Frankly, a global law on copyright is the only way to protect the interests of the artists. One that everyone agrees to, one that is enforced, one that is fair regardless of creed, colour or country.
What many people seem to be forgetting is that the DMCA is actually just U.S. version of the *global* WIPO (World Intellectual Property Organization) Copyright treaty, which was drafted and approved in even less public display and public scrutiny than the approval of the DMCA in the U.S. Congress.
The WIPO Copyright treaty
was drafted first in December of 1996, and then signed onto by the U.S. delegation and other international representatives. The DMCA passing Congress was really a ratification and implementation of this *global* treaty. Your sentiment is correct in that we need a new, more balanced international copyright law. However, we unfortunately already have a international copyright law in both the Berne convention on copyrights and its extension, the WIPO Copyright Treaty.
Unfortunately, the new international laws as defined by the WIPO Copyright Treaty were very poorly constructed, shifting power overwhelmingly to the "content providers" and corporations, against the general public and against even the original creators of content/intellectual property.
As an example, take compilations of data (databases). Besides extending existing copyrights into their digital equivalents,
the WIPO Copyright Treaty
also creates a new class of copyrightable material: the right to copyright databases (see Article 5). Companies may now copyright databases, even if that data is derived from content/data which is either public domain or that other people created and copyrighted.
Alas, this trend towards legalizing unlimited corporate greed has already extended past the MPAA and RIAA in the United States and into the global domain, taking away from the public good and the original rights of the artist.
Okay, sysgod, explain to me how taking up hours of your time to hunt down, analyze, and process the deletion/restoration of these files is economically more cost-effective and profitable over implementing a quota-based file system to SYSTEMATICALLY prevent 2% of the users from using 10% of your precious filespace?
If it happens to be something I am interested in, I perform a quick copy and send the files to my workstation.
And how is this not violating copyright law as the user has just done?
Interesting articles. Is N-Cube a response to Microsoft's X-Box, only cooler? Did Microsoft not want to invoke images of the Borg with its antitrust case on appeal?;) Oh, there's another interesting article by Robert X. Cringely on Microsoft's X-Box.
While I think that the editorial author makes a few interesting arguments about the N-Cube, and is an admitted Nintendo supporter, he misses or misinterprets several crucial points in Sony's strategy.
1) The author cites that 2,200,000 PS2 units have sold, but only 4,000,000 software items have been sold. He cites the large number of PS2 units have sold primarily as a DVD player.
Be that as it may, an installed base is an installed base. I have sincere doubts as to whether Nintendo can create such a large demand for its unit, especially in the light that its N-Cube will not play back DVD's. I know many people who are only lately adopting DVD players, and Sony was wise to catch this wave. I'm precisely in that demographic, both fascinated by PlayStation 2 as a gaming console and interested in the console, but immediately converted to a buyer since I want a DVD player among my TV options as well.
2) The author cites that several longtime PlayStation developers are having problems with the learning curve that PS2's Emotion Engine/Graphics Synth computing platform presents them, requiring more programmers and programming skill to eke out the performance they want.
The thing is, I have no doubts whatsoever that the N-Cube will present a similar learning curve to developers for it as well. The virtue of having larger V-RAM than PS2 has, which some current developers have cited as a problem, won't reduce the learning curve for the platform drastically.
3) He cites that Nintendo has admitted that it will not be an internet appliance device, though it will support internet connectivity. He says that by the N-Cube not trying to be A) a DVD player, or B) an internet device, hence its focus will be only on games.
He misses the ENTIRE point of the killer app of modern gaming: MULTIPLAYER capability. Sony's strategy is hinging on A) urging developers to assume an internet connection and B) creating an infrastructure to support the consoles. Sega may have caught onto that concept first, but Sony has wholeheartedly adopted the same view that internet multiplay will be an essential component of newer games.
It's what PC gamers have come to learn over the past few years: a game may be good by itself, but it reaches a whole new level of compelling or interesting gameplay when you have a human opponent or ally. Sony and Sega are wise to cash in on this lesson from the PC, especially because homes are increasingly connected to the internet and those connected homes contain computer network at a increasingly brisk clip.
The author of the editorial may be correct on the certain advantages that the N-Cube enjoys, and my take on the gaming industry may turn out to be wrong. If that's the case, then the renewed competition in the console gaming field will be certainly welcome. Who knows, Sony, Sega, and Nintendo may have to unite to successfully defend their turf from wily Microsoft. Microsoft may often not get the first or second forays into a field right, but they learn from their mistakes, and take no prisoners.
