"I think probably the most important thing is stability. Investors will get scared if the government doesn't protect old copyrights as much as they do new copyrights because it's an indicator that they might not protect new copyrights as much as old copyrights."
I don't follow the logic there. You're suggesting that because we have a sensible law that means that copyright expires after 50 years, "investors" will think that a copyright which is 5 years old is "not as protected?"
Here's the point: laws should not be written around the whims of "investors."
I know it's a hard point to get in today's world where it seems that large corporations might as well just bypass the whole legislature and write the darn statutes themselves (simply because it saves time and does away with the pretence that our representatives can think for themselves) but it is the critical point here.
Sometimes laws are not made to "help the economy", they're written because they're morally the better course of action. Copyright is not a right, it's a privilege extended by government to afford a balance between the creator of a work and those who may become dependent upon it.
If these corporations and lobbying groups are now complaining that they "didn't know" that this time limit was approaching and that it's an awful shame as despite the fact that the artist is long dead, they're still able to part people with their money then I suggest that they hire better advisors. It's not as if the 50 year time period was a closely guarded secret now is it?
I'd only agree in part. Windows XP and 2k are great improvements over 98 (which is still used by a lot of people) in terms of stability.
I'd argue, though, that most irritation for users is casued by the _culture_ of Windows software as perpetuated by MS.
If a program is causing me trouble under GNU/Linux, I can run it from a terminal or turn up the level of verbosity and *see* what it's doing...
99.9% of the time, I can then correct the problem. With Windows, the end-user can stand next to no chance of finding out what the program was trying to do when it crashed.
It's this lack of control and dialogue with their systems that I would argue causes the greatest degree of frustration amongst end users.
The thing I think that we need to fear most is that it really does start to affect us.
I'd draw a parallel here with the recent announcement that Cyberlink PowerDVD is available for Linux (albeit as part of Turbolinux).
In both cases the argument used by those of us (I'm a gaim and bitlbee user) that connect to multiple IM networks with third-party clients (in a situation where the companies' licenses make such action questionable) is that we have to do it as the proprietary companies haven't released a commercial alternative. The use of libdvdcss and DeCSS is justified on similar grounds.
Well, if MS et al do release a for-payment client with a restrictive license that can connect to multiple networks, that argument could be rendered defunct. This is particularly so if they strengthen their licenses and start sending cease-and-desist orders to the third-party clients' developers.
Could be that soon, we'll have to persuade our MS-friendly friends onto jabber...
I would like to complain about the current state of your web site which is, I am afraid to say, poorly designed and incompatible with many different web browsers.
I am a user of Mozilla-Firefox, a popular open-source, standards compliant and secure web browser. Your web site does not render correctly when viewed with Firefox. Your web site is inaccessible through Firefox. Your web site renders poorly in another standard compliant web browser; Opera.
The only browser in which your web site renders well enough to be used is Internet Explorer. Even then, the design of the site is poor. The home page presents the visitor with an intrusive advert which, at the time of writing, is offering a "free Activision PC game sampler."
The text below this advert makes it seem as though the site is accessed by "clicking on the page." This is not true. One has to click on the advert in order to actually enter the main site and get down to the business of doing what the user wanted to do which is to view film listings and, potentially, book a seat.
I would at this point ask you to note that Internet Explorer is a poor choice of browser. It is lacking in features and it is insecure. Recently, CERT and the United States Department of Homeland Security recommended that computer users stop using Internet Explorer.
I was appalled to learn that you have attacked one Mr Matthew Somerville over his efforts to create a site that is easy to use and efficient. While I appreciate that you have a right to protect the use of your trademarks and copyrights, I feel that you could have better spent your time and resources on redesigning your site.
I must advise you that until such time as you see to hiring competent Web Designers that are capable of producing a modern and browser compatible web site, I am unable to continue to frequent Odeon cinemas. I will ensure that my colleagues and friends take the same action. There are simply too many alternatives (Vue and Showcase to name but two) for a cinema company to be able to act with such arrogance and disregard for their customer base.
Stunning work - congratulations to the US military. Let's hope this helps to end the killing of innocents in Iraq by the terrorists/Ba'athists. Has there been an equivalent to this?
It's almost as if the Western allies had captured Hitler alive...
