Ok, while some people download lyrics to learn the song/artist so they can buy it, what about everyone else?
Case in point. Say you buy a cd. Love the cd love the artist. The cd just comes in a standard jewel case, with cover and back art with a listing of tracks on the back and inside jacket cover. No lyrics what so ever. Now you own this cd, shouldn't you be entitled to finding out what exactly the words to the song's are? For some genre's of music a simple careful listen to each song works. However I think we can all agree this is far from a solution cause many genre's aren't so easy to sit down and do that. Imagine trying to figure out every lyric from a heavy metal band where the lead singer is more so screaming/grunting than coherently singing the words? (nothing aganist heavy metal, if it sounds that way it's how they choose just saying not everyone can understand it right off the bat).
Two thing's will happen (at least here in America);
- 1) the RIAA does this and takes the entire thing including downloading music to the next level. Soon it'll be heavy jail time for recording the radio to a cassette or cd, soon it'll be illegal to sing (kareoke style I guess you could call it) already copywritten songs in any public establishment there is not your home, same with playing instruments and copywritten notes. Eventually radio's in cities will become what the RIAA tries to push on internet shoutcasts (key word, tries); only "Free" music is allowed i.e. public domain stuff or stuff with no copyright that is open to anyone to play or listen too.
- 2) A variation or series of variations of the above, except the RIAA really gets out of hand by doing stupid shit. Like suing more 12 year olds, except not even offering them the settlement and taking it to trial themselves. This is actually the better of the two, cause while they are more evil in this one, the entire world would see how fucking stupid it is to enforce this crap when CNN/CSPAN or Court TV has the trial live on international tv as a 12 year old girl is in court, facing felony charges (least I think it's a felony, if not, then a misdemeanor) for downloading some Britney Spears songs. (bonus points for making them look even more corporately evil if the judge lands some outrageous sentance like jailing the 12 year old in juvie until she is 18 years of age).
Either way both lead to a path of self destruction for the RIAA. Quality earns money, when they learn this they'll understand. Sure it was cool paying $15-20 an album for a cd, back in 1993/94 when they hit the scene. 11 years later....They should be half that price if anything.
No need to be a dick about it;\ While I grew up in the NES generation and know my way around technology, not everyone is always up to date on what technology does what. Hell I just saw a few weeks ago we now have biometric (think that's the right word) scanning for PC's now so you can just swipe a thumb and you log into your home PC. HD has been around a while yes but it's one of those technologies you don't often understand or grasp right away.
I dunno what it is, but stuff like HD or really "good" audio quality (we're talking the best there is) I cannot really tell a difference. It looks the same to me, visually. I'm sure on some level there is a technical aspect that is higher quality than the current standard but it's not "there" enough for the average person to see it unless you know what you're looking for.
The only reason I'd update to a HD tv set is if every channel in my digital cable package (400+) required HD to watch. As long as there is a large cable package that does not require HD I will use that. I refuse to go drop several hundred dollars, if not much more, for a HD set.
Remember when CD's first came out and having a cd player was the new rave? Yea well I was the guy still buying cassettes, and hunting them down as stores kept keeping their cassette isle smaller and smaller. Remember when DVD's went mainstream? I kept using VHS, it was cheaper and I already had my favorite stuff on VHS.
Oh and, I don't want to start a flame thing but this is my opinion, I dislike Wide Screen. I know WS shows more picture per screen and is a slightly higher quality, I know this is the current standard for filming shit and has been for a few years. I can take a screen shot from Lord of the Ring's comparisons and I hate how the heads are "cut off". Sure it's stretching the image to fit my screen, and in WS you gain more length wise than you do height but if I can see the full persons head and shit in the frame vs say, some extra scenery footage I'd take the full head shots any day.
The real radical opinion is, well, I paid for a 35 inch screen. Using WS I am "gaining" extra footage on the sides but at the same time I'm losing over 5+ inches from the top and bottom. That's like a rather large percentage of 35 being wasted by black blank space not being used. Maybe tv's grow on tree's for some people but not everyone can afford to drop $200-300 for a nice sized tv. (Not that it destroys the tv or anything but if I pay for 35 inch I want all 35 inches to be used).
Aside from my NES and SNES, the DC was the best system I ever owned. It was the first system I took a chance with buying used games for and never regretted it. From games like the addictive as hell Crazy Taxi to Ikaruga, KoF 99', Marvel vs Capcom 1 and 2, Soul Calibur, Sonic, you name it this little beast had it. I logged more hours into playing it then I ever did my N64, or even my Sega Saturn (god what a mistake asking for it one christmas was, in hindsight).
I've still got my DC but I think it's broken. I had spilt some iced tea on the floor one time and some got inside the top where the cd drive was. It powers up but it won't read any discs anymore:( They're dirt cheap these days. Sadly I don't expect any new consoles (360, PS2 or Rev) to be like the old days of the DC.
I studied IT, more so the technical side than the networking stuff, even went to college for it. After graduating, I've yet to find a job.
The classifieds in the newspaper wield no results as few IT positions are listed (in my town). So you turn to come places like Monster.com whom have plenty of jobs listed but the majority of them require 1-3 years experience. Sure as my H.R. Consultant from school said you can submit your resume and such to those companies anyway, but as all of them have told me, "you don't have the experience we are looking for". So you get stuck in this loop of having no work experience, or what little you do isn't enough.
And I know plenty of guys who went to school with me who have the experience (5+ years at the least) and they have a hard time finding a job as well. I mean for alot of us this is a career choice, what we'd want to do as opposed to say, construction work o_O The job's such as mine are a dime-a-dozen in my town. We aren't a small town, but we aren't a huge one either, just a medium sized area (mil+). A new company starts hiring those IT jobs are gone within a day or two.
The best I could hope for now is something like transcription or reception. Sure they only barely use a PC but they jobs in a somewhat related field (ok now so closely related but a distant cousin).
The worst part is, even most professors and such at college and H.R. people will tell you "If you are having problems finding a job in your field, take what you can get anywhere. Cause going long periods unemployed while looking for a job in your field can look bad on a resume. You don't want large gaps of time between jobs.". That's great...I mean I paid $20,000+ for my education, so I can go work at Wal-Mart while I find a job? Sure it's a job but isn't that kind of backwards? Societies standards today are after high school, go to college, possibly get a degree, finish college, find a job in a career you choose. Some just aint right about all this.
So here I am, finished school almost 2 full years ago, the few jobs I've found I don't meet the requirements on, the others that have been offered are totally out of my scope of doing (one was traveling the country doing free lance technician work on PC's for a company. I neither have the money or desire to leave my hometown). I honestly feel like I wasted all that time learning the ropes of IT/Tech and paying for it just to not even find a job in it, years later.
