I accept the difference between the fruit and the labor itself. I also think that it is ok for a creator to ask money for his fruit or not; or not to mind spreading it without compensation or not wanting that to happen without income.
I think that where can can both agree is that a more balanced copyright system would be welcome, but in my opinion that is not the same as "everything that is technically possible, is allowed".
Regarding my producer friend, I can assure you that it is not the home recordings or the global scale that halved his income. I will not make the foolish music label argument that every free download is a lost sale, but definitely some of them are.
The personal argument was meant as an illustration, my producer friend's example is more telling. One more example is another friend, a midlist author of YA novels. She makes some money with her books, being translated in a number of languages, it is not enough for her household but essential. She doesn't like the idea of people distributing her work on the internet without her getting compensation. Some writers are happy to be read at all and that is fine by me, I also think that it is her right to expect income if people read her books.
I don't think that your buggy whip maker/niche argument applies here. Because you wouldn't want them even if free. Literature, film and music are not obsolete niche crafts. It's only that technology makes the spreading of it easier.
OK, I didn't use the proper word, apologies. And, I do agree with everything that you state (except the "ass" part, I prefer to stay out of insult mode). However, I also think that it is correct to reward creators for their works, instead of just grabbing it because you can. Do you really think that this is an idiotic notion?
Would you be happy, in the name of free access to information, if your own salary would be halved because some people would simply grab the fruit of your work (assuming that you didn't GPL it etc)? I personally know a music producer who had an average income by local standards. With the rise in filesharing his income is in essence halved, and he also experiences much smaller budgets (meaning time mainly) to work on a recording to get it just right. Is this fair in the name of information access? I suspect that he doesn't think so.
Yes, I agree that sharing information is generally a good thing. However it is not like most books or music or movies are not available or priced out of range. I have no problem with paying a reasonable sum for my entertainment, rewarding the creators.
Re: freeloading... it is just a word, you get my gist.
Actually, while of course contrary to the opinion of many slashdotters, this was not meant as flame bait.
On a general news site this would not have been modded as such.
> The current system clearly does not provide a net public benefit, so there is no reason to respect those laws
Well, "dura lex set lex" - should you ever be so unlucky to be fined for downloading say the new Iron Man movie, then I suggest that you find a stronger legal defense than that.
There is something to be said for your statement "the current system clearly does not provide a net public benefit", but simply freeloading the result of someone's hard work because you can, is not the answer either. I find it unethical. I don't find it wrong to pay a reasonable price for music, movies or books that interest me. And for those that I don't want to pay the price for, well then I don't download them.
Oh I ve seen plenty of car analogies, studies etc.
My point is, if you don't want to pay for something, then don't just grab it because you can.I think that is unethical.
Pecknold has a point. There are however plenty of artists who do not freeload the work of others, I know a few myself, they don't see it as a problem to pay for it when they like it, and none of them are amused if their music is being freeloaded. I don't see an issue with blocking sites or at least pages with those links.
Yeah right, it is soo typical of this entitlement generation to find excuses like that.
If you accept that the material itself can be illegally acquired by simply clicking the links, what is the issue with taking the site down?
Yeah right, it is soo typical if this entitlement generation to find excuses like that.
If you accept that the material itself can be illegally acquired by simply clicking the links, what is the issue with taking the site down?
> Any site that has a link taken away from it by any authority should be linked to by everyone in retaliation for the censorship.
Do you equal taking down a site that is an obvious ali baba cave of illegal material with censorship?
Please don't give me the excuse that, if you look long and hard enough you may find a handful of legal torrents on the site.
So, the software is underwhelming.
However I can see it being very useful to have a good number of my most important reference docs and presentations, and a few basic spreadsheets always with me. In fact that is why I mainly use Apple's iWork software on the iPad. Very useful. And I can imagine that in the case of the Microsoft written suite, the file compatibility should be excellent (iWork's import of Powerpoint presentations sometimes has a few rough edges)
Create your own Kickstarter project, there is the technical realisation (perhaps team up), the marketing, the budgeting, all the good things to be knowledgeable about.
It is a small saving on one computer, but take all the computers with IE in the world and it becomes a lot of megawatts.
It wouldn't be a bad idea from an ecological viewpoint if this kind of efficiency became more important.
The linked computer looks very homebrew. It is of course still a nice diy project. (in diy the construction fun is as important as the end result, it is not really important that you can buy a cheap laptop).
More attractive, I think, would be reusing an old all-in-one MacIntosh case for this. that would be really a kinda portable all in one computer. Seamlessly attaching a correctly sized lcd screen may be difficult, but that is the fun of diy.
Perhaps this has been done already?
Jack Vance: I read around 10 of his books as an SF obsessed teenager. A particular personal favourite was the Tschai cycle.
But, that's already 30 years ago. I wonder how his stories hold up these days? I find much classic SF too simple nowadays.
I currently live in South East Asia (born European), and the economic dynamism is remarkable. It is a good idea to prepare young people to "the century of Asia". I wish that I had started learning Mandarin and Japanese earlier in life.
Of course English is the primary language in Australia.
But your comment is in fact what is backwards. The modern world conducts more and more business in Chinese. It is a good idea to have knowledge of Chinese.
The man inspired so many young viewers when these classic movies came out, including a number of kids who later became prominent in the movie industry themselves.
True, here on slashdot some still do. While the rest of the world has been massively adopting and enjoying iPads and similar Android devices.
Who's afraid of change there?
