And the FBI is violating the privacy rights of child pornographers who use the internet to distribute the content by using the same methods.
Don't equate the RIAA's actions of hunting file traders to the FBI's actions hunting kiddie porn freaks. They are COMPLETELY different subjects.
While you may think "Oh, it's illegal, they shouldn't do it. They deserve what they get," they are still not the same. Kiddie porn hurts children. It is physically and psychologically abuse. No one in their right minds wants to see that. It is something that law enforcement should be focusing on intensely.
On the other hand, copywrite infringement does not even come close to that level of crime. If I let someone download a song off me, or I download a song from someone else, who gets hurt? No one. No is suffers physical pain. No one endures a lifetime of psychological pain. The copywrite holders and only the copywrite holders, not artists unless they are the same person whcih is rare nowadays, suffers *potential* loss of sales. There is no guarentee they would have gotten that money. There is no reason for them to expect to get that money. Granted, if you do enjoy their work, you should probably conpensate who people producing it. But in reality no real damage is done.
In the case of these lawsuits, they may not physically hurt anyone, but they violate so many things that it's nearly as bad. For an entity to have the power to arbitrarily hand out subpoenas without doing research other then "that file has the same name as one of our artists!", and completely ignore privacy rights, that is going too far. They are taking people away from they're lives so that they can fight in court over a song, without any evidence besides the user name and the file name. And then, if they are actually found guilty or they simply settle because they can't afford to fight, they are sued for disproportionally large amounts, as we have seen with the recent set of college kids. Where the justice is in this, you'll have to show me, because I'm having a really hard time see it.
Yeah, but isn't a $100,000 fine a little excessive? Especially since it seems it was an honest mistake. The high road here would be quietly go to them and ask them to license their software...at regular retail prices. But then again, when you take the high road, no one can see you. And it's kinda hard to make an example out of someone when no one else can see you.
If I had to make the choice between government certified weed and weed grown by some dealer, I'd probably go with the government weed. Why?
Quality. May not be the best, but it's probably always good.
Quantity. Anyone who buys knows...when your dealer pulls nice big moist bud out of the freezer, it's almost guarenteed they've sprayed it with water to weigh it down. And when you're buying by the ounce, that extra water-weight is expensive.
Safety. Yes, it's stupid to lace weed with higher priced drugs. But that's not to say your dealer won't be wacked out of his head and slip you his special stash by accident.
Taxes. Yup...taxes. At least it's extra money that can be used for schools, services, police, fire departments, etc, etc, etc. And it's money not going towards organized crime, who actally do pose a threat to society.
There are other reasons, but that's good for now. Let's here it for government certified weed!
Uh...to summerize:
Hemp wasn't a big threat to any particular industry, and might have been a big industry on it's own, but we'll never know because it was made illegal by Harry Anslinger and demonized in the papers by William Randolph Hearst.
At risk of being modded off topic, which this completely is, I still feel I have to say something...
The issue is not only for pot smokers. While we (yes, I do admit it, and I do enjoy it) don't like the fact that one joint can get you thrown in jail, it is far more reaching then that. The entire cotton industry would thrown on it's ear if hemp were to be massively produced and manufactured into products. Not only that, but hemp can be added to other materials to increase their strength. Yet despite the fact that is does NOT get you high, it is still illegal because it is too closely related to pot. You can make up your own stories as to why this is.
As for pot itself, Georgy, in my opinion, hit the nail on the head. Why is alcohol legal and a profit maker for the government, while pot is illegal? Despite the echos of Reefer Madness, there is more to the story then most people realise. Check out the Woody Harrelson narrated Grass, which I thought did a nice job outlining the history even for a pro-pot production. Check out the web and learn what it really does, good and bad, and ask yourself why it is still illegal today. Don't simply say "it's illegal, so just don't do it." Ignorance of why it's illegal just purpetuates the myths.
Actually, no...I work for a living. And while it is unfortunate that I work in an MS evironment, that does not mean I enjoy it. So why don't you take your "Linux is God, you pathetic winders luser" attitude and shove it up your fat lazy/idiot sys-admin ass...
