I think that it is much better to crack iTunes's file format so I can play the songs I legally purchased than to download songs completely illegally over a P2P network.
I agree with you, but you could do even a little bit better if you spent money on services that don't utilize DRM. Emusic, magnatunes, audio cds, etc.
If/When these DRM-free sites get more market share than the DRM sites, record companies will start to rethink their positions on it.
Yes, that timing scheme tends to work ok, sometimes.
What I hate is the the following. Assume that the speed limit is 30, and if one drives 35 mph, one will hit all the greens.
Many people in my area like to go 10-15 mph over the speed limit. When they pass me and have to stop at the red light, they cause me to stop as well, since they require time to speed up again.
The ironic part is that they are usually mad at me for driving too slowly (still over the speed limit), and then swerve into another lane in an enraged fit of acceleration (just to slam on the brakes 5 seconds later).
When you bought your music from the iTMS, you already knew that you would only be allowed to play it within iTunes or on your iPod.
Given the software in question, it is obvious that you can play the files on any aac-playing device.
The question is why shouldn't you? So far, I've seen comments stating that you shouldn't because:
1) It violates your agreement with Apple for purchasing music. (Note that Apple is not pursuing anyone based on this claim yet.)
2) It violates the DCMA.
Yes, the software might violate the DCMA. What you must realize, though, is that many, many people think that the DCMA is a very bad law that unfairly erodes the consumers rights, as laid out in the copyright statutes.
While the best course of action may be to try to lobby congress to repeal the DCMA, it may not be the most effective. By breaking the bad law, one creates more attention for the issues involved and raises the possibility of the law being challenged in court.
* We were introduced to Luke's future foster parents (in Lucas' trademark ham-handed way) in Ep II. So when Anakin/Darth visited, why would he have them barbequed?
* In fact, why would he even need to massacre Jawas to find the droids -- why not just drop in on Owen and Beru directly?
DV wasn't micro-managing every aspect of the operation. If he did, he wouldn't get to choke anyone for failing him.
He commanded someone to send troops down to find the escape pod and investigate.
This might work well for people that mostly visit visually oriented sites, but not for me. I don't remember pages by a layout or logo, but instead because of some text content, or information that I want.
What would be more useful for me would be a short summary of the web pages. Perhaps the browser could be smart enough to follow "About" links and report the first paragraph of actual information.
Also being able to search through keywords of pages in your cache would be useful (Selectable from title-search and content-search).
I carry this much for writing and photography.. if I didnt care to keep logs of my trips I wouldn't bring 1/2 the stuff. Yes writing can be done on a pad of paper, and photos can be on a tiny film camera.... but I prefer to not wait to get the film developed then scan the images and then type in all my notes and writing. plus I can download my tracking from the GPS into the computer as a file to attach to my documents.
If you want to save some weight, why not delegate the computer tasks to the Zaurus? With an add-on keyboard, it can probably do everything that your Libretto can do, but with less power consumption.
PG2 tries to claim copyright over the files as well, even though the text themselves are supposed to be in the public domain.
The idea that the formating is copywritable is a scary one. Any number of people could reformat PG texts using a specific XML dtd and stylesheet in exactly the same way. Does this mean that it is a race to see who can mark up the text first?
With this decentralized system, I can easily imagine dns wars going on where people who dislike a certain company (sco or microsoft, for example), would collect digital signatures from a group of people gaming the system to show the unintended pages.
Do you really think that web content should be blocked based on popularity (or infamy)?
What makes AM Stereo superior? For me, AM is inferior due to the frequency limitations (similar to a telephone). Simply adding another channel doesn't change that.
It is really hard to filter out the irrelevant comments caused by the sensationalistic headline.
No, facts are still not going to be copyrightable (just collections of them). So why imply that they will be in headline?
Now I have to manually skip past the high-rated posts that correct the headline and those insightful ones that explain why it would be bad if the headline were true.
Note that I think that the bill is a bad idea, but I would like to be able to read comments about the actual issue.
I find it interesting that it was nearly an accepible form of 'fair use', but was denied that status because of the potential effects on the copyright holder's market.
However, the courts had rejected the claim that the copyright violated due process because the copyright holder was not restricting access to the work. If they were not restricting access to the work, how could publishing it cause a negative effect in their market?
If one argues that it is ok because only those within juristiction of the law have free access to the work, would the plaintif been ok to add a click through 'contract' stating that the viewer must be in that jurisdiction?
Mostly, if you can imagine why you use a desktop computer instead of paper, a lot of the same benefits apply.
