They own car + I take car = they lost car = theft
They own data + I take data = they still have the data = copying
Copying does not equate to theft. If they're going to survive in a digital world they have to learn to deal with the fact that data will be copied.
Many businesses around the world are handling this by creating a much larger emphasis on service, rather than just their products. Massively Multiplayer games require subscriptions. MS is planning to require subscriptions for their software to work (which will only work online). Companies like Sun and RedHat offer large service packages. Music is going to have to find a way to deal with the new market. Whining won't stop the world from evolving.
I've had a lot of problems with Zip disks (slow and very unreliable), and sometimes a 650 Mb CD is just a wee bit too big for a 10.3 k text file with my roleplaying characters stats.:P
When it comes to bringing my roleplaying characters around on a disk, the floppy drives easily beats the monster drives in speed and portability. I think I'll be holding on to my floppy drive for a good many years to come.
Slashdot Mirror
They own car + I take car = they lost car = theft They own data + I take data = they still have the data = copying Copying does not equate to theft. If they're going to survive in a digital world they have to learn to deal with the fact that data will be copied. Many businesses around the world are handling this by creating a much larger emphasis on service, rather than just their products. Massively Multiplayer games require subscriptions. MS is planning to require subscriptions for their software to work (which will only work online). Companies like Sun and RedHat offer large service packages. Music is going to have to find a way to deal with the new market. Whining won't stop the world from evolving.
I've had a lot of problems with Zip disks (slow and very unreliable), and sometimes a 650 Mb CD is just a wee bit too big for a 10.3 k text file with my roleplaying characters stats. :P
When it comes to bringing my roleplaying characters around on a disk, the floppy drives easily beats the monster drives in speed and portability. I think I'll be holding on to my floppy drive for a good many years to come.