well of course i cant see many people using it for browsing, but this opens up the entire possibility of multiplayer gaming, which would be better than cell phones or PDAs
The time that free P2P will fail is the time that subscription services like this can offer better service than all the other free P2P networks combined. This includes file availability, speed, and price, though the price will fall in if the first two factors are well met. This AOL service is a far cry from being anything close to affordable or useful. No one wants to pay $18 for 10 tracks, equivalent to buying a regular old CD at regular old price.
That old system is idiotic, and the entire way that the music industry does business will change. No longer will they sell albums at huge rates like we see today. If they want to survive, they will have to sell each track individually and to keep the 'album system' intact, they will have to have the price of albums significantly lower than those of the combined prices of the tracks on that album. As it is, there is no reason why a soundtrack should cost more than the movie itself, as there are obviously no development or research involved in either of the medium, there is virtually no cost to produce either medium, and the content on the DVD is greater than on the CD. Yet the RIAA blames their slumping sales *completely* on piracy.
While these are not by any means new arguments, the industry just doesn't seem to be getting the picture. By offering services like these to "cater" to your average Joe KaZaA user, they are simply outlining the fact that they don't understand why KaZaA is so successful. It offers what users want at low rates (in this case free), and for the industry to compete with that price, they will simply have to offer a better product, and people will pay for it, *somewhat* like the idea of open source.
Slashdot Mirror
"There's so much comedy on television. Does that cause comedy in the streets?"
-- Dick Cavett
well of course i cant see many people using it for browsing, but this opens up the entire possibility of multiplayer gaming, which would be better than cell phones or PDAs
The time that free P2P will fail is the time that subscription services like this can offer better service than all the other free P2P networks combined. This includes file availability, speed, and price, though the price will fall in if the first two factors are well met. This AOL service is a far cry from being anything close to affordable or useful. No one wants to pay $18 for 10 tracks, equivalent to buying a regular old CD at regular old price.
That old system is idiotic, and the entire way that the music industry does business will change. No longer will they sell albums at huge rates like we see today. If they want to survive, they will have to sell each track individually and to keep the 'album system' intact, they will have to have the price of albums significantly lower than those of the combined prices of the tracks on that album. As it is, there is no reason why a soundtrack should cost more than the movie itself, as there are obviously no development or research involved in either of the medium, there is virtually no cost to produce either medium, and the content on the DVD is greater than on the CD. Yet the RIAA blames their slumping sales *completely* on piracy.
While these are not by any means new arguments, the industry just doesn't seem to be getting the picture. By offering services like these to "cater" to your average Joe KaZaA user, they are simply outlining the fact that they don't understand why KaZaA is so successful. It offers what users want at low rates (in this case free), and for the industry to compete with that price, they will simply have to offer a better product, and people will pay for it, *somewhat* like the idea of open source.