The CNN article on this mentions that the RIAA made a settlement with the FCC in May, and teh effect was that MAP could not be used for the next 7 years. (MAP is the price fixing schema that the RIAA came up with). What is interesting is that since May, cd prices have INCREASED, which is part of the impetus for the states lawsuit.
I dont buy CD's anymore frm stores or major labels. I make GOOD money, but I cant afford 18 bucks a cd. I dont use napster. I buy music online from mp3.com, where artists are offering their works for sale. I cannot condone or conscience putting another penny into the RIAA's pocket. And what make me feel bad about that is that I happen to really like some artists that are signed to major labels.. but I have decided thats THEIR problem, not mine.
And everyone talks about $$ figures of cd's sold in the US. I would be interested to see a comparison of unit #'s of cd's sold. It seems that with all the price jacking it would be fewer # of units sold.
Okay, I'm rambling now.. I'm outta here.
(yes, I do read replies)
I dont have the link, but there was an article on Salon.com about the protesters who were being held more than 48 hours without a phone call allowed, most of them had not been fed, and half of the cell blocks had the water turned off, so they could not use the toilets. One of the 'protestors' arrested was a jogger who happened to get caught in the crowd.
Something changed in America after the WTO riots. Somehow the police think they have carte blanche to treat citizens like animals for utilizing their right of free assembly and free speech. I can't see the difference between how China is treating members of the Falun Gong and whats happening in Philadelphia (and what did happen) in Seattle.
We argue and fight for our online rights, but those online rights wont mean anything if we cant use those same rights in public, in the 'real' world.
I dont think these companies are even paying attenion to their own policies. In a way, that has to do with the corporate structure as it exists today. These companies are so used to using subcontractors and counting them as part of the 'workforce' that they consider affliates in much the same light.
It is up to us, the geek consumers, to push back at these companies, voice our concerns, refuse to buy products from them or use their web services. Since they understand best off of their pocketbooks, that is what will get their attention. This is also something that my mom and dad can understand. If I tell them 'the following websites are collecting private information about you' they wont use those sites. They are finally convinced its not the hackers out there that are going to be taking away their privacy, but instead, the government and corporate america.
They still have lawsuits against them, and any other new technologies/access methods that they propose, or that are based on their model creates new opportunities for lawsuits.
Don't mistake a temporary truce for a battle won. And it still has to be proven that the mp3.com model works. Its definately a 'so far, so good' situation, but I would not be so cavalier as to assume all is well.
I am not saying all Napster users are pirates. I am saying that the very way that Napster is set up is VERY grey, and easily abused.
We are going to have to fight a battle over IP and copyright. But Napster in and of itself has enough greyness that makes it hard to defend. It has chinks, and problems that allow marketing machines and spin doctors to control public perception.
If we are going to fight this war, I would much rather fight it over a model that allows better circumvention of teh RIAA and already has artist support built in, and thats mp3.com. This is definately an IMHO, and to be honest I am rather surprised that my comment got modded up as high as it did...
One of the things I like about mp3.com is being able to look up lyrics, stories behind the songs, and often artists have given out not only email addresses, but also ICQ #s.
I have talked to a number of artists worldwide, including a pair producing trance in Russia (PPK) who did some amazing work with samples of MLK Jr's "I Have a Dream" speech. I like that not only can I buy the music (reward your artists!) but I can also end up talking to them as well. It adds a whole new depth to the experience.
(I guess I believe in the Cluetrain Manifesto. Markets WANT to talk to each other, and with the people providing the goods.
Sometimes you get modded up, sometimes you get modded down. But if the question is worth asking, stand by it.
And if you get blasted all to hell unfairly, good moderators notice. When I end up with mod points, I browse at -1, newest first, nested. And the one or two posts I have seen that got blasted like that, I have modded back the best I could. Despite some idiots, there are a lot of good moderators out there.
My friend Joey has not set up where you can buy his music yet...but for the artists that do have pay for play, or cd's available, I definately DO buy the music I like.
