I kept in touch with some Q-Link friends for a few years after the shut down. It was kinda funny as every so often we'd ask each other "did you try again last night?" "yeah..." "me, too. Oh, well."
heheheheheh
Anyone reading this remember me, BungeeJmp ?? I had a couple before then, but this was the main one I used in SuperQ/People Connection.
I have my QLink sweater, t-shirt, disk case, coffee mug, and the little note pad with the cover which looks like a 5-1/4" disk with the hole in the center:)
To a certain extent, I mourn the loss of the olden days. No, I don't think that the C64, Atari, TI, Amiga, $FAV_OLD_COMPUTER, should dominate the market. However, I do remember a time when EVERY COMPUTER MADE came with a dialect of BASIC and encouraged users to learn to program. (BASIC is arguably not the best language to learn programming, but I will not argue that now.)
(PS: Let's not forget how printer manuals showed you how to program the printer. Okay, potentially useless in the face of a graphics program, but still taught a basic fundamental of how things work.)
I feel a certain sadness that we don't get a reasonable programming language with new computers. By reasonable I mean one that is easy to learn and well documented with examples INCLUDED WITH the computer (not web-based in a disasterously monstrous layout.)
Or am I missing something?
Let's see, Windows comes with VB Scripting. Most Linux distros come with Perl, Python, PHP, and our beloved sh. Where's the book with the cute computer with legs that shows us how to say "Hello, world" in 16 colors, and how to write a quick game of "Secret Number"? My dad looked through his Dell box and couldn't find it anywhere:(
I certainly hope so. I still have my SuperQ disk around here. I know what I'm doing this weekend:)
I also wonder how many members of the old Q'mmunity will try this out. I'd love to get back in touch with some of my old Q-Link friends.
I'll also note that I submitted a story last year on the 10-year anniversary of the Q-Link shutdown. It was sadly rejected. I'll give a basic rehash here...
After several months of system degradation, overflows which allowed AOL and Q-Link members to converse, complete UNDERhauls of the Q-Link system to be per^H^H^Hconverted for use within AOL, and the incesant "Come to AOL" emails, Q-Link was unceremoniously shut down at the normal off time. Nobody from AOL showed up to say "Thank you for a spectacularly fun and eventful decade." Nothing. At the bottom of the screen:
THE SYSTEM HAS SHUT DOWN
This was the normal message you saw at shut down, but probably most fitting on this particular morning.
Actually, I find that after I've had Firefox open for a while in Windows, it becomes non-responsive and I have to kill it off. Same on two different machines that I use frequently, both with differing Firefox configs, theme, and extensions. My saving grace is SessionSaver.
I haven't seen this behavior on my Solaris box, but I don't use it frequently enough there to say for certain.
As for the Messenger service, I find quite the opposite. It seems Microsoft is damned set against it, even in a network environment where outside Internet intrusions will never make it to the service, and we use Messenger to send notifications to users. For instance, when non-local users are logged into the terminal server when the local system loses power, when a service or server will be temporarily off-line for maintenance, etc. Saves a lot of time.
In fact, I just looked and the damned thing no longer seems to exist on my workstations... bad admin -- when did THAT happen?!
Anyway, all of my network login scripts have these commands:
sc config Messenger start= auto sc start Messenger
Makes sure that I can contact stations and servers as needed.
I've been an authorized AVG reseller for over two years. I was so impressed with the free version that I signed up. Now all of my managed sites run AVG in some form, Network Edition (which is centrally managed) or SoHo Edition. It's light-weight and easy to manage.
Granted, the free edition does do the job, but there are a couple of caveats. Firstly, the licensing says that it MUST be used for private use. Secondly, whenever there is a major virus outbreak the free edition is almost impossible to update as everyone tries. Well, it *is* free after all, so there would have to be limited resources.
The full version gets its updates via Akamai. It's also more flexible with scheduling and management. It also costs less for a two year subscription than most comparable products with ONE year subs. When you renew, you get a major discount, up to 50%. Makes it worth it to me and my customers.
Coolness is in the eye of the beholder. Remember that elitist and "inside" jokes are also cool because no one else, or few others, "get it.":)
What makes me sick is I found an old desktop model rotary phone in a local antique shop for $75. Looked to be the same model that I used to learn about how not to handle phone electronics while someone called you (back around 1986-ish.) I think my parents threw it out when we moved in the early 90's. *sigh* If only I knew then...
