Hm, agree and don't agree. Of course, No Way Back is like a plate of salt out of context.
But back when I played, using synths and samplers was unheard of, and if you did the right tricks with them, you certainly could get an amazing reaction.
Case in point: I used to have Adonis on one turntable, other stuff on the other two turntables and one of my session keyboard players messing around on a DX rack behind me.
When he started playing "Heard it Through the Grapevine" chords,with me laying acapella mixes over No Way Back and his keyboard playing....it got an amazing reaction. B)
I look at tracks like that as paint on a palette. Now, I thought, what can I paint tonight?
"I/Love Can't Turn Around" (Hurley's or Farley's, take your pick) is boring? Chip E's "Like This" (admittedly a clone of ESG's "Moody") is boring? "Jack Your Body" is boring? "House National Anthem" (aka Marshall Jefferson) is boring?
It's all context my friend. On a turntable in your living room, or even compared to more recent stuff, they may indeed sound tame.
But I guarantee that if you heard I Can't Turn Around on the floor of the Garage or Warehouse (or Better Days B))) back in 1985, it would have rocked your world as it did to thousands of people a night back then.
Hey "No Way Back" is just a bassline, but I heard DJs do the most amazing things with it, using two more turntables, a few synths and a 909.
Then I heard the KLF live at Land of Oz in 1990 and life changed.... B)
Probably about ten people on/. that understand this post. hehe
Ok, we know S-Video is better: I use it from the HP P3 500 (movie box) I have behind my big screen to the TV's S-Video input.
But buy S-Video cables? Hey they are 'spensive. But there's a great substitute, and you probably have one in your basement right now.
Old-style Mac ADB (printer/modem) cables are perfect as S-Video cables: same pin arrangement. (Sound of 5,000/.'ers running for the box o' old cables in the basement)
Funny that in my house, a PC is connected to a Toshiba projection screen via an old Mac cable. B) Yep, Apple just keeps on giving.
Sigh. This is the music BUSINESS...be clear on that. It's not charity, it's not a font of free stuff just because people have found a way into the vaults that the labels cannot block.
They cannot just "leave you alone" because, for the 400th time, the business model of the music business is that of subsidy.
IOW, 85% of CDs released fail to recoup: to earn back what it cost to make them. Fewer than 5% are profitable. This unmet cost must be shifted onto the backs of other bands, and when one hits, the price to buy it must be raised to cover the loss on the previous 85.
So, to change drastically, as many here simplistically suggest, here's the first step:
In the case of Warner Music..throw 600+ bands out on the street. Violate and void their contracts, pay the staggering legal costs, deal with the hundreds of contract-violation lawsuits, start again with a new business model.
Oh but then, how do they pay their help? They couldn't at first, so, go then they must fire the 25,000 or so people who work for Warner Music.
Ok, now, come up with a way of marketing music that the filesharers like: IOW, give it to them free, or make the cost transparent, such as a MSO (cable company) subscription surcharge. Once Warner makes enough money that way (give it 20 years or so) they can begin to hire back the 25,000 people they had to fire, and start to sign cutting edge bands that might not recoup again.
I suggest that if the labels did what many people think is "a good idea", the outcry over a few hundred thousand pink slips and thousands of newly-unsigned bands might cause a bit more of a ruckus than Warner looking for a CTO to explore distribution alternatives while keeping their bands signed and workers employed.
And please, no "they can distribute on the web!" How many tracks from MP3.com did you buy out of the 67,000 artists there? How many did you even listen to?
Unfortuntely, the whole scenario just isn't as simple as people make out, because they don't know the whole picture. It's easy to suggest massive change for a $40 billion business when you don't know the complete story, is't it?
Priorities dude. What's important to you may not be important to others. You're like early Simpson's episodes where when the Internet was mentioned, Homer says "oh that's just for porn." I suspect you would disagree.
IRC is not all about piracy, and porn.
Think there are more than 100,000 people sitting in Laz-Z-Boys with a Miller, watching NASCAR right now? I suspect a lot more.
How about the people lying in hammocks thinking of how nice that cloud looks?
Or the 100,000 people riding lawn tractors, aerating their lawns?
How about the 100,000 crack dealers on the streets in Manhattan right now?
Yeah the world would be better if they all joined hands, emptied their pockets of cash to five to UNICEF, and sang "Kumbaya." But we live in the real world.
IRC is *community*, live and nasty. It's the best part of the net.
On the weekend of May 9-11 2002 both Spiderman and SWEP2 were released on various IRC channels. The sudden rise in channel populations was staggering: on Dal, #Newest-Movies went from a usual 450ppl to 1300; #VCDvault went from 350 to 1000; all the movie channels on Dalnet, Efnet and the XDCC chans on Criten.net were massively overfilled.
