ICE & FBI Hatch Ingenious Plan To Make DVD Piracy Warnings Longer
from the that-oughta-do-it dept
Immigrations & Customs Enforcement, still beset on all sides by unflagging movie piracy, has decided to join forces with the FBI in their proven strategy of targeting every pirate's one true weakness: legitimate customers who bought the DVD. Though the Bureau's lengthy anti-piracy lectures preceding every movie have had limited impact to date, this exciting new partnership promises to inject them with new life by making them last way longer. It will also reinforce the weight of the warning by reminding viewers that ICE's Homeland Security Investigations is also watching, not just those sissies in the FBI. In case that doesn't get the message across, the joint FBI/ICE warning will be followed by a second warning from the National Intellectual Property Rights Coordination Center, which has a less ominous acronym but a much scarier logo:
Ars Technica has answers to all your questions, except for "what's that torrent site called again?"
Will the two screens be shown back to back? Will each screen last for 10 seconds each? Will each screen be unskippable? Yes, yes, and yes.
If you're thinking "why the hell would they subject the only people who aren't pirating films to this treatment?" then congratulations, you're not ICE Director John Morton. The only thing more insane would be starting every movie with instructions on how to invent the DVD player. Apparently Morton sees method in his madness, though, much like how shamans see method in their rain dances:
The idea isn't to deter current pirates, apparently (the new scheme requires all legal purchasers to sit through 20 seconds of warnings each time they pop in a film, but will be totally absent from pirated downloads and bootlegs). It's to educate everyone else. As ICE Director John Morton announced in a statement yesterday, "Law enforcement must continue to expand how it combats criminal activity; public awareness and education are a critical part of that effort."
Well, I guess it is good to see them experimenting with new ways of doing their job. And if it doesn't work, I'm betting they've got some more tricks up their sleeve, like 30-second warnings, 45-second warnings, and possibly even 60-second warnings if they can work out the complex logistics. With law enforcement this innovative, those pirates don't stand a chance.
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Filed Under: dvd, fbi, ice, john morton, piracy
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itunes still cannot manage to copy 100% of my MP3s to my ipod, for no reason what so ever, but sure claims to get those ~120 mp3s loaded each time. These are Mp3s which it had absolutely no trouble copying to my other ipod (except that ipod then of course had its own ~100 mp3s that wouldn't transfer) with the same install of itunes
itunes will still fuck you over if you don't realize it automatically sorts your music collection unless you've been burned in the past and make sure to keep the music in a nonstandard directory until you can change the settings to prevent it from meddling with your carefully organized collection (and make a external backup, just in case)
itunes will still not locate or see the already encoded album artwork on most songs, forcing you to pick one song from the album to manually add artwork to in itunes (after searching the internet for the picture thats already encoded in the file), thus losing the ID2 tag info that was attached. Because that makes sense?
I also like how some sort of combo between itunes and my current ipod caused at least one specific song to lock up the ipod if attempted to play, but that same install of itunes with a different ipod did not produce the same results. Deleting the song off the ipod-that-locks-up and readding doesn't fix either. Pirating the album again, with a totally different rip of the same album fixed this. Again, this MP3 played on everything else, including my other ipod.
itunes will still copy songs to the ipod except not and so they'll show up on the device but when played just skip right to the next track because it didn't actually copy it or corrupted it, same difference
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At worst, Apple wants the return of DRM so that it can ggo back to selling files that only work on iThings.
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Exactly the same as "me too" but for some reason more likely to attract insightful flag.
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...
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*leaves*
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Of course, they're too deeply immersed in their own BS to understand that the "brand advertising" has a either a negative or neutral effect on a given viewer's sentiment.
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I'm sure the orangutang's do, it probably involves fruit and is more effective.
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While we're on the subject of religion, I wonder how much controversy someone would cause if he dressed like an Arab and started a food cart business called "Allah Peanut Butter Sandwiches".
