Don't they already get all the profits from iTunes? Apple gets 20-30cents to cover the cost of storing and transfering the file; server space, electricity, bandwidth and the R&D cost of the iTunes software and the RIAA gets the rest. Jobs was right to call them greedy, but we already knew that. They get all the iTunes profits and still want more and know the paying customers are not going to like it if prices go uver 99c so they're going after Apple's iPod profits.
"as i understand it, there's a contract up for renewal between apple and the music industry? this would just be posturing during the negotiations. normally the public isn't exposed to the bickering, lies and pissing matches between a retail outlet and their suppliers during the purchasing process."
If it is a contract dispute/negotiation, just look at the last section. They signed seven year contracts with satellite radio providers then a few years later they realize they could have gotten a lot more for it and now want to back out of/get more money from an already signed contract. Maybe the satellite providers should TiVo them, charge them a large cancellation fee equal to their proposed increase in the contract.
Yes, they are confused and/or want another way to say "We want songs sond with iTunes to be $2.49 each with the encoding dropped down to 96kbps at 40Hz" Many flaws in their "logic". Having an iPod and running iTunes doesn't mean you're buying from the iTunes store. Buying from the iTunes store doesn't mean you have an iPod. I have an iPod and use iTunes, I havn't had much luck with the Winamp plugin. I buy the little music I have in the form of used CDs and rip them at 320kbps. I know people use buy from the iTunes store then rip the tracks for use with their simple $10 mp3 player or just play on their PC, nothin wrong with a laptop and headphones. I guess they don't want to realize that not all iPods are used to play content owned by their company. The iPod also plays music from independent bands and podcasts and prerecorded class lecture info, think the Duke iPod project, and be used as and external hdd. They may be trying the Canadian levy/tax/whatever approach. Since the device could possibly be used to hold their content, which was legally obtained, they should be awarded a share of the profits even though they had nothing to do with the design manufacture or sale of the device. Those damn greedy RITA* bastards.
*RITA=Recording Industry Trust of America (nothing to do with the hurricane, I've been using it since before the storm existed)
It makes perfect sense(from the point of view of the company), they screwed up by adding the broadcast flag then implemented a damage control measure, I mean $150 cancellation fee, in an attempt to prevent customers from cancelling what they no longer consider to be an acceptible service after a non-optional "upgrade"/"feature". A previous comment mentioned the "upgrade" was required to get an official license to support DVDs. I just looked at the TiVo store, what about the basic model that doesn't even have a DVD player? If it doesn't have a DVD drive then it should not have the DVD support or the DRM crap that goes with it.
Are there any stand alone DVR/PVRs left that don't require a subscription and/or contract and can easily transfer content to a PC and are easy to use? My parents the and rest of my family are interested in getting one. The key words being "rest of my family" I can figure out how to work any piece of consumer electronics, but they need something that is no more difficult to operate than the common VCR. Don't say MythTV, the average WinXP PC is too complicated.
That would further expand the definiton of a planet as there isn't much you can't blow up with the Death Star, the rebel cruisers in Return of the Jedi and the targeted rebel base in A New Hope on the moon of Yavin. It may even be able to destroy a star, since it got from Aldaraan to Yavin in what was at most a few I'm guess it has hyperdrive and can outrun the shockwave created by an exploding/collapsing star.
What about twin planets, say Romulus and Remus? They both appear to be planets, they do support life, which one would be conidered the domanant planetary body in its region of space? As far as Pluto and everything else in the Kuiper belt, we won't be able to agree on it until infinite improbability drive is invented or V'ger 6 is launched to map the area.
What about one of those "super" DVDs, the ones claimed to be extra scratch resistant and needing nothing less than a hammer to break? If stored in a cardboard box(away from light) inside a tupperware with a decent air seal it should last many years. Since most encryption from present day will probably be able to be broken in about 5min 40yrs from now you're better off storing it in plain text. My plans for keeping data around for the next 50yrs is to make new copies on the newer medium. I still have some files from 5.25" floppies from the late 80s. They're now on DVD and when the DVDs replacement is eventually made they'll be copied to that.