On May 10 2002 Dalnet reached a level of 139000+ concurrent users.See chart
The usual population of all major and minor IRC networks is just under a million. But on that weekend it was almost double. Seeing Efnet hit 100k isn't anything special. There are bigger networks, and events that make 100k users on Efnet seem ordinary.
I can't believe you guys put this yawner on the front page but rejected my PS2 Networked Divx player story, or even worse, my ultra-cool Enron Asset Auction story, which every geek on IRC is slobbering over.
1 can Friskies Sliced Beef in Gravy 1 container Nissin Ramen Noodles 1/4 stick butter (Castrol 10W-30 is a good substitute) 2 tbs flour (or kitty litter, crushed) Mushrooms from peat moss bag in garage (optional) Salt and grit to taste
Directions:
Preheat car engine to 200 degrees. Don't forget to open garage door.
Take baking dish, and lube thoroughly. Pour in Ramen noodles. Put "Flavr-Pak" aside. Spread noodles neatly on bottom of dish. In a separate bowl, mix Friskies and litter/flour together well, but do not beat. Pour mixture over ramen noodles. Top with "Flavr-Pak", salt and floor grit. Slice mushrooms and lay on top for a neat look.
Remove air filter cover on car engine. Place dish on manifold and cover with air filter cover. Idle car for 2-3 hours. If you secure the air filter cover you can speed up cooking time by doing a few errands, or by taking a nice drive in the country.
Remove cover. Savor the fine petro-aroma and scoff it down real fast before your taste buds have a chance to react.
Ever read a recording contract? Let's put it this way, I had the opportunity to read hundreds, maybe thousands, and many (especially new artist contracts) are huge, incomprehensible documents that often are skewed in the direction of the label. No argument there: this is business. Get a lawyer.
But if you are a new band, with (what until lately has been) the ultimate carrot of commerical success dangled in front of you, it's difficult to not rationalize "I can make this work, after all, I just wanna get my soul, my music to my fans."
It's not till later, when the buzz fades, wisdom comes knocking and you realize that even if your fans love you, and you are selling lotsa records, that you are making no money, and subsidizing 85 (not an exaggeration) same-label bands that are not as fortunate/talented as you. It's only then that you think "hm. this might be as fair as I'd like."
True, you should have demanded better terms. But often, if a young band has the choice of signing an extremely rare recording contract (with attached advance check) or continuing to live on Friskies and ramen casserole in their parents' garage, the implications of mechanical royalty disbursment and ownership of masters in 20 years seem unimportant.
Let's try an analogy. You are on a NY street and see a guy selling brand new, shrink wrapped DV camcorders out of his trunk. People are buying six at a time. You say "hell, I'm down with this" and plunk down $75 for a cool new Bluetooth minicam.
You open the box at home and find a house brick and nothing else. You've been scammed. Ok, so you should have checked the contents right there.
I was a record producer for fifteen years and got out of the business because it simply sickened me. Here's an example:
Artists are paid a points royalty on sale of master recordings (while songwriters are paid publishing royalties on the sales of songs). 15% (15 points) is quite a good royalty for a new band, or even one with a hit under their belt.
But does that mean 15 points off all sales? Nope.
It means 15% of 90% of the worldwide gross. Why 90%?
Because in the 1940's (when the label business models we hate so much were established) lacquer records were still sold and many of them broke in shipment. A 10% "breakage allowance" was standard.
It still is. CDs don't break. But the labels, almost without exception, skim 10% off the top for "breakage" before even getting to recoupment. If IBM skimmed 10% off their earnings before issuing dividends the Board would be crucified. But music labels? No problem!
As for recoupment, the example given in the USA Today article is tame. I won't mention the name, but there is a band who has sold millions, for each of their more than five albums. But each time, video costs, recording costs, marketing/promotion costs, plane fares (for huge label entourages), hotel bills (for these same label execs) were all paid for by the band.
Sum total? They sold 35 million records and still OWE the label over 2 million dollars.
The system was devised in the 40's and has no place in the 21st Century. Hilary Rosen can whine all she wants, but the labels are truly in serious trouble due to their religious adherence to these ancient business models.
The magic of Watson uncovered the spammers home address and phone number. Why not call and express your feelings about his business practices? I'm sure he'd love to hear from you. 2AM seems like a good time to get this guys phone ringing. Maybe he should learn what annoyance really is.
