The only way the artists are going to make more money is to sign with independent (non-RIAA member) labels. Of course the problem there would be getting exposure. In larger cities with a thriving independent music scene, this will be easier. The internet can help spread new music around without help from RIAA affiliated groups like the big record labels, ClearChannel stations and venues, etc. Once a thriving marketplace for new music exists, newer bands with talent will start using it so they can actually keep some of the money their fans pay, and fans can pay less than they pay for RIAA music.
Only the artists can make this happen. As long as they sign with RIAA labels, they will get screwed along with their fans. If they can find a way to make good money without the RIAA, that is what will lead to the downfall of the cartel. Fan boycotts won't do it, since people will still want to buy music. They need a workable alternative. This scenario is the RIAA members' biggest nightmare, which is why they have been battling all forms of online music trading since the beginning, knowing it will eventually make them obsolete.
The movie's PRODUCER, the one who dictates how it will be shown, has plenty of incentive to drive people to premium channels. They will certainly make more money this way. The pay per view model is considered ideal for them, but that will only work for better movies. You might pay $6 to buy "Night at the Roxbury" from the WalMart DVD Bin of Shame, but you won't pay $3.95 a couple of times to watch it on pay per view, even though you might do this for a better quality movie. Basic consumer psychology.
Sure, there will be some minor differences, but both parties take contributions from the same special interest groups, so they are both bought and paid for by the same people. This ensures that they will vote alike on all issues that are important to lobbyists (ie. DMCA).
This is how any free movies will be shown, in order to give the consumer more incentive to subscribe to a premium channel or to order the movie through pay per view. It's all about squeezing the maximum amount of money out of people willing to pay for movies. That being said, this plan won't be very successful if movies don't get better. People probably won't be willing to pay for most of the crap out there once its shown in the theater and everyone realizes it sucks.
This is why "patent trolls" tend to back down when they are holding onto a bogus patent and their victim seems likely to fight. The last thing they would want is to get the patent in court, where it would likely be thrown out. In any case, it would cost them a lot of money so they rarely take things to court. Their business model is to scare small businesses into a quick settlement, and use these settlements to scare larger businesses into settling. People are catching on, and this seems to be having less success than it used to.
How can we have an international minimum wage? Assuming we convert all the currencies correctly, a wage that would be well below poverty level for a family in the United States or Europe might allow an individual to live like a king in Bangladesh. This would massively disrupt the worldwide economy, and probably cause street riots in some places. The true cost of living in one place relative to another is very complicated and based on a number of factors, some objective and some not. I don't think it would be possible to make this work, even with the very best of intentions.
Actually, you can't do this anymore. The rules were changed a few years ago. Now, when you file for a patent, the clock starts immediately. The validity of a patent has been expanded to 20 years, from the original 17, in order to account for the filing period. This change was made to stop people from doing what you just described. Unfortunately, a few of these "submarine patents" still remain.
Cool. That means I get to sue everyone who filed a patent and listed other patents as references. I bet nobody patented this process yet. I could probably make a case against the patent office itself. Since prior art is apparently no longer a limitation, I can't see how this would fail! The key would be, making my patent state that this will be done using the internet. Since all patents are now online and searchable, they all infringe!
Like other corporate trends such as six sigma, offshore outsourcing, quarterly layoffs and mission statements, patent barratry will be considered essential for a while, Fortune magazine will rave about the need to "protect your intellectual property", then it will die down. Once companies see that it costs far more money than they could ever take in from it, and all proceeds go to the lawyers, this will fall out of fashion. Until then, the damage will be costly, especially to small companies which can't afford a big fight.
Maybe if you'd change your shitty attitude, you wouldn't have so many problems keeping a job. I'm sure you're very intelligent and your technical skills are probably above average. If you constantly act like an arrogant know-it-all and have no tact when dealing with people, nobody will want you around no matter how smart you are, even if you are right. I've seen your previous posts, and apparently you've been through a few layoffs.
Honestly, I'm not trying to flame; I think you should take this seriously. You'll be much happier if you aren't constantly butting heads with people. Yes, there are moronic managers out there. The sooner you learn to make politics work to your advantage instead of against you every time, the better off your career will be.