Not even all judges in the US have proper training and experience. If I remember correctly from an into to criminal justice class a couple years ago there are places in the US where the judges and sherifs are elected, think of that movie with The Rock. And some of the appointed ones do favors for the politicians who supported their appointment. Would you want to be someone who supported the other guy in an election for the top law enforcement officer and/or judge in your county? Ideally the US legal system is very good, in practice it isn't that good everywhere. We have judges who don't agree with each other here, do you really want that rivalry passed around the world?
"which the department claims costs US businesses $250bn (£138bn) and 750,000 jobs per year" I wonder where they got those numbers from. I've seen estimates claiming that they lose 2%-12% a year because of "piracy". That would put their worth at between 2 and 12500 trillion, for some reason I don't think they're worth that much. But lets not forget 42% of stats are made up on the spot. And 750000 jobs a year? I wonder how many of those were "lost" from outsourcing their CD production so they only have to pay the labor 50c a week. I have a better idea, lets modify existing US anti-trust laws and make the RIAA illegal. That way no one will have to waste their time and money having to deal with them and it will cause competition and prices will drop. $250bl can feed and shelter a LOT of people. I've heard software "piracy" is bad in China, but is it really 90% of software? And lets not forget that they have to deal with real pirates, the kind the seize ships and kill people. Maybe it's about time they realize how much money they really have(Bender takes out the monicle) and give some to a good cause. Even Bill Gates has given several hundered million to medical research and other things. When's the last time you heard about the RIAA donating money to take care of the world hunger problem or medical research or a hurricae relief fund? I don't like my donations to the EFF being wasted on countering their billion dollar "anti-piracy" crusades. Their lawsuits are a very big waste of money, people with money throwing money at other people throwing money back at them in an attempt to get more money. And all the money funneled into political funds to get their legislation passed. At least there are tv and movie personalities encouraging charitable donations. But from the RIAA's music industry all you hear is how this rapper popped a cap in that other rapper and some manufactured teenage one hit wonder got knocked up again with her nth kid from her n+2th boyfriend. Ok, maybe that's a bad generalization.
"Enhanced CDs" have additional/bonus content that can be accessed with a PC, pics, video clips, etc. I think the fancy new copy protected/DRM-ed CDs are the ones that don't play on everything. It seems to be saying that the RIAA is planning to put some silly pointless DRM on ALL its new CDs. It will probably be based on the one that can be disabled by disbling autoplay or holding shift. They probably want to inculde a key/license on their new disks so they won't work on anything that won't allow it to install its own software, Macs Linux and stand alone CD players with nothing more than their simple firmware. Those Damn Greedy Bastards! I only buy used CDs, no reason to give them any more money, soon I'm going to stop buying CDs. All they have to do is cross the general paying customer population once then there will be a universal backlash against their useless DRM schemes and everything will go back to how it was before nappster, all unDRMed material. It will be better if the hardware makers continue to reject the RIAAs "requests" to include their "features" into their players. Their anti-piracy crusade is only going to piss off the paying customers. "Pirates" don't care and will always find ways around it or obtain unDRMed copies from an inside source. In a way they will be "Enhanced CDs", the bad kind that trys to install RIAA malware. They should be labeled as WAPNDODD "Windows Auto-Play Not Disabled Only DRM-ed Disks"
You'd have to make sure the case got to court first and it would probably cost you more in legal fees than to buy a bunch of used CDs. The RIAA looks like an organization that would back out of a lawsuit/civil case at the first sign of you winning. Even then it probably wouldn't get a precedent setting legal decision stopping all future lawsuits. That would be an interesting defence considering the RIAA sould be required to provide you with a list of "infringing" works. It shouldn't cost anywhere near their suggested setting fee of $3500 to borrow from friends go into a used CD store and buy copies of all or most of the list. Since they're used they'll show all the needed signs of wear caused by everyday use and you don't even need a recept to show when you bought them. Then if you want you can resell on ebay or half or amazon for at least your purchase price. To make it more convincing show up with a box of CDs and an iPod and claim that you don't share music files and the only way they could have seen what's in your collection is if they did something unauthorized to your PC to view your iTunes library. It would be purgery(if you get caught) but it would be interesting to see the RIAA's reaction when accused of hacking to find MP3 files. They probably pay a bounty to the IP data miners so they have no idea how the IPa and lista are really obtained.