Heckel, Jason & Michelle 3255 Cooke St S SALEM, OR 97302 503-391-4689
The whole "set it and forget it" concept is ludicrous, especially if you know Duos. But the concept is cool. Two fixes that make it a lot more appealing (IMVHO)..
1) Just put an ADB port on the side. This is difficult? Then when you want to change pictures (hey there's a thought) or run the new updated JPEGView, you can.
2) Above, plus Localtalk/Ethernet, and let it pull pictures off your G4 in the office.
3) Hack a WiFi card into it, and control it via VNC or Timbuktu.
NOW you're talking!
Or you could always turn it into a fishtank. No one's ever done that.
On my fave Dalnet channel last night, and posted this story as an example of "sticking technology where it isnt needed." I didn't think for a moment to post it to/. - who would ever think this is a good idea?
It sounds like a 1998 business plan: putting complex technology where simple technology (unqiuely-cut pieces of chipboard and either paper or web-based instructions) would do fine. "You're on the World Wide Web? We'd be fools not to fund this!"
But more importantly, this sounds EXPENSIVE. Processors connected to a wireless link on a $35 computer desk? Why would anyone consider adding (what is today) around $500 in technology for a one-time use? What about environmental issues while shipping? Somehow, dropping a pallet of flat paks of embedded-processor dressers sounds like the recipe for $1000 in Customer Service and tech support calls, double that in returns and repairs.
All to get Piece A to say "Screw me to Piece B?" Come on.
Ok, listen carefully. 85% of all released CDs fail to earn back the money it cost to make them. 85%. Got that?
If Boeing had a similar success rate, none of us would ever fly. If Cambell's Soup had a similar tainted can rate, we wouldn't eat much soup.
That's more than 8 out of 10 CDs that LOSE money. But, the labels have such beautiful headquarters, and A&R (new act signing) is expensive. Promotion is even more expensive. So, the big acts have to pay for all the failed acts' costs, plus A&R, promotion, RIAA/NARAS fees, etc, etc.
This isn't new, this is the way the music business has worked for thirty years. The hits pay for the failures: Mariah's platinum paid for hundreds of failed Sony Music acts. This is the way it's been for a long, long time.
But now, the labels are fucked. Their most valuable asset is now their most vulnerable. The result?
Biggest CD of 1982- Thriller - 45 million , Biggest CD of 1986 - True Blue - 18 million
Biggest CD of 2001 -Hybridtheory - 4 million
Starting to see the problem now? It isn't "morals" or Hilary's rants..it's simple business. No big sales, no subsidy for the failing 85%. The labels are STUCK in a business model that will not let them give away music, or try any of the other weird ideas (how about making money off tshirts!) that are thrown around so casually.
So, with this in mind, it becomes a little harder to come up with the "simple answers" so many ACs spew about.
A) The RIAA represents music labels not movie studios. That's the MPAA. B)
B) The two copies out are both pretty bad: one a cam and one a Telesync. Neither are screeners.
C) I got it, I watched it, but I'll still go see it at the cinema. Having the film early didn't do anything to change my desire to experience it in a theater, but once the DVDIVX comes out, no.. I won't buy the DVD and neither will about a half a million other people. They aren't worried about some crappy cam cutting into home video sales: they are worried about the super high quality High Def rips and DVDIVX encodes that are perfectly fine substitutes for DVDs for most people.
It'll still sell but anyone who doesn't think filesharing isn't the death of the music and (eventually) film businesses might do well to study the 1940's business models of the studios and labels, and realize...they're fucked.
3 out of 4 music business employees will be out of work in five years. Remember where you heard it.
Lacquer and celluloid business models don't do well against silicon and glass fiber.
Oh I don't know about that. I could show you a SBC encoded divx at 750kbps that looks pretty damn close to DVD quality to me. Of course that's downloaed.
Streamed...I agree with your spec, though a 300kbit stream is fine for a buck.
The word "robotics" comes from the short story "Runaround" (1942) by Isaac Asimov. Since there are actual businesses focusing on, and degrees in robotics, the Master deserves his props. He invented the Laws of Robotics too, but we're not in need of them as yet.
But wait there's more!
As any Foundation fan knows, the Prime Radiant was displayed in a way that we geeks know all too well, but didn't exist in even the most fertile minds of the forties, when Asimov described it: an overhead (or LCD) projector.
The formulae of the Prime Radiant (which can be argued sounds suspiciously like today's stock market) were seemingly magically "projected upon the walls, covering every inch with small numbers and symbols." While Edison had invented a photographic projector earlier, Asimov's was clearly an "edit while displaying" educational tool, which is precisely why the overhead projector was invented: as an editable display tool. If I was his heir, I'd claim the patent. B)
If I snoop through his books enough, I'll probably find Powerpoint as well. Hah.