It's not technology or other things,it's economics
on
TiVo Buries the VCR
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· Score: 1
I have a dvd player. Hell my dvd player is pretty sweet, supports all kinds of formats including Divx and some variations of. Plus it holds 3 dvds.
I still use my VCR standalone more. Why? Economics.
Sure that new Random Movie X has some cool features on the 2 disc dvd set. But even Wal Mart will want almost $25 for it. Whereas that VHS, will run me $10 or $15 at most if it's brand new (as in just released).
I love dvd's, small cases, can store a ton of them on relatively small shelf space, they don't wear down from repeated viewings like a VHS does. But they are twice as expensive.
The same will always happen with the new strings of technology. What if mini disc dvd's or whatever they are called take over in the next 5-10 years? DVD prices will be what VHS prices are now.
Maybe when companies stop trying to charge upwards of $25 or $30 for a 2 hour movie on dvd, I'll stick to just them. Yea I know, the extras and stuff often are the "reason" why the cost more, but most times I don't want extras. I just want the movie, in dvd format. I don't need super secret deleted scenes from the underground directors cut of the screenplay. Just gimme the final cut movie, in dvd quality.
Oh and offtopic, while on DVD's, I wish companies would stop releasing stuff in Wide Screen only. Yes I know it's "better" cause you get more viewable space in width and they don't need to stretch the image to fit your tv screen. But guess what? I like pan & scan. I like knowing that my 35 inch tv isn't wasting almost 1/2 it's screen size just to let me see some extra footage, on the sides. If I wanted wide screen I'd have purchased a wide screen style tv. It sucks to go buy a dvd and they only release it in Wide Screen. A relative purchased Oceans Tweleve (debates on good or bad movie, save for another time), but no store sold it in Full Screen on dvd. We finally just exchanged it for our money back.
1. Annoying. I don't need to shoot the monkey 3 times to win a prize or swat the fly to enter a sweepstakes. I don't need to load a page and hear "CLICK HERE TO WIN" screaming at me from some auto embeded Flash.
2. Screen economy. I can't stand to view webpages in super high resolution. While some sites have features that stand out more in bigger resolutions, most tend to either go toward the left, right, or center (obviously). Nothing screams pet peeve to me like having to read a forum, that's centered in a page, with like 400+ pixels of wasted space on each side. So I view stuff in a smaller resolution. Meaning, I don't need banners causing me to scroll horizontal, or ad's stretching my screen.
3. Do I even need to explain the Spyware/Malware/Virus reasons?
4. Princple. A good site, is one that doesn't need Ad paid fueling. If you can't afford bandwidth in this day and age, honestly, then you don't need to be running a website that gets a high number of hits. It may seem asshole-ish, but thems the breaks.
Oh and as for magazines with ad's, yea I don't buy or read ones with lots of ads. I paid $6.99 (over priced already) to read articles, reviews, etc not ya know see another ad for Fanta soda I'd never drink or those great Virgina Slim ads
Well, yes and no. I switched cell providers simply cause the one I had a few years back tried to go to a contract type deal. I just refused, and changed. Sure, there's going to be the "majority" that stay, but the majority is not always the right thing nor the best as history has proven.
Digital cable (even basic cable) is getting extremely high priced, and this is with no DVR style record feature. Not keen on a satelite dish either, heard some horror stories from other family members and friends.
TiVo looked great, record what you want when you want so you never miss something. Skip commericals (bout frakking time) and more. Now they've taken some ancient MSN/AOL type deal where you gotta have a service plan contract? Sorry, no thank you.
What if something where to happen where you couldn't afford that TiVo every month? (Granted yes money management saves alot but anyone can fall on tough times), you suddenly gotta cough up $150 flat fee cause you needed to save a few monthly payments and use it for gas or food? Yea, that'll go over real well.
Watch for a slow rise in the bittorrent community in the coming year or so as more TiVo like providers probably switch to similar "plans".
Offtopic: how the hell was this rated flamebait? Granted I have a flair for using profanity but thats never been a reason to mod someone down or low. I put time and thought in that post;\
Granted mankind has been here on earth a few thousand years, and we've been through just about every natural disaster the planet has thrown at us, but as time goes on it gets worse.
Every year it's hotter in the summer, colder in the winter, and the storms are stronger. Yea global warming and whatnot plays a part in that, but at the same time, it's getting to the point where it's too much. Even if America had the funds to "easily" recoup from something like Katrina, the manpower and time needed would be insane. Thousands, apon thousands, of homes and businesses needing rebuilding. Food, clothing and temporary lodging for those without.
And this was just one average sized state. What happens when a Hurricane hits the East Coast with enough force to path it's way north to a major city like D.C. or New York and [b]completely[/b] level it?
Our "current" systems of fighting a hurricane are far inadequate. By the time we detect them, we then have to monitor them to see if they will have a "projected" path inland, and what force it may bring. In that time, could be days, could be a week or more, you have a population in the areas, that is tittering back in forth between preparing or not preparing. Since we can't always predict their pattern, path, or length, we never know. And even when we do, such as Katrinas case (one of the more up-to-date "oh shit something is coming" storm watches), what does it mean to "prepare"?
You can't prepare. Preparing for a hurricane, is getting as far West as you can, preferably as far North-West. Sure you can attempt the tried-and-true method of stocking up on bottled water, food and hoping to "ride it out" but that only works when ya know, it doesn't rip your fucking house off the ground with you in it.
The worst part? Hurricane season just started last month for the East coast. This was the first hurricane of the year, if we're lucky it'll be the only major one. You'd think one would be a disaster right, what the fuck do you call a potential [b]season[/b] of storms that might be that strong? A minor inconvience?
We need to seriously dump some national budget and tax money not only into recovery from such events, but also into research into either much better warning systems or as the article says: preventing them. There has to be a way to physically stop this things.
A storm or pretty much any natural event like this, is sparked from some sort of catalyst or series of. If theres a means to create, theres a means to stop. It may not seem practical or even within our grasp at moments notice, but if you boil it down to what starts it, theres going to be something to end it.
When you think about it, in the simplist terms, it's like "duh". I mean, we as a race, have to a degree harnessed the power of the atom, broken the sound barrier and began space exploration. Stoping a large ball of air, water and electricity should be within our abilities. I mean we've got a fucking space station for christ sakes..(don't get me started on our technological slowness, we are far behind the curve if you ask me)
Maybe if we as a planet, stopped fighting each other for five minutes, we could accomplish something like this. I mean, with Katrina, look at how many third-world countries offered help to America. Many of which we have turned our backs to in the past. If some of us can show that level of compassion, imagine what we could do unifed as a people with a common goal..
