SpiralFrog is incompatible with iPods, Zunes, Windows Vista and Firefox.
I think that cutting off ipod AND FireFox users cuts off almost 90% of the potential audience. In my mind, the majority of people that don't use iPods are tech-savvy people who are DRM-resistant. These people also tend to be FireFox users.
The remaining 10% of people just use cheapy
I'm sure that there are 5 or 6 people out there with either Vista or a Zune. These people are out too!
Each ringle is expected to contain three songs -- one hit and maybe one remix and an older track -- and one ringtone, on a CD with a slip-sleeve cover. The idea is that if consumers in the digital age can download any tracks they want individually, why not let them buy singles in the store as well? It also enables stores to get involved in the ringtone phenomenon.
Wow. Only the recording industry and the government can write contradictions like that and not see the logical fallacy.
Apparently, the industry understands that consumers want their tracks individually, and wants consumers to get their individual tracks from retail outlets. So to facilitate this, they package the individual track with 2 other unwanted songs and a ringtone. Then they double the price of downloading the songs individually and force you to drive to the store?!?!
Wow. That logic is shocking. I just have to repeat it to actually believe that some executive thought this up: Consumers want songs individually, so lets package 3 songs together with a ringtone and double the price!
The person who came up with that idea probably makes more money than everyone who reads this post put together. JSDFKGLHADFYGUHQO@W*%ORILU@#WERLJKC!@%$)*
My new computer came preloaded with Windows Vista. That lasted about 30 minutes.
The shitty thing for us multi-computer users is that we have 10 different windows install disks. I maintain 3 computers (1 in entertainment center, 1 as backup machine, 1 as my main computer), my girlfriend has a laptop, and I maintain my parents' 2 computers. I have no idea which OS disk came with which computer. When I am reinstalling the OS, for whatever reason, I just grab a disk and a serial number. I have probably used the same disk on two different computers. Am I a pirate? I bought enough copies of windows, but I can't be sure that I didn't use a disk twice...
Anyway, I'm glad all of my computers are still on XP, so I don't have to worry about this.
I am completely with you. I LIKE paying for the new My Name is Earl episodes, and watching them on my own schedule. I don't like waiting for the DVDs, I am too busy to watch the shows when they air, and I refuse to sign up for an inferior/alternative download service just because Universal doesn't like Apple.
The truth is that I'm not going to start pirating the shows, I'm just going to start watching something else. Will I come back to these shows when they inevitably return in 2008? I'm not sure. For now, NBC/Universal just lost $2/episode from me.
I agree with you, and I go through the same thing. On blogs, I usually just put up with it, however, people who write for a living really should be held to a higher standard.
At the end of the day Tuesday, I did the MS autoupdate thing, and when I came in on Wednesday, one of my.NET custom controls was busted in a really odd way.
Specifically, I have this line of code in a custom control.
myPanel.visible = true
A pretty standard line. Worked fine on Tuesday. Now, I set a breakpoint right on that line, and right after I run that line, the visible property of the panel is still false.
Since I hadn't done anything to the control, I was sure that the update had somehow broken it, but since that had never happened to me before, I just kept plugging away. I probably spent 20 hours working on this over the last couple days, but I couldn't find the error. I'm glad to hear that I might not be completely crazy... it may actually be a problem with the update.
I like this line in the summary: "Despite the implausibility of the science here...". That's a 'journalist' inserting bias right there. Even Roger Penrose won't tell you that time travel is impossible, yet a cocky slashdot editor will.
Cost of a season of The Wire on DVD: $30 - $60
Cost of HBO for a year: $96 (for me, $8/mo.)
Yup, The Wire is great, but it's the only thing worth watching. Unless they bring back Deadwood, then I am happy to save the $8/mo.
Why would anyone call you a troll? because you say 'around the time of the Godfather' and 'it all seems so 80s'? Why would that be considered trolling?
Oh right, because The Godfather came out in 1972, Godfather II in 1974 and Godfather III in 1990. Right. Were you around to witness the pop culture obsession that you don't actually remember?
too late.