"The Macintosh, Computers for rich effete wankers with too much god damn money on their hands."
Or graphic artists who know what the best equipment for the job is. Do you understand how PCs display pixels as opposed to a Mac? No? Go learn. Big difference. That's why ILM and most serious effects houses use Macs (and SGIs)
" Although unlike the M3, they aren't actually better then most other kinds of cars, it's just that the users have deluded themselves into thinking so.'
"There are probably a bunch of PC laptops that are a little faster (and probably have more memory and features) for about $500. No cool metal case, though. "
Now see, you insult what you don't know. How can you insult Macs if you know nothing about hem beyond jumping on the "they suck" bandwagon?
iBooks are plastic. Titanium Powerbooks are titanium.
"You probably paid many hundreds of dollars extra to get that (compared to a PC). However, I was referring more to such triumphs of style over substance as the iMac and Cube. "
A) I don't care what it costs: if you are talking cost effectiveness, by all means buy a PC. They are MUCH cheaper.
So are Chevrolet's. I drive an M3. Do M3's suck because they are more expensive than a Cavalier which will get you to the shopping mall just as effectively as my M3?
B) The Cube makes a KILLER server, which is what I use my 3 of them for. Three really fast Apache servers in the space of one tower, and totally silent. Right box for the right job.
C) The iMac has sold so many millions that insulting it as "style over substance" smacks of sour grapes.
"What kind of rudimentary crippled system requires you to use the mouse AND keyboard at the same time to do things? "
What are you talking about? Use F keys to execute stuff, use a three button mouse for mousing. This is difficult?
"I stand corrected; I did not know that Apple now ships 3 button mice standard with everything; makes them better than PC. "
Oh palease, I'm sure you never added a superior peripheral to a machine. If not, then why all the whining about Macs' unexpandability?
"I'd be 12 hours ahead, since I'd have been able to afford a much faster processor, more memory, with the money saved."
To many of us, (me included) money is not the issue. Cheap people buy neither BMWs nor Macintoshes. If cost is your main concern, head to http://www.ubid.com where you can pick up a gray sheet metal PC for about $200.
Meanwhile I highly doubt you will get out of the office 12 hours faster than someone (me for example) running PS on a dual proc 800 G4 and 1.5GB of RAM.
"Apple is a holdover from the long gone era of Commodore, TI and Atari, and only its slick marketing (buy it because it is blue!) has kept it alive long after is expiration date. "
Uh huh. That's why ILM has like a thousand Macs? That's why a Mac reached a billion IPS before either AMD or Intel? That's why no graphic designer worth his salt uses anything but a G4 to run PS?
Oh, and let's forget about that 4.4ghz G5 that was just tested that'll be in Macs by June. Yeah, nothing more than an 7mhz Amiga, eh? What was the figure...60x the speed of a 2ghz Intel proc?
OS wars are silly. Recognize that PCs, Macs and 'nix boxes all have their uses. I would no sooner use a Mac for IRC than I would use a PC for SGI apps or Maya.
BTW, Apple (like Ferrari) isn't looking for volume, but quality, great industrial design and cachet.
"At this time, in order to use an iPod, you need a very overpriced underpowered Mac computer:"
Um, like a $1000 iBook which will kick the ass of most equivalent Win laptops? Real overpriced.
"you know, from the company that thinks you should pay hundreds of extra dollars for the lack of removable external storage"
I have a DVD RAM in one of my G4s, a DVD-R in another and paid not a farthing extra for them. Imagine that!
"mouse button, etc."
I use a three button mouse. What, you need seven? Try them funny 'F' keys dude.
" Too bad you can't use the hundreds of dollars to buy paper clips to eject disks because Apple was too cheap to put eject buttons on its drivers."
You have buttons on your drivers? Cool! Mine only let my PC access pieces of hardware. How the hell did you code a button?
"Apple: you pay the price to get less power."
Only buffoons use one OS for everything. Feel free to run Photoshop or Maya on your little Celeron, and I'll wave as I head out the door six hours ahead with a creative director doing the funky chicken as he looks at my work.
Slashdot Mirror
LOL, consider me chastised. Guess /.'ers are cooler than I thought.
Hm, agree and don't agree. Of course, No Way Back is like a plate of salt out of context.
But back when I played, using synths and samplers was unheard of, and if you did the right tricks with them, you certainly could get an amazing reaction.
Case in point: I used to have Adonis on one turntable, other stuff on the other two turntables and one of my session keyboard players messing around on a DX rack behind me.