Say the RIAA hooks you for the whole music infringement thing. Could be any age, child, teen, college age or full on mid-life-crisis adult.
If you don't "settle" and it manages to go to trial, and you lose, what happens if you don't pay? I mean, I'm not up on the current law on that but like, remember that one case where the guy owed like $15,000,000 for like 3 songs or something stupid? What would they do, garnish his wages? Force him to pay it each week?
I'd just refuse. I mean who has the money to pay that kind of fee, even if they chose the settlement.
I just cannot see them putting some poor guy in jail...
"I murdered my family, friends and over a dozen people up and down the coast line. It all ended when the cops found me in the street pissing myself while eating shit out of a dog food can. So, why are you here?"
"...uh..I downloaded some Britney Spears and Lindsay Lohan songs off the Internet"
Sure, they'll probably put them in the most lax prison there is, minimal security and whatnot. But still, prison for downloading music? Why should "the rich" be the only ones entertained? By rich I mean, those who can afford to drop $15 for a CD, or $25 for a DVD? I know guys who can't afford gas for their cars! And they don't drink or splurg their paychecks on stupid shit. They pay rent, little food and gas to get to work, and they still have a hard time affording GAS.
While I am not so much in the IT field, for the certs like Net+ and higher ups, I am in the field of just your run-of-the-mill hardware tech. We also have our certs, the more recognizable infamous A+ cert.
It's a god'damn rip off.
After highschool, I didn't do so hot at college. Bigger league classes weren't for me, and since I scored low on the math entrance exam, it woulda been 6+ semesters before they ever allowed me to take a course that even remotely involved a computer.
So I went to one of the local technical trade schools you see on tv. Yea, it was alot of money. Yea, some of the stuff they taught was simplistic that any one could learn. However, alot of what they taught, I learned off the bat, without needed 2+ years of other courses before. You don't need to know Trigonometry to piece together a PC part-by-part.
I graduated in under two years, with just a diploma. They offered degree courses, for Associates, or Bachelors if I chose to do courses online. At that point I had already sunk in around $15,000 into it, of which I still have enormous student loan payments.
So here I am, an "entry" level technician. Most places don't require a degree, but alot of places require, certifications. Best Buy, of all god damn places, wants it techs to have a minimum of an A+ Certification. There's just no way..
- First, the test itself cost money. I have never in my life, paid for a test. I'm sorry but I cannot morally and justifiably pay for a test I have to take. This is why I never took the S.A.T's in high school, my parents felt the same way. So, let's say for a split moment, in an alternate reality, I would pay just so I could eventually get a job: If you pay, take the test, and fail you don't get your money back. And, you have to renew that every couple years. I cannot afford to chance that. Gas here locally, in a small souther town, is $3.00 a fucking gallon. It's almost $40 to fill up a 12 gallon gas tank on a small two seat car that gets "good" gas mileage. Do I need to go on, about cost?
- The knowledge itself, is minor. I mean, I've looked over alot of the supposed A+ material you'd see on the test. There is some redundant shit there. Questions about Windows NT 4.0 or Windows 3.1 I was like 10 years old when 3.1 was in its prime, come on. Even mom n pop businesses that have few computers, generally have at least 9.X, 2k or sometimes even XP Home. Ya also don't see any Linux, Unix or other OS questions on there (Maybe a few Novel ones). I'd love to learn those, but with one computer that can't be replaced, I can't afford to attempt dual booting incase I fuck it up. And you know, MANY businesses use Linux or Unix instead of Windows...
So here I am, no certifications, no experience. The few places that would higher entry level, want certifications, and the places that would eagerly not require certifications require experience. It's an endless cycle.
Hell, a good example; my uncle has this life long friend that works for a small local business that needs new technicians desperately. Now, him and my uncle have grown up together since they were even half my age and their almost like blood brothers. They'd do ANYTHING for each other. So my uncle puts in a word for me. The guy tells me the same thing I've said here; entry level requires all these various certifications, anything higher requires no certs but at least 3+ years of experience.
My options now are basically, save money. I've attempted getting jobs at local places, even stooped as low as Wal-Mart, just so I could save money to take these infernal god damn tests, just so I can get a job I am trained for. I mean it's not enough I put almost 3 years of time and effort into the education for it, and almost 20 grand when it was all said and done.
I love computers and technology, but I'll be damned if it's not like some exclusive high school club where only those who can afford certain things can get anywhere.
There has been a gradual shift in popular opinion away from Windows and towards Mac OS, thanks mostly to the lack of security / protection from spyware (by default) in the former.
See, this confuses the hell out of me really. On one hand, you've got major companies like Lavasoft releasing AdAware and such, to combat spyware. And hell even Microsoft released their anti spyware/mal ware tool. It's a epidemic, I've seen boxes so infected with spyware, that whatever tool you use will completely crash during scanning.
The part that confuses me is, you always see these commercials for IBM or AOL where they have like two guys walking and one guy is screaming at them to "CLICK HERE TO BE A WINNER". The two guys talk about how he's a spyware popup and such, and how their company blocks him out.
Spyware is a household term now. There are national commericals about them, and yet America has few to no laws aganist this. There are known companies that get their marketing division to sublet these other companies who write these spyware programs to collect consumer data or advertise their products. What the fuck is up with that?
You'd think by now, Microsoft would have some kind of firmware built into Windows, either via a tool/series of tools or maybe just some registry safe checks that disallow such things. Firefox and other more secure browsers are a nice start, but still some things slip by. (note, few things slip by, I use FF and just about any blocking extension there is, I get very few spyware hits on my system).
By default Longhorn or whatever, needs such protection simply put
Yea, that's what I did, I caught the Mini series and all of Season 1 in roughly the time span of two days. Even if I had watched it week by week as normal I'd still love it.
If the original was as cheesy as Andromeda and others, I don't think I'd care for it. I mean, sure I watched my share of Hercules and Xena, but those just came off as goof ball, even some of the more serious episodes. As for Andromeda, it was Hercules in space basically, which turned me off that show completely.