Now then, as I was saying. Simply because something is easy to do, such as make sure your systems are up to date, doesn't mean people will do it. There are lazy people out there, and it doesn't make a difference whether they are running windows, linux, sparc, OS/400, whatever. My point was that someone got fed up with other people not taking responsibility for they're systems, because that someone had systems that kept getting bombarded by some unpatched system run by a lazy/idiot sys admin. That someone could even be you if you really do care about the systems you maintain. So they decided to do something about it. Was it their responsibility? No...it's not their job to keep all systems in the world patched. Was it the right thing to do? I'm pretty sure that, no matter how well intentioned, writing a virus is a bad thing to do. But call that person the vigilanty hero of the software industry, because they obviously saw a problem that had to be fixed...
Fight fire with fire. Although this is the first time I've actually seen it work like this. Imagine, a virus that cleans and protects your system from another virus. And it even has the courtesy to delete itself. Actually, isn't that considered a vaccine?
The only reason this could have possibly been written is because someone got pissed off by lazy/idiot admins not patching their systems, and this is the only way they saw to stem the spread of worms. Having known a few lazy/idiot admins in my time, I'm thankful there are some productive people out there willing to put in time to actually STOP virii. Now to sit back and wait for the next virus that will attack the good virus, and then begin downloading tons of kiddie porn and illegal MP3s onto you computer. Isn't technology great?
Ah yes...as if it's not already hard enough for me to find a new job...
Programmer Wanted. Must have 100+ years experience in object-oriented programming, 50+ years as Senior Developer.
I wonder if they'll start coming up with new levels of experience? Senior Programmer...Guru Programmer...UBER Programmer...God-like Programmer. As if programmers egos weren't big enough...
While I feel for those of are stuck in the middle of SCO's huge field of BS they are currently producing, this decision shouldn't be affected by those customers. SCO has an obligation to it's customers, not the FSF or any other open-source advicate. Those customers now have to make the decision whether to stay with SCO, or move to another platform where they will have support for their software.
Well, lets see. She's cute. She's a geek. And she's intelligent. Too bad she doesn't have a snowball's chance in hell of winning, especially in celebrity-blinded California. But good luck to her anyways...maybe she can prove that there are intelligent people in California...
On top of being a computer geek, I also have an interest in sociology and psychology. I've taken all those tests that determine you're personality type, most just for fun. The important one was done with the help of a professional psychologist (no, it wasn't because I'm psychotic, it was to diagnose a learning disability...although I'm a little psychotic as it is). Anyways, from those tests, I found out that I'm sitting in the middle of being introverted and extroverted.
What does that mean? It mostly means I'm just fscked in the head, but here's my own observations. I love my time alone, and I love my own space. I like to party, but I don't like going to clubs with lots of people. It's too easy to get lost in the crowd, and I don't feel comfortable meeting people in a bar. But get me in a small group where either I know at least one person, or I just feel comfortable with a certain group, and I can talk for hours. Or party for hours. Or just do crazy stuff in general. I like the attention from a small group, and usually get known as the crazy/weird/fun one.
But the downside is that if there's someone who constantly hogs the spotlight, and it turns into a situation where I'm either being ignored (because they are just sooooooo interesting to everyone else, or just control the conversation that much) or getting picked on (by them to make themselves look better), then I turn really shy and don't want to be there. I can't seem to turn the situation around, especially if someone is using me too make themselves look better. Most people are able to fire the insults back, but I get too frustrated and just feel like leaving. It's not as fun when things are too centered on one person. I know some people are going to think I'm a hypocrite because I said I like attention, but there's a difference. I like doing fun and crazy stuff, but I like to make sure everyone is involved. Given the chance, most people like to leave their mark, whether they're introverted or extroverted. They just go about it in different ways.
If WMP doesn't play standard MP4 files then MS needs to get their act together. This is industry standard stuff.
MS? Industry standards??? Yeah...they'll just toss all those proprietary DRM file formats right in the trash and start following standards. Hell, maybe they'll even start GPLing their software too. Oh look, the pigs are starting to fly south for winter....
Ah hell, just let them become their own country. They pretty much are anyways. As a Canadian though, I'm just thankful Quebec is nothing like Texas. Or everything East of the Ottawa Valley would be the soverein nation of Quebec by now....
Having an adult comic book store does influence the community.
But it wasn't an adult comic books store. It was a comic book store with an adult section. The adult section was only accessable to adults. And an adult purchased adult material. Seems simple enough to me.
I'm Canadian, and am blissfully ignorant of Texas laws (although Texas laws seem to be blissfully ignorant of logic and reasoning), but do Texas movie rental stores have an adult section? Most independant stores I know of do, and have the "18+ only" sign above the door. Even though I was curious to see what was in there as a teenager (as every teenager is, or was before the internet was popular), I knew my chances of being in there longer then 3 seconds before being tossed outside on my ass were slim to none. Then I'd have to explain to my parents why I'm not allowed at the video store anymore.
