With the pressure on personal time that society puts on us these days, convenience is a far bigger factor to a lot of consumers. Its far easier, and more enjoyable to download a TV show and watch it than it is to watch it live, enduring the endless ads (now about 15min out of every hour), or fast forward through the ads when you PvR it, etc. I can download something in a few mins in many cases and to top it all off, the presentation of the narrative is far better when not interrupted by endless ads for shit I am never going to buy. The media companies just don't realize they are outdated in their current format. They want all the revenue NOW, and they simply aren't going to get what they could squeeze out of we the consumer in the past, but if they change their model they might get more out of a larger pool of consumers who will buy their products at a lower price point. I have never pirated a game in my life. If I like it enough to want to play it, I pay for it and always have. I don't download music either.
That's because of the myth that Communism wasn't able to function at all. It did function but it didn't lead to a lot of happy people, nor a lot of variety or quality in products (I recall seeing an ad for "The Fridge" on Soviet TV, so advertised because it was the only fridge they made and it was in surplus at the time), The USSR managed to rebuild the Soviet Union from its decimated state after WWII back to being an industrial powerhouse, world power, etc. It did so at a massive human cost of course (measured in millions of people), and I am not saying it was a good thing but dismissing them and their version of the communist system casually out of hand is a mistake. The US basically outspent the USSR and active sought to destroy its economy, leading to the failure of Communism in the end. Some of the economic problems you face today in the US likely stem from that massive overspending in fact as it no doubt contributed heavily to your national debt. I think its a mistake to dismiss China in the same way. They are huge, they have a growing economy, they have massive manufacturing capabilities, and they are capable of independent research and discovery. The fact that they are playing catchup to the US at the moment, doesn't mean they might not surpass you at some point. Imagine how the US citizenry's morale is going to crash when the leading innovations in science and technology start coming from China instead of the US. What if the first mission to Mars comes from China instead of the US? Complacency and Hubris come at a cost.
I will add in a third "Fuck You" to Stephen Harper, this time for the massive amount of cash wasted on the G8/G20 conference a year or so ago, where we spent at least $860m Cdn - including it seems $86k on zipper pulls, and $4400 on $100 pens for world leaders. However the biggest expenditures were $330m for the RCMP (Royal Canadian Mounted Police for those of you who don't know), $144m to the Toronto Police and $100m to the Ontario corrections system (source: http://www.ctv.ca/CTVNews/TopStories/20101105/g20-costs-101105/). The meetings lasted 3 days.
During this time the police got to gain valuable experience in riot control - and also in attempting to incite riots when the generally peaceful Canadian protesters didn't actually want to riot (they had undercover cops trying to incite people to set cop cars on fire and otherwise violate the laws). Then they arrested thousands without any justifiable reason, held them without due process and then released them without explanation. During this process they mistreated them in a manner that qualifies as human rights violations. All in all it was a great Police State training exercise where Canada got to show off its abilities to abuse its population to the rest of the world nicely (Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2010_G-20_Toronto_summit_protests).
As well, if we lock up more of our population - they can't be working either so that creates additional jobs. Harper wants Canada to emulate the US in every way it seems. If I am reading this correctly about 1 in every 100 US men is currently in prison (http://usgovinfo.about.com/cs/censusstatistic/a/aaprisonpop.htm). That is a huge population of effectively slave labour that can be farmed out to businesses. Private prisons can engage more heavily in this of course.
When the first new prison is completed, Harper should be the first inmate. Placed in solitary.
But creating a massive new prison system creates JOBS! Think of all the new guards, lawyers, support staff etc, that will be required to house all the people who are arrested and imprisoned under the new "Tough on Crime"(tm) legislation. Think of the dollars of taxpayer money that can flow into the hands of privately run prisons. Think of all the cheap labour that can be harnessed here at home instead of going overseas!
As I see it, the right-wing Republican driven climate crisis denial conclave - backed by the money of big business (likely Big Oil in large part) is strong enough to sway public opinion in the US against actually doing anything. The reality of the situation, all the research that can be done, and all the information that can be provided to a generally unthinking public cannot beat the simplicity of telling those same people that its all a hoax and they don't need to do anything and don't need to actually learn anything or form an opinion - that they deserve their high standard of living because they are better people than all those foreigners and that its "God's Will"(tm). Its far easier for people who have little or no scientific knowledge to do nothing than to try to study a highly complex subject and form an informed opinion. Ignorant people resent those who are better educated generally, but everyone gets to vote.