Also, to all the people saying Tony's dead: he might have just been pinched by the FBI. That ambiguity is the lousy part. I agree that signs point to him being dead; it's strongly implied, but it's not absolute.
I think the people claiming that TV must be censored are hilarious. We would have to monitor our kids every second that they are watching TV!!!! Really? Really? Of course not, that's just alarmist bullsh!t.
TV should be completely uncensored. It should be up to each parent to program their TV to block programs that they don't want their children to see. The required ratings are already embedded in each broadcast. The technology is already there.
Saying that TV should be censored, to me, is like saying that the internet should be censored. That's silly. Content providers should provide content, and viewers should have the right to decide what IS and ISN'T appropriate for their house.
When the FCC realizes this, and loosens the chains, it will be a good day for us all. Even the children.
Wait a minute. The MAtrix Trilogy was distributed by Revolution Studios. Revolution is part of Sony. Sony backs BluRay. How on earth is the Matrix Trilogy a HD-DVD exclusive?
Clearly, the products on the list don't actually have to be from this year, or last year. I think Audacity is the bees knees, but it's been out for... pretty much forever (in internet time), so why is it on that list? Is there anyone out there interested in Audacity who doesn't already know about it? really?
I don't think there's anything wrong with an institution wanting to fingerprint you. Personally, however, I wouldn't work at a place that wanted to fingerprint me. The red flag that goes up when they ask for fingerprints isn't the "The GOVERNMENT IS WATCHING!! OH NOES!" flag, rather, it's the "this place treats its employees like numbers" flag.
I've worked at big companies that treat employees like numbers. I won't do it again.
Newton didn't offer a philosophical "interpretation" for gravity
Well, go look at some excerpts from the Principia again. It is laced with references to God and to a supreme being. Newton was an "Intelligent Design" believer to a fault. All of his work convinced him that the universe must have been created by a higher being, and he says that both implicitly and explicitly in the Principia.
So, while he doesn't offer a philosophical interpretation for gravity specifically, he does offer a philosophy for his theories in general.
"a lot of physicists think that quantum mechanics is fundamentally broken beyond the level of fixing"
Really? I just heard Roger Penrose on NPR the other day talking about just how confirmed quantum mechanics IS. I consider Penrose a pretty good source.
IANAP, but I have heard the objections to quantum mechanics, and most physicists that I have heard talk on the subject would never call it "fundamentally broken" (P = Physicist). Most physicists regard it as a fundamental rock; a foundation of physics.
In short, what you meant to say is: "some physicists think that quantum mechanics is fundamentally broken"
Eastman and Laird created The TMNT as a spoof of Frank Miller's characters. If they had stayed true to Eastman & Laird's vision, then TMNT never would have risen above a niche comic that only fanboys are aware of.
There ARE times when toning down the original concept is the only way to bring the concept to a larger audience, however, "Spiderman on Broadway" is just bastardizing one niche character to make a buck in a completely unrelated niche.
"If only the "end user" (anonymous and unknowable) is liable, then there is no point to any prosecution involving the Internet. I can always claim that it was a son or daughter or a neighbor and they cannot prove otherwise"
By your logic, gun owners should be held responsible if their gun is stolen, used for a crime, and then returned? That's silly.
It is as possible to show that you were the one using a computer at a certain time as it is to show that you were the one using a gun at a certain time. You will need witness testimony or strong evidence. For instance, if you say that it was someone else, but only your fingerprints are on the PC, that's pretty compelling. Or, if you say it was someone else, but the sharing occurred at 2am, when your kids were asleep and there was no signs of a break in, that's also pretty compelling.
Of course, this assumes that some sort of investigation takes place. The RIAA doesn't seem to investigate, they just miraculously come up with a screenshot and try to confuse judges with technical jargon.
Anyway, yes, the end user is the person who should be responsible.
Slashdot Mirror
SpiralFrog is incompatible with iPods, Zunes, Windows Vista and Firefox.
I think that cutting off ipod AND FireFox users cuts off almost 90% of the potential audience. In my mind, the majority of people that don't use iPods are tech-savvy people who are DRM-resistant. These people also tend to be FireFox users.