A modern society lets you choose to believe in an invisible man in the sky. A modern society also lets you choose to read dirty comics if that's what you want to do.
That being said, are we really living in a modern society, or just a technologically advanced one?
I thought that libraries were taking the stance of destroying those records on a daily basis, to cover their asses and the asses of anyone who checks out Nineteen Eighty-Four, Bomb Making For Fun and Profit, and the Dan Quail Autobiography all at the same time?
Actually, it was called Total Information Awareness first. Then the realised people might get upset if the government was keeping a eye on everyone in the country. So they renamed it to Terrorist Information Awareness, so people would understand it's only to be used against terrorists. What people don't realise is that EVERYONE is a potential terrorist, to they'll be keeping an eye on everyone in the country anyways.
And yes, I do have my tinfoil hat on, and major league baseball has a file on all of us...
Re:Some Interesting New Products...
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I've read through some of the comments, and I have seen jokes refering to diabetes, but no serious comments. I'm personally a little disappointed. I have a friend who's lived with diabetes through most of her life, and it is NOT FUN!
I can't count the times when she's passed out from too much or too little sugar in her blood. I can't even count the number of times she's told me how she's laid back in bed having a reaction, not doing anything about it because she just wants the nightmare over with. Luckily, she has a family that cares too enough for her to not let her do that. A device that would efficiently control the glucose levels, without daily and usually unreliable amounts of insuline injections, would be a godsend for her. Diabetes isn't just some disease that you can live with and not worry. For people with the disease, it literally is a daily struggle. They find ways to live with it, but they can't lead a normal life. She has blood clots in her eyes from the sugar build up. Wounds take about twice as long to heal on her. She's lost teeth because they are rotting from the inside. She's been told by doctors that she will be lucky to make it to 50. A lot of people think that "oh you just need to take a shot every once in a while. What's so bad about that?" Unless you have the disease, or know someone who does, you can never really know the horrors it brings.
Forget human batteries. Lets start focusing on real life-saving applications.
If SCO proves their claims, then it won't be long before the Linux community re-writes those parts that IBM contributed and makes the Linux kernel "UNIX-free."
Don't we already know what parts are supposedly infringing? The journalling file system, a few other things. I can't remember them, and I'm too lazy too look them up. But I'm sure some adventurous developers do know what areas are supposedly infringing, and are re-writing those parts as we speak. We may not know what exact code SCO is trying to claim, but we know the areas. So what exactly are we worried about?
...but what does it mean in the end? Nothing at all, since MS is branded onto the forearms and foreheads of most politicians? Or will Linux become the next tool for monitoring it's citizens? Hopefully neither. Hopefully, instead, big businesses like Red Hat and Suse(through IBM) will begin lobbying the government with the same strength and voracity that MS and others have been for years. Then we can begin to see some real change, even if we have to use some of the same slimy tactics.
Funny...I've been saying this for years, in not so many words.
I've always seen it as a five to ten year cycle where the next generation of teens bucks the trends of the previous generation, bringing new sounds that are unheard of or at least old sounds repackaged to sound new. Look at everything from the beginnings of rock and roll, the 60's music revolution, the disco era, the new wave era, heavy metal's introduction, the cheesy dance music crazes of the late eighties/early ninties, the "Seattle Music Explosion" which I grew up listening to, the prepackaged pop/dance/rave era we just went through, the dark brooding prepackaged sounds like Slipknot and Staind that were going through today, and whatever the next big trend is.
And I'm sure some of you are now moaning about how I left out the rap/hip hop revolutions. While they were and are big movements in music, I personally see them as being separate from the general crazes. Rap and hip hop are popular on their own accords, mostly from their roots in the inner-city black cultures of the US. Unfortunately, like most things in the US, for the last ten years it's been sucked up by big labels and packaged for sale to middle-class suburban kids. Not a bad deal for inner-city youth looking for a way out, but I think it's sad to see the culture of a group of people being sold bit by bit to big corporations.
Then again, that just might be sentiments from the book about the global corporate branding that's been evolving over the past 10 years or so. I know, shameless plug, but the book is very interesting to read.
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And the FBI is violating the privacy rights of child pornographers who use the internet to distribute the content by using the same methods.
