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User: fr0dicus

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Comments · 615

  1. Re:Not Black and White on Aussie Students Face Jail Over Music Sharing Site · · Score: 1
    This is a civil offence. A jail sentence is completely out of order in this case. Scale should have no bearing. The current unit royalty model is backwards and flawed, given the advent of modern technology.

    The RIAA is run by ordinary people who realise that technology has made some of their roles in the music distribution system redundant, and instead of accepting this, they are throwing money at ordinary people in government in a bid to keep flogging the dying model as it stands currently. Money talks.

    By the way, if you think the average artist makes any money from media sales, even before the first file sharing applications came along, then you'd better check these ideas again. The RIAA are working for themselves, and screwing the artists left, right, and centre. The only value in releasing music through standard channels is the lottery that you may really 'make it', and to put something in the hands of the fans so that by the time you manage to tour in their area they know who you are. When a band signs with a label, they start off in debt for the production and promotion of their first album, as well as the advance. Their 'royalties' are immediately deducted against this expense until they break even. More often than not, this is never. The best thing you can do for your favourite bands is to go and watch them live.

  2. Not Black and White on Aussie Students Face Jail Over Music Sharing Site · · Score: 1
    He's not stealing directly, hell, he may not even have had one single copied track for personal use, he just provided a medium that allowed sharing (unlikely I know, but possible). Now obviously, this is bad in a bulk scenario like this, but the license being broken is the one that prohibits lending, hiring, copying, sharing, broadcast and public performance. The license that prevents you from even giving it to a friend to try, or playing it at a party without permission. Heaven forbid you were to make a personal copy (maybe for your car) and let someone have this.

    The problem is fair use, and although I don't agree that these sites/people with GB upon GB of music shared and copied should be allowed to get away with it, I also don't agree with the RIAA's position that (for example) music sharing in iTunes over the internet should be disabled. The former is blatant and evil, but the latter is a means for people to share and enjoy music they've bought, and clearly can only help their sales. Apple tied it down to limit the number of connections, and as it was not (in its natural guise) an automatically advertised service, it could only be used to stream audio from people who you knew. The fact that people abused it was, in my opinion, completely besides the point. People have been abusing cassette decks, CD writers, amateur broadcast etc. for years.

    The point that always seems to take its time to worm out here is simply that the RIAA have seen their market shrink, due simply to much more competition for peoples pocket money, primarily from DVD, but also from the current generation of gaming consoles. Unfortunately I believe there are too many overpaid and underworked people in the music distribution industry that have managed to find the time and resources to lead this witch hunt in order that they can continue to justify their tenuous positions. It's not going to change while government continues to bend over backwards for them and ordinary people turn a blind eye and don't realise their own rights. CD has had its day as the sweet spot medium, no-one is replacing vinyl anymore, some people (me included) think that the quality of output has decreased, and in this context their sales are actually pretty good! I like to buy my music when it's been out a while and has hit the sales racks now, it means I have more money to spend on DVDs and games, and hopefully it hurts these idiots more into the bargain. :-)

  3. Re:Apple tells you this when you download iTunes on iTunes Disables MusicMatch · · Score: 1
    If you want to take the posture that your Windows setup is as important as some critical piece of business equipment then you'd better just read the damn EULA that comes with products in the first place, as you would there.

    Chances are you had Musicsnatch installed in order to update your iPod in the first place and it beggars belief that you'd want to keep it for that purpose after seeing and installing iTunes. I don't even know why I'm typing this because it's just the same attitude I always see from Windows using trolls who are jealous of the quality of Apple's stuff and desperately seek some pathetically minor point to snipe at them with.

  4. Re:Apple tells you this when you download iTunes on iTunes Disables MusicMatch · · Score: 1

    I'd feel an ounce of sorrow if musicmatch wasn't a pile of steaming turd.

  5. Re:AAC != MP3 != WMA != OGG on 5 Reasons Not to Buy an iPod · · Score: 1

    Since when was OGG superior to AAC? It certainly doesn't sound that way to me!

  6. The more you tighten your grip on Longhorn's Flash Killer? · · Score: 1
    The more systems will slip through their fingers.

