What difference does it make? Even if people boycott them and stop watching their films, they'll still blame piracy and lobby for a law that makes everyone pay them a tax!
And they will get that accepted and signed as well.
It's been done before you know. It'll happen again.
Unless, of course, those walls have security cameras mounted on them.
With everything, there are pros and cons. Sometimes the pros outweight the cons, sometimes it's the other way around. And it"'s certainly not the same for everyone.
This is very informative, thanks. However, I fail to see how it's Apple's fault, even partially. Moreover, I find it hard to believe the process you describe applies only to iPhones. I'm sure a shitload of phones did the same before the iPhone arrived and once again the problem comes from the fact that iPhone users did consume lots of bandwidth (and so lots of bandwidth in the control channel) and iPhone users were very numerous.
Actually, your last paragraph seems to contradict your first:
Well, the dropped call/AT&T sucky thing really did have the iPhone to blame partially
Means the iPhone is to blame partially
AT&T was not prepared for the iPhone
Seems like AT&T is the one to take 100% of the blame. They worked very closely with Apple for this and should have known what they were getting into.
The iPhone is at fault on two aspects: 1. It made internet on a phone usable, so people used it. 2. It was successful so lots of people had one.
By DVD I meant DVD, Blu-Ray and HD-DVD, as well as OTA and Cable streaming. So no, Blu-Ray is cracked and well cracked - and it has been for a long time. The DRM may stay uncracked - I don't know - but there are other ways to dump the stream of data while a software player is playing, so while it is uncracked, it is becoming irrelevant.
Streaming won't solve a thing either. You need software to decode the stream, so it's hackable in no time. Moreover, machines are now powerful enough to to screen grabbing and x264 encoding on the fly, so even if the software is "uncrackable" the stream will be ripped and/or reencoded by the time the broadcast/streaming is done.
Really, this is all pointless. The concept of copyright itself is dissolving since it is based on the assumption that the information flow can be controlled. With the internet, this is no longer true, so enforcing copyright is becoming nothing but a witch hunt. The poor bums new to the game will fall in flames, but the rest of the world will freely share content. And that's not about to change.
That's not the point though. Companies don't care that much if it's 100% unhackable as long as it protects the content long enough (so that most sales are done) or that it hinders mass copying, as with this case. Whatever you described in your post seems like a huge effort, ever for me (and I'm a geek). It's completely out of reach from masses. That is the point.
And our point is that DRM doesn't even do that. Not even slightly. As soon as the DVD is out, the cat is out of the bag and hours later you find rips on BitTorrent.
The fact that the DRM hinders 99.99% of the people from copying MEANS ABSOLUTELY NOTHING, because noone pirates this way anymore! All pirates go to the internet to download their stuff, where the 0.01% that were able to rip did upload their stuff. Even only one person circumventing the protection is enough to make is utterly useless.
The music industry seems to have gotten the point. Next will be the movie industry, TV, eBooks. It's just a matter of time.
In the meantime their model sucks and they lose more and more faithful customers by screwing them with complex measures that hinder them just enough to make them view the content producers as the bunch of scumbags they are.
Just one question, since they collect "piracy tax" on storage media doesn't that mean that it's ok to pirate everything, since you've already been taxed in advance for exactly that?
No, it's just to collect more taxes (and no artists will ever see a coin out of it, make no mistake). You're still a thief if you copy even while paying the piracy tax.
Hell, I bet in a while you'll be called a pirate just for having bought a blank CD. After all, if you pay the "piracy tax" you must be a pirate, right?
I have long opposed extreme copyright terms and bad copyright law, and supported the public domain and creative commons licensing - but I have also supported paying artists for such work as they have copyrighted. I have always tried to buy a legitimate copy of music I like, where it has been available, and encouraged others to buy legitimate recordings.
But this is simply too much. If the copyright organizations are going to insist on collecting money for works they do not own nor represent, then they can go to hell. Really, this is just extortion. They deserve no more sympathy.
Because putting rootkits on audio CDs was deserving of sympathy? Or maybe suing Grandma to the ground? Or fucking with artists so badly they can barely afford to eat while their recording label earns millions out of them? Or being granted full power on how users must consume their media AND full power on how device builders should build their devices? Or buying a fucking law requiring a website to be offline on a simple takedown notice with no proof, due diligence or any kind justice concept incolved?
Really, I'm glad you woke up, but jeez! It was about time.
All the answers to your questions are in my original post. I'll explain with more details.
Yes, in any house there are AT LEAST 4 DSL providers available, often about 6-7. That's excluding the most rural areas, but a solid 97% of the population is in this case.
The local loop (copper wires coming to your house) are the property of the government. They used to be for the sole use of France Telecom when France Telecom was a government agency. Now that is is private, they still operate the local loop, but that have to grant access to anyone that asks for it and the price is fixed by the government.
So no, it's nothing like Heinz. And there is only one cable coming to your house, unless you ask for more or you have cable. Cable is not very developed and is really present only in most urban areas.