You can backup your notes. You can easily send them to others (my wife beams shopping lists to me all the time). You can store lots of data in a compact form (recipes, novels, addresses, maps, etc).
There is also the multimedia and interaction stuff. I used to have a pocket pc. It had voice recording capabilities. I found it handy to use for dictating a little note to myself while driving.
A pda can beep to remind you of appointments.
Some can play MP3's (not big ones, usually, but perhaps your favorite NPR program you recorded to MP3).
Games, if you are into that.
Realistically, I don't use my pda a lot, since I am always around computers. However, if you are on a bus or a plane or waiting to meet someone, a pda can usually do a lot of what you would want from a computer.
Looking over your shoulder can be dangerous, because it takes so long to turn around far enough to check your blind spot.
What people don't realize is that if you adjust your side mirrors properly, you can virtually eliminate your blind spot. If you swing your mirrors out wide enough, you can get it so that when a car is just leaving your rear-view mirror, it is entering your side mirror. If you are lucky, when the car leaves the side mirror, it will be in your peripheral vision. If not, at least you have reduced the amount you need to turn your head, which saves precious time.
Convex mirrors can eliminate blind spots too, but when using them, it may be harder to determine a car's position.
Anyway, play with your mirrors, and check them by looking over your shoulder. Be aware of your blind spots and check them!
I use method 1 myself, which is similar to the way people do it with analog watches anyway. Can you imagine someone trying to count the number of times the second hand moved at the same time as trying to count a pulse?
I'm not too much of a gamer. The last console I bought was a PSX, and I've only enjoyed a few PC games since then. However, I am considering buying a Gamecube. Why? Because the price is right, and it has some titles that look interesting to me. I appreciate the fact that I can get the GameBoy player for it, further expanding the game library. I like the fact that Nintendo is re-releasing some of the good old games for the newer systems (Mario Advance series, and the Zelda Collection).
Very few games appeal to me, and anything that a system can do to include a few good ones from previous consoles gets a thumbs up in my book.
I realize I'm not necessarily in the target market, but I thought I'd give another data point.
Besides with VirtualPC and the DirectX api, it shouldn't be too hard to make it backwards compatible (well, at least compared to not having VirtualPC).
I didn't really understand what nVidia was talking about when they said the games used their shading technology. Isn't that all hidden behind Direct3d?
they'll[2+GHz Cpus] keep up for more time than you'd think
I bet your 1.2 ghz cpu will probably be fine for most desktop tasks for at least another 2 years. It seems to me that desktop apps are not tending to require more cpu nearly as fast as more memory and disk bandwidth.
Uhm... why not just bit-copy the data to another media format that doesn't self destruct? Afterall, you don't need the actual disc, just to keep the bits.
My first gut reaction was because it would be illegal to copy the disc. But, upon reflection, I'm not sure that would be the case. People are legally allowed to make a backup copy of media they own. This protects them from damage to the original (like 'faulty' dye that disappears after a while).
Is this something that Disney overlooked? If people can get legal copies of movies for $6 (which seems about the right price to me), this will severely cut into their profits.
Wouldn't netscape be similar to a domain registrar in this type of case? There is a word that is for sale. If the party purchasing it uses it in a way to dilute a trademark, the word should be relinquished or the company punished.
8: Continue to point out that the music-cartel is in trouble because they're providing a service noone really needs or wants anymore. Sure, that's putting it a bit on the point, but fact is, neither I as a producer of music, nor I as a consumer have any interest in supporting those things 90% of the cash goes to when I purchase a CD.
I don't buy that. Artists need money for production, promotion, and distribution.
I suspect that there are many artists [that want to be 'make it big'] that do not want to take the financial risks to undertake this on their own, and welcome being signed by a major label.
Now, you may argue that the record labels are overcharging for their services and have a shady way of operating. Ok. But let's assume that a record label is a squeaky clean and friendly company. CD's are priced at $5 in stores, and the artist gets 80% of all profit. Will that stop copyright infringment? I doubt it. If it is easy to get for free, some people will do it. The more people do it, the more socially acceptable it will become.
Today it is US copyright laws that are out of wack. The imbalance is not in the technology, it's in 100 year copyrights that are essentially perpetual
I don't think this is quite right. While I agree that copyright terms should be shortened (the original 14 + 14 seems right to me), I don't think that the term of copyrights has much to do with copyright violations on P2P as a whole. Do you think that people would wait 14 years to download the newest Britney album, just to be legal?
The problem, as it seems to me, is that when it is incredibly easy to copy something, people don't see much value in any given copy. This is especially true where there is no physical media.
It is human nature to share and to take from others, especially when by doing so, you do not noticably deprive anybody of anything.
