm, it's easy to loan out a USB drive to have it disappear.
I think you miss the point - black operations under false identity
Even further.. No identity. No login of any kind anywhere. Each login can be a new DHCP lease, new MAC address, etc. Log into nothing. They may find a jack was used somewhere in a lab or conference room, coffee shop, or a dorm commons, wireless router, etc. but beyond that, the ID trail is dead.
Bit Torrent in many places doesn't require a login.
I totally gave my username & password to someone else" excuse doesn't get very far in that case.
Did you miss the part of not logging in? The MAC address is of my Linksys. Neither the laptop or desktop have any sign of filesharing. Who connected to the router at some time or other is up to the investigators. This is a leave no tracks download. You may find the router, but it doesn't keep logs. Neither did the computer. The I gave out my username isn't even an option. My excuse is I didn't download. Here is my hard drive.. Nothing is erased. There is no P-P shared folder deleted or otherwise.
I have mixed feelings about this: on one hand, this is a really clever idea and a cool hack. On the other hand, the fact that DRM makes something like this necessary is truly infuriating.
I don't do DRM due to the incompatibility. It's up to the distributor to figure out how to provide a product the public will buy. DRM only works because enough people buy it. Otherwise DRM would be dead long ago.
Vote with your wallet. You vote counts. Quit voting against me. Down with DRM.
When I was studying Engineering, the most interesting case studies were the real life cases - actual original research and current theories.
;-)
I wonder if many of the engineering students have figured out that an Ubuntu Live CD and a USB hard drive leave no fingerprints on a computer. There are no deleted files. They never existed. DHCP with temporary leases and an editable MAC addresses finish out the playing card. Some networks will allow www through their proxy but not the campus network without a login.
Not logged in, a new MAC address and DHCP lease, + no HD writes = no cache, history, or deletions evidence. Find a good place to stash that USB drive. That's the online privacy game at it's finest.
Was it general knowledge that the machines contained remote software. This is much more effective on somebody's locked down personal machine. It even works on a Linux machine. It leaves them wondering who rooted the box.
I would be willing to guess at least 4 9's of computer users have infringed copyright. (99.99%). Ever visit a webpage and right click and save as.. Copyright infringement. Ever forward an e-mail with cute photos? Copyright infringement. Ever use file save web page complete? Ever forward a cute joke online? Copyright infringement. Ever save a photo as a desktop background? Copyright infringement. Oh, ever find a background MIDI file on a page and save it? Copyright infringement.
Of photographers, joke writers, and music publishers, only music and movie producers get to rape the public this badly in the court system.
Can you imagine if Bonsai Kitten had a massive lawsuit campaign? Or how about your other um.. photo collection from the web?
Do you know anybody online who hasn't done any online copyright infringement? (not just music, anything copyrighted)
A fun variation is to take a photo of the bathroom with the seat up. Save the photo on your desktop and wait for your cube mate to use the restroom. Open the photo on the desktop. When he returns calmly mention that he left the seat up again.
The only deadline I have today is to post April 1st pranks on /.
When I was in a dorm, I put a box over the suspended ceiling. It contained a couple batteries, a buzzer, and a relay. The first battery ran the relay. When it ran down, it turned on the buzzer with the second battery. I think I started a bomb scare long after I was gone.
The prank I pulled is simple but extremely effective. I share a cube. I plugged in a wireless Logitech mouse into a rear USB port on the other computer. At random, I moved the mouse a tiny bit when they were trying to click on things. It took him 3 tries to hit the send button on his IM.
Way back when printers use ribbons and lots of metal parts instead of plastic, we used to take them apart and degrease them with Tri-Ethelene. We ran out of in our shop. We handed the new guy a Styrofoam cup and sent him out to the drum to get some. We didn't bother to tell him not to use the cup. This solvent eats foam slightly faster than gasoline.
My choice? Great! I want SciFi HD and Speed HD please!
That's what Comcast is counting on. You will pay for SD disguised as HD for 2-6 channels for $80/month for the package. These aren't in basic cable are they? For many people it's 80+ channels of crap with only 2-6 that they pay for. I dropped cable when it went over 12.95/month. I'm still waiting for a-la-carte so I can get just Discovery without subsidizing all the ESPN crap that runs up the price for those who have no interest in armchair sports.
Have you noticed that ESPN has lobbied very hard to get their line-up in the basic package and charge for it? ESPN is the same as buying a non-Apple computer. You pay for Windows even though you think it's too expensive and raises the cost of a new computer.
http://media.www.lsureveille.com/media/storage/paper868/news/2004/01/20/News/Espn-Costs.Endanger.Service-2048194.shtml
http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1101040223-591332,00.html
In a nutshell, basic cable is mostly for the sports network just like a new PC is mostly an IE and MS Office platform. If I could cut that cost, basic may be a consideration again.