The equation is very simple for me: if I like an artist, I want him/her to continue making more music. The incentive/reward is to pay them for what I have already listened to, and enjoy.
Being in and around Silicon Valley, and also having seen so much change over the face of the computing industry in the last 20 years, what mistakes do you see that are causing so many dotcoms to fail? What steps could they take/could have taken to prevent this from happening? Conversely, what do you think seperates the ones that have made it from the ones that are floating belly up?
I dont know if Napster is the battle we want to put all of our energy into fighting. As much as some of us use it, we DO know that it is being used for a lot of piracy that is beyond the terms of fair use.
BUT Napster also highlights the problems with the concepts of IP, fair use, and copyright, especially the model that is currently being forced down our throats by the RIAA.
Some of my very best friends are independent producers. Their music is up on MP3.com. MP3.com has ways for the artists to promote themselves, to link to other artists they like, runs contests and promotions to encourage the artists. I have found some great people whose music I would have never heard otherwise... because people whose music I already respected suggested them. This is a model that can, and does work. And a quick comparision of mp3.com to Napster leaves Napster very much lacking in these sorts of features, which ARE the features that link the artists directly to their listeners.
MP3.com has my full support. Napster... I have a hard time justifying it. Its VERY grey...and I think we all need to pick our battles carefully on this one.
With Python the use of whitespace is enforced. Which means I have to use the style pretty much dictated by someone else. Takes all the fun out of it for me.
And that's DEFINATELY a 'for me only.' Because everyone has different parts that they enjoy, or mediums they use. Otherwise ALL paintings would be oil on canvas, and all sculpture done with marble.
First, I really am curious if you actually are a programmer...
Secondly, as to use of whitespace, I suppose its rather non-American of me, but I happen to find a quiet elegance in code that is well spaced, and where whitespace is used to create clear, clean segments of code. It is visually pleasing - much as a an arrangement of a few pieces of sushi on a plate are. (I am among other things, a chef, and consider presentation to be one of THE most important aspects of properly prepared cuisine). Whitespace is the ultimate framing of code. Code needs also be clean, and functional, but it in and of itself has the elegancy of mathematical equations.
Code converys concepts. Code teaches, and can expand the mind. I have read code that made me laugh, code that made me think, and occaisionally, code that made me cry. Are these not things that also are functions of art?
The judge can give a multipart decision. Its happened before. Especially if it was pressed as a point in the trial.
But it sounds like his attitudes have shifted dramatically since the beginning of the trial, and that is of great credit to the quality of the witnesses that the defense brought in. Kudos to them all.
Mathematical equations are beautiful, they hold an inherent symmatry that echos natural laws, which brings me to physics. Physics is the scientific realm where dreamers and artists and musicians live, and if you think their work doesn't echo THAT... you are sadly mistaken! Read Einstein's works, listen to Feynman's lectures.
Code is yet another extension of all of this. Not only in the elegance of algorithms, but also in how problems are approached and dealt with, and creative use (or lack thereof!) of whitespace. (No, I dont like whitespace delimited languages, for just that reason!)
Go back and take another look at the sciences... they are far closer to the arts of the world than you are letting yourself believe.
would make sense on an international level as well.. and also possibly set standards for 'common carrier status' for those wonderful linking lawsuits in the US.
As I was reading this, all I could think of was Network Solutions in house decision that they are the owner of the domain names that are registered through them. And how this decision could end up being used as justification for them to transfer ownership of names where it would be profitable for them to do so.
In addition, if the original naming conventions had been enforced, there would be SOME justification for the decision. But they never have been. There are personal sites on.com, business sites on.org, and companies snatching up every version of their names possible. Its a mess. And decisions like this are only going to cloud the issues further.
I wonder how long it will take for this system to collapse - and a from-scratch naming convention restarted with proper third level domains, and without a US-centric system, which is how it should have been from day one.
i think they are already trying that approach. problem is that they have the monkeys convinced that everything MS is good.. therefor there is nothing to fix!