Couldn't resist, eh? Well, some guys have hobbies like young boys and dirty magazines, and others like young technologies and "dirty" ROMs. What can you do?
I'm curious about the timeline of announcement, official announcement, and final release of the PowerPC chip. I remember back in 7th grade (1986-87) I had a teacher who was a big Mac artist. It was around that time I was getting interested in digging into microprocessor architecture and was learning about the TMS-9900 (in my TI-99/4A) and the 6502 (in the school's Apple and Atari computers.) I constantly envisioned and drew crude plans for a system which would integrate the 99/4's PEB and an Apple II, including a design for a combination computer (keeping in mind that I only basically understood the concept of interfacing different chip architectures... so there were of course no real engineering plans or OS design.)
I digress... Mr. McPhail introduced me to 68000 CPU and steered me to some magazines in the school library which talked about the upcoming "Intel-killer" called the PowerPC. I was told it would be powerful enough to emulate the Intel CPU and would revolutionize the computer world.
Given that this was around the time that I learned of the Amiga and how it could emulate a Mac, I easily swallowed this concept.
So, does my memory deceive me, or is the time-line I remember accurate??
(BTW, I meant that DRM should be "leashed"... I missed that in the preview.)
The OS really dodges the issue here, anyway. There *is* a problem of the Trusted Computing Platform, and its associated rights management, true. But the pervasion (nay, intrusion) into every day life will be the end of it all.
At some point we will only be able to listen to approved music and watch approved video on approved hardware and software. Every instance will require a connection to an authorization server. If you cannot connect, screw off -- you cannot partake. Non-DRM protected audio and video will be viewed suspiciously, and perhaps not even playable at all. In any case, the filename and vital stats will more than likely be communicated to a central server (based upon whatever approved media player you use) and stored in a database along with your unique, though non-personally identifiable, player ID. Of course, remember that you registered this media player with a name and email address.
Think this will not happen? Why not? Why should it not happen? Civil rights? Bah. Who cares about those. Remember, we need authority over us because we cannot chose for ourselves because we might chose the wrong thing.
These are the attitudes prevalent these days. Look around and question everything, see if you do not come to a similar conclusion.
DRM is bullshit, and the industry knows it. A locked door only keeps out an honest person. All DRM does is prevent honest people from doing what they were not going to do in the first place. People who lie, cheat, and steal will continue to do so, regardless of the digital rights. The only way to prevent it would be to completely outlaw non-approved computer systems and software.
Makes me think of a movie I saw eons ago call "The Last Race," I think. Instead, it will be a world where computers have been taken out of our hands because any "real" person with programming skills would have the potential to crack some protection. Programmers and developers would be trained in government run, military-like academies. They would be the black-ops of the world. Instead of computers, everyone would be using my chunky-clients (see an earlier post...) so at least I would be in the power-class (whew!)
Blah. My mind is wandering too much for this to be a post... should have been a journal entry instead. Screw it, maybe next time.
Consumers *will* fall for it. Because the average consumer is a sheep. Your "early adopter" technoids will pay the outrageous prices for the product, the "Keep-up-with-the-Joneses" neighbors and friends will do the same after the prices comes down a little (or WorstBuy, RadioShanty, or CompUseless has a GREAT sale,) then the rest of the sheople will because, well, everyone else they know has it.
Personally, I plan to be the breaking factor in the "everyone else I know has it" bullshit. I won't have it. I'm not buying new stuff that offers NO benefit over what I already have. If I can't get what works with my equipment anymore, then I'll just stop buying. Trust me, I can find much better and more entertainment without having to deal with any fucking industry. Perhaps not as convenient, but better. I doubt that a trip down to the local jazz club will be hampered by DRM.
Although, that might be in the works, too. Imagine an ultrasonic signal emitted at concerts which, while they only disturb the sound quality minimally for those attending, it prevents recorders from getting usable sound. I guess it would be kind-of like flooding a venue with IR light to drown out any useful light going into video recorders. hrmmmm Or better yet, maybe more realistically, the RIAA sends agents out to local clubs and starts closing down cover band performances in club "stings."
I'm at a point where all this DRM shit is going to push me out of the technology field. If Microsoft and its compatriots would spend more time producing quality products and less time dealing with DRM, we'd have a much more diverse and quality market from which to buy. DRM, ladies and gentlement, is the stumbling block of true progress and should be leashes. I'm not completely against DRM, but like any control, it can, and will, be abused by those with unchecked powers.
The revolution against this will be the adoption of alternate operating systems, and the rebirth of Amiga (sorry, had to do it!)
