Keep in mind that if the record companies do anything that lowers the perceived value of their product (new and used) then less product will move. If it is a truly bad idea to demand royalties on used CDs, then the free market should respond negatively to it.
One example: John Doe walks into a used record store looking for xyz album. This album is from a company that demands royalties on their used albums, and the used record store, working off of tight enough margins as it is, has sanely decided to not simply swallow the cost but pass the cost on to the customer. So John finds that this particular used album is now simply more expensive than he would like to pay for it - so he doesn't buy it. This also works if the store HAS decided to absorb the cost: they will simply have a tendency to not bother carrying as many albums from that company.
The only thing that really worries me about the various publishing companies and their desire to cling to antiquated business models would be if they stole from me against my will. An example would be if they convinced the powers that be that their slumping sales have nothing to do with their inability to react to market pressures, but rather because of "pirates". You see this logic crop up quite a bit in the claims that "piracy costs xyz industry 2.5 billion dollars annually" - like complex market forces can be summed up in a single accusatory sentence. If they manage to sell that lie, the next step would be to seek government subsidies to crop up their failing businesses. Look no further than Canada's recent tax plans for a recent example.
To summarize: The publishers can be as unresponsive as they like to the market and live in whatever fantasy world they like as long as they don't start robbing me at gunpoint.
Excellent point. So we need a display technolgoy that is portable, small, economical, and can handle very high refresh rates... hmm...
http://slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=02/06/01/232254 &mode=nested&tid=137
Who better to sue for an accident than the giant technology conglomerate that PRODUCES the automatic driver hardware and software? Trust me, no lawyers will die out as a result. Whole new practices will be born!;)
I especially like how the tube ends up near the bottom of a tower - such that it's rising heat keeps the processor in its optimal high-heat environment.
Keep in mind that a MEMS display device that could track your environment and overlay information on to your view, has even more important applications than simply putting art on surfaces. As wonderful as art is, mind you. This seems to be THE best display technology to use in the burgeoning field of AR (Augmented Reality) that we've heard so much about recently. Here's a decent overview of AR - note how much all of these systems would benefit from both MEMS display and MEMS scanning technology:
http://www.augmented-reality.org/
But also consider that the balance to this would be a wearable display with object recognition software that actualy HELPS you identify hazardous objects. Of course, by then our cars might be driving themselves.
It doesn't matter if the media companies get their way regarding copyright. The more consistently they can find and punish ALL copyright violators, they more they will hurt themselves. Every person they send a nastygram to will be one less customer. "Oh, I don't buy XYZ records anymore - they're a**holes".
The real danger is when they see their bottom lines continue to dip because of the inevitable surge in "open source" music, and they try to draft laws that PROHIBIT people from giving their own material away if they so choose. Don't laugh - there's folks trying to do that right now with regard to open source software.
But until then, I say let these companies bury themselves - save us the trouble.
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Thank you for this very appliccable Jefferson quote. It would certainly seem that these issues are certainly not new.
Keep in mind that if the record companies do anything that lowers the perceived value of their product (new and used) then less product will move. If it is a truly bad idea to demand royalties on used CDs, then the free market should respond negatively to it. One example: John Doe walks into a used record store looking for xyz album. This album is from a company that demands royalties on their used albums, and the used record store, working off of tight enough margins as it is, has sanely decided to not simply swallow the cost but pass the cost on to the customer. So John finds that this particular used album is now simply more expensive than he would like to pay for it - so he doesn't buy it. This also works if the store HAS decided to absorb the cost: they will simply have a tendency to not bother carrying as many albums from that company. The only thing that really worries me about the various publishing companies and their desire to cling to antiquated business models would be if they stole from me against my will. An example would be if they convinced the powers that be that their slumping sales have nothing to do with their inability to react to market pressures, but rather because of "pirates". You see this logic crop up quite a bit in the claims that "piracy costs xyz industry 2.5 billion dollars annually" - like complex market forces can be summed up in a single accusatory sentence. If they manage to sell that lie, the next step would be to seek government subsidies to crop up their failing businesses. Look no further than Canada's recent tax plans for a recent example. To summarize: The publishers can be as unresponsive as they like to the market and live in whatever fantasy world they like as long as they don't start robbing me at gunpoint.
Excellent point. So we need a display technolgoy that is portable, small, economical, and can handle very high refresh rates... hmm... http://slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=02/06/01/232254 &mode=nested&tid=137
Who better to sue for an accident than the giant technology conglomerate that PRODUCES the automatic driver hardware and software? Trust me, no lawyers will die out as a result. Whole new practices will be born! ;)
I especially like how the tube ends up near the bottom of a tower - such that it's rising heat keeps the processor in its optimal high-heat environment.
Keep in mind that a MEMS display device that could track your environment and overlay information on to your view, has even more important applications than simply putting art on surfaces. As wonderful as art is, mind you. This seems to be THE best display technology to use in the burgeoning field of AR (Augmented Reality) that we've heard so much about recently. Here's a decent overview of AR - note how much all of these systems would benefit from both MEMS display and MEMS scanning technology: http://www.augmented-reality.org/
But also consider that the balance to this would be a wearable display with object recognition software that actualy HELPS you identify hazardous objects. Of course, by then our cars might be driving themselves.
It doesn't matter if the media companies get their way regarding copyright. The more consistently they can find and punish ALL copyright violators, they more they will hurt themselves. Every person they send a nastygram to will be one less customer. "Oh, I don't buy XYZ records anymore - they're a**holes". The real danger is when they see their bottom lines continue to dip because of the inevitable surge in "open source" music, and they try to draft laws that PROHIBIT people from giving their own material away if they so choose. Don't laugh - there's folks trying to do that right now with regard to open source software. But until then, I say let these companies bury themselves - save us the trouble.