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Copyright Cartels
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Re: Copyright Cartels
Public: Wait, you can download mp3s?! *rushes to nearest PC*
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Re: Copyright Cartels
They are going to ruin all those Used DVD's and Blu-Rays I buy.I do not buy any new MAFIAA Products.I Boycott their crud as we all should do.
Buy New INDIE & Support the INDIE Art.
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Re: Re: Copyright Cartels
It's one reason why stallman doesn't use software thsa's not free(as in freedom) even if it's a "gift"
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No thats great
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Re: No thats great
* Our instant coffee is actually pretty good. I missed it more than I missed tea when I was out there.
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if the Ars report is correct these screens come After the main menu. You have to pree Play, Start Movie, Begin, whatever on the menu and Then you get another steaming helping of value-adding content, paid for in part or whole with Your tax dollars, calling you a dirty criminal scumbag because you bought a dvd or BR.
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Re: Re: No thats great
I bought the damn movie. I bought it to watch it. I didn't buy it in order to be forced to watch or wait through advertisements. Even if I don't physically look at the screen, they're still forcing me to waste my time. F that.
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> sandwich, grab a soda. By the time I come back It's
> usually at the menu screen.
Well, we can't have that. It's unacceptable for you to be missing all that great advertising and those wonderfully scary government warnings.
We're going need to institute some kind of quiz system where you the viewer will have to correctly answer a set of questions based on the commercials and dire FBI warnings that just played before the DVD will unlock and play the movie for you.
Thanks for the feedback!
Sincerely,
Big Content
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Re: No thats great
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Re: Re: No thats great
#wholesalecopyrightinfringementiseverywhere
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Let's be fair...
To that end, I want to thank these folks for ensuring that I have both a reminder and enough time at the start of my movie to get in a quick bathroom break. After all, I have yet to see one person studying the screen intently when these "warnings" come up. Instead, that's when you go to the kitchen, to wherever your blankets are, or the bathroom. Or maybe you spend that time with your "friend" twisting each others niblets for a couple moments.
In any case, 15 seconds really isn't enough time to do any of that. 30 seconds is better, but really, if the FBI/ICE wanted to do this right, they'd make their "evil piracy warnings" at least a minute long coupled with either the soft sound of running water or that bow-chica-wow-wow music from bad 80's furry porn.
Get it together people! We're trying to raise the pirates of tomorrow for Christ's sake....
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Re: Let's be fair...
There's no such thing as 80's furry porn!
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Oh, right... never mind.
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I'm pretty familiar with porn stars and I've never heard of one called 'the angry beaver'.
;-P
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Re: Let's be fair...
I think a better solution would be the ICE adding a menu where you could choose the "piracy warning" mode such as the following:
Mode 1 - Quick bathroom break - 30 seconds
Mode 2 - Quick niblet twisting fun - 60 seconds
Mode 3 - Popcorn - 128 seconds (at least in my microwave)
Mode 4 - Not-so-quick bathroom break - 5 minutes
Mode 5 - Wild niblet fun - 2 hours
Mode 6 - Sweet dreams - 8 hours
With each mode they should add specific sound effects/ambience/music for better enjoyment. The watery sound would be perfect for mode 1 and mode 2 would be nice with some random lounge music. Mode 3 could use popping sounds just for the lulz and 4 a loud horn to overlap the.. sounds every1 does in these situations. Mode 5 some soft lounge could be fun too (you could add a song selection screen for that one) and on mode 6 some calm song to induce sleep. Obviously those modes could be experimented and could vary depending on the movie. I don't think you'd see niblet twisting in Barney DVDs for instance...
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B) Can I have some?
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b) IT depends on how much you like unskippable anti-piracy DVD warnings.
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Re: Let's be fair...
Sounds more like:
We're trying to MAKE the pirates of tomorrow...
-FTFY
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this is the best "please pirate our movies" 10 second ad aever!