Ah, indeed. And there we get into another argument of the artistic content. I have never indulged in such a debate, but I have heard arguments for at least two sides of the debate. Some wonder if there can be a statute of limitations on the underage participants, or perhaps if one of the subjects as an adult agrees to the distribution, and so on. But versus, the fact is that the subject was still underage.
But a question on the future. Let's say that our ultra-conservative society suddenly deems 19 or 20 becomes the "under-age" marker. Does that also suddenly make past publications of "barely legal" individuals obscene, or only future? Is a change in sociological thinking truly retroactive? I can imagine the answer is "yes" as such changes would most likely be directly targeted at just such works. But where would lines be drawn and could works be grand-fathered-in, and how much revolution would be brought about because of a change like this.
I can also imagine that if the "underage" mark was dropped to 14 or 15-ish, then the previously mentioned works would become acceptable, and not subject to the societal views or laws at the time of production.
"Adult Content" is used a bit too generically. I even fell prey to that use in another comment. However, I would hazard to assume that they meant more graphic/explicit/lacivious content than Penthouse, simply knowing how the police handle reports.
Have you ever tried to police activities by performing walk-throughs? It's damn near impossible, especially when the perpetrator carries no respect for the authorities. I helped oversee a 24 station computer lab for a local middle school, and no matter HOW diligent the lab monitor, each and every computer, without exception, at some point had to be reloaded because a kid or group of kids wound up installing some software which broke it, or downloaded music, or some violation of the usage policy. Even revoking privileges didn't help the situation.
If your duties are, by definition, limited and near impossible, you are doomed to defy those duties.
You're damned if you do, damned if you don't. If you allow full access, the users tend to run amok. If you prevent full access, then it's a challenge and those who circumvent the prevention are lauded as creative and gifted.
Perhaps. Mayor Arnold *is* getting VERY old, after all.
But one thing that has not been mentioned... apparently Sue Martin was a lawyer, and a good one... good luck to the City Commission.
Speaking with my mother who is a librarian in the next town, they have NO filtering software because people complain about limitation of their rights. They *can* kick people out and revoke their computer priveleges, but supposedly they cannot actually go through users' histories because it invades their privacy!
In the end, there is probably a long list of "responsibilities" which the librarian is supposed to execute. I'm curious about the fact that Bushee had child pornography in his possession when arrested... did he print that at the library?
I don't know Sue Martin, but it seems to me there HAS to be more to this story than what the ALA is reporting. Was she reprimanded before for lack of supervision of the computer area? Is she an outspoken proponent for the library causing waves locally? We probably won't know until much later.
I'll spend some time digging through the local rag http://www.nwfdailynews.com/ but this time I didn't make it past the poll about the Indian names of local high schools. Sheesh...
The issue is that of public access to the Internet, versus policing of that access. Libraries do not traditionally maintain collections of adult material on their shelves, so they are expected to extend that prohbition to the Interntet access they provide. But, time and time again, it has been proven that such prohibition is virtually impossible.
So, in essence, this is about everyone's rights online.
Knowing about how cheap the Valparaiso City Commission can be about things, I doubt the library was provided the funding for any kind of useful software to help in this task. But I cannot say authoritatively since the last time I visited the ValP library was back when the only computer there was a Commodore 64.
Actually, it is incidents, since TFA also mentions that Billingsly heard from police (it doesn't say VPD or otherwise) that three male minors had also been able to access adult material.
Even so, MP3s aren't "exact" copies of the original, anyway. It's a lossy compression. I'd think the music industry should be more concerned about WAV files being distributed than MP3s. But then, since most people, neophytes, etc., don't care about the quality, it's close enough to the real thing to *be* the real thing to them.::shrugs::
Long time ago, I used to take my CDs over to a friend's place, rip them on his Windows 95 machine using some music rack program to 22Khz (sometimes 11KHz) stereo WAVs. Then I'd upload them to my Amiga and convert them to Fibonacci-delta compressed IFFs.
But to the point, I agree with you on the degradation issue on print media versus digital media. Good or bad, we're heading towards a world where everything digital will be rights-managed, and we'll need permission to do anything. At least, until the revolution comes.:P
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I kept in touch with some Q-Link friends for a few years after the shut down. It was kinda funny as every so often we'd ask each other "did you try again last night?" "yeah..." "me, too. Oh, well."
heheheheheh
Anyone reading this remember me, BungeeJmp ?? I had a couple before then, but this was the main one I used in SuperQ/People Connection.