Would that make DRM guily under the now dead INDUCE Act? After all it did "encourage" you to break/bypass the DRM by not working where it should have worked.
It's funny for the first 5min until you really think about it. It's kind of funny in concept and seeing that guy running away in pain because he didn't have enough chest padding. The only useful use I can think of is if you own a painball capture the flag course. An automated turret could be mounted above/near the flag. Then you'd need some team beacons to avoid friendly fire and aid with aiming, RF/WiFi/Bluetooth/other. As for home "defence" it's no more useful than the Laptop Gun in Perfect Dark, useless when it expends it's ammo in 2-3sec and when someone sees it. Once the robber saw it you'd be out a perfectly good airsoft gun. You'd be better off with a hidden cameras with montion sensor focused on the most likely points of entry. So when the police arrive you can give them a picture of the criminal instead of telling them to duck as you attempt to deactive your home-made "security system".
"Airsoft players live by the #1 strict rule to wear eyes protection at all times." I hope you got the reference to "A Christmas Story"
yes, always use proper safety equipment and gun control at all times, use both hands and always treat it as if it is loaded. I see the face mask and cup but can't tell if he has any chest protection. If I were to do that at thay range I'd have at least a layer of cardboard(worked for targets at 10') and maybe a layer of bubble wrap under it. And don't even think of going near one if you've been drinking and firing randomly at people and objects. I have a small welt on the back of my calf because some fool let another drunken fool get a hold of his gun and ammo. It was from about 20', nothing near as bad as the picture but they'll still leave a mark. Some people need to understand that even though they're made of plastic and are painted orage they are NOT toys. If you want to play go find an NES with Zapper and go play Duckhunt or Hogan's Alley.
Is it still considered booby-trapping if you put up a "trespassers will be shot" sign? Just be sure to turn it off around mail time, don't want to hit the USPS/UPS/FedEX/DHL person delivering your new hdd or motherboard or notification of lawsuit from the person you hit the day before.
It's all fun and games until someone gets shot in the eye, about 50 times if it empties the magazine on you. Then it's even funnier to everyone else if you get it on camera.
"Plus, a UPS is a reasonably common household item"
Maybe for the Slashdot crowd and any of our friends we suggested getting one to. Even while living in college dorms subject to power outages once a week or two there were only two of us with a UPS. It was nice to be able to have a fan during the warmer days of April and May and a lamp in the evening and the fun of watching tv during a longer outage. Unfortunately the UPS I had at the time didn't have a silent option so if I wanted the fan/light/tv I had to deal with the constant beeping.
"it's sad but it can be countered through education."
Unless they were forced to take the RIAA respect copyright classes. I don't remember if they were only a proposed classes as condition or receiving a "generous" donation or it may have been for British students or maybe even Florida.
Most of the DL disks I've seen have two copies of the movie, maybe different angles for improved 3D view or something. The reauthoring option is nice, pick only the main movie and remove all the unneeded audio tracks, why have 5.1 surround and 4 languages with subtitles if your tv is only 2.0 surround, that will remove several hundered MB. If you want 90%+ of the original you can set the start and end frames, remove begining and ending credits, those few minutes of end credits will get you another 5-7% for the movie.
disclaimer: only use that for movies you own, or people you know who you're charging to make the backup of their disk for them.