I can tell I wouldn't have enjoyed the first BSG, just from screenshots and stuff. It looks like a real low budget, cornball Buck Rodgers meets original Star Wars type thing. I'm sure it had it's merits and whatnot, but I just was never a fan of old sci fi. Only ones I ever enjoyed were Logans Run, Bladerunner, The Day the Earth Stood Still, etc
I admit, I'm a little behind the times. I know XP came out in like, 2001. I didn't get it on my system till late 2003, as I didn't think my system would support it (yes, it's a 5 year old system). And aside from the occasional minor bug here and there XP is great. Many more features than what I was used to in Win 9.x (specifically 98)
So I've barely had XP a little a year and half, give or take, and I'm wondering if Longhorn will be "worth it"? I mean, the details I've read, plus comments such as those on/. say there aren't a ton of actual OS upgrades other than a few other there. However, the one thing that sticks out in my mind is how Microsoft keeps taunting how Longhorn will have more requirements hardware wise than XP. Which worries me cause there doesn't seem to be a huge change between the two OSes.
I don't want like, new software and games, to come out and be Longhorn only. I know when I was using Win 9.x there were some games and software packages I had to sacrifice cause I didn't have XP or 2k and it sucked, alot. I realize being a computer savy user, for general surfing or gaming, requires at least some hefty updates every few years or a new system every few years. I come to accept that. But at the same time I've managed to run alot of stuff on some real minimal hardware, sure 15-20 frames in Half Life 2 with every last detail on low in the lowest resolution, but the game ran ya know?
I'm also worried about the price. $100+ for an OS is just out right sad. Yea, yea I know Linux is free. But I've only got 1 machine, with no experience in a Linux enviroment I really don't wanna lose all my Windows stuff to learn it. Nor do I wish to dual boot and risk screwing the entire harddrive cause I messed up some file or command in Linux that was crucial. With the steep, steep price of the Windows OS combined with "fuck, I hope I can even run the thing" I'm wondered if long-term Windows users are doomed?
I'm all for advancements in technology. Hell I've been hoping we as a society and civilization could finally in this day and age, venture out to other fucking planets let alone computer advancements. But at the same time what about the economic hardships of the American country? (specifically). Gas is up to $2.50 where I live. A year ago it was $1.60, or $1.40 if you spent a few more minutes driving to find a better priced station. That's over a $1.00 increase in a year. You can beat in that year salaries and paychecks didn't increase to reflect that. Point being, theres just no justification for the price of the OS, combined with the nesscary hardware to upgrade to run it.
Or am I totally alone feeling like a technological noob?
I never saw the original BSG. The only thing I know they changed, from what other fans say, is they made the character of Starbuck female instead of male. From what I can tell it seems to be fine, the show has a HUGE audience. I mean, if Bittorrent was good for anything it was good for massively increasing BSG's fan base. Hell I even watched all the reruns on Sci Fi to support the show.
It's a damn good show, much better than I would have thought.
Well, he could rotate. I mean, even when I have a very busy schedule, I can easily fit in 5+ magazines a week, simply from multitasking. Eating breakfast? Read a few pages. Lunch and dinner? Few more. Several trips to the bathroom throughout the day? A few more pages.
Then again, most magazines I read are just woefully small. I love paying like $5.99 for a 40-50 page magazine, which is mostly ad's. I can breeze through those in 10 minutes, reading the stuff I want out of it.
Ok, I can imagine someone being really busy. School, or a full time job, family with kids or just spending alot of time with the wife. But how can you not spend like 5 minutes reading a magazine?
I wouldn't even ask, but if you read the article, after it was all said and done, when it was settled he turned down a free subscription still siting "no time to read it".
Seriously, does this guy like, not ever use the bathroom? I know reading in the can isn't for everyone, but damn. He could easily spend five minutes reading several pages every time he needs to drop the kids off at the pool. Unless he's one of those strange guys who goes for the "turbo shit" and like, completes the entire process in under something insane like two minutes including cleaning and belt bulkling...
I really think dude is just full of it. I mean, he probably disliked the magazine and canceled cause of that. There are so many ways to read a magazine...
- 5-10 minutes before you go to sleep.
- While you eat a meal (unless he eats, while driving a truck...)
- Bathroom (as said)
- While doing menal chores such as waiting on clothes to wash/dry etc
If the ESRB had to rerate the game, including such unlocked content as the sexual mini games, say they make it Adult Only. By my understanding, to purchase something "adult" only, you'd need to be a legal adult, aka 18 years of age in most American cities/states. Correct?
And if the ESRB left it at Rated Mature, meaning you must be 17 or older to purchase it, then it's the same as it is currently. Correct?
What, is the deal? Is one god damn year really that much difference? "Wow Little Timmy, yer 17 but you can't buy this Adult Only game. But in roughly 5 months when you turn 18, you sure can! Cause by then you'll have "matured" into a full adult and can enjoy such quality adult recreation as Adult Only games!"
Seriously, who are they kidding? Now, I will say that for some people, that one year can make a difference. We've all met someone real young that is as mature and understanding as someone in their 50's, and we've all met someone that's 18 or older that is about as mature as your average 12 year old. However, the average tends to lend itself to being that the 17 year old, even if he/she is one full year till being 18, is in the same mind state and understanding of such concepts such as Adult material.
Granted, it may not come down to "the wire" such as it may seem, in most places. But, you'd be surprised. I've seen Walmarts not sell certain things past the M rating to guys who were 17 but seriously like a few days from their 18th birthday. You think I'm shitting you, lord knows I can give you the names and store numbers of some local managers of various department stores like Walmart or Target who do just that. They will argue you up and down, that those "three or four days" can mean a lawsuit or something equally as stupid. (first what "parent" would sue for a breach within that time period? and what jury would actually consider it?)
Either way, the jump between NC 17/Rated M vs "Adult" Only is so trivial it's not funny. I mean come on, at 17 (and younger) you were seeing sexual education films in high school that were more graphic and detailed that your average prime time basic cable sitcom...Let alone being worried about all the Little Timmy's who might get the wrong idea from some obscure pixelated model sex scene in GTA...
check out the downloads section for Radio iTG www.radioitg.com (casting for all kinds of games online). Their weekly MMO show Weapon of Choice had a nice long interview with Leeroy talking about all kinds of subjects. I believe it was Episode 17 (free registration required to dl, in mp3 format). Great interview, dude is quite a character.
Now, I haven't read up on every payment method that iTunes and other online outlets provide, but when you combine the fact that CD's still cost $12+ on average with the fact that credit card purchasing doesn't leave some of us alot of options.
I haven't bought a CD in years, the prices are just too high. On average you're looking at $12 to $15 for a 10 track CD. On average I enjoy a few songs, between 2-3, on each CD. Sure nowadays, you can purchase songs individually online. But what about people that have bad credit? Or no credit card at all? Or those that don't trust online outlets with their information? I know plenty of people who thanks to spyware and such do not trust any browser or "secure" method of online purchasing cause there is no 100% guarantee.