When he started playing "Heard it Through the Grapevine" chords,with me laying acapella mixes over No Way Back and his keyboard playing....it got an amazing reaction. B)
I look at tracks like that as paint on a palette. Now, I thought, what can I paint tonight?
"I/Love Can't Turn Around" (Hurley's or Farley's, take your pick) is boring? Chip E's "Like This" (admittedly a clone of ESG's "Moody") is boring? "Jack Your Body" is boring? "House National Anthem" (aka Marshall Jefferson) is boring?
/. that understand this post. hehe
It's all context my friend. On a turntable in your living room, or even compared to more recent stuff, they may indeed sound tame.
But I guarantee that if you heard I Can't Turn Around on the floor of the Garage or Warehouse (or Better Days B))) back in 1985, it would have rocked your world as it did to thousands of people a night back then.
Hey "No Way Back" is just a bassline, but I heard DJs do the most amazing things with it, using two more turntables, a few synths and a 909.
Then I heard the KLF live at Land of Oz in 1990 and life changed.... B)
Probably about ten people on
Drat, it got modded up, not down. Well, serves me right for being a pussy and posting (what I consider) humor as an AC.
Ah well.
You're right of course, I was mistaken, ADB are kb/mouse cables. The one I'm using now I pulled from an old Duo kb, which was pre AKB II.
Ok, we know S-Video is better: I use it from the HP P3 500 (movie box) I have behind my big screen to the TV's S-Video input.
/.'ers running for the box o' old cables in the basement)
But buy S-Video cables? Hey they are 'spensive. But there's a great substitute, and you probably have one in your basement right now.
Old-style Mac ADB (printer/modem) cables are perfect as S-Video cables: same pin arrangement. (Sound of 5,000
Funny that in my house, a PC is connected to a Toshiba projection screen via an old Mac cable. B) Yep, Apple just keeps on giving.
Sigh. This is the music BUSINESS...be clear on that. It's not charity, it's not a font of free stuff just because people have found a way into the vaults that the labels cannot block.
They cannot just "leave you alone" because, for the 400th time, the business model of the music business is that of subsidy.
IOW, 85% of CDs released fail to recoup: to earn back what it cost to make them. Fewer than 5% are profitable. This unmet cost must be shifted onto the backs of other bands, and when one hits, the price to buy it must be raised to cover the loss on the previous 85.
So, to change drastically, as many here simplistically suggest, here's the first step:
In the case of Warner Music..throw 600+ bands out on the street. Violate and void their contracts, pay the staggering legal costs, deal with the hundreds of contract-violation lawsuits, start again with a new business model.
Oh but then, how do they pay their help? They couldn't at first, so, go then they must fire the 25,000 or so people who work for Warner Music.
Ok, now, come up with a way of marketing music that the filesharers like: IOW, give it to them free, or make the cost transparent, such as a MSO (cable company) subscription surcharge. Once Warner makes enough money that way (give it 20 years or so) they can begin to hire back the 25,000 people they had to fire, and start to sign cutting edge bands that might not recoup again.
I suggest that if the labels did what many people think is "a good idea", the outcry over a few hundred thousand pink slips and thousands of newly-unsigned bands might cause a bit more of a ruckus than Warner looking for a CTO to explore distribution alternatives while keeping their bands signed and workers employed.
And please, no "they can distribute on the web!" How many tracks from MP3.com did you buy out of the 67,000 artists there? How many did you even listen to?
Unfortuntely, the whole scenario just isn't as simple as people make out, because they don't know the whole picture. It's easy to suggest massive change for a $40 billion business when you don't know the complete story, is't it?
Priorities dude. What's important to you may not be important to others. You're like early Simpson's episodes where when the Internet was mentioned, Homer says "oh that's just for porn." I suspect you would disagree.
IRC is not all about piracy, and porn.
Think there are more than 100,000 people sitting in Laz-Z-Boys with a Miller, watching NASCAR right now? I suspect a lot more.
How about the people lying in hammocks thinking of how nice that cloud looks?
Or the 100,000 people riding lawn tractors, aerating their lawns?
How about the 100,000 crack dealers on the streets in Manhattan right now?
Yeah the world would be better if they all joined hands, emptied their pockets of cash to five to UNICEF, and sang "Kumbaya." But we live in the real world.
IRC is *community*, live and nasty. It's the best part of the net.
On the weekend of May 9-11 2002 both Spiderman and SWEP2 were released on various IRC channels. The sudden rise in channel populations was staggering: on Dal, #Newest-Movies went from a usual 450ppl to 1300; #VCDvault went from 350 to 1000; all the movie channels on Dalnet, Efnet and the XDCC chans on Criten.net were massively overfilled.
