Frankly, I don't understand what the big deal is about this, because people should create their own stuff. Is society really going to benefit from a billion Mickey knockoffs when the copyright expires?
When "Steamboat Willie" enters the public domain you get two things only:
1 The right to reproduce and distribute the cartoon, which is meaningful only if you have access to a master print, unprotected copy or restoration. "Steamboat Willie" was released in 1928 on nitrate stock with Cinephone sound-on-disk. Good luck on that one.
Good look financing a project that will compete with Disney's own compilation DVDs, which can be purchased anywhere starting at $12.
2 The right to produce derivatives based on the characters and story of "Steamboat Willie" and only "Steamboat Willie." That doesn't give you much. You want the riverboat comedy and adventure, you go to Buster Keaton and Mark Twain as your primary sources. It's the introduction of synchronized sound that makes "Willie" important. The character designs are trademarked.
The game, as packaged, as delivered to stores, needed to be changed, or modded (read: have the game content modified) in order see some badly done simulations.
Hot Coffee was found in both console pressings of the game. The console mini-games do not and can not draw on any third-party skins, scripts or other resources.
If you have a problem with skin, or sexual activity, go take your illogical crusade against that then please.
There have been creative talents like the late, lamented, Black Isle, who could have introduced sexual themes into gaming with intelligence, style and imagination.
I do have a problem with developers who show all the maturity of a high school sophomore who still keeps his stash of porn hidden under the bed.
So perhaps this comes down to proving intent. Did rock star intend hot coffee to happen? Did they want to create a whisper marketing regime. And did they actually seed the hints that it existed?
When you look at Rockstar and Hot Coffee what you see is:
1 a company that has pushed hard, recklessly, against the limits of what the general public --- not the young male-dominated gaming community --- will tolerate in an M-rated game. This is what unites Little Haiti with the soccer moms of Westchester County.
2 adult content embedded in three commercial pressings of the game
3 a "blame the hackers" PR blitz that unravelled quickly when Hot Coffee was unlocked on the consoles
The extreme criminalization of such a simple act (viewing/possessing images) scares me. I live in a dorm. It's a public place, and sometimes I leave my door open. What if I step out for a moment, and someone loads some child porn on my machine and runs away? Or what if my machine gets compromised and starts downloading such things in the background? Then I'm totally screwed
You can multiply the "what ifs" endlessly.
But the reality of an arrest for child pornography looks more like this:
The offender will be an adult male, an authority figure with daily access to children age twelve and under, perhaps most likely a teacher or other professional.
His conduct will be reckless, arrogant and self-destructive past all belief. Downloading and forwarding thousands or tens of thosands of images to his home computer from work. With little or no effort made to cover his tracks.
It will cost him his job, his career, his reputation, his marriage.
There was no way to get to those scenes without using the third-party mod.
A good working definition of a "mod" is "original content created and distributed by players." Not "a pornographic mini-game embedded in every commercial pressing of GTA: San Andreas." It became a big deal because Rockstar crossed the line --- the gangster game genre has few friends outside the gaming community.
3. Many of today's sex-related laws are based on some twisted idea of morality, and nothing more.
Your opinion, not mine.
Re:Market Opportunity for Macs and Linux
on
Buy Vista or Else
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· Score: 1
I think Apple has the ability to eat a large chunk of the Desktop OS market during the switch from XP to Vista.
The Year of Linux. The Year of the Mac.
In the home market? Not a chance. Mac users upgrade within the Mac family, Windows users within the Windows family. Nothing has significantly altered that equation in twenty-five years.
Plan number one, sell licenses to closed source software. I think you've already missed this one and it has the disadvantage that it can't compete against an open source product in the long run.
As Keynes reminded us, in the long run, we are all dead.
Closed Source continues to be competitive and profitable in many markets. Microsoft's earnings were up 5% in the last quarter to $3.65 billion USD.
If your only mode of travel is to walk from California to the District of Columbia in order to petition your government, then you are *effectively* denied your right to petition.