Therefore in the end nothing will be done in the US (or Canada, my home, it seems now), and where the US does not go, no one else will either. China and India will lead the way to producing vast amounts of pollution on their part, using the West's inaction as justification, and the West will collectively point at the emerging nations and state they aren't going to do anything if they other side doesn't do it first.
The climate will change, millions of people will die, whole nations will disappear, the earth will be more or less permanently changed, the world economy will be a complete disaster, and in fact civilization as we know it will likely fall. There will be more major wars over resources disguised as attempts to promote democracy by meddling in other countries' politics and we will slowly slide down the scale of civilizations to become another footnote in future histories - if anyone writes them. But that's okay because the CEOs of some major companies in our current world will continue to get multiple million dollar bonuses and the financial wizzes that get us into each successive disaster will continue to be rewarded by not being punished. The shortsighted view that keeps the power elite and the rich families in their place and the rest of us in our lower caste positions will be maintained.
The millions of dead will mostly be in other places after all, and we can just turn off the TV - or switch to news about something superficial like the latest celebrity news - and avoid all the ugly footage of people dying of disease and starvation and warfare.
I really hold out no hope for humanity. We are too shortsighted, too stupid, too easily lead around by marketers and politicians because we are too ignorant generally. Sadly the people who are going to die as a result of this monumental stupidity are not going to be those who perpetrate it.
It has been embarrassing to see my fellow Canadians elect Harper and his "Conservatives" (read: Reform Party in disguise/Canadian Republican Party) in the first place. I think his only goal is to maintain power so he can remake Canada into a miniature version of the US under the Republicans. No doubt he wants to have us give up our sovereignty and become additional states down the road. Sorry to all you US/. readers but I see that as a very bad thing:( I wouldn't buy a used car from him. I am deeply embarrassed that my fellow citizens have been stupid enough to elect him and then give him a majority government. Whatever they say is the reason for pulling out of Kyoto officially, the real reason will be that his corporate owners do not want to spend additional money to be environmentally responsible instead of making profits and he knows he has a stranglehold on Canada at the moment and can do whatever he wants.
My all-time favourite TV show when I was a kid. To be honest I think it could actually be remade in the modern day as one of the new-fangled "gritty" TV shows as was done with Battlestar Galactica. If HBO did it we would get to see the moon-chicks in the nude on a regular basis:P
Seems to me that this is also a feature of Corporatism as its currently implemented. Perhaps its simply a matter of "If you want to control the economy, and through that the people, seize control of the banking system". It was a feature of the Nazis gaining control of Germany as well.
I agree about mentioning the good stuff on TV these days. Unfortunately it makes up about 1% of all the content currently being pushed out at us. I prefer to buy shows like this on DVD or download them, then at least I get the full show, and I am spared the endless advertising breaks. IMHO its the onslaught of advertising that is driving people from TV.
* Sons of Anarchy - the trials and tribulations of the members of a motorcycle gang in California. Its kind of soap opera-ish, but its got some great characters and a great storyline. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1124373/ * Fringe - the best compilation of bizarre psedoscience I have seen, with a very convoluted plot that spans across all of the seasons. About the only thing I haven't seen them mention so far (as of season 3) is the Voynich Manuscript, but I imagine that's coming up at some point. John Noble (Denethor in Lord of the Rings) as Walter Bishop is hilarious. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1119644/
I am Canadian, and I love our health care service. My mother died of cancer. Sadly they were not able to save her, but she received top end treatments in the attempt to save her (Chemotherapy etc). Total cost to her estate: $50 for the ambulance that took her to the hospital just before the end. Despite what many critics of our health care system often say, there was no waiting list, she had no delays in receiving her treatments etc. Recently, my wife had to go in for eye surgery to straighten her eyes. It wasn't critical surgery, and she did have delays before it took place, but those may have been a natural part of diagnosing the problem. Cost to us: nothing. It was all covered. These two instances were both covered by the standard health care that everyone receives in Canada. Despite what all the critics say, the system works up here.