Yes, I wonder how the rating system works, and it better not be by age. Before the special effects revolution of the late 90s movies relied on something called 'good acting' and 'plot' and 'story line' I'd take "a bunch of Clint Eastwood movies from the 70s" over something new like the Dukes of Hazzard and any of the soon to be new releases from this summer's crash and burn titles. They should scrap the "peerbux rating" and give everyone the matching offers and let them decide. If I was offering Stealth, that is after the DVD release, and got a return offer of Dirty Harry I'd take it.
"But being as this is a.44 Magnum, the most powerful handgun in the world, and would blow your head clean off, you've got to ask yourself one question: Do I feel lucky? Well, do ya punk?" -Dirty Harry
Can't forget the FBI anti-piracy warning now being printed ON the disks, yes they ruin the woderful disk art are by printing the anti-piracy seal on the disk itself.
"FBI Anti-Piracy Warning:
Unauthorized copying is punishable under federal law"
yes, I know that and since I paid for it and own it I'm only going to make the authorized copy for my iPod. When are they going to realize that when someone buys something they're not going to turn around and give it away? The "pirates" who distribute it are the ones who got it from industry insiders before the please don't copy parts were added.
It's covered by first sale, nothing more to see here. All it is is someone saying "I'll sell you my used DVD for the price of your used DVD" and Perflix gets a comossion for their posting and communication services much like ebay and paypal get a percentage of a sale. Of course the MPAA isn't going to like it because they don't get a cut of the sale, they already got the profit from the original sale and with this they're getting NOTHING! As for copying before sending, there's always the chance the previous owner copied the CD or DVD before reselling it. The same is true with rented DVDs, there's no way of knowing if someone copied the disk before returning it to the store, unless they rent it again.
Like one of those portable DVD players without a display? That would be nice, but they'd have to agree on a format first. It would be nice if it would have AVI, MPEG1-4, DivX OGG, WMV, RM and QT. If Apple makes it it will probably be QT and MPEG1. When MS makes on it will probably be DRMed WMV only. There are too many formats and they're not all going to be supported by any one player.
Slashdot Mirror
Don't they already get all the profits from iTunes? Apple gets 20-30cents to cover the cost of storing and transfering the file; server space, electricity, bandwidth and the R&D cost of the iTunes software and the RIAA gets the rest. Jobs was right to call them greedy, but we already knew that. They get all the iTunes profits and still want more and know the paying customers are not going to like it if prices go uver 99c so they're going after Apple's iPod profits.
"as i understand it, there's a contract up for renewal between apple and the music industry? this would just be posturing during the negotiations. normally the public isn't exposed to the bickering, lies and pissing matches between a retail outlet and their suppliers during the purchasing process."
If it is a contract dispute/negotiation, just look at the last section. They signed seven year contracts with satellite radio providers then a few years later they realize they could have gotten a lot more for it and now want to back out of/get more money from an already signed contract. Maybe the satellite providers should TiVo them, charge them a large cancellation fee equal to their proposed increase in the contract.
Yes, they are confused and/or want another way to say "We want songs sond with iTunes to be $2.49 each with the encoding dropped down to 96kbps at 40Hz"
Many flaws in their "logic". Having an iPod and running iTunes doesn't mean you're buying from the iTunes store. Buying from the iTunes store doesn't mean you have an iPod. I have an iPod and use iTunes, I havn't had much luck with the Winamp plugin. I buy the little music I have in the form of used CDs and rip them at 320kbps. I know people use buy from the iTunes store then rip the tracks for use with their simple $10 mp3 player or just play on their PC, nothin wrong with a laptop and headphones. I guess they don't want to realize that not all iPods are used to play content owned by their company. The iPod also plays music from independent bands and podcasts and prerecorded class lecture info, think the Duke iPod project, and be used as and external hdd. They may be trying the Canadian levy/tax/whatever approach. Since the device could possibly be used to hold their content, which was legally obtained, they should be awarded a share of the profits even though they had nothing to do with the design manufacture or sale of the device. Those damn greedy RITA* bastards.