The right of petition is meaningless if it requires your presence in Washington.
In the 1790s long-distance travel was by stagecoach or coastal vessel. Physically demanding even for the young and fit, and damned expensive, too.
In those days you simply wrote a letter or assembled a presentation for your congressman.
And when I say share, I don't mean distribute and sell. I mean actually share, as in give away freely something they own (lawfully or not), without expectation for compensation. To strangers, no less. How often do you see that nowadays?
Ownership by definition means lawful possession.
You do not have the right to give away your neighbor's car simply because you got hold of his keys.
Doesn't the first amendment give us the right to free speech?
Norman Rockwell in illustrating FDR's Four Freedoms chose a New England town meeting to symbolize "Freedom of Speech."
The primary meaning of free speech in the American mind has always been defined as open political debate without fear of governmental interference or retaliation.
You are responsible for the files you share. That goes beyond the law of copyright. Libel is not protected speech. Obscenity is not protected speech. The whole of the law of torts, of contracts, of criminal law does not magically fade away when you invoke the words "free speech."
Re:This browser is important
on
IE7 Leaked
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· Score: 1
As of now, Windows XP (a prerequisite for this browser) does not even have 60% market share in our website logs...
That tells us absolutely nothing useful unless we know your target audience.
Disney has been stealing from the Public Domain ever since it was founded (not by making the movie itself, but by subsequently claiming copyright on the original story).
Disney's copyright is based on the studio's unique interpretation of the story. You might as well complain about Rogers and Hammerstein's take on "Cinderella" or Tim Burton's "The Corpse Bride"
Re:MOD PARENT +INF INSIGHTFUL!
on
Disney Buys Pixar
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· Score: 2, Insightful
If the current copyright laws had been in effect in the 30's and 40's, much of the Disney archive wouldn't exist, having been ripped off from 19th-century authors like the Brothers Grimm
What matters, ultimately, is Disney's unique interpretation of the story. Might as well complain about Rogers and Hammerstein's take on "Cinderella" or Tim Burton's "Corpse Bride." "Tales as old as rhyme" and all of that.
Re:MOD PARENT +INF INSIGHTFUL!
on
Disney Buys Pixar
·
· Score: 2, Insightful
I'm sure that in 1942 (i.e., 1928 + 14 years, the length the copyright term was was originally intended to be) it would have been much easier and cheaper to make a high-quality copy. Moreover, since everyone would be free to have a copy then, we'd have plenty of backups today
U.S. copyright was extended to 28 years in 1831 and the option to renew extended to 28 years in 1909.
Film conservation in the U.S. begins with New York's Museum of Modern Art in 1935. Iris Barry:
American Film Archive Pioneer "It is estimated that 75% of all silent films and 50% of all sound films made before 1950 are lost." (1992)
In 1942 the only safe and (marginally) practical means for home distribution was 8 and 16 mm projection. A steep step downward from a 35 mm nitrate master. Those of you who remember Blackhawk Films will know the cost of building a significant collection.
Walt...wasn't much interested in the business side in the first place.
Utter nonsense. As a young animator, Walt lost control of one of his early creations, Oswald The Rabbit, and was determined to never let that happen again. Late in life, when asked what he was most proud of, he pointed to his studio. Countless independents had gone belly-up or been absorbed into far larger, anonymous, corporate entities. His alone survived, with its identity and market intact.
If it weren't for the assholes at Disney (and the *AA), you'd already be able to have Steamboat Willie on your iPod, for free!
"Steamboat Willie" was released in 1928. Eight minutes. Nitrate stock. Unstable. Dangerous. Cinephone sound-on-disk. Primary sources are rare and fragile. Conservation is expensive. Restoration is expensive. There ain't no so such thing as a free lunch. The Disney archive is intact because it is self-financing.
the blogosphere is just filled with a bunch of idiots.
"Blogosphere?" Guilty as charged. Case closed.
A newspaper is defined by the quality and character of everything that makes it into print. That is why it has an editor. A strong editor will not allow op-ed debate to degenerate into unitelligible, libelous, mush.
