The company's proposed settlement with the Justice Department would give computer makers more flexibility to add icons and menu entries of their choosing to Microsoft's Windows operating system.
It would also prevent Microsoft from entering into certain restrictive and discriminatory pricing agreements, require the company to make some disclosures about its software code and restrict the company from retaliating against competitors.
Now, from what I gather from this, it means that M$ would release the computer manufacturers from their agreement on how the desktop is arranged and set up (not really any work on M$'s behalf, just changing legal wording) and releasing bits of code to the public (also no actual work).
But so far, we don't which of these goals M$ plans to implement, nor do we know how much of non-mentioned goals would be accomplished, nor do we know when non-mentioned portion of non-mentioned goals would be completed (or at least attempted to be completed).
I think this will become an interesting topic once the statement from M$ comes out answering all these questions, but for now, there is just too little information to make an informed opinion.
Of course, if you want to just "knee-jerk" M$ and how bad they're gonna be, I'll lose no sleep.
The company's proposed settlement with the Justice Department would give computer makers more flexibility to add icons and menu entries of their choosing to Microsoft's Windows operating system.
It would also prevent Microsoft from entering into certain restrictive and discriminatory pricing agreements, require the company to make some disclosures about its software code and restrict the company from retaliating against competitors.
So basically, it's saying that they are just changing the paperwork of their contracts with computer manufacturers (which is no work on their part) and releasing bits of code out to the public (also no actual work being done). But we're not saying which of these we're doing, how much of these non-mentioned goals we will accomplish, or exactly when we can expect these non-mentioned amounts of non-mentioned goals to be completed (or at least expected to be completed).
I will be anxious to hear what is produced from the phone call happening later today, but right now, there is too little information to assume too much.
I think it doesn't really matter that big companies are licencing anime these days. The fact is, anime is getting licenced before it is finished in production. The trend is going to where there is a bigger market for anime here than there is in Japan (due to the enormous cellphone bills the Japanese are ringing up).
The only thing I've noticed that happens when big studios get involved in anime distribution/dubbing/etc is that they end up tailoring it to the lowest common denominator to sell more copies, but, in the end, does a great disservice to the original, and I think tends to alienate people. When some people watch a bad dub, they tend to wonder what the heck the fuss is all about. Don't get me wrong, some dubs are really good, and I'm not above watching them if they are that good, but I think that all the big excitement over more anime exposure is overrated.
Once we accept that anime is a niche market, and stop trying to convert every single person into an otaku, I think things will be better off for both anime and its perception by people outside the know.
The above information was derived from a panel on the State of the Industry at Anime Mid-Atlantic. I would provide quotes to back this up, but I haven't found one not blocked by our nice filter at work.
This may have been brought up earlier, but I'd be anxious to see what effect this has on other coutries. Remember, mass file-sharing is not contained to the US. Imagine an attack on, say, Germany, that wipes out a considerable portion of an ISP. I think that would violate some kind of international law, and could even be seen as a declaration of war.
Reading through the law, the only check this law has is the notification of the Attorney General, but since that is only one man, and that decision would be apt to sway from time to time, that is not a truly effective form of checks and balances, but a coverplate for an open source of attacks.
Of course, I'd like to be all "holier-than-thou" about movies and just read all the time, but I think my girlfriend would change my mind on that the minute the next sapfest hits the screens.;-P
I think that anime, for most of us who read/., is a way to reach our childhood again. We all watched cartoons when we were little, and people try so hard at finding their childhood again and trying to recapture it. The success of the revamped comic versions of Transformers, G.I.Joe, Thundercats, and Battle of the Planets speaks this out.
However, we as people have matured and anime has filled in the gap, giving us adult themes to satisfy our need to be entertained at our intelectual level, and the cartoons that make us feel like a kid again.
Granted, it's not for everyone, but for some, it's the way to finding that lost youth that so many people spends their lives trying to find, and I figure, if you can find it as soon as possible, you're better off than most.
"Rather than seek special treatment from the courts, we encourage the broadcasters to work with the labels and artists as our industries transition into new businesses," said Steven Marks, a senior vice president at the RIAA.