And I think its time that MS admitted that. The program is too full of holes, too badly designed, to continue. It should be scrapped, period.
The likelyhood of MS actually admitting the above, let alone following through with my suggestion, is nil. But I think the fact that the hole has been a KNOWN exploit since June 11th and a patch was not made available even a MONTH later is very telling.
Truly, this hole longer than that.. wasnt there a whitepaper about 6 months ago from the authors behind BackOrifice detailing how this kind of exploit was possible?
... if the wartime powers act is invoked. if we go to war (not that far fetched in our day and age, where America has more than a few countries unhappy with it) then the FBI could be empowered to do such a thing under national security.
I dont think the studio believes its going to do well. The promo tours which had originally been planned were scrapped, and they cut back the advertising budgets as well.
I think the amount of interest has been truly underestimated, and in a way, Star Wars is to blame for it. Everyone got super-hyped up for it, and for most of us, it was a letdown. Its going to take a lot belief before the 'hoards of screaming fans' effects are going to kick in again. But as for now, I think most fans are feeling a little burned by the industry, and arent giving the kind of feedback that they are expecting.
Which is all to the good, the harder as a market we are to predict, the less effective (and hence, less annoying) their advertising is going to be.
Slashdot Mirror
Becuase the US released book is called "Harry Potter and the Sorceror's Stone."
If you don't believe me, check out the US version of Amazon.
Very frequently British and US Publishers re-title books in an effort to make them more appealing to their market.
The CNN article on this mentions that the RIAA made a settlement with the FCC in May, and teh effect was that MAP could not be used for the next 7 years. (MAP is the price fixing schema that the RIAA came up with). What is interesting is that since May, cd prices have INCREASED, which is part of the impetus for the states lawsuit.
I dont buy CD's anymore frm stores or major labels. I make GOOD money, but I cant afford 18 bucks a cd. I dont use napster. I buy music online from mp3.com, where artists are offering their works for sale. I cannot condone or conscience putting another penny into the RIAA's pocket. And what make me feel bad about that is that I happen to really like some artists that are signed to major labels.. but I have decided thats THEIR problem, not mine.
And everyone talks about $$ figures of cd's sold in the US. I would be interested to see a comparison of unit #'s of cd's sold. It seems that with all the price jacking it would be fewer # of units sold.
Okay, I'm rambling now.. I'm outta here.
(yes, I do read replies)
I dont have the link, but there was an article on Salon.com about the protesters who were being held more than 48 hours without a phone call allowed, most of them had not been fed, and half of the cell blocks had the water turned off, so they could not use the toilets. One of the 'protestors' arrested was a jogger who happened to get caught in the crowd.
Something changed in America after the WTO riots. Somehow the police think they have carte blanche to treat citizens like animals for utilizing their right of free assembly and free speech. I can't see the difference between how China is treating members of the Falun Gong and whats happening in Philadelphia (and what did happen) in Seattle.
We argue and fight for our online rights, but those online rights wont mean anything if we cant use those same rights in public, in the 'real' world.
I dont think these companies are even paying attenion to their own policies. In a way, that has to do with the corporate structure as it exists today. These companies are so used to using subcontractors and counting them as part of the 'workforce' that they consider affliates in much the same light.
It is up to us, the geek consumers, to push back at these companies, voice our concerns, refuse to buy products from them or use their web services. Since they understand best off of their pocketbooks, that is what will get their attention. This is also something that my mom and dad can understand. If I tell them 'the following websites are collecting private information about you' they wont use those sites. They are finally convinced its not the hackers out there that are going to be taking away their privacy, but instead, the government and corporate america.
Just my two... sleepy thursday cents
idea.com
razorfish
agency
insync.net (now owned by reliant energy)
just to name the ones that jump quickest to mind (including the one i work for)
They still have lawsuits against them, and any other new technologies/access methods that they propose, or that are based on their model creates new opportunities for lawsuits.