On May 10 2002 Dalnet reached a level of 139000+ concurrent users.See chart
The usual population of all major and minor IRC networks is just under a million. But on that weekend it was almost double. Seeing Efnet hit 100k isn't anything special. There are bigger networks, and events that make 100k users on Efnet seem ordinary.
I can't believe you guys put this yawner on the front page but rejected my PS2 Networked Divx player story, or even worse, my ultra-cool Enron Asset Auction story, which every geek on IRC is slobbering over.
Uh, two words:
Bail.
Fugitive.
Along with "plummet" these are words I plan to avoid in my life.
Ingredients:
1 can Friskies Sliced Beef in Gravy
1 container Nissin Ramen Noodles
1/4 stick butter (Castrol 10W-30 is a good substitute)
2 tbs flour (or kitty litter, crushed)
Mushrooms from peat moss bag in garage (optional)
Salt and grit to taste
Directions:
Preheat car engine to 200 degrees. Don't forget to open garage door.
Take baking dish, and lube thoroughly.
Pour in Ramen noodles. Put "Flavr-Pak" aside. Spread noodles neatly on bottom of dish.
In a separate bowl, mix Friskies and litter/flour together well, but do not beat. Pour mixture over ramen noodles.
Top with "Flavr-Pak", salt and floor grit. Slice mushrooms and lay on top for a neat look.
Remove air filter cover on car engine. Place dish on manifold and cover with air filter cover. Idle car for 2-3 hours. If you secure the air filter cover you can speed up cooking time by doing a few errands, or by taking a nice drive in the country.
Remove cover. Savor the fine petro-aroma and scoff it down real fast before your taste buds have a chance to react.
Hope this helps.
B)
Ever read a recording contract? Let's put it this way, I had the opportunity to read hundreds, maybe thousands, and many (especially new artist contracts) are huge, incomprehensible documents that often are skewed in the direction of the label. No argument there: this is business. Get a lawyer.
But if you are a new band, with (what until lately has been) the ultimate carrot of commerical success dangled in front of you, it's difficult to not rationalize "I can make this work, after all, I just wanna get my soul, my music to my fans."
It's not till later, when the buzz fades, wisdom comes knocking and you realize that even if your fans love you, and you are selling lotsa records, that you are making no money, and subsidizing 85 (not an exaggeration) same-label bands that are not as fortunate/talented as you. It's only then that you think "hm. this might be as fair as I'd like."
True, you should have demanded better terms. But often, if a young band has the choice of signing an extremely rare recording contract (with attached advance check) or continuing to live on Friskies and ramen casserole in their parents' garage, the implications of mechanical royalty disbursment and ownership of masters in 20 years seem unimportant.
Let's try an analogy. You are on a NY street and see a guy selling brand new, shrink wrapped DV camcorders out of his trunk. People are buying six at a time. You say "hell, I'm down with this" and plunk down $75 for a cool new Bluetooth minicam.
You open the box at home and find a house brick and nothing else. You've been scammed. Ok, so you should have checked the contents right there.
But who committed the crime?
I was a record producer for fifteen years and got out of the business because it simply sickened me. Here's an example:
Artists are paid a points royalty on sale of master recordings (while songwriters are paid publishing royalties on the sales of songs). 15% (15 points) is quite a good royalty for a new band, or even one with a hit under their belt.
But does that mean 15 points off all sales? Nope.
It means 15% of 90% of the worldwide gross. Why 90%?
Because in the 1940's (when the label business models we hate so much were established) lacquer records were still sold and many of them broke in shipment. A 10% "breakage allowance" was standard.
It still is. CDs don't break. But the labels, almost without exception, skim 10% off the top for "breakage" before even getting to recoupment. If IBM skimmed 10% off their earnings before issuing dividends the Board would be crucified. But music labels? No problem!
As for recoupment, the example given in the USA Today article is tame. I won't mention the name, but there is a band who has sold millions, for each of their more than five albums. But each time, video costs, recording costs, marketing/promotion costs, plane fares (for huge label entourages), hotel bills (for these same label execs) were all paid for by the band.
Sum total? They sold 35 million records and still OWE the label over 2 million dollars.
The system was devised in the 40's and has no place in the 21st Century. Hilary Rosen can whine all she wants, but the labels are truly in serious trouble due to their religious adherence to these ancient business models.
No no, there is a much simpler way, and it's amusing as well.
Tape any postage paid reply letter to a brick. I used a cinderblock once, but the Post Office wasn't happy and sent me a letter.
Bricks work well. 200 bricks arriving in one day's mail can cost over $2500 in postage.
Fun!