I saw someone make a good bullet point about the difference between health care in somewhere like Canada or Britain and the US: Up here we have a health care system. Down in the US you have a healthcare industry:P
Actually, while most customers don't have the slightest idea what they need and you have to patiently sift it out of them, it seems to me that quite a few know exactly what they want - and are completely wrong. Those customers you have to get the information out of, and then try to argue them into something they can use instead of the thing they thought they wanted - or in the end they reject what you built exactly to their specifications because it doesn't work. Often people feel that because they are paying for it, they can also design it - even though they don't have a clue about design.
It is entirely possible that 200 years from now historians will agree that the US invasion of Iraq and Afghanistan was entirely brought about for economic reasons and to benefit US corporations who had supported the Bush Administration(s) by letting them rake in some of the missing billions of dollars spent in Iraq, or test weapon systems, or for a myriad of other reasons. We may learn enough about the Extraordinary Renditions program and use of torture that the people of that future environment agree that the US was an Evil entity at the time - not the people, but elements of the ruling elite (Government, Corporate, 1% whatever you want). Or just the opposite could happen as far as history is concerned. Probably the biggest deciding factor will be who writes the history - i.e. the dominant culture/country of the time. As for the Germans in WWII, many if not the majority of them were not aware of what was being done in the extermination camps. I am sure they knew that Jews were being taken away wholesale, but I imagine many thought they were being taken to "labour camps" as was promulgated at the time. Not everyone was a Nazi supporter, and its a shame we have to demonize the entire nation for the actions of its vile government (which were truly evil no question). We should never forget what happened there, but we should also try to understand it. Demonizing all Germans of the time does not help understanding. Likewise the demonization of all Muslims for the actions of a small percentage. It will not help in the end to alienate 1 billion+ people because it serves the interests of the government in power to focus the population's attention on a foreign threat just so its easier to get elected.
Perhaps its more a matter of "Management has decided that we don't have the funds to support completing the game, and they are cancelling development on it". "Oh" says someone in Marketing, "can we make an announcement that its due to the level of piracy we are encountering and use that as a justification for our poor sales and raise the piracy issue again"?
Sorry but the only instances of pirated games I have ever seen (and btw didn't download) were cracked versions of a game that could be downloaded for free. I haven't seen a site offering to sell me someone else's game for a fee. I agree its a matter of convenience in a lot of cases - when something cool is out people want access to it now - but I think it must be a much less common thing that people buy the game from a pirate. I have never associated piracy with a separate sale arrangement, just people who want something for free, or simply want it where its not available or (as noted by an Aussie above) its grossly overpriced and people feel ripped off.
Heinlein: While his earlier works differ from his later works considerably, they are all very readable with decent plots. My personal favourite has always been The Moon is a Harsh Mistress. I absolutely love that book, and reread it every few years. I suggest you consider reading that one first. There were rumours of a movie but I haven't heard anything since. It would do well as a movie I think. "Stranger in a Strange Land" is also a classic worth reading. McAffrey: well everyone will say the Pern books but I didn't like them and stopped reading them after the first few. Your mileage may vary of course. I *love* the Ship Who Sang though, excellent read. Since you are looking at new SF writers, allow me to recommend VERY HIGHLY: John Scalzi and his book "Old Man's War" and subsequent volumes. He is very much like Heinlein at his best. OMW is nothing short of fantastic, and would definitely make a great miniseries or movie IMHO.