Is this a serious concern? If you have an employee that wants to get data so bad that he'll turn it into a sound file and stream it over his wireless speakers and have a receiver elsewhere to download it, he seems pretty determined and will get that data one way or another. Disabling a speaker port won't stop somebody like that. If you work in a business where data theft is a huge concern, I recommend employee background checks more than anything. Treating people well so they aren't inclined to want revenge on the company will also go a long way towards protecting data.
Just go onto Yahoo message boards and make fun of sbcglobal.net users (the ones that actually put their real email address on the public boards). If they're dumb enough to have their real email address displayed to attract spam, you can just imagine the kinds of crap they spew onto the boards.
I just love how they have advertisements on the most expensive "premium" online service. That, along with their network difficulties, ran me off of their service back in 1997. Good thing these people don't run HBO or Cinemax, I bet they would have ads in the middle of the movies.
The best way, by far, to cancel AOL is to incorrectly update your credit card number or expiration date, causing the card to be invalid at the next monthly renewal period. Bingo, instant account cancellation and no more bills for 3 months after you cancel.
What some people don't realize is that nonprofit is simply a tax status. Nothing more. It does not mean that the group makes no money or should get stuff free. Whether a group is worthy of getting something free depends on a number of factors, many of them subjective and opinion-based, and nonprofit status certainly does not make it automatic.
Many Americans are certainly ignorant and gullible. How else would they be able to sell the shit thats advertised on late night infomercials? Somebody must be buying it.
Speaking of Michael, I'm just waiting to hear Michael Moore's conspiracy theories about how Bush's little green men rigged the election. He seemed absolutely certain that Kerry would win, so I'm sure he'll have a hard time dealing with this.
Career change is difficult whether you are a bartender concerned about secondhand smoke or a programmer concerned about outsourcing.
Difficult, yes. But sometimes that's what you've got to do. In both cases, you can either take responsibility for yourself or you can whine to the government to take care of the problem for you. Guess which method has been shown to be more successful? When I was a kid, I had to quit mowing yards because the hayfever was killing me. Did I run to the government begging for help? No, I found other work to make up for the loss of money. I pinched pennies for a while until I got a job at the church running the sound board. If the ability to adapt to a changing environment, or changing desires is elitist, then I'm proud to be a member of the elite.
I wouldn't call this a dangerous trend. I'd say it highlights the age old issue of buyer beware (or downloader beware). If you download an anti-spyware application, it is critical that you understand what it looks for and what kind of reputation it has. Even a nontechnical user can do a Google search for a product name. As soon as free spyware removers started showing up on the internet, I knew it was only a matter of time before a spyware vendor either packaged spyware as anti-spyware or made a deal with an anti-spyware company. If the user stays informed, this is a non-problem. There's plenty of information available on the internet about spyware. Companies like Aluria Software will get a clue when they see their number of users drop and realize that's the price to be paid for practices like these.
I respect their health too, but I have never met a single person who works in a bar and is a non-smoker. I've been waiting for a counterexample for a long time. Anyway, people have a choice over where they work. There are plenty of non-smoking workplaces out there.
Technically they should. Of course a reasonable replacement fee of $2 to pay for the extra materials would be fair. If they want to call it a license instead of a product, then the physical form should not matter. This is especially true with software. Companies at the moment are really enjoying having their cake and eating it too. If I damage a device I bought, like an MP3 player, I'm out of luck. At the same time, I don't hear manufacturers complaining about people copying the device for a friend.
Nope. I don't smoke at all. Never have. I just can't stand extremists, and that includes hysterical anti-smokers. I think non-smoking sections in restaurants are a great idea; I just don't think it's the end of the world if I have to smell smoke for a few seconds. As for people who blow their smoke in the face of non-smokers, I can't stand them either. It's all about moderation.