I have my QLink sweater, t-shirt, disk case, coffee mug, and the little note pad with the cover which looks like a 5-1/4" disk with the hole in the center :)
To a certain extent, I mourn the loss of the olden days. No, I don't think that the C64, Atari, TI, Amiga, $FAV_OLD_COMPUTER, should dominate the market. However, I do remember a time when EVERY COMPUTER MADE came with a dialect of BASIC and encouraged users to learn to program. (BASIC is arguably not the best language to learn programming, but I will not argue that now.)
:(
(PS: Let's not forget how printer manuals showed you how to program the printer. Okay, potentially useless in the face of a graphics program, but still taught a basic fundamental of how things work.)
I feel a certain sadness that we don't get a reasonable programming language with new computers. By reasonable I mean one that is easy to learn and well documented with examples INCLUDED WITH the computer (not web-based in a disasterously monstrous layout.)
Or am I missing something?
Let's see, Windows comes with VB Scripting. Most Linux distros come with Perl, Python, PHP, and our beloved sh. Where's the book with the cute computer with legs that shows us how to say "Hello, world" in 16 colors, and how to write a quick game of "Secret Number"? My dad looked through his Dell box and couldn't find it anywhere
::applause:: :]
I certainly hope so. I still have my SuperQ disk around here. I know what I'm doing this weekend :)
I also wonder how many members of the old Q'mmunity will try this out. I'd love to get back in touch with some of my old Q-Link friends.
I'll also note that I submitted a story last year on the 10-year anniversary of the Q-Link shutdown. It was sadly rejected. I'll give a basic rehash here...
After several months of system degradation, overflows which allowed AOL and Q-Link members to converse, complete UNDERhauls of the Q-Link system to be per^H^H^Hconverted for use within AOL, and the incesant "Come to AOL" emails, Q-Link was unceremoniously shut down at the normal off time. Nobody from AOL showed up to say "Thank you for a spectacularly fun and eventful decade." Nothing. At the bottom of the screen:
THE SYSTEM HAS SHUT DOWN
This was the normal message you saw at shut down, but probably most fitting on this particular morning.
Actually, I find that after I've had Firefox open for a while in Windows, it becomes non-responsive and I have to kill it off. Same on two different machines that I use frequently, both with differing Firefox configs, theme, and extensions. My saving grace is SessionSaver.
I haven't seen this behavior on my Solaris box, but I don't use it frequently enough there to say for certain.
As for the Messenger service, I find quite the opposite. It seems Microsoft is damned set against it, even in a network environment where outside Internet intrusions will never make it to the service, and we use Messenger to send notifications to users. For instance, when non-local users are logged into the terminal server when the local system loses power, when a service or server will be temporarily off-line for maintenance, etc. Saves a lot of time.
In fact, I just looked and the damned thing no longer seems to exist on my workstations... bad admin -- when did THAT happen?!
Anyway, all of my network login scripts have these commands:
sc config Messenger start= auto
sc start Messenger
Makes sure that I can contact stations and servers as needed.
I've been an authorized AVG reseller for over two years. I was so impressed with the free version that I signed up. Now all of my managed sites run AVG in some form, Network Edition (which is centrally managed) or SoHo Edition. It's light-weight and easy to manage.
Granted, the free edition does do the job, but there are a couple of caveats. Firstly, the licensing says that it MUST be used for private use. Secondly, whenever there is a major virus outbreak the free edition is almost impossible to update as everyone tries. Well, it *is* free after all, so there would have to be limited resources.
The full version gets its updates via Akamai. It's also more flexible with scheduling and management. It also costs less for a two year subscription than most comparable products with ONE year subs. When you renew, you get a major discount, up to 50%. Makes it worth it to me and my customers.
Sweet :)
...I'm just curious about the specifics of storing HD on a VHS. Would you care to elaborate or provide some links? I was never good at homework ;)
110 buttons? I will finally have a realistic Mech controller!
Coolness is in the eye of the beholder. Remember that elitist and "inside" jokes are also cool because no one else, or few others, "get it." :)
What makes me sick is I found an old desktop model rotary phone in a local antique shop for $75. Looked to be the same model that I used to learn about how not to handle phone electronics while someone called you (back around 1986-ish.) I think my parents threw it out when we moved in the early 90's. *sigh* If only I knew then...
That's weird... I had to read your post twice because I thought you wrote "when the United States is a long-forgotten corporate failure".
Would almost be fitting, eh?