If no one voiced concerns over privacy issues, complained about security forces overstepping the bounds that have been set in law etc, then we would have no privacy whatsoever. As it is the War on Privacy is going fairly well for most intelligence agencies I think. Sure, they occasionally get brought up short over an issue here or there, but there's lots of evidence to indicate that whenever possible law enforcement agencies, government agencies and of course corporations (who have in some cases made destroying your privacy into an industry) will overstep any bounds, and gather information in direct violation of the spirit of privacy legislation if not the actual letter of the law. We effectively have no privacy these days, and thousands are working actively with all the technical tools possible to ensure they erode what is left as soon as possible. Now I am not saying its all malicious - most companies just want to identify any slight detail that might enable them to sell you more shit you don't need because business is cutthroat, a lot of data is retained just because people don't want to delete something that might be useful down the road - but probably the greatest fact that preserves what privacy we have remaining at the moment is the sheer inefficiency of most government or law enforcement agencies. The data is probably there but establishing relationships between the facts is difficult. That will change as tech improves of course. Its important people complain about abuses of personal privacy. It at least reminds the majority of the sheep that there is something they should eventually think about, but for the most part I don't see many checks on the abuses of the system. Now is it important for intelligence agencies to gather data to prevent or at least identify threats? Of course it is, do we the people have any real way to determine when laws are being violated? Not that I know of. It used to be that the CIA was not permitted to monitor US Citizens inside of the US borders to the best of my recollection. The FBI handled surveillance inside of the US (and Central/South America for some odd reason). Now you have the Department of Homeland Security and they can monitor anyone they want. If there isn't a watchdog curtailing their ability to break the laws, if there isn't people complaining about abuses then there is nothing but the goodwill of the government to prevent the establishment of a police state down the road. Quis custodiet ipsos custodes? At the moment, no one is really.
The US doesn't have "friends", it has "client states" and "potential enemies". When a state switches from one to the other depends on the current economic state in the US. Look at Iraq, at one point Saddam Hussein was a great friend of the US, then he threatened the US oil supply and all that was out the window:P
I want one of those for cruising around town, sure its slow but man would you ever be recognized. Although they should paint it flat black and add some hairs:P
1) Create a website that purports to contain links to all sorts of music, tv shows, movies etc. To gain access you have to register and agree to the TOS 2) Have a reasonable TOS, but buried somewhere in it is a line that says in effect "If you agree to the terms of this TOS, you hereby assign the legal rights to any and all copyrighted material you or your employer owns to the owner of this website". Put a convenient "I agree to the TOS" checkbox on the registration page. Log who registers and who they works for... 3) Start sending out DMCA takedown notices to Warner, Sony, Universal... 4) Profit:P
Slashdot Mirror
"Fuck this shit, I will just go download it and not have any ads at all". And they wonder why people download TV show?
With the pressure on personal time that society puts on us these days, convenience is a far bigger factor to a lot of consumers. Its far easier, and more enjoyable to download a TV show and watch it than it is to watch it live, enduring the endless ads (now about 15min out of every hour), or fast forward through the ads when you PvR it, etc. I can download something in a few mins in many cases and to top it all off, the presentation of the narrative is far better when not interrupted by endless ads for shit I am never going to buy. The media companies just don't realize they are outdated in their current format. They want all the revenue NOW, and they simply aren't going to get what they could squeeze out of we the consumer in the past, but if they change their model they might get more out of a larger pool of consumers who will buy their products at a lower price point.
I have never pirated a game in my life. If I like it enough to want to play it, I pay for it and always have. I don't download music either.
That's because of the myth that Communism wasn't able to function at all. It did function but it didn't lead to a lot of happy people, nor a lot of variety or quality in products (I recall seeing an ad for "The Fridge" on Soviet TV, so advertised because it was the only fridge they made and it was in surplus at the time), The USSR managed to rebuild the Soviet Union from its decimated state after WWII back to being an industrial powerhouse, world power, etc. It did so at a massive human cost of course (measured in millions of people), and I am not saying it was a good thing but dismissing them and their version of the communist system casually out of hand is a mistake.
The US basically outspent the USSR and active sought to destroy its economy, leading to the failure of Communism in the end. Some of the economic problems you face today in the US likely stem from that massive overspending in fact as it no doubt contributed heavily to your national debt.
I think its a mistake to dismiss China in the same way. They are huge, they have a growing economy, they have massive manufacturing capabilities, and they are capable of independent research and discovery. The fact that they are playing catchup to the US at the moment, doesn't mean they might not surpass you at some point. Imagine how the US citizenry's morale is going to crash when the leading innovations in science and technology start coming from China instead of the US. What if the first mission to Mars comes from China instead of the US?
Complacency and Hubris come at a cost.
I will add in a third "Fuck You" to Stephen Harper, this time for the massive amount of cash wasted on the G8/G20 conference a year or so ago, where we spent at least $860m Cdn - including it seems $86k on zipper pulls, and $4400 on $100 pens for world leaders. However the biggest expenditures were $330m for the RCMP (Royal Canadian Mounted Police for those of you who don't know), $144m to the Toronto Police and $100m to the Ontario corrections system (source: http://www.ctv.ca/CTVNews/TopStories/20101105/g20-costs-101105/). The meetings lasted 3 days.