It certainly will prove to be an interesting story.
Is there actually _any_ american animation of this type that doesn't suck? Lets see, there's Daria and South Park, but they're really something else.. i guess there's always Aeon Flux/Power Puff Girls/Space ghost or whatever.. i'm sure there's something good i'm missing..
Umm, if you're willing to include the improving-as-we-speak genre of completely computer-generated animation, the relatively new "Starship Troopers" cartoon on the Sci-Fi channel is pretty heavy, staying much truer to the original Heinlein book, complete with the much more mature themes involved in military/wartime flicks, including... *gasp*... main characters dying!!
Re:Ummm.... What?Actually, I think that what the o
on
Review: 'Titan A.E.'
·
· Score: 1
Actually, I think that what the other poster was referring to was the artwork and blending of CGI and cel animation.
In terms of American animation, this was a new milestone. Even the Japanese masters of animation are experimenting with blending of cel animation and CGI with varying degrees of success. (See "Blue Sub #6" - ick... talk about No Blending; "Vision of Escaflowne" - one of anime's first ventures into integrating CGI w/ traditional animation; Or better, the new edition of "Silent Moebius" - auggugughgh a la Homer Simpson)
For the first time in a while, American animation has arguably overtaken anime in a new technical respect. You can't compare "Heavy Metal" to "Titan A.E." in terms of animation achievements.
Oh, as far as the "Star Wars" being a "destroy Earth" film, it's an arguable interpretation of symbolism, not quite so openly blatant as "Independence Day" or the other examples people have noted. Just my 2 cents.
I read the second argument by the two economist authors, and I can understand their arguments. I might even agree to a certain degree.
However, I can't help but notice that their two arguments are temporally (and logically) disjoint.
The dvorak layout wasn't created until the 1930/40's. All of those shootouts that were mentioned had taken place BEFORE dvorak even existed.
The more contemporary GSA tests during the 1970's say that there was marginal improvement in performance. But by this time, QWERTY had already established dominance, mindshare, and last but not least QWERTY TOUCH TYPING CLASSES.
Somehow, these two disconnects from their explanation make me second-guess their conclusions.
At any rate, I was a fast QWERTY touch typist before switching to dvorak, and now I'm equally proficient at both. Though I might be in the minority in this respect, I believe that any and all dvorak users out primarily use it because IT FEELS BETTER and IT'S LESS STRESSFUL than QWERTY. And that's the bottom line these days for RSI/carpal tunnel sufferers.
And I thank the maker for the fact that computers are so easy to switch to dvorak!
Slashdot Mirror
What many people seem to be forgetting is that the DMCA is actually just U.S. version of the *global* WIPO (World Intellectual Property Organization) Copyright treaty, which was drafted and approved in even less public display and public scrutiny than the approval of the DMCA in the U.S. Congress.
The WIPO Copyright treaty was drafted first in December of 1996, and then signed onto by the U.S. delegation and other international representatives. The DMCA passing Congress was really a ratification and implementation of this *global* treaty. Your sentiment is correct in that we need a new, more balanced international copyright law. However, we unfortunately already have a international copyright law in both the Berne convention on copyrights and its extension, the WIPO Copyright Treaty.
Unfortunately, the new international laws as defined by the WIPO Copyright Treaty were very poorly constructed, shifting power overwhelmingly to the "content providers" and corporations, against the general public and against even the original creators of content/intellectual property.
As an example, take compilations of data (databases). Besides extending existing copyrights into their digital equivalents, the WIPO Copyright Treaty also creates a new class of copyrightable material: the right to copyright databases (see Article 5). Companies may now copyright databases, even if that data is derived from content/data which is either public domain or that other people created and copyrighted.
Alas, this trend towards legalizing unlimited corporate greed has already extended past the MPAA and RIAA in the United States and into the global domain, taking away from the public good and the original rights of the artist.
If it happens to be something I am interested in, I perform a quick copy and send the files to my workstation.
And how is this not violating copyright law as the user has just done?
Interesting articles. Is N-Cube a response to Microsoft's X-Box, only cooler? Did Microsoft not want to invoke images of the Borg with its antitrust case on appeal? ;) Oh, there's another interesting article by Robert X. Cringely on Microsoft's X-Box.
While I think that the editorial author makes a few interesting arguments about the N-Cube, and is an admitted Nintendo supporter, he misses or misinterprets several crucial points in Sony's strategy.
1) The author cites that 2,200,000 PS2 units have sold, but only 4,000,000 software items have been sold. He cites the large number of PS2 units have sold primarily as a DVD player.
