"But how far do you go? MP3 files can be easily copied if they're not wrapped with any digital rights management. But if you have a DRM wrapper on an MP3 file, it wouldn't be readily accessible."
You must be kidding me. MP3 files can be easily copied no matter what you do to them. No matter how much you polish a turd, it's still a turd, right? Well, let's see. I right-click my MP3 file. I click "Copy". I right-click in another folder. I click "Paste". Well, I sure seem to have copied it!
"...the file quality isn't consistent, the directories sometimes are wrong, you get viruses."
So the file quality isn't consistent. But what the hell, it's fun using sound tools to change the bit rates so they're all the same. No, seriously, it's fun.
Directories sometimes wrong? Well, that's hardly a problem with the actual software, is it? If people do go around sticking up the entire hard disk drives so I can download their CVs and address books...
Viruses. Hm. Since when did downloading an MP3 give me a virus? Even if you do download executables, you can always stick it through the ol' virus scanner. You do have a virus scanner, right?
"What's your time line for making this service a success? It's years.
But do you have years, though? Sure... If we can show forward momentum and steady progress and continue to do all the things that I've been describing...then, yes, we do have some time. Time is required to build a long term, sustainable business and become mass market with online distribution of music in a legal way."
Don't delude yourself. You think you have a few years? Well, we've all seen what can happen in a few short years. Back in 1992, there weren't millions of people on p2p networks sharing music, warez, and pr0n. Fast forward a decade...
And online distribution of music in a legal way? Well, you don't seem to be going about it in the right way. If I buy a CD, I have the music forever. You can't take it away from me once you take my cash. If I buy one of these "MusicNet" MP3s, then I have to keep paying for the music, and if I don't, it's taken away from me with no refund? And even if I get a "permanent download", I still have to pay as much overall as if I just bought the actual CD?
"Win98 may seem like old news, but it's still useful for older, lower spec and cheaper machines."
Uh...Windows 98? Of all things? Probably one of the buggiest versions of Windows known to man? Hm. Well, it's probably cheap, I suppose, considering the amount of piracy that goes on over there.
Which revolutionaries? It's not just being hot that causes revolutions. Was the Bastille stormed because the Third Estate didn't have air conditioning?
There's no need to get excessively worked up about this. Forgent are going to try and bilk some money out of everyone, squealing "Patent! Patent!" Now, how many people do you think will actually bother? OK, they might take on a few corporations because they're immediately obvious and easy to take on, but do you honestly believe that they're going to go after every single Internet user who handles JPEGs? I mean, just look at the number of GIFs still out there! Let's do a quick Google image search, shall we? Well, well, well, there's 11.7 million results!
Seriously, thought, there's no need to panic. Patent or no patent, Forgent cannot do jack about the current JPEG situation. The format is so widely used that any attempt to regulate it or pry cash out of our hands would result in their being ignored and/or vilified. Sod 'em.
Somewhere around the start of the PGP User guide, none other than Phil Zimmerman was discussing snake oil. He mentioned how 1337 he felt when he "discovered" a whole new kind of stream cipher. Why not just get a PRNG, convert a key to a seed for it, and then XOR that with the bit stream? Little did Phil know that this technique had been "discovered" many many times before and was covered in all good cryptography books.
Moral? If you don't have a PhD in number theory, don't even try it.
This article doesn't actually tell us anything new. It's basically just saying that some companies are keen to use digital, but it's very expensive and no one is sure what to use. In the meantime, they're not keen to try and OC their projectors to 48fps because they're eagerly awaiting new digital technologies. Oh, and because it won't make that great a difference.
Unfortunately, it doesn't seem that digital is going to come along for quite a while, especially as it seems to be so unpopular with the film buffs (see above). It's more likely that cinemas will get digital-capable projectors now, considering that the film industry is booming.
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MP3 files can be easily copied if they're not wrapped with any digital rights management. But if you have a DRM wrapper on an MP3 file, it wouldn't be readily accessible."
You must be kidding me. MP3 files can be easily copied no matter what you do to them. No matter how much you polish a turd, it's still a turd, right? Well, let's see. I right-click my MP3 file. I click "Copy". I right-click in another folder. I click "Paste". Well, I sure seem to have copied it!
"...the file quality isn't consistent, the directories sometimes are wrong, you get viruses."
So the file quality isn't consistent. But what the hell, it's fun using sound tools to change the bit rates so they're all the same. No, seriously, it's fun.
Directories sometimes wrong? Well, that's hardly a problem with the actual software, is it? If people do go around sticking up the entire hard disk drives so I can download their CVs and address books...
Viruses. Hm. Since when did downloading an MP3 give me a virus? Even if you do download executables, you can always stick it through the ol' virus scanner. You do have a virus scanner, right?
"What's your time line for making this service a success?
It's years.
But do you have years, though?
Sure... If we can show forward momentum and steady progress and continue to do all the things that I've been describing...then, yes, we do have some time. Time is required to build a long term, sustainable business and become mass market with online distribution of music in a legal way."
Don't delude yourself. You think you have a few years? Well, we've all seen what can happen in a few short years. Back in 1992, there weren't millions of people on p2p networks sharing music, warez, and pr0n. Fast forward a decade...
And online distribution of music in a legal way? Well, you don't seem to be going about it in the right way.
If I buy a CD, I have the music forever. You can't take it away from me once you take my cash.
If I buy one of these "MusicNet" MP3s, then I have to keep paying for the music, and if I don't, it's taken away from me with no refund? And even if I get a "permanent download", I still have to pay as much overall as if I just bought the actual CD?
What would you use?
Uh...Windows 98? Of all things? Probably one of the buggiest versions of Windows known to man? Hm. Well, it's probably cheap, I suppose, considering the amount of piracy that goes on over there.
Which revolutionaries? It's not just being hot that causes revolutions. Was the Bastille stormed because the Third Estate didn't have air conditioning?
Seriously, thought, there's no need to panic. Patent or no patent, Forgent cannot do jack about the current JPEG situation. The format is so widely used that any attempt to regulate it or pry cash out of our hands would result in their being ignored and/or vilified. Sod 'em.
Somewhere around the start of the PGP User guide, none other than Phil Zimmerman was discussing snake oil. He mentioned how 1337 he felt when he "discovered" a whole new kind of stream cipher. Why not just get a PRNG, convert a key to a seed for it, and then XOR that with the bit stream? Little did Phil know that this technique had been "discovered" many many times before and was covered in all good cryptography books. Moral? If you don't have a PhD in number theory, don't even try it.
Unfortunately, it doesn't seem that digital is going to come along for quite a while, especially as it seems to be so unpopular with the film buffs (see above). It's more likely that cinemas will get digital-capable projectors now, considering that the film industry is booming.