During this time the police got to gain valuable experience in riot control - and also in attempting to incite riots when the generally peaceful Canadian protesters didn't actually want to riot (they had undercover cops trying to incite people to set cop cars on fire and otherwise violate the laws). Then they arrested thousands without any justifiable reason, held them without due process and then released them without explanation. During this process they mistreated them in a manner that qualifies as human rights violations. All in all it was a great Police State training exercise where Canada got to show off its abilities to abuse its population to the rest of the world nicely (Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2010_G-20_Toronto_summit_protests).
As well, if we lock up more of our population - they can't be working either so that creates additional jobs. Harper wants Canada to emulate the US in every way it seems. If I am reading this correctly about 1 in every 100 US men is currently in prison (http://usgovinfo.about.com/cs/censusstatistic/a/aaprisonpop.htm). That is a huge population of effectively slave labour that can be farmed out to businesses. Private prisons can engage more heavily in this of course.
When the first new prison is completed, Harper should be the first inmate. Placed in solitary.
But creating a massive new prison system creates JOBS! Think of all the new guards, lawyers, support staff etc, that will be required to house all the people who are arrested and imprisoned under the new "Tough on Crime"(tm) legislation. Think of the dollars of taxpayer money that can flow into the hands of privately run prisons. Think of all the cheap labour that can be harnessed here at home instead of going overseas!
As I see it, the right-wing Republican driven climate crisis denial conclave - backed by the money of big business (likely Big Oil in large part) is strong enough to sway public opinion in the US against actually doing anything. The reality of the situation, all the research that can be done, and all the information that can be provided to a generally unthinking public cannot beat the simplicity of telling those same people that its all a hoax and they don't need to do anything and don't need to actually learn anything or form an opinion - that they deserve their high standard of living because they are better people than all those foreigners and that its "God's Will"(tm). Its far easier for people who have little or no scientific knowledge to do nothing than to try to study a highly complex subject and form an informed opinion. Ignorant people resent those who are better educated generally, but everyone gets to vote.
Therefore in the end nothing will be done in the US (or Canada, my home, it seems now), and where the US does not go, no one else will either. China and India will lead the way to producing vast amounts of pollution on their part, using the West's inaction as justification, and the West will collectively point at the emerging nations and state they aren't going to do anything if they other side doesn't do it first.
The climate will change, millions of people will die, whole nations will disappear, the earth will be more or less permanently changed, the world economy will be a complete disaster, and in fact civilization as we know it will likely fall. There will be more major wars over resources disguised as attempts to promote democracy by meddling in other countries' politics and we will slowly slide down the scale of civilizations to become another footnote in future histories - if anyone writes them.
But that's okay because the CEOs of some major companies in our current world will continue to get multiple million dollar bonuses and the financial wizzes that get us into each successive disaster will continue to be rewarded by not being punished. The shortsighted view that keeps the power elite and the rich families in their place and the rest of us in our lower caste positions will be maintained.
The millions of dead will mostly be in other places after all, and we can just turn off the TV - or switch to news about something superficial like the latest celebrity news - and avoid all the ugly footage of people dying of disease and starvation and warfare.
I really hold out no hope for humanity. We are too shortsighted, too stupid, too easily lead around by marketers and politicians because we are too ignorant generally. Sadly the people who are going to die as a result of this monumental stupidity are not going to be those who perpetrate it.
It has been embarrassing to see my fellow Canadians elect Harper and his "Conservatives" (read: Reform Party in disguise/Canadian Republican Party) in the first place. I think his only goal is to maintain power so he can remake Canada into a miniature version of the US under the Republicans. No doubt he wants to have us give up our sovereignty and become additional states down the road. Sorry to all you US /. readers but I see that as a very bad thing :(
I wouldn't buy a used car from him. I am deeply embarrassed that my fellow citizens have been stupid enough to elect him and then give him a majority government.
Whatever they say is the reason for pulling out of Kyoto officially, the real reason will be that his corporate owners do not want to spend additional money to be environmentally responsible instead of making profits and he knows he has a stranglehold on Canada at the moment and can do whatever he wants.