Be that as it may, an installed base is an installed base. I have sincere doubts as to whether Nintendo can create such a large demand for its unit, especially in the light that its N-Cube will not play back DVD's. I know many people who are only lately adopting DVD players, and Sony was wise to catch this wave. I'm precisely in that demographic, both fascinated by PlayStation 2 as a gaming console and interested in the console, but immediately converted to a buyer since I want a DVD player among my TV options as well.
2) The author cites that several longtime PlayStation developers are having problems with the learning curve that PS2's Emotion Engine/Graphics Synth computing platform presents them, requiring more programmers and programming skill to eke out the performance they want.
The thing is, I have no doubts whatsoever that the N-Cube will present a similar learning curve to developers for it as well. The virtue of having larger V-RAM than PS2 has, which some current developers have cited as a problem, won't reduce the learning curve for the platform drastically.
3) He cites that Nintendo has admitted that it will not be an internet appliance device, though it will support internet connectivity. He says that by the N-Cube not trying to be A) a DVD player, or B) an internet device, hence its focus will be only on games.
He misses the ENTIRE point of the killer app of modern gaming: MULTIPLAYER capability. Sony's strategy is hinging on A) urging developers to assume an internet connection and B) creating an infrastructure to support the consoles. Sega may have caught onto that concept first, but Sony has wholeheartedly adopted the same view that internet multiplay will be an essential component of newer games.
It's what PC gamers have come to learn over the past few years: a game may be good by itself, but it reaches a whole new level of compelling or interesting gameplay when you have a human opponent or ally. Sony and Sega are wise to cash in on this lesson from the PC, especially because homes are increasingly connected to the internet and those connected homes contain computer network at a increasingly brisk clip.
The author of the editorial may be correct on the certain advantages that the N-Cube enjoys, and my take on the gaming industry may turn out to be wrong. If that's the case, then the renewed competition in the console gaming field will be certainly welcome. Who knows, Sony, Sega, and Nintendo may have to unite to successfully defend their turf from wily Microsoft. Microsoft may often not get the first or second forays into a field right, but they learn from their mistakes, and take no prisoners.
It certainly will prove to be an interesting story.
Umm, if you're willing to include the improving-as-we-speak genre of completely computer-generated animation, the relatively new "Starship Troopers" cartoon on the Sci-Fi channel is pretty heavy, staying much truer to the original Heinlein book, complete with the much more mature themes involved in military/wartime flicks, including... *gasp*... main characters dying!!
Actually, I think that what the other poster was referring to was the artwork and blending of CGI and cel animation.
In terms of American animation, this was a new milestone. Even the Japanese masters of animation are experimenting with blending of cel animation and CGI with varying degrees of success. (See "Blue Sub #6" - ick... talk about No Blending; "Vision of Escaflowne" - one of anime's first ventures into integrating CGI w/ traditional animation; Or better, the new edition of "Silent Moebius" - auggugughgh a la Homer Simpson)
For the first time in a while, American animation has arguably overtaken anime in a new technical respect. You can't compare "Heavy Metal" to "Titan A.E." in terms of animation achievements.
Oh, as far as the "Star Wars" being a "destroy Earth" film, it's an arguable interpretation of symbolism, not quite so openly blatant as "Independence Day" or the other examples people have noted. Just my 2 cents.
Of course, the acronym NSA would have *NOTHING* to do with the fact that it was in the cryptAPI DLL, right? So it must mean something else.
I read the second argument by the two economist authors, and I can understand their arguments. I might even agree to a certain degree.
However, I can't help but notice that their two arguments are temporally (and logically) disjoint.
The dvorak layout wasn't created until the 1930/40's. All of those shootouts that were mentioned had taken place BEFORE dvorak even existed.
The more contemporary GSA tests during the 1970's say that there was marginal improvement in performance. But by this time, QWERTY had already established dominance, mindshare, and last but not least QWERTY TOUCH TYPING CLASSES.
Somehow, these two disconnects from their explanation make me second-guess their conclusions.
At any rate, I was a fast QWERTY touch typist before switching to dvorak, and now I'm equally proficient at both. Though I might be in the minority in this respect, I believe that any and all dvorak users out primarily use it because IT FEELS BETTER and IT'S LESS STRESSFUL than QWERTY. And that's the bottom line these days for RSI/carpal tunnel sufferers.
And I thank the maker for the fact that computers are so easy to switch to dvorak!
Anyway, my two cents...