    -- Princess Leia

  7. Re:Apple tells you this when you download iTunes on iTunes Disables MusicMatch · · Score: 1
    You're not required to use iTunes with your iPod though; they're simply stating that if you want to use iTunes, then they're going to break Musicmatch for you (temporarily). Musicmatch will work just fine if you don't install iTunes. I don't see how this is any different to any other piece of software that comes with hardware, do you have an alternative to NVidia drivers? I find it strange that Windows users of all people should moan about this sort of thing. In terms of a license it's nothing new. If you do {this} you have to accept {that}, in this case where {this}=install iTunes and {that}=accept that musicmatch will temporarily break and Quicktime will be installed.

    In mannerism it's no different to any other license (try subbing in {this}=use our code and {that}=release all your code too, familiar?).

  8. Re:Patch bug or PEBKAC? on Apple Releases Security and Xcode Updates · · Score: 1
    Put your Terminal.app back in /Applications/Utilities.

    Worked for me.

  9. Re:The future of Linux is the Desktop/Set-top/Game on Linus Holds Forth On the Future of Linux · · Score: 1

    What's obselete? I don't understand your point here.

  10. Re:The future of Linux is the Desktop/Set-top/Game on Linus Holds Forth On the Future of Linux · · Score: 1

    Linux will never get Apple's marketshare. OS X is a Rolls Royce of a desktop operating system, bought buy people with as much money as sense. The first thing I hear the average Linux/Windows user say about OS X is 'it seems quite expensive'. Linux's target market should be the people who don't/won't/can't pay for Windows.

  11. Re:Nice but... on Multi Theft Auto Gets Stunt Update · · Score: 1
    I don't see any reports about the new map hacks in Warcraft 3 appearing or the new update that was released for C&C:Generals Zero Hour either.
    So submit them! Slashdot only works if people do their bit, just like OSS.
  12. Re:Wow those Macs look nice on Panther Released into the Wild · · Score: 1
    It's still missing some features I want, like support for forwarding messages as attachments.
    I don't understand why people like this feature.... all it does is piss off the recipients of the forwarded mail. My boss forwards mail like this all the time - I think I am going to kill him before the year is out.
  13. Re:OT: What songs are on apple? on Paying for Apple iTunes with PayPal · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Seeing as the product is only available on Windows and MacOS, isn't this something of a strange attitude to have?

  14. Re:Buy this! on Apple Updates iBook Line With G4 Processor · · Score: 1

    Gnome is a pretty feeble Aqua substitute dude.

  15. Re:Necessary Move on Apple Updates iBook Line With G4 Processor · · Score: 1
    Apple's market is now experienced computer users who find that the Windows world has failed them and the Linux world still takes too much effort.
    I wouldn't say Linux was too much effort, just that it's not as good as OS X.

    :-)

  16. Re:Can anyone explain why on Apple Updates iBook Line With G4 Processor · · Score: 1

    Import duty would take a HEAVY chunk out of that price difference I'm afraid :(

  17. Yes, it would on Apple Updates iBook Line With G4 Processor · · Score: 1

    If IBM, and not Apple, made the sexiest notebooks in the known universe.

  18. Re:say it ain't so.. on Microsoft Antitrust Compliance Questioned · · Score: 2, Funny

    is slashdot auto-highlighting spelling errors now?

  19. Re:Kazaa and other file sharing services on Windows iTunes Sells A Million Songs In 3.5 Days · · Score: 1

    .... not to mention it's so damn fast to locate and download.

  20. Re:Can PC users tets it and report? on Apple Releases iTunes for Windows · · Score: 1

    WTF? Next you'll be telling me that there are no windows machines with aqua GUIs out there.

  21. Re:Because the damn thing just plain works. on Apple to Launch iTunes for Windows · · Score: 1

    Sell all your chintz and buy an iBook and an iPod ;)

  22. Re:Why? on Apple to Launch iTunes for Windows · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Apple wouldn't be able to distribute the music without DRM, they simply wouldn't get the license to do so from the RIAA.

  23. Re:There go my savings. on The Borg MegaCube · · Score: 1

    You could just buy each series seperately. From the picture it just looks like each individual series in a (fairly crap looking) cardboard box.

  24. Re:Not a desktop on XFce Desktop 4 Released · · Score: 1
    (A prominent XFCE user and supporter is, btw., Alan Cox.)
    I couldn't have argued against Xfce's useability better. Thanks for making my point for me.
  25. N-Gage killer on Nintendo Announces Wireless GBA Adapter · · Score: 1

    Now the only advantage the N-Gage has is headache inducing effects. Even this could probably be accomplished using a cheap magnifying attachment from Gamester or someone.