So lets hear it for the GIIPer ! :P
Couldn't resist
My all-time favourite TV show when I was a kid. To be honest I think it could actually be remade in the modern day as one of the new-fangled "gritty" TV shows as was done with Battlestar Galactica. If HBO did it we would get to see the moon-chicks in the nude on a regular basis :P
1 Cell leaves :P
Seems to me that this is also a feature of Corporatism as its currently implemented. Perhaps its simply a matter of "If you want to control the economy, and through that the people, seize control of the banking system". It was a feature of the Nazis gaining control of Germany as well.
I agree about mentioning the good stuff on TV these days. Unfortunately it makes up about 1% of all the content currently being pushed out at us. I prefer to buy shows like this on DVD or download them, then at least I get the full show, and I am spared the endless advertising breaks. IMHO its the onslaught of advertising that is driving people from TV.
* Sons of Anarchy - the trials and tribulations of the members of a motorcycle gang in California. Its kind of soap opera-ish, but its got some great characters and a great storyline. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1124373/
* Fringe - the best compilation of bizarre psedoscience I have seen, with a very convoluted plot that spans across all of the seasons. About the only thing I haven't seen them mention so far (as of season 3) is the Voynich Manuscript, but I imagine that's coming up at some point. John Noble (Denethor in Lord of the Rings) as Walter Bishop is hilarious. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1119644/
I am Canadian, and I love our health care service. My mother died of cancer. Sadly they were not able to save her, but she received top end treatments in the attempt to save her (Chemotherapy etc). Total cost to her estate: $50 for the ambulance that took her to the hospital just before the end. Despite what many critics of our health care system often say, there was no waiting list, she had no delays in receiving her treatments etc.
Recently, my wife had to go in for eye surgery to straighten her eyes. It wasn't critical surgery, and she did have delays before it took place, but those may have been a natural part of diagnosing the problem. Cost to us: nothing. It was all covered.
These two instances were both covered by the standard health care that everyone receives in Canada. Despite what all the critics say, the system works up here.
I saw someone make a good bullet point about the difference between health care in somewhere like Canada or Britain and the US: Up here we have a health care system. Down in the US you have a healthcare industry :P
Actually, while most customers don't have the slightest idea what they need and you have to patiently sift it out of them, it seems to me that quite a few know exactly what they want - and are completely wrong. Those customers you have to get the information out of, and then try to argue them into something they can use instead of the thing they thought they wanted - or in the end they reject what you built exactly to their specifications because it doesn't work. Often people feel that because they are paying for it, they can also design it - even though they don't have a clue about design.
Look at the various companies and individuals that supported the Nazis in some way or another, either by direct allegiance or by doing business with them. I don't know if this information is accurate (its on the web after all) but I found this page pretty quickly on google:
http://www.11points.com/News-Politics/11_Companies_That_surprisingly_Collaborated_With_the_Nazis
It is entirely possible that 200 years from now historians will agree that the US invasion of Iraq and Afghanistan was entirely brought about for economic reasons and to benefit US corporations who had supported the Bush Administration(s) by letting them rake in some of the missing billions of dollars spent in Iraq, or test weapon systems, or for a myriad of other reasons. We may learn enough about the Extraordinary Renditions program and use of torture that the people of that future environment agree that the US was an Evil entity at the time - not the people, but elements of the ruling elite (Government, Corporate, 1% whatever you want).
Or just the opposite could happen as far as history is concerned. Probably the biggest deciding factor will be who writes the history - i.e. the dominant culture/country of the time.
As for the Germans in WWII, many if not the majority of them were not aware of what was being done in the extermination camps. I am sure they knew that Jews were being taken away wholesale, but I imagine many thought they were being taken to "labour camps" as was promulgated at the time. Not everyone was a Nazi supporter, and its a shame we have to demonize the entire nation for the actions of its vile government (which were truly evil no question). We should never forget what happened there, but we should also try to understand it. Demonizing all Germans of the time does not help understanding.
Likewise the demonization of all Muslims for the actions of a small percentage. It will not help in the end to alienate 1 billion+ people because it serves the interests of the government in power to focus the population's attention on a foreign threat just so its easier to get elected.