Don't equate the RIAA's actions of hunting file traders to the FBI's actions hunting kiddie porn freaks. They are COMPLETELY different subjects.
While you may think "Oh, it's illegal, they shouldn't do it. They deserve what they get," they are still not the same. Kiddie porn hurts children. It is physically and psychologically abuse. No one in their right minds wants to see that. It is something that law enforcement should be focusing on intensely.
On the other hand, copywrite infringement does not even come close to that level of crime. If I let someone download a song off me, or I download a song from someone else, who gets hurt? No one. No is suffers physical pain. No one endures a lifetime of psychological pain. The copywrite holders and only the copywrite holders, not artists unless they are the same person whcih is rare nowadays, suffers *potential* loss of sales. There is no guarentee they would have gotten that money. There is no reason for them to expect to get that money. Granted, if you do enjoy their work, you should probably conpensate who people producing it. But in reality no real damage is done.
In the case of these lawsuits, they may not physically hurt anyone, but they violate so many things that it's nearly as bad. For an entity to have the power to arbitrarily hand out subpoenas without doing research other then "that file has the same name as one of our artists!", and completely ignore privacy rights, that is going too far. They are taking people away from they're lives so that they can fight in court over a song, without any evidence besides the user name and the file name. And then, if they are actually found guilty or they simply settle because they can't afford to fight, they are sued for disproportionally large amounts, as we have seen with the recent set of college kids. Where the justice is in this, you'll have to show me, because I'm having a really hard time see it.
I might be able to leave the United States to either Mexico or Canada
Come to Canada. We've already established that file sharing is legal...
Yeah, but isn't a $100,000 fine a little excessive? Especially since it seems it was an honest mistake. The high road here would be quietly go to them and ask them to license their software...at regular retail prices. But then again, when you take the high road, no one can see you. And it's kinda hard to make an example out of someone when no one else can see you.
But if keep charging $100,000...the only thing they'll make is a Supertramp...
I'll guarentee you this...
If I had to make the choice between government certified weed and weed grown by some dealer, I'd probably go with the government weed. Why?
Quality. May not be the best, but it's probably always good.
Quantity. Anyone who buys knows...when your dealer pulls nice big moist bud out of the freezer, it's almost guarenteed they've sprayed it with water to weigh it down. And when you're buying by the ounce, that extra water-weight is expensive.
Safety. Yes, it's stupid to lace weed with higher priced drugs. But that's not to say your dealer won't be wacked out of his head and slip you his special stash by accident.
Taxes. Yup...taxes. At least it's extra money that can be used for schools, services, police, fire departments, etc, etc, etc. And it's money not going towards organized crime, who actally do pose a threat to society.
There are other reasons, but that's good for now. Let's here it for government certified weed!
Uh...to summerize: Hemp wasn't a big threat to any particular industry, and might have been a big industry on it's own, but we'll never know because it was made illegal by Harry Anslinger and demonized in the papers by William Randolph Hearst.
At risk of being modded off topic, which this completely is, I still feel I have to say something...
The issue is not only for pot smokers. While we (yes, I do admit it, and I do enjoy it) don't like the fact that one joint can get you thrown in jail, it is far more reaching then that. The entire cotton industry would thrown on it's ear if hemp were to be massively produced and manufactured into products. Not only that, but hemp can be added to other materials to increase their strength. Yet despite the fact that is does NOT get you high, it is still illegal because it is too closely related to pot. You can make up your own stories as to why this is.
As for pot itself, Georgy, in my opinion, hit the nail on the head. Why is alcohol legal and a profit maker for the government, while pot is illegal? Despite the echos of Reefer Madness, there is more to the story then most people realise. Check out the Woody Harrelson narrated Grass, which I thought did a nice job outlining the history even for a pro-pot production. Check out the web and learn what it really does, good and bad, and ask yourself why it is still illegal today. Don't simply say "it's illegal, so just don't do it." Ignorance of why it's illegal just purpetuates the myths.
Actually, no...I work for a living. And while it is unfortunate that I work in an MS evironment, that does not mean I enjoy it. So why don't you take your "Linux is God, you pathetic winders luser" attitude and shove it up your fat lazy/idiot sys-admin ass...