I very much dislike reading those who write for lucre.
You will have a problem with authors of lower or middle class origins, and almost the whole of modern literature and popular culture should simply disappear from your shelves.
It is not possible for the public to by a PC (including laptops) from any of the mainline retail outlets without Microsoft Windows on it. Individuals can buy parts and assemble their own PC without paying the 'Microsoft Tax'
The pc at retail is sold as an office machine or home appliance. It must work out of the box and it must be compatible with the buyer's existing hardware and software.
Basically, you want to teach people the fundamentals of using each type of application, and keep them from using a screwdriver as a hammer (using Microsoft Word to typeset a book, for instance.)
I'd say the odds that his intended audience will be typesetting a book is about a million to one.
But they will want to know how to perform the everyday tasks that have kept Word and Publisher the most used apps in our local library.
Slashdot Mirror
When "Steamboat Willie" enters the public domain you get two things only:
1 The right to reproduce and distribute the cartoon, which is meaningful only if you have access to a master print, unprotected copy or restoration. "Steamboat Willie" was released in 1928 on nitrate stock with Cinephone sound-on-disk. Good luck on that one.
Good look financing a project that will compete with Disney's own compilation DVDs, which can be purchased anywhere starting at $12.
2 The right to produce derivatives based on the characters and story of "Steamboat Willie" and only "Steamboat Willie." That doesn't give you much. You want the riverboat comedy and adventure, you go to Buster Keaton and Mark Twain as your primary sources. It's the introduction of synchronized sound that makes "Willie" important. The character designs are trademarked.
Hot Coffee was found in both console pressings of the game. The console mini-games do not and can not draw on any third-party skins, scripts or other resources.
If you have a problem with skin, or sexual activity, go take your illogical crusade against that then please.
There have been creative talents like the late, lamented, Black Isle, who could have introduced sexual themes into gaming with intelligence, style and imagination.
I do have a problem with developers who show all the maturity of a high school sophomore who still keeps his stash of porn hidden under the bed.
When you look at Rockstar and Hot Coffee what you see is:
1 a company that has pushed hard, recklessly, against the limits of what the general public --- not the young male-dominated gaming community --- will tolerate in an M-rated game. This is what unites Little Haiti with the soccer moms of Westchester County.
2 adult content embedded in three commercial pressings of the game
3 a "blame the hackers" PR blitz that unravelled quickly when Hot Coffee was unlocked on the consoles
You can multiply the "what ifs" endlessly.
But the reality of an arrest for child pornography looks more like this:
The offender will be an adult male, an authority figure with daily access to children age twelve and under, perhaps most likely a teacher or other professional.
His conduct will be reckless, arrogant and self-destructive past all belief. Downloading and forwarding thousands or tens of thosands of images to his home computer from work. With little or no effort made to cover his tracks.
It will cost him his job, his career, his reputation, his marriage.
A good working definition of a "mod" is "original content created and distributed by players." Not "a pornographic mini-game embedded in every commercial pressing of GTA: San Andreas." It became a big deal because Rockstar crossed the line --- the gangster game genre has few friends outside the gaming community.
You hire a killer, you burn with the killer.
One short and simple question: Would you trust this man with a picture of your kid?
2. It is not illegal to be attracted to children. It is only illegal to act on it. Provided that he doesn't, he can still be a good man in my book.
Downloading and copying photographs of a child's rape is not an act?
Pedophilia isn't an attraction, it is an obsession. Careers, families and reputations destroyed. Downloads in the thousands and tens of thousands. Scout leader faces court over child pornography images
3. Many of today's sex-related laws are based on some twisted idea of morality, and nothing more.
Your opinion, not mine.
The Year of Linux. The Year of the Mac.
In the home market? Not a chance. Mac users upgrade within the Mac family, Windows users within the Windows family. Nothing has significantly altered that equation in twenty-five years.
As Keynes reminded us, in the long run, we are all dead.