Don't mistake a temporary truce for a battle won. And it still has to be proven that the mp3.com model works. Its definately a 'so far, so good' situation, but I would not be so cavalier as to assume all is well.
I am not saying all Napster users are pirates. I am saying that the very way that Napster is set up is VERY grey, and easily abused.
We are going to have to fight a battle over IP and copyright. But Napster in and of itself has enough greyness that makes it hard to defend. It has chinks, and problems that allow marketing machines and spin doctors to control public perception.
If we are going to fight this war, I would much rather fight it over a model that allows better circumvention of teh RIAA and already has artist support built in, and thats mp3.com. This is definately an IMHO, and to be honest I am rather surprised that my comment got modded up as high as it did...
One of the things I like about mp3.com is being able to look up lyrics, stories behind the songs, and often artists have given out not only email addresses, but also ICQ #s.
I have talked to a number of artists worldwide, including a pair producing trance in Russia (PPK) who did some amazing work with samples of MLK Jr's "I Have a Dream" speech. I like that not only can I buy the music (reward your artists!) but I can also end up talking to them as well. It adds a whole new depth to the experience.
(I guess I believe in the Cluetrain Manifesto. Markets WANT to talk to each other, and with the people providing the goods.
Sometimes you get modded up, sometimes you get modded down. But if the question is worth asking, stand by it.
And if you get blasted all to hell unfairly, good moderators notice. When I end up with mod points, I browse at -1, newest first, nested. And the one or two posts I have seen that got blasted like that, I have modded back the best I could. Despite some idiots, there are a lot of good moderators out there.
My friend Joey has not set up where you can buy his music yet...but for the artists that do have pay for play, or cd's available, I definately DO buy the music I like.
The equation is very simple for me: if I like an artist, I want him/her to continue making more music. The incentive/reward is to pay them for what I have already listened to, and enjoy.
And, as a quick plug of MY fav mp3.com artist, Magic Firesheep.
Being in and around Silicon Valley, and also having seen so much change over the face of the computing industry in the last 20 years, what mistakes do you see that are causing so many dotcoms to fail? What steps could they take/could have taken to prevent this from happening? Conversely, what do you think seperates the ones that have made it from the ones that are floating belly up?
I dont know if Napster is the battle we want to put all of our energy into fighting. As much as some of us use it, we DO know that it is being used for a lot of piracy that is beyond the terms of fair use.
BUT Napster also highlights the problems with the concepts of IP, fair use, and copyright, especially the model that is currently being forced down our throats by the RIAA.
Some of my very best friends are independent producers. Their music is up on MP3.com. MP3.com has ways for the artists to promote themselves, to link to other artists they like, runs contests and promotions to encourage the artists. I have found some great people whose music I would have never heard otherwise... because people whose music I already respected suggested them. This is a model that can, and does work. And a quick comparision of mp3.com to Napster leaves Napster very much lacking in these sorts of features, which ARE the features that link the artists directly to their listeners.
MP3.com has my full support. Napster... I have a hard time justifying it. Its VERY grey...and I think we all need to pick our battles carefully on this one.
just my thoughts.... *dons flameproof suit*
With Python the use of whitespace is enforced. Which means I have to use the style pretty much dictated by someone else. Takes all the fun out of it for me.
And that's DEFINATELY a 'for me only.' Because everyone has different parts that they enjoy, or mediums they use. Otherwise ALL paintings would be oil on canvas, and all sculpture done with marble.
I wish it was never even a langauge. And can in some ways barely be considered one.
Go look at Perl. Go look at C. Dont go and look at some nasty creation of MS! =D
A suggested site would be Perlmonks, my favorite perl site. There is code poetry there as well.
First, I really am curious if you actually are a programmer...