Slashdot Mirror
I accept the difference between the fruit and the labor itself. I also think that it is ok for a creator to ask money for his fruit or not; or not to mind spreading it without compensation or not wanting that to happen without income. I think that where can can both agree is that a more balanced copyright system would be welcome, but in my opinion that is not the same as "everything that is technically possible, is allowed". Regarding my producer friend, I can assure you that it is not the home recordings or the global scale that halved his income. I will not make the foolish music label argument that every free download is a lost sale, but definitely some of them are. The personal argument was meant as an illustration, my producer friend's example is more telling. One more example is another friend, a midlist author of YA novels. She makes some money with her books, being translated in a number of languages, it is not enough for her household but essential. She doesn't like the idea of people distributing her work on the internet without her getting compensation. Some writers are happy to be read at all and that is fine by me, I also think that it is her right to expect income if people read her books. I don't think that your buggy whip maker/niche argument applies here. Because you wouldn't want them even if free. Literature, film and music are not obsolete niche crafts. It's only that technology makes the spreading of it easier.
I know that some musicians don't mind, and some do mind. I also think that when you create something, it is your right to ask money for it or not.
OK, I didn't use the proper word, apologies. And, I do agree with everything that you state (except the "ass" part, I prefer to stay out of insult mode). However, I also think that it is correct to reward creators for their works, instead of just grabbing it because you can. Do you really think that this is an idiotic notion? Would you be happy, in the name of free access to information, if your own salary would be halved because some people would simply grab the fruit of your work (assuming that you didn't GPL it etc)? I personally know a music producer who had an average income by local standards. With the rise in filesharing his income is in essence halved, and he also experiences much smaller budgets (meaning time mainly) to work on a recording to get it just right. Is this fair in the name of information access? I suspect that he doesn't think so.
Yes, I agree that sharing information is generally a good thing. However it is not like most books or music or movies are not available or priced out of range. I have no problem with paying a reasonable sum for my entertainment, rewarding the creators. Re: freeloading... it is just a word, you get my gist.
Touché. But my feet smell like the cheese.
Actually, while of course contrary to the opinion of many slashdotters, this was not meant as flame bait. On a general news site this would not have been modded as such.
> The current system clearly does not provide a net public benefit, so there is no reason to respect those laws Well, "dura lex set lex" - should you ever be so unlucky to be fined for downloading say the new Iron Man movie, then I suggest that you find a stronger legal defense than that. There is something to be said for your statement "the current system clearly does not provide a net public benefit", but simply freeloading the result of someone's hard work because you can, is not the answer either. I find it unethical. I don't find it wrong to pay a reasonable price for music, movies or books that interest me. And for those that I don't want to pay the price for, well then I don't download them.
Oh I ve seen plenty of car analogies, studies etc. My point is, if you don't want to pay for something, then don't just grab it because you can.I think that is unethical. Pecknold has a point. There are however plenty of artists who do not freeload the work of others, I know a few myself, they don't see it as a problem to pay for it when they like it, and none of them are amused if their music is being freeloaded. I don't see an issue with blocking sites or at least pages with those links.
Yeah right, it is soo typical of this entitlement generation to find excuses like that. If you accept that the material itself can be illegally acquired by simply clicking the links, what is the issue with taking the site down?
Yeah right, it is soo typical if this entitlement generation to find excuses like that. If you accept that the material itself can be illegally acquired by simply clicking the links, what is the issue with taking the site down?
> Any site that has a link taken away from it by any authority should be linked to by everyone in retaliation for the censorship. Do you equal taking down a site that is an obvious ali baba cave of illegal material with censorship? Please don't give me the excuse that, if you look long and hard enough you may find a handful of legal torrents on the site.
So, the software is underwhelming. However I can see it being very useful to have a good number of my most important reference docs and presentations, and a few basic spreadsheets always with me. In fact that is why I mainly use Apple's iWork software on the iPad. Very useful. And I can imagine that in the case of the Microsoft written suite, the file compatibility should be excellent (iWork's import of Powerpoint presentations sometimes has a few rough edges)
Create your own Kickstarter project, there is the technical realisation (perhaps team up), the marketing, the budgeting, all the good things to be knowledgeable about.
It is a small saving on one computer, but take all the computers with IE in the world and it becomes a lot of megawatts. It wouldn't be a bad idea from an ecological viewpoint if this kind of efficiency became more important.
The linked computer looks very homebrew. It is of course still a nice diy project. (in diy the construction fun is as important as the end result, it is not really important that you can buy a cheap laptop). More attractive, I think, would be reusing an old all-in-one MacIntosh case for this. that would be really a kinda portable all in one computer. Seamlessly attaching a correctly sized lcd screen may be difficult, but that is the fun of diy. Perhaps this has been done already?
Jack Vance: I read around 10 of his books as an SF obsessed teenager. A particular personal favourite was the Tschai cycle. But, that's already 30 years ago. I wonder how his stories hold up these days? I find much classic SF too simple nowadays.
It is indeed a piece of modern history, it would be good on display in a museum of the 20th century (along a few other pioneering machines).
I currently live in South East Asia (born European), and the economic dynamism is remarkable. It is a good idea to prepare young people to "the century of Asia". I wish that I had started learning Mandarin and Japanese earlier in life.
Of course English is the primary language in Australia. But your comment is in fact what is backwards. The modern world conducts more and more business in Chinese. It is a good idea to have knowledge of Chinese.
The man inspired so many young viewers when these classic movies came out, including a number of kids who later became prominent in the movie industry themselves.
This is indeed very good advice. I was in a similar situation a few years ago, we spent a lot of time getting the financial model right.
Conversely, the reasons for your derision have yet to be proven as well. It is obvious that these devices are not a fad anymore.
That is not the correct summary and you probably know it. Yes, these days I work in marketing.
True, here on slashdot some still do. While the rest of the world has been massively adopting and enjoying iPads and similar Android devices. Who's afraid of change there?
Considering the initial mockery of for example the iPad here on Slashdot, I would say that this condition afflicts this group as much as others.