The magic of Watson uncovered the spammers home address and phone number. Why not call and express your feelings about his business practices? I'm sure he'd love to hear from you. 2AM seems like a good time to get this guys phone ringing. Maybe he should learn what annoyance really is.
Heckel, Jason & Michelle
3255 Cooke St S
SALEM, OR 97302
503-391-4689
The whole "set it and forget it" concept is ludicrous, especially if you know Duos. But the concept is cool. Two fixes that make it a lot more appealing (IMVHO)..
1) Just put an ADB port on the side. This is difficult? Then when you want to change pictures (hey there's a thought) or run the new updated JPEGView, you can.
2) Above, plus Localtalk/Ethernet, and let it pull pictures off your G4 in the office.
3) Hack a WiFi card into it, and control it via VNC or Timbuktu.
NOW you're talking!
Or you could always turn it into a fishtank. No one's ever done that.
On my fave Dalnet channel last night, and posted this story as an example of "sticking technology where it isnt needed." I didn't think for a moment to post it to /. - who would ever think this is a good idea?
It sounds like a 1998 business plan: putting complex technology where simple technology (unqiuely-cut pieces of chipboard and either paper or web-based instructions) would do fine. "You're on the World Wide Web? We'd be fools not to fund this!"
But more importantly, this sounds EXPENSIVE. Processors connected to a wireless link on a $35 computer desk? Why would anyone consider adding (what is today) around $500 in technology for a one-time use? What about environmental issues while shipping? Somehow, dropping a pallet of flat paks of embedded-processor dressers sounds like the recipe for $1000 in Customer Service and tech support calls, double that in returns and repairs.
All to get Piece A to say "Screw me to Piece B?" Come on.
Jeez, you could get a headache.
Ok, listen carefully. 85% of all released CDs fail to earn back the money it cost to make them. 85%. Got that?
If Boeing had a similar success rate, none of us would ever fly. If Cambell's Soup had a similar tainted can rate, we wouldn't eat much soup.
That's more than 8 out of 10 CDs that LOSE money. But, the labels have such beautiful headquarters, and A&R (new act signing) is expensive. Promotion is even more expensive. So, the big acts have to pay for all the failed acts' costs, plus A&R, promotion, RIAA/NARAS fees, etc, etc.
This isn't new, this is the way the music business has worked for thirty years. The hits pay for the failures: Mariah's platinum paid for hundreds of failed Sony Music acts. This is the way it's been for a long, long time.
But now, the labels are fucked. Their most valuable asset is now their most vulnerable. The result?
Biggest CD of 1982- Thriller - 45 million , Biggest CD of 1986 - True Blue - 18 million
Biggest CD of 2001 -Hybridtheory - 4 million
Starting to see the problem now? It isn't "morals" or Hilary's rants..it's simple business. No big sales, no subsidy for the failing 85%. The labels are STUCK in a business model that will not let them give away music, or try any of the other weird ideas (how about making money off tshirts!) that are thrown around so casually.
So, with this in mind, it becomes a little harder to come up with the "simple answers" so many ACs spew about.
Anyone have a rational one?
A) The RIAA represents music labels not movie studios. That's the MPAA. B)
B) The two copies out are both pretty bad: one a cam and one a Telesync. Neither are screeners.
C) I got it, I watched it, but I'll still go see it at the cinema. Having the film early didn't do anything to change my desire to experience it in a theater, but once the DVDIVX comes out, no.. I won't buy the DVD and neither will about a half a million other people. They aren't worried about some crappy cam cutting into home video sales: they are worried about the super high quality High Def rips and DVDIVX encodes that are perfectly fine substitutes for DVDs for most people.
It'll still sell but anyone who doesn't think filesharing isn't the death of the music and (eventually) film businesses might do well to study the 1940's business models of the studios and labels, and realize...they're fucked.
3 out of 4 music business employees will be out of work in five years. Remember where you heard it.
Lacquer and celluloid business models don't do well against silicon and glass fiber.
Oh I don't know about that. I could show you a SBC encoded divx at 750kbps that looks pretty damn close to DVD quality to me. Of course that's downloaed.
Streamed...I agree with your spec, though a 300kbit stream is fine for a buck.
The word "robotics" comes from the short story "Runaround" (1942) by Isaac Asimov. Since there are actual businesses focusing on, and degrees in robotics, the Master deserves his props. He invented the Laws of Robotics too, but we're not in need of them as yet.
But wait there's more!
As any Foundation fan knows, the Prime Radiant was displayed in a way that we geeks know all too well, but didn't exist in even the most fertile minds of the forties, when Asimov described it: an overhead (or LCD) projector.