I've said it before and I'll say it again: they need custom kiosks that can custom burn CD's for price of each song. You go into a store or the mall, and go up to a little kiosk. You pick out which songs you want, and pay for each song. A system then burns you a CD, with those songs on it, and you pay like any other method (cash, check, etc). Until then can come up with a widescale format for releasing CD's, kind of like "singles", with the songs YOU want, people will "pirate". Costs are cheap. CD's cost like a penny to produce blank, probably less. A simple GUI running on a touch screen LCD can be setup so a user can simply go through an A - Z search for song/artist and there are plenty of programs that can be modified to autoburn apon being told so.
"What is the major reason for people still sticking with VHS?"
Cause it's affordable. When that new movie you've waited six months to see is finally released it's often $20+ for the DVD version, which usually only comes in widescreen format (some of us still prefer full screen). Whereas the VHS version is anywhere as cheap as $5 to an average of $8-10. Half the price of a DVD.
DVD prices are just too high. Sure, some the extras on a DVD sometimes justify the cost but most times I don't want extras, I don't need extras. Sure I'll pay a few dollars extra for a movie in DVD format, in DVD quality, stored on a CD-like storage system for smaller area usage, but you can't buy just vanilla DVD's such as that. And I sure as hell ain't paying $20 for some Ultimate Directors Unrated Unabridged BehindtheScenes Edition of some movie that's over twenty years old...
The day VHS "dies" is the day I stop buying movies and tv shows until a cheaper medium is released.
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Case in point. Say you buy a cd. Love the cd love the artist. The cd just comes in a standard jewel case, with cover and back art with a listing of tracks on the back and inside jacket cover. No lyrics what so ever. Now you own this cd, shouldn't you be entitled to finding out what exactly the words to the song's are? For some genre's of music a simple careful listen to each song works. However I think we can all agree this is far from a solution cause many genre's aren't so easy to sit down and do that. Imagine trying to figure out every lyric from a heavy metal band where the lead singer is more so screaming/grunting than coherently singing the words? (nothing aganist heavy metal, if it sounds that way it's how they choose just saying not everyone can understand it right off the bat).
Two thing's will happen (at least here in America);
- 1) the RIAA does this and takes the entire thing including downloading music to the next level. Soon it'll be heavy jail time for recording the radio to a cassette or cd, soon it'll be illegal to sing (kareoke style I guess you could call it) already copywritten songs in any public establishment there is not your home, same with playing instruments and copywritten notes. Eventually radio's in cities will become what the RIAA tries to push on internet shoutcasts (key word, tries); only "Free" music is allowed i.e. public domain stuff or stuff with no copyright that is open to anyone to play or listen too.
- 2) A variation or series of variations of the above, except the RIAA really gets out of hand by doing stupid shit. Like suing more 12 year olds, except not even offering them the settlement and taking it to trial themselves. This is actually the better of the two, cause while they are more evil in this one, the entire world would see how fucking stupid it is to enforce this crap when CNN/CSPAN or Court TV has the trial live on international tv as a 12 year old girl is in court, facing felony charges (least I think it's a felony, if not, then a misdemeanor) for downloading some Britney Spears songs. (bonus points for making them look even more corporately evil if the judge lands some outrageous sentance like jailing the 12 year old in juvie until she is 18 years of age).
Either way both lead to a path of self destruction for the RIAA. Quality earns money, when they learn this they'll understand. Sure it was cool paying $15-20 an album for a cd, back in 1993/94 when they hit the scene. 11 years later....They should be half that price if anything.
No need to be a dick about it ;\ While I grew up in the NES generation and know my way around technology, not everyone is always up to date on what technology does what. Hell I just saw a few weeks ago we now have biometric (think that's the right word) scanning for PC's now so you can just swipe a thumb and you log into your home PC. HD has been around a while yes but it's one of those technologies you don't often understand or grasp right away.
The only reason I'd update to a HD tv set is if every channel in my digital cable package (400+) required HD to watch. As long as there is a large cable package that does not require HD I will use that. I refuse to go drop several hundred dollars, if not much more, for a HD set.
Remember when CD's first came out and having a cd player was the new rave? Yea well I was the guy still buying cassettes, and hunting them down as stores kept keeping their cassette isle smaller and smaller. Remember when DVD's went mainstream? I kept using VHS, it was cheaper and I already had my favorite stuff on VHS.
Oh and, I don't want to start a flame thing but this is my opinion, I dislike Wide Screen. I know WS shows more picture per screen and is a slightly higher quality, I know this is the current standard for filming shit and has been for a few years. I can take a screen shot from Lord of the Ring's comparisons and I hate how the heads are "cut off". Sure it's stretching the image to fit my screen, and in WS you gain more length wise than you do height but if I can see the full persons head and shit in the frame vs say, some extra scenery footage I'd take the full head shots any day.
The real radical opinion is, well, I paid for a 35 inch screen. Using WS I am "gaining" extra footage on the sides but at the same time I'm losing over 5+ inches from the top and bottom. That's like a rather large percentage of 35 being wasted by black blank space not being used. Maybe tv's grow on tree's for some people but not everyone can afford to drop $200-300 for a nice sized tv. (Not that it destroys the tv or anything but if I pay for 35 inch I want all 35 inches to be used).
I've still got my DC but I think it's broken. I had spilt some iced tea on the floor one time and some got inside the top where the cd drive was. It powers up but it won't read any discs anymore :( They're dirt cheap these days. Sadly I don't expect any new consoles (360, PS2 or Rev) to be like the old days of the DC.
The classifieds in the newspaper wield no results as few IT positions are listed (in my town). So you turn to come places like Monster.com whom have plenty of jobs listed but the majority of them require 1-3 years experience. Sure as my H.R. Consultant from school said you can submit your resume and such to those companies anyway, but as all of them have told me, "you don't have the experience we are looking for". So you get stuck in this loop of having no work experience, or what little you do isn't enough.
And I know plenty of guys who went to school with me who have the experience (5+ years at the least) and they have a hard time finding a job as well. I mean for alot of us this is a career choice, what we'd want to do as opposed to say, construction work o_O The job's such as mine are a dime-a-dozen in my town. We aren't a small town, but we aren't a huge one either, just a medium sized area (mil+). A new company starts hiring those IT jobs are gone within a day or two.
The best I could hope for now is something like transcription or reception. Sure they only barely use a PC but they jobs in a somewhat related field (ok now so closely related but a distant cousin).