Couldn't resist, eh? Well, some guys have hobbies like young boys and dirty magazines, and others like young technologies and "dirty" ROMs. What can you do?
I'm curious about the timeline of announcement, official announcement, and final release of the PowerPC chip. I remember back in 7th grade (1986-87) I had a teacher who was a big Mac artist. It was around that time I was getting interested in digging into microprocessor architecture and was learning about the TMS-9900 (in my TI-99/4A) and the 6502 (in the school's Apple and Atari computers.) I constantly envisioned and drew crude plans for a system which would integrate the 99/4's PEB and an Apple II, including a design for a combination computer (keeping in mind that I only basically understood the concept of interfacing different chip architectures... so there were of course no real engineering plans or OS design.)
I digress... Mr. McPhail introduced me to 68000 CPU and steered me to some magazines in the school library which talked about the upcoming "Intel-killer" called the PowerPC. I was told it would be powerful enough to emulate the Intel CPU and would revolutionize the computer world.
Given that this was around the time that I learned of the Amiga and how it could emulate a Mac, I easily swallowed this concept.
So, does my memory deceive me, or is the time-line I remember accurate??
(BTW, I meant that DRM should be "leashed"... I missed that in the preview.)
The OS really dodges the issue here, anyway. There *is* a problem of the Trusted Computing Platform, and its associated rights management, true. But the pervasion (nay, intrusion) into every day life will be the end of it all.
At some point we will only be able to listen to approved music and watch approved video on approved hardware and software. Every instance will require a connection to an authorization server. If you cannot connect, screw off -- you cannot partake. Non-DRM protected audio and video will be viewed suspiciously, and perhaps not even playable at all. In any case, the filename and vital stats will more than likely be communicated to a central server (based upon whatever approved media player you use) and stored in a database along with your unique, though non-personally identifiable, player ID. Of course, remember that you registered this media player with a name and email address.
Think this will not happen? Why not? Why should it not happen? Civil rights? Bah. Who cares about those. Remember, we need authority over us because we cannot chose for ourselves because we might chose the wrong thing.
These are the attitudes prevalent these days. Look around and question everything, see if you do not come to a similar conclusion.
DRM is bullshit, and the industry knows it. A locked door only keeps out an honest person. All DRM does is prevent honest people from doing what they were not going to do in the first place. People who lie, cheat, and steal will continue to do so, regardless of the digital rights. The only way to prevent it would be to completely outlaw non-approved computer systems and software.
Makes me think of a movie I saw eons ago call "The Last Race," I think. Instead, it will be a world where computers have been taken out of our hands because any "real" person with programming skills would have the potential to crack some protection. Programmers and developers would be trained in government run, military-like academies. They would be the black-ops of the world. Instead of computers, everyone would be using my chunky-clients (see an earlier post...) so at least I would be in the power-class (whew!)
Blah. My mind is wandering too much for this to be a post... should have been a journal entry instead. Screw it, maybe next time.
Consumers *will* fall for it. Because the average consumer is a sheep. Your "early adopter" technoids will pay the outrageous prices for the product, the "Keep-up-with-the-Joneses" neighbors and friends will do the same after the prices comes down a little (or WorstBuy, RadioShanty, or CompUseless has a GREAT sale,) then the rest of the sheople will because, well, everyone else they know has it.
Personally, I plan to be the breaking factor in the "everyone else I know has it" bullshit. I won't have it. I'm not buying new stuff that offers NO benefit over what I already have. If I can't get what works with my equipment anymore, then I'll just stop buying. Trust me, I can find much better and more entertainment without having to deal with any fucking industry. Perhaps not as convenient, but better. I doubt that a trip down to the local jazz club will be hampered by DRM.
Although, that might be in the works, too. Imagine an ultrasonic signal emitted at concerts which, while they only disturb the sound quality minimally for those attending, it prevents recorders from getting usable sound. I guess it would be kind-of like flooding a venue with IR light to drown out any useful light going into video recorders. hrmmmm Or better yet, maybe more realistically, the RIAA sends agents out to local clubs and starts closing down cover band performances in club "stings."
I'm at a point where all this DRM shit is going to push me out of the technology field. If Microsoft and its compatriots would spend more time producing quality products and less time dealing with DRM, we'd have a much more diverse and quality market from which to buy. DRM, ladies and gentlement, is the stumbling block of true progress and should be leashes. I'm not completely against DRM, but like any control, it can, and will, be abused by those with unchecked powers.