Secondly, as to use of whitespace, I suppose its rather non-American of me, but I happen to find a quiet elegance in code that is well spaced, and where whitespace is used to create clear, clean segments of code. It is visually pleasing - much as a an arrangement of a few pieces of sushi on a plate are. (I am among other things, a chef, and consider presentation to be one of THE most important aspects of properly prepared cuisine). Whitespace is the ultimate framing of code. Code needs also be clean, and functional, but it in and of itself has the elegancy of mathematical equations.
Code converys concepts. Code teaches, and can expand the mind. I have read code that made me laugh, code that made me think, and occaisionally, code that made me cry. Are these not things that also are functions of art?
The judge can give a multipart decision. Its happened before. Especially if it was pressed as a point in the trial.
But it sounds like his attitudes have shifted dramatically since the beginning of the trial, and that is of great credit to the quality of the witnesses that the defense brought in. Kudos to them all.
Mathematical equations are beautiful, they hold an inherent symmatry that echos natural laws, which brings me to physics. Physics is the scientific realm where dreamers and artists and musicians live, and if you think their work doesn't echo THAT... you are sadly mistaken! Read Einstein's works, listen to Feynman's lectures.
Code is yet another extension of all of this. Not only in the elegance of algorithms, but also in how problems are approached and dealt with, and creative use (or lack thereof!) of whitespace. (No, I dont like whitespace delimited languages, for just that reason!)
Go back and take another look at the sciences... they are far closer to the arts of the world than you are letting yourself believe.
google.portal
or some such
would make sense on an international level as well.. and also possibly set standards for 'common carrier status' for those wonderful linking lawsuits in the US.
As I was reading this, all I could think of was Network Solutions in house decision that they are the owner of the domain names that are registered through them. And how this decision could end up being used as justification for them to transfer ownership of names where it would be profitable for them to do so.
.com, business sites on .org, and companies snatching up every version of their names possible. Its a mess. And decisions like this are only going to cloud the issues further.
In addition, if the original naming conventions had been enforced, there would be SOME justification for the decision. But they never have been. There are personal sites on
I wonder how long it will take for this system to collapse - and a from-scratch naming convention restarted with proper third level domains, and without a US-centric system, which is how it should have been from day one.
(just my two ramdom, overtired cents)
The article clearly states that a preview version will be available some time NEXT summer.
Not even all the modules are upgraded for me to use in 5.6 yet.. let alone thinking about Perl 6.
Sorry, but the article title et al. are rather misleading, guys. How about 'Perl 6 Dev Plans announced' instead?
i think they are already trying that approach. problem is that they have the monkeys convinced that everything MS is good.. therefor there is nothing to fix!
And I think its time that MS admitted that. The program is too full of holes, too badly designed, to continue. It should be scrapped, period.
The likelyhood of MS actually admitting the above, let alone following through with my suggestion, is nil. But I think the fact that the hole has been a KNOWN exploit since June 11th and a patch was not made available even a MONTH later is very telling.
Truly, this hole longer than that.. wasnt there a whitepaper about 6 months ago from the authors behind BackOrifice detailing how this kind of exploit was possible?
They should be sued for the fact that I couldn't back out of the site for IAM. YUCK!
Bad, bad Design!
Sit!
Stay!
(okay.. I am laughing inside... cause I work for the competition!)
... if the wartime powers act is invoked.
if we go to war (not that far fetched in our day and age, where America has more than a few countries unhappy with it) then the FBI could be empowered to do such a thing under national security.
I dont think the studio believes its going to do well. The promo tours which had originally been planned were scrapped, and they cut back the advertising budgets as well.
I think the amount of interest has been truly underestimated, and in a way, Star Wars is to blame for it. Everyone got super-hyped up for it, and for most of us, it was a letdown. Its going to take a lot belief before the 'hoards of screaming fans' effects are going to kick in again. But as for now, I think most fans are feeling a little burned by the industry, and arent giving the kind of feedback that they are expecting.
Which is all to the good, the harder as a market we are to predict, the less effective (and hence, less annoying) their advertising is going to be.