*RITA=Recording Industry Trust of America
(nothing to do with the hurricane, I've been using it since before the storm existed)
It makes perfect sense(from the point of view of the company), they screwed up by adding the broadcast flag then implemented a damage control measure, I mean $150 cancellation fee, in an attempt to prevent customers from cancelling what they no longer consider to be an acceptible service after a non-optional "upgrade"/"feature". A previous comment mentioned the "upgrade" was required to get an official license to support DVDs. I just looked at the TiVo store, what about the basic model that doesn't even have a DVD player? If it doesn't have a DVD drive then it should not have the DVD support or the DRM crap that goes with it.
Are there any stand alone DVR/PVRs left that don't require a subscription and/or contract and can easily transfer content to a PC and are easy to use? My parents the and rest of my family are interested in getting one. The key words being "rest of my family" I can figure out how to work any piece of consumer electronics, but they need something that is no more difficult to operate than the common VCR. Don't say MythTV, the average WinXP PC is too complicated.
That would further expand the definiton of a planet as there isn't much you can't blow up with the Death Star, the rebel cruisers in Return of the Jedi and the targeted rebel base in A New Hope on the moon of Yavin. It may even be able to destroy a star, since it got from Aldaraan to Yavin in what was at most a few I'm guess it has hyperdrive and can outrun the shockwave created by an exploding/collapsing star.
What about twin planets, say Romulus and Remus? They both appear to be planets, they do support life, which one would be conidered the domanant planetary body in its region of space? As far as Pluto and everything else in the Kuiper belt, we won't be able to agree on it until infinite improbability drive is invented or V'ger 6 is launched to map the area.
What about one of those "super" DVDs, the ones claimed to be extra scratch resistant and needing nothing less than a hammer to break? If stored in a cardboard box(away from light) inside a tupperware with a decent air seal it should last many years. Since most encryption from present day will probably be able to be broken in about 5min 40yrs from now you're better off storing it in plain text.
My plans for keeping data around for the next 50yrs is to make new copies on the newer medium. I still have some files from 5.25" floppies from the late 80s. They're now on DVD and when the DVDs replacement is eventually made they'll be copied to that.
Not even all judges in the US have proper training and experience. If I remember correctly from an into to criminal justice class a couple years ago there are places in the US where the judges and sherifs are elected, think of that movie with The Rock. And some of the appointed ones do favors for the politicians who supported their appointment. Would you want to be someone who supported the other guy in an election for the top law enforcement officer and/or judge in your county? Ideally the US legal system is very good, in practice it isn't that good everywhere. We have judges who don't agree with each other here, do you really want that rivalry passed around the world?
now that's a +5 funny
"which the department claims costs US businesses $250bn (£138bn) and 750,000 jobs per year"
I wonder where they got those numbers from. I've seen estimates claiming that they lose 2%-12% a year because of "piracy". That would put their worth at between 2 and 12500 trillion, for some reason I don't think they're worth that much. But lets not forget 42% of stats are made up on the spot. And 750000 jobs a year? I wonder how many of those were "lost" from outsourcing their CD production so they only have to pay the labor 50c a week. I have a better idea, lets modify existing US anti-trust laws and make the RIAA illegal. That way no one will have to waste their time and money having to deal with them and it will cause competition and prices will drop. $250bl can feed and shelter a LOT of people. I've heard software "piracy" is bad in China, but is it really 90% of software? And lets not forget that they have to deal with real pirates, the kind the seize ships and kill people. Maybe it's about time they realize how much money they really have(Bender takes out the monicle) and give some to a good cause. Even Bill Gates has given several hundered million to medical research and other things. When's the last time you heard about the RIAA donating money to take care of the world hunger problem or medical research or a hurricae relief fund? I don't like my donations to the EFF being wasted on countering their billion dollar "anti-piracy" crusades. Their lawsuits are a very big waste of money, people with money throwing money at other people throwing money back at them in an attempt to get more money. And all the money funneled into political funds to get their legislation passed. At least there are tv and movie personalities encouraging charitable donations. But from the RIAA's music industry all you hear is how this rapper popped a cap in that other rapper and some manufactured teenage one hit wonder got knocked up again with her nth kid from her n+2th boyfriend. Ok, maybe that's a bad generalization.