I live in France, so my monthly costs are €30/month.
in 2004 I lived in the SF bay area (CA) and I paid $50/month for 512k/128k, with no phone or TV whatsoever. That said, hard to get HD channels through a 512 line anyways.
Eventually there will be some wireless technology that provides TV service
There has been, for decades.
That said, government granted monopolies is what cripples the game in the US. In France, virtually EVERY DSL provider provides 100+ channels. And you have lots of DSL companies. Plus cable (one player) and Satellite (2 players)
In France, the local loop was paid off by the government, so they took it back from France Telecom and rent it to anyone willing. Result: 100+ channels, 20mbps DSL, free phone for €30/month.
Why? Because the market has competition. There are 4 major players in the DSL business and at least 6 small ones.
Same argument as before the iPad. Everyone denied it was possible for Apple to cater for different screen sizes, and yet, the iPad is a success.
The difference is that they release FAR less products than their competitors. In part to make it simpler for developers. In part to avoid dilution of their marketing efforts. In part to make it simple for users to choose.
If they feel they need another tablet, they'll release it, don't worry.
Plus you have Archos selling tablets at the same price and making money out of them. Proof is, it's their only business model. Amazon is not selling at a loss.
The entire country is doing it. As soon as someone loses a job, the government start paying. Granted, this is limited in time, but still 18 month!
When there is nothing due left, anyone can apply for the RMI, which is basically the government giving away money so that people can eat. No need to work, no need to be looking for a job, nothing is due back.
My friend sent me an email yesterday: "I'm about to go into a meeting where Adobe is laying off my whole team." He had worked on Flash for many years since Macromedia owned the project. After the meeting he said, "Just got out of meeting, I have a job until April 20, paid thru May 15, decent severance, but job will end."
So what should you do? Keep old and irrelevant products alive so that everyone can eat? We're doing that in France, and look where it got us. We're gonna have to change, but people got used to being paid doing nothing, so that's going to end pretty badly.
The end of a product is always sad for those that were deeply invested in it. But that's life.
Slashdot Mirror
What difference does it make? Even if people boycott them and stop watching their films, they'll still blame piracy and lobby for a law that makes everyone pay them a tax!
And they will get that accepted and signed as well.
It's been done before you know. It'll happen again.
Unless, of course, those walls have security cameras mounted on them.
With everything, there are pros and cons. Sometimes the pros outweight the cons, sometimes it's the other way around. And it"'s certainly not the same for everyone.
What was your point again?
So you claim the iPhone was the first phone to exhibit this behavior?
Because if not, your point is moot.
With a walled garden, Apple keeps the carriers out too.
Yes, walled gardens have pros and cons. This is definitely a pro in my book.
Tell that to my Mom. You're in for a rough ride, I'll tell you that much!
This is very informative, thanks. However, I fail to see how it's Apple's fault, even partially. Moreover, I find it hard to believe the process you describe applies only to iPhones. I'm sure a shitload of phones did the same before the iPhone arrived and once again the problem comes from the fact that iPhone users did consume lots of bandwidth (and so lots of bandwidth in the control channel) and iPhone users were very numerous.
Actually, your last paragraph seems to contradict your first:
Well, the dropped call/AT&T sucky thing really did have the iPhone to blame partially
Means the iPhone is to blame partially
AT&T was not prepared for the iPhone
Seems like AT&T is the one to take 100% of the blame. They worked very closely with Apple for this and should have known what they were getting into.
The iPhone is at fault on two aspects:
1. It made internet on a phone usable, so people used it.
2. It was successful so lots of people had one.
By DVD I meant DVD, Blu-Ray and HD-DVD, as well as OTA and Cable streaming. So no, Blu-Ray is cracked and well cracked - and it has been for a long time. The DRM may stay uncracked - I don't know - but there are other ways to dump the stream of data while a software player is playing, so while it is uncracked, it is becoming irrelevant.
Streaming won't solve a thing either. You need software to decode the stream, so it's hackable in no time. Moreover, machines are now powerful enough to to screen grabbing and x264 encoding on the fly, so even if the software is "uncrackable" the stream will be ripped and/or reencoded by the time the broadcast/streaming is done.
Really, this is all pointless. The concept of copyright itself is dissolving since it is based on the assumption that the information flow can be controlled. With the internet, this is no longer true, so enforcing copyright is becoming nothing but a witch hunt. The poor bums new to the game will fall in flames, but the rest of the world will freely share content. And that's not about to change.
That's not the point though. Companies don't care that much if it's 100% unhackable as long as it protects the content long enough (so that most sales are done) or that it hinders mass copying, as with this case. Whatever you described in your post seems like a huge effort, ever for me (and I'm a geek). It's completely out of reach from masses. That is the point.
And our point is that DRM doesn't even do that. Not even slightly. As soon as the DVD is out, the cat is out of the bag and hours later you find rips on BitTorrent.
The fact that the DRM hinders 99.99% of the people from copying MEANS ABSOLUTELY NOTHING, because noone pirates this way anymore! All pirates go to the internet to download their stuff, where the 0.01% that were able to rip did upload their stuff. Even only one person circumventing the protection is enough to make is utterly useless.