People with a little foresight will realize, however, that if the artists and producers do not get paid, that there will not be any more music produced. Ok, but how about when the artist has already made back tons of money on an album? When the artist and producers have been significantly compensated for the production costs and a reasonable profit, is it still wrong to copy files?
Perhaps the answer is to have the artists get paid in full before they release their music. For example, they could release their files in low quality samples (32 KiBit or so), then they could start a general fund. When peoples donations to this fund reach a preset level, the high quality files are released for freely distributable, non-commercial consumption.
Slashdot Mirror
I think that it is much better to crack iTunes's file format so I can play the songs I legally purchased than to download songs completely illegally over a P2P network.
I agree with you, but you could do even a little bit better if you spent money on services that don't utilize DRM. Emusic, magnatunes, audio cds, etc.
If/When these DRM-free sites get more market share than the DRM sites, record companies will start to rethink their positions on it.
Yes, that timing scheme tends to work ok, sometimes.
What I hate is the the following. Assume that the speed limit is 30, and if one drives 35 mph, one will hit all the greens.
Many people in my area like to go 10-15 mph over the speed limit. When they pass me and have to stop at the red light, they cause me to stop as well, since they require time to speed up again.
The ironic part is that they are usually mad at me for driving too slowly (still over the speed limit), and then swerve into another lane in an enraged fit of acceleration (just to slam on the brakes 5 seconds later).
Given the software in question, it is obvious that you can play the files on any aac-playing device.
The question is why shouldn't you? So far, I've seen comments stating that you shouldn't because:
1) It violates your agreement with Apple for purchasing music. (Note that Apple is not pursuing anyone based on this claim yet.)
2) It violates the DCMA.
Yes, the software might violate the DCMA. What you must realize, though, is that many, many people think that the DCMA is a very bad law that unfairly erodes the consumers rights, as laid out in the copyright statutes.
While the best course of action may be to try to lobby congress to repeal the DCMA, it may not be the most effective. By breaking the bad law, one creates more attention for the issues involved and raises the possibility of the law being challenged in court.
DV wasn't micro-managing every aspect of the operation. If he did, he wouldn't get to choke anyone for failing him.
He commanded someone to send troops down to find the escape pod and investigate.
"All the MS apps work the same and look the same you wanted to say."
This isn't really true. Office, for example uses its own widgets instead of the standard windows ones.
This might work well for people that mostly visit visually oriented sites, but not for me. I don't remember pages by a layout or logo, but instead because of some text content, or information that I want.
What would be more useful for me would be a short summary of the web pages. Perhaps the browser could be smart enough to follow "About" links and report the first paragraph of actual information.
Also being able to search through keywords of pages in your cache would be useful (Selectable from title-search and content-search).
but what about when 90% of the population has a portable mp3 player device?
When mp3 gets to be truly mainstream (it is getting there), I think that we will see more negative consequences of free file sharing.
As it is now, mp3 is still too inconvenient.
If you want to save some weight, why not delegate the computer tasks to the Zaurus? With an add-on keyboard, it can probably do everything that your Libretto can do, but with less power consumption.
The idea that the formating is copywritable is a scary one. Any number of people could reformat PG texts using a specific XML dtd and stylesheet in exactly the same way. Does this mean that it is a race to see who can mark up the text first?
With this decentralized system, I can easily imagine
dns wars going on where people who dislike a certain company (sco or microsoft, for example), would collect digital signatures from a group of people gaming the system to show the unintended pages.
Do you really think that web content should be blocked based on popularity (or infamy)?
What makes AM Stereo superior? For me, AM is inferior due to the frequency limitations (similar to a telephone). Simply adding another channel doesn't change that.
It is really hard to filter out the irrelevant comments caused by the sensationalistic headline.
No, facts are still not going to be copyrightable (just collections of them). So why imply that they will be in headline?
Now I have to manually skip past the high-rated posts that correct the headline and those insightful ones that explain why it would be bad if the headline were true.
Note that I think that the bill is a bad idea, but I would like to be able to read comments about the actual issue.
I find it interesting that it was nearly an accepible form of 'fair use', but was denied that status because of the potential effects on the copyright holder's market.
However, the courts had rejected the claim that the copyright violated due process because the copyright holder was not restricting access to the work. If they were not restricting access to the work, how could publishing it cause a negative effect in their market?
If one argues that it is ok because only those within juristiction of the law have free access to the work, would the plaintif been ok to add a click through 'contract' stating that the viewer must be in that jurisdiction?
Mostly, if you can imagine why you use a desktop computer instead of paper, a lot of the same benefits apply.