The remaining 10% of people just use cheapy
I'm sure that there are 5 or 6 people out there with either Vista or a Zune. These people are out too!
This is an intelligent move.
I'm betting that the guy who made this decision loses his job in the 1st quarter of fiscal 2008.
NBC and Universal are basically the same company, right? One is TV and one is music. Is that correct?
That seems to explain why they are sticking together.
FTA:
Each ringle is expected to contain three songs -- one hit and maybe one remix and an older track -- and one ringtone, on a CD with a slip-sleeve cover. The idea is that if consumers in the digital age can download any tracks they want individually, why not let them buy singles in the store as well? It also enables stores to get involved in the ringtone phenomenon.
Wow. Only the recording industry and the government can write contradictions like that and not see the logical fallacy.
Apparently, the industry understands that consumers want their tracks individually, and wants consumers to get their individual tracks from retail outlets. So to facilitate this, they package the individual track with 2 other unwanted songs and a ringtone. Then they double the price of downloading the songs individually and force you to drive to the store?!?!
Wow. That logic is shocking. I just have to repeat it to actually believe that some executive thought this up: Consumers want songs individually, so lets package 3 songs together with a ringtone and double the price!
The person who came up with that idea probably makes more money than everyone who reads this post put together. JSDFKGLHADFYGUHQO@W*%ORILU@#WERLJKC!@%$)*
Wish I had mod points for you. Laughing-At-Work +1
My new computer came preloaded with Windows Vista. That lasted about 30 minutes.
The shitty thing for us multi-computer users is that we have 10 different windows install disks. I maintain 3 computers (1 in entertainment center, 1 as backup machine, 1 as my main computer), my girlfriend has a laptop, and I maintain my parents' 2 computers. I have no idea which OS disk came with which computer. When I am reinstalling the OS, for whatever reason, I just grab a disk and a serial number. I have probably used the same disk on two different computers. Am I a pirate? I bought enough copies of windows, but I can't be sure that I didn't use a disk twice...
Anyway, I'm glad all of my computers are still on XP, so I don't have to worry about this.
I wish I had some mod points, even though you're anonymous and already 5: Insightful.
I am completely with you. I LIKE paying for the new My Name is Earl episodes, and watching them on my own schedule. I don't like waiting for the DVDs, I am too busy to watch the shows when they air, and I refuse to sign up for an inferior/alternative download service just because Universal doesn't like Apple. The truth is that I'm not going to start pirating the shows, I'm just going to start watching something else. Will I come back to these shows when they inevitably return in 2008? I'm not sure. For now, NBC/Universal just lost $2/episode from me.
I agree with you, and I go through the same thing. On blogs, I usually just put up with it, however, people who write for a living really should be held to a higher standard.
At the end of the day Tuesday, I did the MS autoupdate thing, and when I came in on Wednesday, one of my .NET custom controls was busted in a really odd way.
Specifically, I have this line of code in a custom control.
myPanel.visible = true
A pretty standard line. Worked fine on Tuesday. Now, I set a breakpoint right on that line, and right after I run that line, the visible property of the panel is still false.
Since I hadn't done anything to the control, I was sure that the update had somehow broken it, but since that had never happened to me before, I just kept plugging away. I probably spent 20 hours working on this over the last couple days, but I couldn't find the error. I'm glad to hear that I might not be completely crazy ... it may actually be a problem with the update.
*relief*
You can't spell bullshit without bush!
You hit the nail on the head. I'm quoting you on my blog now: http://www.thisisnotalabel.com/
I was about to make the same comment.
I like this line in the summary: "Despite the implausibility of the science here ...". That's a 'journalist' inserting bias right there. Even Roger Penrose won't tell you that time travel is impossible, yet a cocky slashdot editor will.
Cost of a season of The Wire on DVD: $30 - $60
Cost of HBO for a year: $96 (for me, $8/mo.)
Yup, The Wire is great, but it's the only thing worth watching. Unless they bring back Deadwood, then I am happy to save the $8/mo.
Why would anyone call you a troll? because you say 'around the time of the Godfather' and 'it all seems so 80s'? Why would that be considered trolling?