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The only way the artists are going to make more money is to sign with independent (non-RIAA member) labels. Of course the problem there would be getting exposure. In larger cities with a thriving independent music scene, this will be easier. The internet can help spread new music around without help from RIAA affiliated groups like the big record labels, ClearChannel stations and venues, etc. Once a thriving marketplace for new music exists, newer bands with talent will start using it so they can actually keep some of the money their fans pay, and fans can pay less than they pay for RIAA music.
Only the artists can make this happen. As long as they sign with RIAA labels, they will get screwed along with their fans. If they can find a way to make good money without the RIAA, that is what will lead to the downfall of the cartel. Fan boycotts won't do it, since people will still want to buy music. They need a workable alternative. This scenario is the RIAA members' biggest nightmare, which is why they have been battling all forms of online music trading since the beginning, knowing it will eventually make them obsolete.
The movie's PRODUCER, the one who dictates how it will be shown, has plenty of incentive to drive people to premium channels. They will certainly make more money this way. The pay per view model is considered ideal for them, but that will only work for better movies. You might pay $6 to buy "Night at the Roxbury" from the WalMart DVD Bin of Shame, but you won't pay $3.95 a couple of times to watch it on pay per view, even though you might do this for a better quality movie. Basic consumer psychology.
Sure, there will be some minor differences, but both parties take contributions from the same special interest groups, so they are both bought and paid for by the same people. This ensures that they will vote alike on all issues that are important to lobbyists (ie. DMCA).
This is how any free movies will be shown, in order to give the consumer more incentive to subscribe to a premium channel or to order the movie through pay per view. It's all about squeezing the maximum amount of money out of people willing to pay for movies. That being said, this plan won't be very successful if movies don't get better. People probably won't be willing to pay for most of the crap out there once its shown in the theater and everyone realizes it sucks.
This is why "patent trolls" tend to back down when they are holding onto a bogus patent and their victim seems likely to fight. The last thing they would want is to get the patent in court, where it would likely be thrown out. In any case, it would cost them a lot of money so they rarely take things to court. Their business model is to scare small businesses into a quick settlement, and use these settlements to scare larger businesses into settling. People are catching on, and this seems to be having less success than it used to.
How can we have an international minimum wage? Assuming we convert all the currencies correctly, a wage that would be well below poverty level for a family in the United States or Europe might allow an individual to live like a king in Bangladesh. This would massively disrupt the worldwide economy, and probably cause street riots in some places. The true cost of living in one place relative to another is very complicated and based on a number of factors, some objective and some not. I don't think it would be possible to make this work, even with the very best of intentions.
Actually, you can't do this anymore. The rules were changed a few years ago. Now, when you file for a patent, the clock starts immediately. The validity of a patent has been expanded to 20 years, from the original 17, in order to account for the filing period. This change was made to stop people from doing what you just described. Unfortunately, a few of these "submarine patents" still remain.
Cool. That means I get to sue everyone who filed a patent and listed other patents as references. I bet nobody patented this process yet. I could probably make a case against the patent office itself. Since prior art is apparently no longer a limitation, I can't see how this would fail! The key would be, making my patent state that this will be done using the internet. Since all patents are now online and searchable, they all infringe!
Like other corporate trends such as six sigma, offshore outsourcing, quarterly layoffs and mission statements, patent barratry will be considered essential for a while, Fortune magazine will rave about the need to "protect your intellectual property", then it will die down. Once companies see that it costs far more money than they could ever take in from it, and all proceeds go to the lawyers, this will fall out of fashion. Until then, the damage will be costly, especially to small companies which can't afford a big fight.
Or the version for lawyers (quick, somebody patent this): People who infringe this patent are also infringing patents 4,456,456 4,654,123, ...
Maybe if you'd change your shitty attitude, you wouldn't have so many problems keeping a job. I'm sure you're very intelligent and your technical skills are probably above average. If you constantly act like an arrogant know-it-all and have no tact when dealing with people, nobody will want you around no matter how smart you are, even if you are right. I've seen your previous posts, and apparently you've been through a few layoffs.
Honestly, I'm not trying to flame; I think you should take this seriously. You'll be much happier if you aren't constantly butting heads with people. Yes, there are moronic managers out there. The sooner you learn to make politics work to your advantage instead of against you every time, the better off your career will be.