Now then, as I was saying. Simply because something is easy to do, such as make sure your systems are up to date, doesn't mean people will do it. There are lazy people out there, and it doesn't make a difference whether they are running windows, linux, sparc, OS/400, whatever. My point was that someone got fed up with other people not taking responsibility for they're systems, because that someone had systems that kept getting bombarded by some unpatched system run by a lazy/idiot sys admin. That someone could even be you if you really do care about the systems you maintain. So they decided to do something about it. Was it their responsibility? No...it's not their job to keep all systems in the world patched. Was it the right thing to do? I'm pretty sure that, no matter how well intentioned, writing a virus is a bad thing to do. But call that person the vigilanty hero of the software industry, because they obviously saw a problem that had to be fixed...
Fight fire with fire. Although this is the first time I've actually seen it work like this. Imagine, a virus that cleans and protects your system from another virus. And it even has the courtesy to delete itself. Actually, isn't that considered a vaccine?
The only reason this could have possibly been written is because someone got pissed off by lazy/idiot admins not patching their systems, and this is the only way they saw to stem the spread of worms. Having known a few lazy/idiot admins in my time, I'm thankful there are some productive people out there willing to put in time to actually STOP virii. Now to sit back and wait for the next virus that will attack the good virus, and then begin downloading tons of kiddie porn and illegal MP3s onto you computer. Isn't technology great?
I just thought Timothy had other things on his mind...
Ah yes...as if it's not already hard enough for me to find a new job...
Programmer Wanted. Must have 100+ years experience in object-oriented programming, 50+ years as Senior Developer.
I wonder if they'll start coming up with new levels of experience? Senior Programmer...Guru Programmer...UBER Programmer...God-like Programmer. As if programmers egos weren't big enough...
While I feel for those of are stuck in the middle of SCO's huge field of BS they are currently producing, this decision shouldn't be affected by those customers. SCO has an obligation to it's customers, not the FSF or any other open-source advicate. Those customers now have to make the decision whether to stay with SCO, or move to another platform where they will have support for their software.
Well, lets see. She's cute. She's a geek. And she's intelligent. Too bad she doesn't have a snowball's chance in hell of winning, especially in celebrity-blinded California. But good luck to her anyways...maybe she can prove that there are intelligent people in California...
On top of being a computer geek, I also have an interest in sociology and psychology. I've taken all those tests that determine you're personality type, most just for fun. The important one was done with the help of a professional psychologist (no, it wasn't because I'm psychotic, it was to diagnose a learning disability...although I'm a little psychotic as it is). Anyways, from those tests, I found out that I'm sitting in the middle of being introverted and extroverted.
What does that mean? It mostly means I'm just fscked in the head, but here's my own observations. I love my time alone, and I love my own space. I like to party, but I don't like going to clubs with lots of people. It's too easy to get lost in the crowd, and I don't feel comfortable meeting people in a bar. But get me in a small group where either I know at least one person, or I just feel comfortable with a certain group, and I can talk for hours. Or party for hours. Or just do crazy stuff in general. I like the attention from a small group, and usually get known as the crazy/weird/fun one.
But the downside is that if there's someone who constantly hogs the spotlight, and it turns into a situation where I'm either being ignored (because they are just sooooooo interesting to everyone else, or just control the conversation that much) or getting picked on (by them to make themselves look better), then I turn really shy and don't want to be there. I can't seem to turn the situation around, especially if someone is using me too make themselves look better. Most people are able to fire the insults back, but I get too frustrated and just feel like leaving. It's not as fun when things are too centered on one person. I know some people are going to think I'm a hypocrite because I said I like attention, but there's a difference. I like doing fun and crazy stuff, but I like to make sure everyone is involved. Given the chance, most people like to leave their mark, whether they're introverted or extroverted. They just go about it in different ways.
If WMP doesn't play standard MP4 files then MS needs to get their act together. This is industry standard stuff.
MS? Industry standards??? Yeah...they'll just toss all those proprietary DRM file formats right in the trash and start following standards. Hell, maybe they'll even start GPLing their software too. Oh look, the pigs are starting to fly south for winter....
Ah hell, just let them become their own country. They pretty much are anyways. As a Canadian though, I'm just thankful Quebec is nothing like Texas. Or everything East of the Ottawa Valley would be the soverein nation of Quebec by now....
Having an adult comic book store does influence the community.
But it wasn't an adult comic books store. It was a comic book store with an adult section. The adult section was only accessable to adults. And an adult purchased adult material. Seems simple enough to me.