The worst part is, even most professors and such at college and H.R. people will tell you "If you are having problems finding a job in your field, take what you can get anywhere. Cause going long periods unemployed while looking for a job in your field can look bad on a resume. You don't want large gaps of time between jobs.". That's great...I mean I paid $20,000+ for my education, so I can go work at Wal-Mart while I find a job? Sure it's a job but isn't that kind of backwards? Societies standards today are after high school, go to college, possibly get a degree, finish college, find a job in a career you choose. Some just aint right about all this.
So here I am, finished school almost 2 full years ago, the few jobs I've found I don't meet the requirements on, the others that have been offered are totally out of my scope of doing (one was traveling the country doing free lance technician work on PC's for a company. I neither have the money or desire to leave my hometown). I honestly feel like I wasted all that time learning the ropes of IT/Tech and paying for it just to not even find a job in it, years later.
I still use my VCR standalone more. Why? Economics.
Sure that new Random Movie X has some cool features on the 2 disc dvd set. But even Wal Mart will want almost $25 for it. Whereas that VHS, will run me $10 or $15 at most if it's brand new (as in just released).
I love dvd's, small cases, can store a ton of them on relatively small shelf space, they don't wear down from repeated viewings like a VHS does. But they are twice as expensive.
The same will always happen with the new strings of technology. What if mini disc dvd's or whatever they are called take over in the next 5-10 years? DVD prices will be what VHS prices are now.
Maybe when companies stop trying to charge upwards of $25 or $30 for a 2 hour movie on dvd, I'll stick to just them. Yea I know, the extras and stuff often are the "reason" why the cost more, but most times I don't want extras. I just want the movie, in dvd format. I don't need super secret deleted scenes from the underground directors cut of the screenplay. Just gimme the final cut movie, in dvd quality.
Oh and offtopic, while on DVD's, I wish companies would stop releasing stuff in Wide Screen only. Yes I know it's "better" cause you get more viewable space in width and they don't need to stretch the image to fit your tv screen. But guess what? I like pan & scan. I like knowing that my 35 inch tv isn't wasting almost 1/2 it's screen size just to let me see some extra footage, on the sides. If I wanted wide screen I'd have purchased a wide screen style tv. It sucks to go buy a dvd and they only release it in Wide Screen. A relative purchased Oceans Tweleve (debates on good or bad movie, save for another time), but no store sold it in Full Screen on dvd. We finally just exchanged it for our money back.
2. Screen economy. I can't stand to view webpages in super high resolution. While some sites have features that stand out more in bigger resolutions, most tend to either go toward the left, right, or center (obviously). Nothing screams pet peeve to me like having to read a forum, that's centered in a page, with like 400+ pixels of wasted space on each side. So I view stuff in a smaller resolution. Meaning, I don't need banners causing me to scroll horizontal, or ad's stretching my screen.
3. Do I even need to explain the Spyware/Malware/Virus reasons?
4. Princple. A good site, is one that doesn't need Ad paid fueling. If you can't afford bandwidth in this day and age, honestly, then you don't need to be running a website that gets a high number of hits. It may seem asshole-ish, but thems the breaks.
Oh and as for magazines with ad's, yea I don't buy or read ones with lots of ads. I paid $6.99 (over priced already) to read articles, reviews, etc not ya know see another ad for Fanta soda I'd never drink or those great Virgina Slim ads
Well, yes and no. I switched cell providers simply cause the one I had a few years back tried to go to a contract type deal. I just refused, and changed. Sure, there's going to be the "majority" that stay, but the majority is not always the right thing nor the best as history has proven.
Digital cable (even basic cable) is getting extremely high priced, and this is with no DVR style record feature. Not keen on a satelite dish either, heard some horror stories from other family members and friends.
TiVo looked great, record what you want when you want so you never miss something. Skip commericals (bout frakking time) and more. Now they've taken some ancient MSN/AOL type deal where you gotta have a service plan contract? Sorry, no thank you.
What if something where to happen where you couldn't afford that TiVo every month? (Granted yes money management saves alot but anyone can fall on tough times), you suddenly gotta cough up $150 flat fee cause you needed to save a few monthly payments and use it for gas or food? Yea, that'll go over real well.
Watch for a slow rise in the bittorrent community in the coming year or so as more TiVo like providers probably switch to similar "plans".
Offtopic: how the hell was this rated flamebait? Granted I have a flair for using profanity but thats never been a reason to mod someone down or low. I put time and thought in that post ;\
Granted mankind has been here on earth a few thousand years, and we've been through just about every natural disaster the planet has thrown at us, but as time goes on it gets worse.
Every year it's hotter in the summer, colder in the winter, and the storms are stronger. Yea global warming and whatnot plays a part in that, but at the same time, it's getting to the point where it's too much. Even if America had the funds to "easily" recoup from something like Katrina, the manpower and time needed would be insane. Thousands, apon thousands, of homes and businesses needing rebuilding. Food, clothing and temporary lodging for those without.
And this was just one average sized state. What happens when a Hurricane hits the East Coast with enough force to path it's way north to a major city like D.C. or New York and [b]completely[/b] level it?
Our "current" systems of fighting a hurricane are far inadequate. By the time we detect them, we then have to monitor them to see if they will have a "projected" path inland, and what force it may bring. In that time, could be days, could be a week or more, you have a population in the areas, that is tittering back in forth between preparing or not preparing. Since we can't always predict their pattern, path, or length, we never know. And even when we do, such as Katrinas case (one of the more up-to-date "oh shit something is coming" storm watches), what does it mean to "prepare"?
You can't prepare. Preparing for a hurricane, is getting as far West as you can, preferably as far North-West. Sure you can attempt the tried-and-true method of stocking up on bottled water, food and hoping to "ride it out" but that only works when ya know, it doesn't rip your fucking house off the ground with you in it.
The worst part? Hurricane season just started last month for the East coast. This was the first hurricane of the year, if we're lucky it'll be the only major one. You'd think one would be a disaster right, what the fuck do you call a potential [b]season[/b] of storms that might be that strong? A minor inconvience?
We need to seriously dump some national budget and tax money not only into recovery from such events, but also into research into either much better warning systems or as the article says: preventing them. There has to be a way to physically stop this things.
A storm or pretty much any natural event like this, is sparked from some sort of catalyst or series of. If theres a means to create, theres a means to stop. It may not seem practical or even within our grasp at moments notice, but if you boil it down to what starts it, theres going to be something to end it.
When you think about it, in the simplist terms, it's like "duh". I mean, we as a race, have to a degree harnessed the power of the atom, broken the sound barrier and began space exploration. Stoping a large ball of air, water and electricity should be within our abilities. I mean we've got a fucking space station for christ sakes..(don't get me started on our technological slowness, we are far behind the curve if you ask me)
Maybe if we as a planet, stopped fighting each other for five minutes, we could accomplish something like this. I mean, with Katrina, look at how many third-world countries offered help to America. Many of which we have turned our backs to in the past. If some of us can show that level of compassion, imagine what we could do unifed as a people with a common goal..