or Freedom Coasters
"Enhanced CDs" have additional/bonus content that can be accessed with a PC, pics, video clips, etc. I think the fancy new copy protected/DRM-ed CDs are the ones that don't play on everything. It seems to be saying that the RIAA is planning to put some silly pointless DRM on ALL its new CDs. It will probably be based on the one that can be disabled by disbling autoplay or holding shift. They probably want to inculde a key/license on their new disks so they won't work on anything that won't allow it to install its own software, Macs Linux and stand alone CD players with nothing more than their simple firmware. Those Damn Greedy Bastards! I only buy used CDs, no reason to give them any more money, soon I'm going to stop buying CDs. All they have to do is cross the general paying customer population once then there will be a universal backlash against their useless DRM schemes and everything will go back to how it was before nappster, all unDRMed material. It will be better if the hardware makers continue to reject the RIAAs "requests" to include their "features" into their players. Their anti-piracy crusade is only going to piss off the paying customers. "Pirates" don't care and will always find ways around it or obtain unDRMed copies from an inside source. In a way they will be "Enhanced CDs", the bad kind that trys to install RIAA malware. They should be labeled as WAPNDODD "Windows Auto-Play Not Disabled Only DRM-ed Disks"
You'd have to make sure the case got to court first and it would probably cost you more in legal fees than to buy a bunch of used CDs. The RIAA looks like an organization that would back out of a lawsuit/civil case at the first sign of you winning. Even then it probably wouldn't get a precedent setting legal decision stopping all future lawsuits. That would be an interesting defence considering the RIAA sould be required to provide you with a list of "infringing" works. It shouldn't cost anywhere near their suggested setting fee of $3500 to borrow from friends go into a used CD store and buy copies of all or most of the list. Since they're used they'll show all the needed signs of wear caused by everyday use and you don't even need a recept to show when you bought them. Then if you want you can resell on ebay or half or amazon for at least your purchase price. To make it more convincing show up with a box of CDs and an iPod and claim that you don't share music files and the only way they could have seen what's in your collection is if they did something unauthorized to your PC to view your iTunes library. It would be purgery(if you get caught) but it would be interesting to see the RIAA's reaction when accused of hacking to find MP3 files. They probably pay a bounty to the IP data miners so they have no idea how the IPa and lista are really obtained.
Would that make DRM guily under the now dead INDUCE Act?
After all it did "encourage" you to break/bypass the DRM by not working where it should have worked.
It's funny for the first 5min until you really think about it. It's kind of funny in concept and seeing that guy running away in pain because he didn't have enough chest padding. The only useful use I can think of is if you own a painball capture the flag course. An automated turret could be mounted above/near the flag. Then you'd need some team beacons to avoid friendly fire and aid with aiming, RF/WiFi/Bluetooth/other. As for home "defence" it's no more useful than the Laptop Gun in Perfect Dark, useless when it expends it's ammo in 2-3sec and when someone sees it. Once the robber saw it you'd be out a perfectly good airsoft gun. You'd be better off with a hidden cameras with montion sensor focused on the most likely points of entry. So when the police arrive you can give them a picture of the criminal instead of telling them to duck as you attempt to deactive your home-made "security system".
"Airsoft players live by the #1 strict rule to wear eyes protection at all times."
I hope you got the reference to "A Christmas Story"
yes, always use proper safety equipment and gun control at all times, use both hands and always treat it as if it is loaded. I see the face mask and cup but can't tell if he has any chest protection. If I were to do that at thay range I'd have at least a layer of cardboard(worked for targets at 10') and maybe a layer of bubble wrap under it. And don't even think of going near one if you've been drinking and firing randomly at people and objects. I have a small welt on the back of my calf because some fool let another drunken fool get a hold of his gun and ammo. It was from about 20', nothing near as bad as the picture but they'll still leave a mark. Some people need to understand that even though they're made of plastic and are painted orage they are NOT toys. If you want to play go find an NES with Zapper and go play Duckhunt or Hogan's Alley.