I just checked the schedule. Dirty Jobs and How it is made are both available online. I work nights. Online the shows are all on demand. On cable, they are on only at scheduled times. Re-run's are the pits. Online another missed episode are easly found. HD is no longer in HD. HD is incompatible with most TiVo boxes. Why spend the money.
This is why I laugh at people who buy HDTVs and expect some kind of massive improvement.
If they bought it for cable TV, I agree. I bought mine after the super bowl when it dropped $200 in price. It has a VGA connector. I now have an inexpensive 32 inch monitor that also displays current and future TV. I don't need a converter box.
I don't have cable TV or satellite TV. Most of the time, it's for DVDs and a computer monitor.
How many slashdotters in an area served by both have FiOS? Have cable?
Don't forget the no fee no compression route. I have a roof top antenna. Your choice, compressed to fit more channels, or poorer selection uncompressed for free.
The point is, you clearly aren't instilling moral values in your kids in some areas, and you don't seem to feel it's your responsibility to do so.
I simply know futility when I see it. I lived on a farm. It was legal to allow the cattle to drink from the stream. It is not permitted for the cattle to relieve themselves in the stream. I understand it, but explaining it to the cattle is difficult.
The kids have a large social circle. Telling them what they can't do with their friends permission is much like standing on the beach and forbidding the tide to come in. They know you don't always check every pocket in their backpack and they know you don't scroll through their playlist to chastise them anytime a song appears for which they don't own the CD.
If you want perfection, stand on the freeway and enforce the 55 mile/hour limit. Good luck.
Oh by the way, have you ever driven over the speed limit at any time? I just thought I would ask. You could be endanger lives by breaking the law!
I didn't say they were both theft, but both are illegal, and both hurt someone.
Point well taken. Driving 56 in a 55 zone is also illegal. What is the point.
Why don't your kids shoplift new headphones and steal someone's iPod, and have even more money for movies?
My kids figured out long time ago that when you copy the contents of an iPod, the original is still there. My kids don't steal the songs from someone else. They copy it with permission. They know better than to take something away from someone else.
Get it right. One is theft. The other is a copyright violation.
Granted, it doesn't cost as much to cut a CD as to make a (Hollywood) movie, but then there are only limited ways to get your money back, necessitating a higher unit-charge.
Checked the prices on DVD movies and their associated soundtrack CD's lately? There is a reason few soundtracks are sold.
Especially if you're acting like you're entitled to it in the meanwhile.
So what is the profit on unsold inventory? If the market won't bear it, you are not entitled to it.
But sadly, most of us are just too dumb to know better.
Are you kidding? Tell me again why Tower Records shuttered stores. Correction.. A few of us are jut too dumb to know any better. There fixed it for ya.
P-P is a great deal, even when you have to buy a 30 Gig iPod to enjoy it. The Labels are too stupid to market back inventory into price points that will enable bulk sales. Bulk sneakernet transfers are the norm instead.
I thought all you guys stole all your music.
In some locations, where Tower Records and other retailers are gone, it's Wal * Mart or Wal * Mart. Unless you look the other way while I borrow a loaded iPod, there are few options for kids without credit cards. Schoolyard trading is now the de-facto established method of filling an iPod. I know. I have 2 teens at home. The RIAA waiting till they are in college to educate them is a big mistake. By then they already know where the good music comes from. Something needs to be done to attract younger shoppers. Shutting them out by closing doors and forcing stupid pricing is not the way. Less than 10 CD's for a C note doesn't happen to someone with a paper route. That money is for new headphones, better iPod, the movies and other social activities.
You may criticize me for not stopping it. Other than banning music players, there isn't much to be done when the kids visit friends houses. They may be heavily monitored online to prevent a RIAA lawsuit for making available, but it's hard for them to see what goes on in the friends home. Throttled P-P was able to be monitored. The Comcast throtteling is a blessing for parents. Media Sentry can't download anything to prove it is really a RIAA property. Thanks Comcast. The only downer is I have to use somebody's generosity for the latest Ubuntu ISO and am unable to provide it on Bittorrent. Thank goodness Portland State University has a fat pipe. Thanks guys!
A 30 Gig iPod transfer is a little harder to catch than a torrent and only takes about 30 minutes. These kids aren't dumb. They know how to slide into the shadows out of view. The RIAA isn't making P-P go away. It's returning to sneakernet. In spite of the sneakernet, P-P seems to have little decline. Too bad they haven't figured out the product is too expensive for their intended market.
They are all in direct competition for people's ears as they commute.
The manufactures have been force feeding the receivers on the auto manufactures as too few opted to buy a receiver. I don't have any data on the number of subscriptions dropped when the free trial ended. The fact is they are not meeting their subscription goals by a long shot.
The competition is not in the commute, but the long haul truckers. They are overpriced to compete effectively for the 30 minutes to an hour commuters spend listening. Some people with longer trips may consider a subscription, but most just don't spend the time on the road to justify the cost.
Does anybody have figures for the number of factory installed receivers which have dropped the subscription?