Closed Source continues to be competitive and profitable in many markets. Microsoft's earnings were up 5% in the last quarter to $3.65 billion USD.
The right of petition is meaningless if it requires your presence in Washington.
In the 1790s long-distance travel was by stagecoach or coastal vessel. Physically demanding even for the young and fit, and damned expensive, too.
In those days you simply wrote a letter or assembled a presentation for your congressman.
Games like the Sims somehow manage to introduce sexual themes without descending to the level of a porno flick.
Ownership by definition means lawful possession.
You do not have the right to give away your neighbor's car simply because you got hold of his keys.
Norman Rockwell in illustrating FDR's Four Freedoms chose a New England town meeting to symbolize "Freedom of Speech."
The primary meaning of free speech in the American mind has always been defined as open political debate without fear of governmental interference or retaliation.
You are responsible for the files you share. That goes beyond the law of copyright. Libel is not protected speech. Obscenity is not protected speech. The whole of the law of torts, of contracts, of criminal law does not magically fade away when you invoke the words "free speech."
That tells us absolutely nothing useful unless we know your target audience.
Disney's copyright is based on the studio's unique interpretation of the story. You might as well complain about Rogers and Hammerstein's take on "Cinderella" or Tim Burton's "The Corpse Bride"
What matters, ultimately, is Disney's unique interpretation of the story. Might as well complain about Rogers and Hammerstein's take on "Cinderella" or Tim Burton's "Corpse Bride." "Tales as old as rhyme" and all of that.
U.S. copyright was extended to 28 years in 1831 and the option to renew extended to 28 years in 1909.
Film conservation in the U.S. begins with New York's Museum of Modern Art in 1935. Iris Barry: American Film Archive Pioneer "It is estimated that 75% of all silent films and 50% of all sound films made before 1950 are lost." (1992)
In 1942 the only safe and (marginally) practical means for home distribution was 8 and 16 mm projection. A steep step downward from a 35 mm nitrate master. Those of you who remember Blackhawk Films will know the cost of building a significant collection.
Utter nonsense. As a young animator, Walt lost control of one of his early creations, Oswald The Rabbit, and was determined to never let that happen again. Late in life, when asked what he was most proud of, he pointed to his studio. Countless independents had gone belly-up or been absorbed into far larger, anonymous, corporate entities. His alone survived, with its identity and market intact.
"Steamboat Willie" was released in 1928. Eight minutes. Nitrate stock. Unstable. Dangerous. Cinephone sound-on-disk. Primary sources are rare and fragile.
Conservation is expensive. Restoration is expensive. There ain't no so such thing as a free lunch. The Disney archive is intact because it is self-financing.
Chances are, you knew you wouldn't be attending college at all.
It is only with the end of World War II and the introduction of the G.I. Bill that you see colleges opening up to lower and middle class students.
Never if Disney continues to corrupt the copyright laws
Quickly now: name one "lost" Disney film, from the silent era to the present.
The plain truth is that the studio's archives are essentially complete and self-financing. Simple preservation costs money. Restoration costs more.
Public domain status guarantees the survival of nothing: "In spite of the heroic efforts of archives, the motion picture industry and others, America's film heritage, by any measure, is an endangered species. Fifty percent of the films produced before 1950 and 80 to 90 percent made before 1920 have disappeared forever. Sadly, our enthusiasm for watching films has proved far greater than our commitment to preserving them. And, ominously, more films are lost each year"
"Blogosphere?" Guilty as charged. Case closed.
A newspaper is defined by the quality and character of everything that makes it into print.
That is why it has an editor. A strong editor will not allow op-ed debate to degenerate into unitelligible, libelous, mush.
You will have a problem with authors of lower or middle class origins, and almost the whole of modern literature and popular culture should simply disappear from your shelves.
The pc at retail is sold as an office machine or home appliance. It must work out of the box and it must be compatible with the buyer's existing hardware and software.
I'd say the odds that his intended audience will be typesetting a book is about a million to one.
But they will want to know how to perform the everyday tasks that have kept Word and Publisher the most used apps in our local library.