If you don't "settle" and it manages to go to trial, and you lose, what happens if you don't pay? I mean, I'm not up on the current law on that but like, remember that one case where the guy owed like $15,000,000 for like 3 songs or something stupid? What would they do, garnish his wages? Force him to pay it each week?
I'd just refuse. I mean who has the money to pay that kind of fee, even if they chose the settlement.
I just cannot see them putting some poor guy in jail...
"I murdered my family, friends and over a dozen people up and down the coast line. It all ended when the cops found me in the street pissing myself while eating shit out of a dog food can. So, why are you here?"
"...uh..I downloaded some Britney Spears and Lindsay Lohan songs off the Internet"
Sure, they'll probably put them in the most lax prison there is, minimal security and whatnot. But still, prison for downloading music? Why should "the rich" be the only ones entertained? By rich I mean, those who can afford to drop $15 for a CD, or $25 for a DVD? I know guys who can't afford gas for their cars! And they don't drink or splurg their paychecks on stupid shit. They pay rent, little food and gas to get to work, and they still have a hard time affording GAS.
World's going to hell in a handbasket
It's a god'damn rip off.
After highschool, I didn't do so hot at college. Bigger league classes weren't for me, and since I scored low on the math entrance exam, it woulda been 6+ semesters before they ever allowed me to take a course that even remotely involved a computer.
So I went to one of the local technical trade schools you see on tv. Yea, it was alot of money. Yea, some of the stuff they taught was simplistic that any one could learn. However, alot of what they taught, I learned off the bat, without needed 2+ years of other courses before. You don't need to know Trigonometry to piece together a PC part-by-part.
I graduated in under two years, with just a diploma. They offered degree courses, for Associates, or Bachelors if I chose to do courses online. At that point I had already sunk in around $15,000 into it, of which I still have enormous student loan payments.
So here I am, an "entry" level technician. Most places don't require a degree, but alot of places require, certifications. Best Buy, of all god damn places, wants it techs to have a minimum of an A+ Certification. There's just no way..
- First, the test itself cost money. I have never in my life, paid for a test. I'm sorry but I cannot morally and justifiably pay for a test I have to take. This is why I never took the S.A.T's in high school, my parents felt the same way. So, let's say for a split moment, in an alternate reality, I would pay just so I could eventually get a job: If you pay, take the test, and fail you don't get your money back. And, you have to renew that every couple years. I cannot afford to chance that. Gas here locally, in a small souther town, is $3.00 a fucking gallon. It's almost $40 to fill up a 12 gallon gas tank on a small two seat car that gets "good" gas mileage. Do I need to go on, about cost?
- The knowledge itself, is minor. I mean, I've looked over alot of the supposed A+ material you'd see on the test. There is some redundant shit there. Questions about Windows NT 4.0 or Windows 3.1 I was like 10 years old when 3.1 was in its prime, come on. Even mom n pop businesses that have few computers, generally have at least 9.X, 2k or sometimes even XP Home. Ya also don't see any Linux, Unix or other OS questions on there (Maybe a few Novel ones). I'd love to learn those, but with one computer that can't be replaced, I can't afford to attempt dual booting incase I fuck it up. And you know, MANY businesses use Linux or Unix instead of Windows...
So here I am, no certifications, no experience. The few places that would higher entry level, want certifications, and the places that would eagerly not require certifications require experience. It's an endless cycle.
Hell, a good example; my uncle has this life long friend that works for a small local business that needs new technicians desperately. Now, him and my uncle have grown up together since they were even half my age and their almost like blood brothers. They'd do ANYTHING for each other. So my uncle puts in a word for me. The guy tells me the same thing I've said here; entry level requires all these various certifications, anything higher requires no certs but at least 3+ years of experience.
My options now are basically, save money. I've attempted getting jobs at local places, even stooped as low as Wal-Mart, just so I could save money to take these infernal god damn tests, just so I can get a job I am trained for. I mean it's not enough I put almost 3 years of time and effort into the education for it, and almost 20 grand when it was all said and done.
I love computers and technology, but I'll be damned if it's not like some exclusive high school club where only those who can afford certain things can get anywhere.
See, this confuses the hell out of me really. On one hand, you've got major companies like Lavasoft releasing AdAware and such, to combat spyware. And hell even Microsoft released their anti spyware/mal ware tool. It's a epidemic, I've seen boxes so infected with spyware, that whatever tool you use will completely crash during scanning.
The part that confuses me is, you always see these commercials for IBM or AOL where they have like two guys walking and one guy is screaming at them to "CLICK HERE TO BE A WINNER". The two guys talk about how he's a spyware popup and such, and how their company blocks him out.
Spyware is a household term now. There are national commericals about them, and yet America has few to no laws aganist this. There are known companies that get their marketing division to sublet these other companies who write these spyware programs to collect consumer data or advertise their products. What the fuck is up with that?
You'd think by now, Microsoft would have some kind of firmware built into Windows, either via a tool/series of tools or maybe just some registry safe checks that disallow such things. Firefox and other more secure browsers are a nice start, but still some things slip by. (note, few things slip by, I use FF and just about any blocking extension there is, I get very few spyware hits on my system).
By default Longhorn or whatever, needs such protection simply put
Offtopic but yea, we Americans did this. We pretty much control the damn country and yet gas prices RISE...
If the original was as cheesy as Andromeda and others, I don't think I'd care for it. I mean, sure I watched my share of Hercules and Xena, but those just came off as goof ball, even some of the more serious episodes. As for Andromeda, it was Hercules in space basically, which turned me off that show completely.
I can tell I wouldn't have enjoyed the first BSG, just from screenshots and stuff. It looks like a real low budget, cornball Buck Rodgers meets original Star Wars type thing. I'm sure it had it's merits and whatnot, but I just was never a fan of old sci fi. Only ones I ever enjoyed were Logans Run, Bladerunner, The Day the Earth Stood Still, etc
So I've barely had XP a little a year and half, give or take, and I'm wondering if Longhorn will be "worth it"? I mean, the details I've read, plus comments such as those on /. say there aren't a ton of actual OS upgrades other than a few other there. However, the one thing that sticks out in my mind is how Microsoft keeps taunting how Longhorn will have more requirements hardware wise than XP. Which worries me cause there doesn't seem to be a huge change between the two OSes.