Is this a serious concern? If you have an employee that wants to get data so bad that he'll turn it into a sound file and stream it over his wireless speakers and have a receiver elsewhere to download it, he seems pretty determined and will get that data one way or another. Disabling a speaker port won't stop somebody like that. If you work in a business where data theft is a huge concern, I recommend employee background checks more than anything. Treating people well so they aren't inclined to want revenge on the company will also go a long way towards protecting data.
Just go onto Yahoo message boards and make fun of sbcglobal.net users (the ones that actually put their real email address on the public boards). If they're dumb enough to have their real email address displayed to attract spam, you can just imagine the kinds of crap they spew onto the boards.
I just love how they have advertisements on the most expensive "premium" online service. That, along with their network difficulties, ran me off of their service back in 1997. Good thing these people don't run HBO or Cinemax, I bet they would have ads in the middle of the movies.
The best way, by far, to cancel AOL is to incorrectly update your credit card number or expiration date, causing the card to be invalid at the next monthly renewal period. Bingo, instant account cancellation and no more bills for 3 months after you cancel.
What some people don't realize is that nonprofit is simply a tax status. Nothing more. It does not mean that the group makes no money or should get stuff free. Whether a group is worthy of getting something free depends on a number of factors, many of them subjective and opinion-based, and nonprofit status certainly does not make it automatic.
Many Americans are certainly ignorant and gullible. How else would they be able to sell the shit thats advertised on late night infomercials? Somebody must be buying it.
I'll bet they don't have software patents either! Or a DMCA. Hey, if you're looking to start a technology company...
Speaking of Michael, I'm just waiting to hear Michael Moore's conspiracy theories about how Bush's little green men rigged the election. He seemed absolutely certain that Kerry would win, so I'm sure he'll have a hard time dealing with this.
I assure you, we won't miss you a bit, Misseau Christophe. We have enough whiny babies here, and we certainly don't need more.
Career change is difficult whether you are a bartender concerned about secondhand smoke or a programmer concerned about outsourcing.
Difficult, yes. But sometimes that's what you've got to do. In both cases, you can either take responsibility for yourself or you can whine to the government to take care of the problem for you. Guess which method has been shown to be more successful? When I was a kid, I had to quit mowing yards because the hayfever was killing me. Did I run to the government begging for help? No, I found other work to make up for the loss of money. I pinched pennies for a while until I got a job at the church running the sound board. If the ability to adapt to a changing environment, or changing desires is elitist, then I'm proud to be a member of the elite.
I wouldn't call this a dangerous trend. I'd say it highlights the age old issue of buyer beware (or downloader beware). If you download an anti-spyware application, it is critical that you understand what it looks for and what kind of reputation it has. Even a nontechnical user can do a Google search for a product name. As soon as free spyware removers started showing up on the internet, I knew it was only a matter of time before a spyware vendor either packaged spyware as anti-spyware or made a deal with an anti-spyware company. If the user stays informed, this is a non-problem. There's plenty of information available on the internet about spyware. Companies like Aluria Software will get a clue when they see their number of users drop and realize that's the price to be paid for practices like these.
I respect their health too, but I have never met a single person who works in a bar and is a non-smoker. I've been waiting for a counterexample for a long time. Anyway, people have a choice over where they work. There are plenty of non-smoking workplaces out there.
Technically they should. Of course a reasonable replacement fee of $2 to pay for the extra materials would be fair. If they want to call it a license instead of a product, then the physical form should not matter. This is especially true with software. Companies at the moment are really enjoying having their cake and eating it too. If I damage a device I bought, like an MP3 player, I'm out of luck. At the same time, I don't hear manufacturers complaining about people copying the device for a friend.
Nope. I don't smoke at all. Never have. I just can't stand extremists, and that includes hysterical anti-smokers. I think non-smoking sections in restaurants are a great idea; I just don't think it's the end of the world if I have to smell smoke for a few seconds. As for people who blow their smoke in the face of non-smokers, I can't stand them either. It's all about moderation.