The formulae of the Prime Radiant (which can be argued sounds suspiciously like today's stock market) were seemingly magically "projected upon the walls, covering every inch with small numbers and symbols." While Edison had invented a photographic projector earlier, Asimov's was clearly an "edit while displaying" educational tool, which is precisely why the overhead projector was invented: as an editable display tool. If I was his heir, I'd claim the patent. B)
If I snoop through his books enough, I'll probably find Powerpoint as well. Hah.
"The Macintosh, Computers for rich effete wankers with too much god damn money on their hands."
Or graphic artists who know what the best equipment for the job is. Do you understand how PCs display pixels as opposed to a Mac? No? Go learn. Big difference. That's why ILM and most serious effects houses use Macs (and SGIs)
" Although unlike the M3, they aren't actually better then most other kinds of cars, it's just that the users have deluded themselves into thinking so.'
Well, at least you have good taste in cars. B)
"There are probably a bunch of PC laptops that are a little faster (and probably have more memory and features) for about $500. No cool metal case, though. "
Now see, you insult what you don't know. How can you insult Macs if you know nothing about hem beyond jumping on the "they suck" bandwagon?
iBooks are plastic. Titanium Powerbooks are titanium.
"You probably paid many hundreds of dollars extra to get that (compared to a PC). However, I was referring more to such triumphs of style over substance as the iMac and Cube. "
A) I don't care what it costs: if you are talking cost effectiveness, by all means buy a PC. They are MUCH cheaper.
So are Chevrolet's. I drive an M3. Do M3's suck because they are more expensive than a Cavalier which will get you to the shopping mall just as effectively as my M3?
B) The Cube makes a KILLER server, which is what I use my 3 of them for. Three really fast Apache servers in the space of one tower, and totally silent. Right box for the right job.
C) The iMac has sold so many millions that insulting it as "style over substance" smacks of sour grapes.
"What kind of rudimentary crippled system requires you to use the mouse AND keyboard at the same time to do things? "
What are you talking about? Use F keys to execute stuff, use a three button mouse for mousing. This is difficult?
"I stand corrected; I did not know that Apple now ships 3 button mice standard with everything; makes them better than PC. "
Oh palease, I'm sure you never added a superior peripheral to a machine. If not, then why all the whining about Macs' unexpandability?
"I'd be 12 hours ahead, since I'd have been able to afford a much faster processor, more memory, with the money saved."
To many of us, (me included) money is not the issue. Cheap people buy neither BMWs nor Macintoshes. If cost is your main concern, head to http://www.ubid.com where you can pick up a gray sheet metal PC for about $200.
Meanwhile I highly doubt you will get out of the office 12 hours faster than someone (me for example) running PS on a dual proc 800 G4 and 1.5GB of RAM.
"Apple is a holdover from the long gone era of Commodore, TI and Atari, and only its slick marketing (buy it because it is blue!) has kept it alive long after is expiration date. "
Uh huh. That's why ILM has like a thousand Macs? That's why a Mac reached a billion IPS before either AMD or Intel? That's why no graphic designer worth his salt uses anything but a G4 to run PS?
Oh, and let's forget about that 4.4ghz G5 that was just tested that'll be in Macs by June. Yeah, nothing more than an 7mhz Amiga, eh? What was the figure...60x the speed of a 2ghz Intel proc?
OS wars are silly. Recognize that PCs, Macs and 'nix boxes all have their uses. I would no sooner use a Mac for IRC than I would use a PC for SGI apps or Maya.
BTW, Apple (like Ferrari) isn't looking for volume, but quality, great industrial design and cachet.
Use a PC. Buy a Ford. Yawn.
"At this time, in order to use an iPod, you need a very overpriced underpowered Mac computer:"
Um, like a $1000 iBook which will kick the ass of most equivalent Win laptops? Real overpriced.
"you know, from the company that thinks you should pay hundreds of extra dollars for the lack of removable external storage"
I have a DVD RAM in one of my G4s, a DVD-R in another and paid not a farthing extra for them. Imagine that!
"mouse button, etc."
I use a three button mouse. What, you need seven? Try them funny 'F' keys dude.
" Too bad you can't use the hundreds of dollars to buy paper clips to eject disks because Apple was too cheap to put eject buttons on its drivers."
You have buttons on your drivers? Cool! Mine only let my PC access pieces of hardware. How the hell did you code a button?
"Apple: you pay the price to get less power."
Only buffoons use one OS for everything. Feel free to run Photoshop or Maya on your little Celeron, and I'll wave as I head out the door six hours ahead with a creative director doing the funky chicken as he looks at my work.