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"I think probably the most important thing is stability. Investors will get scared if the government doesn't protect old copyrights as much as they do new copyrights because it's an indicator that they might not protect new copyrights as much as old copyrights."
I don't follow the logic there. You're suggesting that because we have a sensible law that means that copyright expires after 50 years, "investors" will think that a copyright which is 5 years old is "not as protected?"
Here's the point: laws should not be written around the whims of "investors."
I know it's a hard point to get in today's world where it seems that large corporations might as well just bypass the whole legislature and write the darn statutes themselves (simply because it saves time and does away with the pretence that our representatives can think for themselves) but it is the critical point here.
Sometimes laws are not made to "help the economy", they're written because they're morally the better course of action. Copyright is not a right, it's a privilege extended by government to afford a balance between the creator of a work and those who may become dependent upon it.
If these corporations and lobbying groups are now complaining that they "didn't know" that this time limit was approaching and that it's an awful shame as despite the fact that the artist is long dead, they're still able to part people with their money then I suggest that they hire better advisors. It's not as if the 50 year time period was a closely guarded secret now is it?
I'd only agree in part. Windows XP and 2k are great improvements over 98 (which is still used by a lot of people) in terms of stability.
I'd argue, though, that most irritation for users is casued by the _culture_ of Windows software as perpetuated by MS.
If a program is causing me trouble under GNU/Linux, I can run it from a terminal or turn up the level of verbosity and *see* what it's doing...
99.9% of the time, I can then correct the problem. With Windows, the end-user can stand next to no chance of finding out what the program was trying to do when it crashed.
It's this lack of control and dialogue with their systems that I would argue causes the greatest degree of frustration amongst end users.
One of those worthy questions for which the answer is "no."
The thing I think that we need to fear most is that it really does start to affect us.
I'd draw a parallel here with the recent announcement that Cyberlink PowerDVD is available for Linux (albeit as part of Turbolinux).
In both cases the argument used by those of us (I'm a gaim and bitlbee user) that connect to multiple IM networks with third-party clients (in a situation where the companies' licenses make such action questionable) is that we have to do it as the proprietary companies haven't released a commercial alternative. The use of libdvdcss and DeCSS is justified on similar grounds.
Well, if MS et al do release a for-payment client with a restrictive license that can connect to multiple networks, that argument could be rendered defunct. This is particularly so if they strengthen their licenses and start sending cease-and-desist orders to the third-party clients' developers.
Could be that soon, we'll have to persuade our MS-friendly friends onto jabber...
Here's mine:
Dear Sir/Madam,
I would like to complain about the current state of your web site which is, I am afraid to say, poorly designed and incompatible with many different web browsers.
I am a user of Mozilla-Firefox, a popular open-source, standards compliant and secure web browser. Your web site does not render correctly when viewed with Firefox. Your web site is inaccessible through Firefox. Your web site renders poorly in another standard compliant web browser; Opera.
The only browser in which your web site renders well enough to be used is Internet Explorer. Even then, the design of the site is poor. The home page presents the visitor with an intrusive advert which, at the time of writing, is offering a "free Activision PC game sampler."
The text below this advert makes it seem as though the site is accessed by "clicking on the page." This is not true. One has to click on the advert in order to actually enter the main site and get down to the business of doing what the user wanted to do which is to view film listings and, potentially, book a seat.
I would at this point ask you to note that Internet Explorer is a poor choice of browser. It is lacking in features and it is insecure. Recently, CERT and the United States Department of Homeland Security recommended that computer users stop using Internet Explorer.
I was appalled to learn that you have attacked one Mr Matthew Somerville over his efforts to create a site that is easy to use and efficient. While I appreciate that you have a right to protect the use of your trademarks and copyrights, I feel that you could have better spent your time and resources on redesigning your site.
I must advise you that until such time as you see to hiring competent Web Designers that are capable of producing a modern and browser compatible web site, I am unable to continue to frequent Odeon cinemas. I will ensure that my colleagues and friends take the same action. There are simply too many alternatives (Vue and Showcase to name but two) for a cinema company to be able to act with such arrogance and disregard for their customer base.
Yours faithfully,
Nigel Smith.
Stunning work - congratulations to the US military. Let's hope this helps to end the killing of innocents in Iraq by the terrorists/Ba'athists. Has there been an equivalent to this?
It's almost as if the Western allies had captured Hitler alive...