I don't want like, new software and games, to come out and be Longhorn only. I know when I was using Win 9.x there were some games and software packages I had to sacrifice cause I didn't have XP or 2k and it sucked, alot. I realize being a computer savy user, for general surfing or gaming, requires at least some hefty updates every few years or a new system every few years. I come to accept that. But at the same time I've managed to run alot of stuff on some real minimal hardware, sure 15-20 frames in Half Life 2 with every last detail on low in the lowest resolution, but the game ran ya know?
I'm also worried about the price. $100+ for an OS is just out right sad. Yea, yea I know Linux is free. But I've only got 1 machine, with no experience in a Linux enviroment I really don't wanna lose all my Windows stuff to learn it. Nor do I wish to dual boot and risk screwing the entire harddrive cause I messed up some file or command in Linux that was crucial. With the steep, steep price of the Windows OS combined with "fuck, I hope I can even run the thing" I'm wondered if long-term Windows users are doomed?
I'm all for advancements in technology. Hell I've been hoping we as a society and civilization could finally in this day and age, venture out to other fucking planets let alone computer advancements. But at the same time what about the economic hardships of the American country? (specifically). Gas is up to $2.50 where I live. A year ago it was $1.60, or $1.40 if you spent a few more minutes driving to find a better priced station. That's over a $1.00 increase in a year. You can beat in that year salaries and paychecks didn't increase to reflect that. Point being, theres just no justification for the price of the OS, combined with the nesscary hardware to upgrade to run it.
Or am I totally alone feeling like a technological noob?
It's a damn good show, much better than I would have thought.
I so wanna build a model Viper Mark II ;)
Then again, most magazines I read are just woefully small. I love paying like $5.99 for a 40-50 page magazine, which is mostly ad's. I can breeze through those in 10 minutes, reading the stuff I want out of it.
I wouldn't even ask, but if you read the article, after it was all said and done, when it was settled he turned down a free subscription still siting "no time to read it".
Seriously, does this guy like, not ever use the bathroom? I know reading in the can isn't for everyone, but damn. He could easily spend five minutes reading several pages every time he needs to drop the kids off at the pool. Unless he's one of those strange guys who goes for the "turbo shit" and like, completes the entire process in under something insane like two minutes including cleaning and belt bulkling...
I really think dude is just full of it. I mean, he probably disliked the magazine and canceled cause of that. There are so many ways to read a magazine...
- 5-10 minutes before you go to sleep.
- While you eat a meal (unless he eats, while driving a truck...)
- Bathroom (as said)
- While doing menal chores such as waiting on clothes to wash/dry etc
No time my ass
If the ESRB had to rerate the game, including such unlocked content as the sexual mini games, say they make it Adult Only. By my understanding, to purchase something "adult" only, you'd need to be a legal adult, aka 18 years of age in most American cities/states. Correct?
And if the ESRB left it at Rated Mature, meaning you must be 17 or older to purchase it, then it's the same as it is currently. Correct?
What, is the deal? Is one god damn year really that much difference? "Wow Little Timmy, yer 17 but you can't buy this Adult Only game. But in roughly 5 months when you turn 18, you sure can! Cause by then you'll have "matured" into a full adult and can enjoy such quality adult recreation as Adult Only games!"
Seriously, who are they kidding? Now, I will say that for some people, that one year can make a difference. We've all met someone real young that is as mature and understanding as someone in their 50's, and we've all met someone that's 18 or older that is about as mature as your average 12 year old. However, the average tends to lend itself to being that the 17 year old, even if he/she is one full year till being 18, is in the same mind state and understanding of such concepts such as Adult material.
Granted, it may not come down to "the wire" such as it may seem, in most places. But, you'd be surprised. I've seen Walmarts not sell certain things past the M rating to guys who were 17 but seriously like a few days from their 18th birthday. You think I'm shitting you, lord knows I can give you the names and store numbers of some local managers of various department stores like Walmart or Target who do just that. They will argue you up and down, that those "three or four days" can mean a lawsuit or something equally as stupid. (first what "parent" would sue for a breach within that time period? and what jury would actually consider it?)
Either way, the jump between NC 17/Rated M vs "Adult" Only is so trivial it's not funny. I mean come on, at 17 (and younger) you were seeing sexual education films in high school that were more graphic and detailed that your average prime time basic cable sitcom...Let alone being worried about all the Little Timmy's who might get the wrong idea from some obscure pixelated model sex scene in GTA...
check out the downloads section for Radio iTG www.radioitg.com (casting for all kinds of games online). Their weekly MMO show Weapon of Choice had a nice long interview with Leeroy talking about all kinds of subjects. I believe it was Episode 17 (free registration required to dl, in mp3 format). Great interview, dude is quite a character.
I haven't bought a CD in years, the prices are just too high. On average you're looking at $12 to $15 for a 10 track CD. On average I enjoy a few songs, between 2-3, on each CD. Sure nowadays, you can purchase songs individually online. But what about people that have bad credit? Or no credit card at all? Or those that don't trust online outlets with their information? I know plenty of people who thanks to spyware and such do not trust any browser or "secure" method of online purchasing cause there is no 100% guarantee.
I've said it before and I'll say it again: they need custom kiosks that can custom burn CD's for price of each song. You go into a store or the mall, and go up to a little kiosk. You pick out which songs you want, and pay for each song. A system then burns you a CD, with those songs on it, and you pay like any other method (cash, check, etc). Until then can come up with a widescale format for releasing CD's, kind of like "singles", with the songs YOU want, people will "pirate". Costs are cheap. CD's cost like a penny to produce blank, probably less. A simple GUI running on a touch screen LCD can be setup so a user can simply go through an A - Z search for song/artist and there are plenty of programs that can be modified to autoburn apon being told so.
Nice to see Firefly get a home on Sci Fi. Even though theres only one season, it's better than nothing.
Cause it's affordable. When that new movie you've waited six months to see is finally released it's often $20+ for the DVD version, which usually only comes in widescreen format (some of us still prefer full screen). Whereas the VHS version is anywhere as cheap as $5 to an average of $8-10. Half the price of a DVD.
DVD prices are just too high. Sure, some the extras on a DVD sometimes justify the cost but most times I don't want extras, I don't need extras. Sure I'll pay a few dollars extra for a movie in DVD format, in DVD quality, stored on a CD-like storage system for smaller area usage, but you can't buy just vanilla DVD's such as that. And I sure as hell ain't paying $20 for some Ultimate Directors Unrated Unabridged BehindtheScenes Edition of some movie that's over twenty years old...
The day VHS "dies" is the day I stop buying movies and tv shows until a cheaper medium is released.