Perhaps its more a matter of "Management has decided that we don't have the funds to support completing the game, and they are cancelling development on it". "Oh" says someone in Marketing, "can we make an announcement that its due to the level of piracy we are encountering and use that as a justification for our poor sales and raise the piracy issue again"?
Sorry but the only instances of pirated games I have ever seen (and btw didn't download) were cracked versions of a game that could be downloaded for free. I haven't seen a site offering to sell me someone else's game for a fee. I agree its a matter of convenience in a lot of cases - when something cool is out people want access to it now - but I think it must be a much less common thing that people buy the game from a pirate. I have never associated piracy with a separate sale arrangement, just people who want something for free, or simply want it where its not available or (as noted by an Aussie above) its grossly overpriced and people feel ripped off.
Heinlein: While his earlier works differ from his later works considerably, they are all very readable with decent plots. My personal favourite has always been The Moon is a Harsh Mistress. I absolutely love that book, and reread it every few years. I suggest you consider reading that one first. There were rumours of a movie but I haven't heard anything since. It would do well as a movie I think. "Stranger in a Strange Land" is also a classic worth reading.
McAffrey: well everyone will say the Pern books but I didn't like them and stopped reading them after the first few. Your mileage may vary of course. I *love* the Ship Who Sang though, excellent read.
Since you are looking at new SF writers, allow me to recommend VERY HIGHLY: John Scalzi and his book "Old Man's War" and subsequent volumes. He is very much like Heinlein at his best. OMW is nothing short of fantastic, and would definitely make a great miniseries or movie IMHO.
If no one voiced concerns over privacy issues, complained about security forces overstepping the bounds that have been set in law etc, then we would have no privacy whatsoever. As it is the War on Privacy is going fairly well for most intelligence agencies I think. Sure, they occasionally get brought up short over an issue here or there, but there's lots of evidence to indicate that whenever possible law enforcement agencies, government agencies and of course corporations (who have in some cases made destroying your privacy into an industry) will overstep any bounds, and gather information in direct violation of the spirit of privacy legislation if not the actual letter of the law. We effectively have no privacy these days, and thousands are working actively with all the technical tools possible to ensure they erode what is left as soon as possible.
Now I am not saying its all malicious - most companies just want to identify any slight detail that might enable them to sell you more shit you don't need because business is cutthroat, a lot of data is retained just because people don't want to delete something that might be useful down the road - but probably the greatest fact that preserves what privacy we have remaining at the moment is the sheer inefficiency of most government or law enforcement agencies. The data is probably there but establishing relationships between the facts is difficult. That will change as tech improves of course.
Its important people complain about abuses of personal privacy. It at least reminds the majority of the sheep that there is something they should eventually think about, but for the most part I don't see many checks on the abuses of the system.
Now is it important for intelligence agencies to gather data to prevent or at least identify threats? Of course it is, do we the people have any real way to determine when laws are being violated? Not that I know of. It used to be that the CIA was not permitted to monitor US Citizens inside of the US borders to the best of my recollection. The FBI handled surveillance inside of the US (and Central/South America for some odd reason). Now you have the Department of Homeland Security and they can monitor anyone they want. If there isn't a watchdog curtailing their ability to break the laws, if there isn't people complaining about abuses then there is nothing but the goodwill of the government to prevent the establishment of a police state down the road. Quis custodiet ipsos custodes?
At the moment, no one is really.
The US doesn't have "friends", it has "client states" and "potential enemies". When a state switches from one to the other depends on the current economic state in the US. Look at Iraq, at one point Saddam Hussein was a great friend of the US, then he threatened the US oil supply and all that was out the window :P
I want one of those for cruising around town, sure its slow but man would you ever be recognized. Although they should paint it flat black and add some hairs :P
Yeah, I kinda got that part, my post was more intended as a sort of joke. Evidently it failed.... :P
1) Create a website that purports to contain links to all sorts of music, tv shows, movies etc. To gain access you have to register and agree to the TOS :P
2) Have a reasonable TOS, but buried somewhere in it is a line that says in effect "If you agree to the terms of this TOS, you hereby assign the legal rights to any and all copyrighted material you or your employer owns to the owner of this website". Put a convenient "I agree to the TOS" checkbox on the registration page. Log who registers and who they works for...
3) Start sending out DMCA takedown notices to Warner, Sony, Universal...
4) Profit