Humorously it should be noted that you don't see said warnings on netflix, or with indie movies.
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Re: this is the best "please pirate our movies" 10 second ad aever!
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Denis Leary kinda already covered this
The topic was cigarette warning labels... but the principle is the same.
(heavily excerpted, memory-wash paraphrased)
There's this guy, and he wants to pass a law requiring the warning label on cigarettes to be bigger.
As if we've just never noticed before.
... "Yeah Bill, I've got some cigarettes--holy shit! Have you seen this warning? I thought cigarettes were good for you, had vitamin C and stuff."
It doesn't matter how big the warning label is. You could cigarettes in a black pack with a skull and crossbones on them, called 'Tumors' and smokers would be lined up down the block to buy them.
Fucking dolt.
(/excerpt)
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Re: Denis Leary kinda already covered this
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Re: Denis Leary kinda already covered this
I remember in the early 90s, a cigarette brand in the UK featuring a skull and crossbones called 'Death'.
The company didn't last too long (not because people wouldn't buy) but because it was sued by a Drinks Company called "Black Death", for trademark infringement
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Re: Re: Denis Leary kinda already covered this
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So, why don't we take the same approach to stuff like shop lifting? Force everyone who walks into a store to sit through a 30 second video on why shop lifting is wrong.
Or how about more serious crimes, like murder? If only the police would come barging into public places to remind people that killing is wrong and illegal! Obviously greedy people who murder to steal money, or out of anger and jealousy would NEVER have killed if they had simply been told 'killing is wrong and illegal'.
Obviously all the media attention to famous murder cases, and high murder rates in big cities just aren't doing job at educating people that murder is wrong. People obviously thought it was just another Hollywood drama show when they heard about Trayvon Martin being shot and the police taking the killers word for it being self defense against a dangerous bottle of iced tea! Or Casey Anthony killing her baby, after all, it had a Hollywood like ending where the murderer got away with it! That happens often enough in Hollywood crime shows!
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I've seen a similar sentiment with drugs and underage drinking. What it amounts to is an acknowledgement that there isn't much reason for people to think out something's bad on their own, coupled with an admission that conventional law enforcement strategies aren't working.
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I think we should also have audio warnings play when we start cars detailing how it's illegal to steal cars and how police departments arrest people for grand theft auto. It, of course, would be skipped if the car was hotwired.
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Dear Jeremy will you make this idea copyright free or grant a blanket copyright permission for because I really, really want to see this turn up in a sketch, tv show or movie.
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It could be YOU!
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Person one: "Hmm... you know, I think I just might."
D.G.: "Alright then, enjoy your shopping!"
D.G. to second person: "Hello sir, do you plan on shoplifting today?"
Person two: "Of course not, that would be wrong!"
D.G. to second person: "Alright then you filthy criminal, now you're going to have to come with me to watch a 5-minute video on why shoplifting is wrong, and why you should never do it!"
Person two: "But I just said that I wasn't planning on shoplifting!"
D.G.: "Right, and this it to make absolutely sure that you don't!"
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It's not obvious. Really.
Really.
Even uptight highly moral types might be completely unaware of the legal or ethical implications of copying something. It's just not on their radar because it's not a traditional sort of crime.
This is a manifestation of how copyright is really artificial.
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Re: It's not obvious. Really.
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Re: It's not obvious. Really.
Copying is not a crime. I can legally copy movies I've purchased all day long. What's illegal is copyright infringement, which requires some sort of distribution. I can't legally give my copies to anyone unless I give all of the copies and the original as a unit. (This ignores anti-circumvention, which still doesn't make the actual copying a crime.)
I would say that everyone I know knows that copyright infringement is illegal, even the grandmas. I would also say that most people I know considers it one of those BS laws that is of no actual importance to them. I don't think know anyone who has made the decision to pirate or not to pirate based on the legality or legal severity of the act.