You can backup your notes. You can easily send them to others (my wife beams shopping lists to me all the time). You can store lots of data in a compact form (recipes, novels, addresses, maps, etc).
There is also the multimedia and interaction stuff. I used to have a pocket pc. It had voice recording capabilities. I found it handy to use for dictating a little note to myself while driving.
A pda can beep to remind you of appointments.
Some can play MP3's (not big ones, usually, but perhaps your favorite NPR program you recorded to MP3).
Games, if you are into that.
Realistically, I don't use my pda a lot, since I am always around computers. However, if you are on a bus or a plane or waiting to meet someone, a pda can usually do a lot of what you would want from a computer.
Looking over your shoulder can be dangerous, because it takes so long to turn around far enough to check your blind spot.
What people don't realize is that if you adjust your side mirrors properly, you can virtually eliminate your blind spot. If you swing your mirrors out wide enough, you can get it so that when a car is just leaving your rear-view mirror, it is entering your side mirror. If you are lucky, when the car leaves the side mirror, it will be in your peripheral vision. If not, at least you have reduced the amount you need to turn your head, which saves precious time.
Convex mirrors can eliminate blind spots too, but when using them, it may be harder to determine a car's position.
Anyway, play with your mirrors, and check them by looking over your shoulder. Be aware of your blind spots and check them!
I use method 1 myself, which is similar to the way people do it with analog watches anyway. Can you imagine someone trying to count the number of times the second hand moved at the same time as trying to count a pulse?
Weird. I'm a programmer, not a nurse, and I take my pulse all the time with my digital watch. I have never found it to be even remotely challenging.
If there is a strong correlation with nursing and this inability, I wonder if it is a gender thing or a techie thing.
Very few games appeal to me, and anything that a system can do to include a few good ones from previous consoles gets a thumbs up in my book.
I realize I'm not necessarily in the target market, but I thought I'd give another data point.
Besides with VirtualPC and the DirectX api, it shouldn't be too hard to make it backwards compatible (well, at least compared to not having VirtualPC).
I didn't really understand what nVidia was talking about when they said the games used their shading technology. Isn't that all hidden behind Direct3d?
I bet your 1.2 ghz cpu will probably be fine for most desktop tasks for at least another 2 years. It seems to me that desktop apps are not tending to require more cpu nearly as fast as more memory and disk bandwidth.
Wow, that sounds like a great little club. Is it a non-profit cooperative type organization? How do you handle distribution?
I want to start my own video co-op. Give more details please. Have a website?
My first gut reaction was because it would be illegal to copy the disc. But, upon reflection, I'm not sure that would be the case. People are legally allowed to make a backup copy of media they own. This protects them from damage to the original (like 'faulty' dye that disappears after a while).
Is this something that Disney overlooked? If people can get legal copies of movies for $6 (which seems about the right price to me), this will severely cut into their profits.
Wouldn't netscape be similar to a domain registrar in this type of case? There is a word that is for sale. If the party purchasing it uses it in a way to dilute a trademark, the word should be relinquished or the company punished.
I don't buy that. Artists need money for production, promotion, and distribution.
I suspect that there are many artists [that want to be 'make it big'] that do not want to take the financial risks to undertake this on their own, and welcome being signed by a major label.
Now, you may argue that the record labels are overcharging for their services and have a shady way of operating. Ok. But let's assume that a record label is a squeaky clean and friendly company. CD's are priced at $5 in stores, and the artist gets 80% of all profit. Will that stop copyright infringment? I doubt it. If it is easy to get for free, some people will do it. The more people do it, the more socially acceptable it will become.
I don't think this is quite right. While I agree that copyright terms should be shortened (the original 14 + 14 seems right to me), I don't think that the term of copyrights has much to do with copyright violations on P2P as a whole. Do you think that people would wait 14 years to download the newest Britney album, just to be legal?
The problem, as it seems to me, is that when it is incredibly easy to copy something, people don't see much value in any given copy. This is especially true where there is no physical media.
It is human nature to share and to take from others, especially when by doing so, you do not noticably deprive anybody of anything.
People with a little foresight will realize, however, that if the artists and producers do not get paid, that there will not be any more music produced. Ok, but how about when the artist has already made back tons of money on an album? When the artist and producers have been significantly compensated for the production costs and a reasonable profit, is it still wrong to copy files?
Perhaps the answer is to have the artists get paid in full before they release their music. For example, they could release their files in low quality samples (32 KiBit or so), then they could start a general fund. When peoples donations to this fund reach a preset level, the high quality files are released for freely distributable, non-commercial consumption.