The revolution against this will be the adoption of alternate operating systems, and the rebirth of Amiga (sorry, had to do it!)
Ah, indeed. And there we get into another argument of the artistic content. I have never indulged in such a debate, but I have heard arguments for at least two sides of the debate. Some wonder if there can be a statute of limitations on the underage participants, or perhaps if one of the subjects as an adult agrees to the distribution, and so on. But versus, the fact is that the subject was still underage.
But a question on the future. Let's say that our ultra-conservative society suddenly deems 19 or 20 becomes the "under-age" marker. Does that also suddenly make past publications of "barely legal" individuals obscene, or only future? Is a change in sociological thinking truly retroactive? I can imagine the answer is "yes" as such changes would most likely be directly targeted at just such works. But where would lines be drawn and could works be grand-fathered-in, and how much revolution would be brought about because of a change like this.
I can also imagine that if the "underage" mark was dropped to 14 or 15-ish, then the previously mentioned works would become acceptable, and not subject to the societal views or laws at the time of production.
Holy crap, my head hurts now.
"Adult Content" is used a bit too generically. I even fell prey to that use in another comment. However, I would hazard to assume that they meant more graphic/explicit/lacivious content than Penthouse, simply knowing how the police handle reports.
OKay, I guess I need to amend that. Adult material does not == hard-core porn, child porn, etc. The later would be what I can't find at the library ;)
Everything else seems pretty much spot-on to me.
Have you ever tried to police activities by performing walk-throughs? It's damn near impossible, especially when the perpetrator carries no respect for the authorities. I helped oversee a 24 station computer lab for a local middle school, and no matter HOW diligent the lab monitor, each and every computer, without exception, at some point had to be reloaded because a kid or group of kids wound up installing some software which broke it, or downloaded music, or some violation of the usage policy. Even revoking privileges didn't help the situation.
If your duties are, by definition, limited and near impossible, you are doomed to defy those duties.
You're damned if you do, damned if you don't. If you allow full access, the users tend to run amok. If you prevent full access, then it's a challenge and those who circumvent the prevention are lauded as creative and gifted.
Perhaps. Mayor Arnold *is* getting VERY old, after all.
But one thing that has not been mentioned... apparently Sue Martin was a lawyer, and a good one... good luck to the City Commission.
Speaking with my mother who is a librarian in the next town, they have NO filtering software because people complain about limitation of their rights. They *can* kick people out and revoke their computer priveleges, but supposedly they cannot actually go through users' histories because it invades their privacy!
In the end, there is probably a long list of "responsibilities" which the librarian is supposed to execute. I'm curious about the fact that Bushee had child pornography in his possession when arrested... did he print that at the library?
I don't know Sue Martin, but it seems to me there HAS to be more to this story than what the ALA is reporting. Was she reprimanded before for lack of supervision of the computer area? Is she an outspoken proponent for the library causing waves locally? We probably won't know until much later.
I'll spend some time digging through the local rag http://www.nwfdailynews.com/ but this time I didn't make it past the poll about the Indian names of local high schools. Sheesh...
The issue is that of public access to the Internet, versus policing of that access. Libraries do not traditionally maintain collections of adult material on their shelves, so they are expected to extend that prohbition to the Interntet access they provide. But, time and time again, it has been proven that such prohibition is virtually impossible.
So, in essence, this is about everyone's rights online.
Knowing about how cheap the Valparaiso City Commission can be about things, I doubt the library was provided the funding for any kind of useful software to help in this task. But I cannot say authoritatively since the last time I visited the ValP library was back when the only computer there was a Commodore 64.
Actually, it is incidents, since TFA also mentions that Billingsly heard from police (it doesn't say VPD or otherwise) that three male minors had also been able to access adult material.
Even so, MP3s aren't "exact" copies of the original, anyway. It's a lossy compression. I'd think the music industry should be more concerned about WAV files being distributed than MP3s. But then, since most people, neophytes, etc., don't care about the quality, it's close enough to the real thing to *be* the real thing to them. ::shrugs::
:P
Long time ago, I used to take my CDs over to a friend's place, rip them on his Windows 95 machine using some music rack program to 22Khz (sometimes 11KHz) stereo WAVs. Then I'd upload them to my Amiga and convert them to Fibonacci-delta compressed IFFs.
But to the point, I agree with you on the degradation issue on print media versus digital media. Good or bad, we're heading towards a world where everything digital will be rights-managed, and we'll need permission to do anything. At least, until the revolution comes.