Is it still considered booby-trapping if you put up a "trespassers will be shot" sign? Just be sure to turn it off around mail time, don't want to hit the USPS/UPS/FedEX/DHL person delivering your new hdd or motherboard or notification of lawsuit from the person you hit the day before.
It's all fun and games until someone gets shot in the eye, about 50 times if it empties the magazine on you. Then it's even funnier to everyone else if you get it on camera.
"Plus, a UPS is a reasonably common household item"
Maybe for the Slashdot crowd and any of our friends we suggested getting one to. Even while living in college dorms subject to power outages once a week or two there were only two of us with a UPS. It was nice to be able to have a fan during the warmer days of April and May and a lamp in the evening and the fun of watching tv during a longer outage. Unfortunately the UPS I had at the time didn't have a silent option so if I wanted the fan/light/tv I had to deal with the constant beeping.
"Fire extinguisher. You know, for when the servers catch fire during the slashdotting."
I hear the CO2 kind will get you a nice cold beer in 2-3min.
As for "emergency" gadgets I'll stick with my Leathermans and a few pounds of beef jerkey.
"it's sad but it can be countered through education."
Unless they were forced to take the RIAA respect copyright classes. I don't remember if they were only a proposed classes as condition or receiving a "generous" donation or it may have been for British students or maybe even Florida.
Most of the DL disks I've seen have two copies of the movie, maybe different angles for improved 3D view or something. The reauthoring option is nice, pick only the main movie and remove all the unneeded audio tracks, why have 5.1 surround and 4 languages with subtitles if your tv is only 2.0 surround, that will remove several hundered MB. If you want 90%+ of the original you can set the start and end frames, remove begining and ending credits, those few minutes of end credits will get you another 5-7% for the movie.
disclaimer: only use that for movies you own, or people you know who you're charging to make the backup of their disk for them.
Yes, I wonder how the rating system works, and it better not be by age. Before the special effects revolution of the late 90s movies relied on something called 'good acting' and 'plot' and 'story line' I'd take "a bunch of Clint Eastwood movies from the 70s" over something new like the Dukes of Hazzard and any of the soon to be new releases from this summer's crash and burn titles. They should scrap the "peerbux rating" and give everyone the matching offers and let them decide. If I was offering Stealth, that is after the DVD release, and got a return offer of Dirty Harry I'd take it.
.44 Magnum, the most powerful handgun in the world, and would blow your head clean off, you've got to ask yourself one question: Do I feel lucky? Well, do ya punk?" -Dirty Harry
"But being as this is a
Can't forget the FBI anti-piracy warning now being printed ON the disks, yes they ruin the woderful disk art are by printing the anti-piracy seal on the disk itself. "FBI Anti-Piracy Warning: Unauthorized copying is punishable under federal law" yes, I know that and since I paid for it and own it I'm only going to make the authorized copy for my iPod. When are they going to realize that when someone buys something they're not going to turn around and give it away? The "pirates" who distribute it are the ones who got it from industry insiders before the please don't copy parts were added.
It's covered by first sale, nothing more to see here. All it is is someone saying "I'll sell you my used DVD for the price of your used DVD" and Perflix gets a comossion for their posting and communication services much like ebay and paypal get a percentage of a sale. Of course the MPAA isn't going to like it because they don't get a cut of the sale, they already got the profit from the original sale and with this they're getting NOTHING!
As for copying before sending, there's always the chance the previous owner copied the CD or DVD before reselling it. The same is true with rented DVDs, there's no way of knowing if someone copied the disk before returning it to the store, unless they rent it again.
Like one of those portable DVD players without a display? That would be nice, but they'd have to agree on a format first. It would be nice if it would have AVI, MPEG1-4, DivX OGG, WMV, RM and QT. If Apple makes it it will probably be QT and MPEG1. When MS makes on it will probably be DRMed WMV only.
There are too many formats and they're not all going to be supported by any one player.