The music industry seems to have gotten the point. Next will be the movie industry, TV, eBooks. It's just a matter of time.
In the meantime their model sucks and they lose more and more faithful customers by screwing them with complex measures that hinder them just enough to make them view the content producers as the bunch of scumbags they are.
Illegal music! Now, that's a totalitarian regime !
Just one question, since they collect "piracy tax" on storage media doesn't that mean that it's ok to pirate everything, since you've already been taxed in advance for exactly that?
No, it's just to collect more taxes (and no artists will ever see a coin out of it, make no mistake). You're still a thief if you copy even while paying the piracy tax.
Hell, I bet in a while you'll be called a pirate just for having bought a blank CD. After all, if you pay the "piracy tax" you must be a pirate, right?
I have long opposed extreme copyright terms and bad copyright law, and supported the public domain and creative commons licensing - but I have also supported paying artists for such work as they have copyrighted. I have always tried to buy a legitimate copy of music I like, where it has been available, and encouraged others to buy legitimate recordings.
But this is simply too much. If the copyright organizations are going to insist on collecting money for works they do not own nor represent, then they can go to hell. Really, this is just extortion. They deserve no more sympathy.
Because putting rootkits on audio CDs was deserving of sympathy? Or maybe suing Grandma to the ground? Or fucking with artists so badly they can barely afford to eat while their recording label earns millions out of them? Or being granted full power on how users must consume their media AND full power on how device builders should build their devices? Or buying a fucking law requiring a website to be offline on a simple takedown notice with no proof, due diligence or any kind justice concept incolved?
Really, I'm glad you woke up, but jeez! It was about time.
Oh my! And I don't have mod points...
MOD PARENT FUNNY, not Offtopic !
The threat of litigation is not stopping anyone from downloading
There, fixed it for you.
All the answers to your questions are in my original post. I'll explain with more details.
Yes, in any house there are AT LEAST 4 DSL providers available, often about 6-7. That's excluding the most rural areas, but a solid 97% of the population is in this case.
The local loop (copper wires coming to your house) are the property of the government. They used to be for the sole use of France Telecom when France Telecom was a government agency. Now that is is private, they still operate the local loop, but that have to grant access to anyone that asks for it and the price is fixed by the government.
So no, it's nothing like Heinz. And there is only one cable coming to your house, unless you ask for more or you have cable. Cable is not very developed and is really present only in most urban areas.
I live in France, so my monthly costs are €30/month.
in 2004 I lived in the SF bay area (CA) and I paid $50/month for 512k/128k, with no phone or TV whatsoever. That said, hard to get HD channels through a 512 line anyways.
Just wait for Apple's television, which will be met by the usual derision from Apple critics on Slashdot followed by success in the market anyway.
Until the Apple TV can receive TV, I wouldn't bet on it though.
A pain, really. I mean, it was the perfect setup.
Really, I've been angry at Google for month for that, and I still am.
Eventually there will be some wireless technology that provides TV service
There has been, for decades.
That said, government granted monopolies is what cripples the game in the US. In France, virtually EVERY DSL provider provides 100+ channels. And you have lots of DSL companies. Plus cable (one player) and Satellite (2 players)
In France, the local loop was paid off by the government, so they took it back from France Telecom and rent it to anyone willing. Result: 100+ channels, 20mbps DSL, free phone for €30/month.
Why? Because the market has competition. There are 4 major players in the DSL business and at least 6 small ones.
Same argument as before the iPad. Everyone denied it was possible for Apple to cater for different screen sizes, and yet, the iPad is a success.
The difference is that they release FAR less products than their competitors. In part to make it simpler for developers. In part to avoid dilution of their marketing efforts. In part to make it simple for users to choose.
If they feel they need another tablet, they'll release it, don't worry.
Plus you have Archos selling tablets at the same price and making money out of them. Proof is, it's their only business model.
Amazon is not selling at a loss.
Whatever makes you think she is a good manager?
What makes you think the GP thinks she is a good manager?
Minitel is going to stop soon IIRC. Checked, June 2012.
So yes, it still exists.
The entire country is doing it. As soon as someone loses a job, the government start paying. Granted, this is limited in time, but still 18 month!
When there is nothing due left, anyone can apply for the RMI, which is basically the government giving away money so that people can eat. No need to work, no need to be looking for a job, nothing is due back.
My friend sent me an email yesterday: "I'm about to go into a meeting where Adobe is laying off my whole team." He had worked on Flash for many years since Macromedia owned the project. After the meeting he said, "Just got out of meeting, I have a job until April 20, paid thru May 15, decent severance, but job will end."
So what should you do? Keep old and irrelevant products alive so that everyone can eat?
We're doing that in France, and look where it got us. We're gonna have to change, but people got used to being paid doing nothing, so that's going to end pretty badly.
The end of a product is always sad for those that were deeply invested in it. But that's life.
Maybe you're using a system that is *actively* supported, not a system that they threw some crap at just to mention that they are multi-platform.