Oh right, because The Godfather came out in 1972, Godfather II in 1974 and Godfather III in 1990. Right. Were you around to witness the pop culture obsession that you don't actually remember?
too late. Also, to all the people saying Tony's dead: he might have just been pinched by the FBI. That ambiguity is the lousy part. I agree that signs point to him being dead; it's strongly implied, but it's not absolute.
I think the people claiming that TV must be censored are hilarious. We would have to monitor our kids every second that they are watching TV!!!! Really? Really? Of course not, that's just alarmist bullsh!t.
TV should be completely uncensored. It should be up to each parent to program their TV to block programs that they don't want their children to see. The required ratings are already embedded in each broadcast. The technology is already there.
Saying that TV should be censored, to me, is like saying that the internet should be censored. That's silly. Content providers should provide content, and viewers should have the right to decide what IS and ISN'T appropriate for their house.
When the FCC realizes this, and loosens the chains, it will be a good day for us all. Even the children.
Wait a minute. The MAtrix Trilogy was distributed by Revolution Studios. Revolution is part of Sony. Sony backs BluRay. How on earth is the Matrix Trilogy a HD-DVD exclusive?
Clearly, the products on the list don't actually have to be from this year, or last year. I think Audacity is the bees knees, but it's been out for ... pretty much forever (in internet time), so why is it on that list? Is there anyone out there interested in Audacity who doesn't already know about it? really?
I don't think there's anything wrong with an institution wanting to fingerprint you. Personally, however, I wouldn't work at a place that wanted to fingerprint me. The red flag that goes up when they ask for fingerprints isn't the "The GOVERNMENT IS WATCHING!! OH NOES!" flag, rather, it's the "this place treats its employees like numbers" flag.
I've worked at big companies that treat employees like numbers. I won't do it again.
Actually, 102K wiis were sold last week in japan.
Japanese sales charts via Kotaku
Newton didn't offer a philosophical "interpretation" for gravity
Well, go look at some excerpts from the Principia again. It is laced with references to God and to a supreme being. Newton was an "Intelligent Design" believer to a fault. All of his work convinced him that the universe must have been created by a higher being, and he says that both implicitly and explicitly in the Principia.
So, while he doesn't offer a philosophical interpretation for gravity specifically, he does offer a philosophy for his theories in general.
"a lot of physicists think that quantum mechanics is fundamentally broken beyond the level of fixing"
Really? I just heard Roger Penrose on NPR the other day talking about just how confirmed quantum mechanics IS. I consider Penrose a pretty good source.
IANAP, but I have heard the objections to quantum mechanics, and most physicists that I have heard talk on the subject would never call it "fundamentally broken" (P = Physicist). Most physicists regard it as a fundamental rock; a foundation of physics.
In short, what you meant to say is: "some physicists think that quantum mechanics is fundamentally broken"
Eastman and Laird created The TMNT as a spoof of Frank Miller's characters. If they had stayed true to Eastman & Laird's vision, then TMNT never would have risen above a niche comic that only fanboys are aware of.
There ARE times when toning down the original concept is the only way to bring the concept to a larger audience, however, "Spiderman on Broadway" is just bastardizing one niche character to make a buck in a completely unrelated niche.
Someone mod this guy up.
"If only the "end user" (anonymous and unknowable) is liable, then there is no point to any prosecution involving the Internet. I can always claim that it was a son or daughter or a neighbor and they cannot prove otherwise"
By your logic, gun owners should be held responsible if their gun is stolen, used for a crime, and then returned? That's silly.
It is as possible to show that you were the one using a computer at a certain time as it is to show that you were the one using a gun at a certain time. You will need witness testimony or strong evidence. For instance, if you say that it was someone else, but only your fingerprints are on the PC, that's pretty compelling. Or, if you say it was someone else, but the sharing occurred at 2am, when your kids were asleep and there was no signs of a break in, that's also pretty compelling.
Of course, this assumes that some sort of investigation takes place. The RIAA doesn't seem to investigate, they just miraculously come up with a screenshot and try to confuse judges with technical jargon.
Anyway, yes, the end user is the person who should be responsible.