Now, what I find interesting about this is that the RIAA is basically telling radio is that there is a new business model being built, one that revolves more around collecting performance fees and royalties than the actual sales of a physical product. This would make sense from their POV, seeing as how physical media sales are slipping. What better way to keep the income rolling in than to find a way to charge for every single type of song out there.....every time it is broadcast/played/thought about.
Slashdot Mirror
From the article:
Now, from what I gather from this, it means that M$ would release the computer manufacturers from their agreement on how the desktop is arranged and set up (not really any work on M$'s behalf, just changing legal wording) and releasing bits of code to the public (also no actual work).
But so far, we don't which of these goals M$ plans to implement, nor do we know how much of non-mentioned goals would be accomplished, nor do we know when non-mentioned portion of non-mentioned goals would be completed (or at least attempted to be completed).
I think this will become an interesting topic once the statement from M$ comes out answering all these questions, but for now, there is just too little information to make an informed opinion.
Of course, if you want to just "knee-jerk" M$ and how bad they're gonna be, I'll lose no sleep.
From the article:
So basically, it's saying that they are just changing the paperwork of their contracts with computer manufacturers (which is no work on their part) and releasing bits of code out to the public (also no actual work being done). But we're not saying which of these we're doing, how much of these non-mentioned goals we will accomplish, or exactly when we can expect these non-mentioned amounts of non-mentioned goals to be completed (or at least expected to be completed).
I will be anxious to hear what is produced from the phone call happening later today, but right now, there is too little information to assume too much.
I think it doesn't really matter that big companies are licencing anime these days. The fact is, anime is getting licenced before it is finished in production. The trend is going to where there is a bigger market for anime here than there is in Japan (due to the enormous cellphone bills the Japanese are ringing up).
The only thing I've noticed that happens when big studios get involved in anime distribution/dubbing/etc is that they end up tailoring it to the lowest common denominator to sell more copies, but, in the end, does a great disservice to the original, and I think tends to alienate people. When some people watch a bad dub, they tend to wonder what the heck the fuss is all about. Don't get me wrong, some dubs are really good, and I'm not above watching them if they are that good, but I think that all the big excitement over more anime exposure is overrated.
Once we accept that anime is a niche market, and stop trying to convert every single person into an otaku, I think things will be better off for both anime and its perception by people outside the know.
The above information was derived from a panel on the State of the Industry at Anime Mid-Atlantic. I would provide quotes to back this up, but I haven't found one not blocked by our nice filter at work.
This may have been brought up earlier, but I'd be anxious to see what effect this has on other coutries. Remember, mass file-sharing is not contained to the US. Imagine an attack on, say, Germany, that wipes out a considerable portion of an ISP. I think that would violate some kind of international law, and could even be seen as a declaration of war.
Reading through the law, the only check this law has is the notification of the Attorney General, but since that is only one man, and that decision would be apt to sway from time to time, that is not a truly effective form of checks and balances, but a coverplate for an open source of attacks.
Of course, I'd like to be all "holier-than-thou" about movies and just read all the time, but I think my girlfriend would change my mind on that the minute the next sapfest hits the screens. ;-P
I think that anime, for most of us who read /., is a way to reach our childhood again. We all watched cartoons when we were little, and people try so hard at finding their childhood again and trying to recapture it. The success of the revamped comic versions of Transformers, G.I.Joe, Thundercats, and Battle of the Planets speaks this out.
However, we as people have matured and anime has filled in the gap, giving us adult themes to satisfy our need to be entertained at our intelectual level, and the cartoons that make us feel like a kid again.
Granted, it's not for everyone, but for some, it's the way to finding that lost youth that so many people spends their lives trying to find, and I figure, if you can find it as soon as possible, you're better off than most.
"Rather than seek special treatment from the courts, we encourage the broadcasters to work with the labels and artists as our industries transition into new businesses," said Steven Marks, a senior vice president at the RIAA.
Now, what I find interesting about this is that the RIAA is basically telling radio is that there is a new business model being built, one that revolves more around collecting performance fees and royalties than the actual sales of a physical product. This would make sense from their POV, seeing as how physical media sales are slipping. What better way to keep the income rolling in than to find a way to charge for every single type of song out there.....every time it is broadcast/played/thought about.
People desperate for money can be scary.