I'm Canadian, and am blissfully ignorant of Texas laws (although Texas laws seem to be blissfully ignorant of logic and reasoning), but do Texas movie rental stores have an adult section? Most independant stores I know of do, and have the "18+ only" sign above the door. Even though I was curious to see what was in there as a teenager (as every teenager is, or was before the internet was popular), I knew my chances of being in there longer then 3 seconds before being tossed outside on my ass were slim to none. Then I'd have to explain to my parents why I'm not allowed at the video store anymore.
A modern society lets you choose to believe in an invisible man in the sky. A modern society also lets you choose to read dirty comics if that's what you want to do.
That being said, are we really living in a modern society, or just a technologically advanced one?
I thought that libraries were taking the stance of destroying those records on a daily basis, to cover their asses and the asses of anyone who checks out Nineteen Eighty-Four, Bomb Making For Fun and Profit, and the Dan Quail Autobiography all at the same time?
Actually, it was called Total Information Awareness first. Then the realised people might get upset if the government was keeping a eye on everyone in the country. So they renamed it to Terrorist Information Awareness, so people would understand it's only to be used against terrorists. What people don't realise is that EVERYONE is a potential terrorist, to they'll be keeping an eye on everyone in the country anyways.
And yes, I do have my tinfoil hat on, and major league baseball has a file on all of us...
Why do that, when you can just pick up a PSOne?
I've read through some of the comments, and I have seen jokes refering to diabetes, but no serious comments. I'm personally a little disappointed. I have a friend who's lived with diabetes through most of her life, and it is NOT FUN!
I can't count the times when she's passed out from too much or too little sugar in her blood. I can't even count the number of times she's told me how she's laid back in bed having a reaction, not doing anything about it because she just wants the nightmare over with. Luckily, she has a family that cares too enough for her to not let her do that. A device that would efficiently control the glucose levels, without daily and usually unreliable amounts of insuline injections, would be a godsend for her. Diabetes isn't just some disease that you can live with and not worry. For people with the disease, it literally is a daily struggle. They find ways to live with it, but they can't lead a normal life. She has blood clots in her eyes from the sugar build up. Wounds take about twice as long to heal on her. She's lost teeth because they are rotting from the inside. She's been told by doctors that she will be lucky to make it to 50. A lot of people think that "oh you just need to take a shot every once in a while. What's so bad about that?" Unless you have the disease, or know someone who does, you can never really know the horrors it brings.
Forget human batteries. Lets start focusing on real life-saving applications.
If SCO proves their claims, then it won't be long before the Linux community re-writes those parts that IBM contributed and makes the Linux kernel "UNIX-free."
Don't we already know what parts are supposedly infringing? The journalling file system, a few other things. I can't remember them, and I'm too lazy too look them up. But I'm sure some adventurous developers do know what areas are supposedly infringing, and are re-writing those parts as we speak. We may not know what exact code SCO is trying to claim, but we know the areas. So what exactly are we worried about?
...but what does it mean in the end? Nothing at all, since MS is branded onto the forearms and foreheads of most politicians? Or will Linux become the next tool for monitoring it's citizens? Hopefully neither. Hopefully, instead, big businesses like Red Hat and Suse(through IBM) will begin lobbying the government with the same strength and voracity that MS and others have been for years. Then we can begin to see some real change, even if we have to use some of the same slimy tactics.
Funny...I've been saying this for years, in not so many words.
I've always seen it as a five to ten year cycle where the next generation of teens bucks the trends of the previous generation, bringing new sounds that are unheard of or at least old sounds repackaged to sound new. Look at everything from the beginnings of rock and roll, the 60's music revolution, the disco era, the new wave era, heavy metal's introduction, the cheesy dance music crazes of the late eighties/early ninties, the "Seattle Music Explosion" which I grew up listening to, the prepackaged pop/dance/rave era we just went through, the dark brooding prepackaged sounds like Slipknot and Staind that were going through today, and whatever the next big trend is.
And I'm sure some of you are now moaning about how I left out the rap/hip hop revolutions. While they were and are big movements in music, I personally see them as being separate from the general crazes. Rap and hip hop are popular on their own accords, mostly from their roots in the inner-city black cultures of the US. Unfortunately, like most things in the US, for the last ten years it's been sucked up by big labels and packaged for sale to middle-class suburban kids. Not a bad deal for inner-city youth looking for a way out, but I think it's sad to see the culture of a group of people being sold bit by bit to big corporations.
Then again, that just might be sentiments from the book about the global corporate branding that's been evolving over the past 10 years or so. I know, shameless plug, but the book is very interesting to read.