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After all, if PCP turns you into Superman, what kid WOULDN'T want to take that stuff?
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I was one of those. In my younger, wilder days, it was the antidrug ads & coursework that piqued my interest in trying them out.
I figured that if they are trying so hard to convince me not to do something then that means lots of people must be doing it and really enjoying the hell out of it.
Also, the claims of adverse effects were so extreme and obviously bullshit that they must not have had any actually good arguments against them or they'd make those instead.
So I tried them and when I look back on those days now and with the wisdom and distance of time it's clear that that period of my life made me a better person.
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> shop lifting? Force everyone who walks into a store to
> sit through a 30 second video on why shop lifting is wrong.
Shoplifters will be okay with this. As long as only the non-shoplifters are forced to watch it.
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better title
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Re: better title
They need to channel the anger and frustration they create with something constructive like that.
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Re: better title
They need to channel the anger and frustration they create with something constructive like that.
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Rain dances are probably more effective than this. At least rain dances don't make it less likely to rain.
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You wouldn't break a child's arm on purpose would you?
Breaking DRM is a crime and exactly the same thing as breaking a small child's arm.
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Maximalist absurdities.
That's a really sick fantasy world you live in there.
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Re: Maximalist absurdities.
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Re: Maximalist absurdities.
http://www.badgroove.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/Big-Bang-Theory-Leonards-sarcasm-sign.png
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The morons he's mocking with that sarcastic comment have a habit of piling emotional arguments on top of their lies and distortions. Breaking a child's arm just has the added "think of the children!" plea missing from simply breaking an arm...
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Personally I was just thinking it would be so much easier to break a small child's arm than to break an average man's arm as breaking DRM does take so little effort on the part of the end user. But your reasoning is great and I will happily claim it as my own now.
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You, sir, are lower than gutter scum.
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are you prejudiced against fat kids?
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What kind of sick fuck would do that to a DRM?!?!
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Re: MKV
What's the matter with you!!
If the DOJ finds out that there's free software for copying DVDs they'll add more "educational notices" to the Movie.
Use your head for God's sake! This is serious stuff here.
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The warnings never get played if the activity they're "dissuading" happens. That is the opposite of the system you should implement. It's like a car alarm that only sounds when the owner unlocks it with the key.
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Actually, I think that's exactly what ICE wants to implement. Home viewers who see these announcements are being given an excuse for DRM. The goal is probably to point out pirates and say, "Them! They're the reason you have to sit through these notices and can't play this disc on your old machine!" Then the uninformed masses support whatever crazy legislative initiative a pocket Congress rubber stamps next.
Google and Wikipedia can advertise over the entire internet. ICE and the MAFIAA only have limited ad space, and they're making use of it.
Meanwhile, the car alarm is blaring, "You have to have me because of thieves! Thieves! No matter how annoying I am!"
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That's all these guys do - come up with new ways to spend money and keep themselves employed.
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Preaching to the converted? sounds like any other religion to me.
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I propose a new diet plan. At the beginning of every DVD we put a message that says "Don't think about food." I predict that it would have just about the same effect as the piracy warnings.
Does the extended warning do anything besides inflate some egos at ICE and remind people that piracy is flourishing?
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Srsly?
1- Buy the original, be locked by region and to specific equipment and format, be forced to watch the same unskippable trailers, the same extended "you are a fucking pirate terrorist satan worshiper, stop doing it, uncle Sam is gonna buttrape you" warnings and then watch my movie comfortably from my sofa
2- Visit [insert alternative illegal source] and then watch my movie comfortably from my sofa.
Tough choice.
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Re: Srsly?
http://boingboing.net/2010/02/18/infographic-buying-d.html
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Re: Srsly?
Thats so hard to search...
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Re: Srsly?
Or, rip it and watch it on your computer/handheld electronic device/neural implant.
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Re: Re: Srsly?
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Great!
The problem is that 20 seconds is way too short - all movies should be preceded or even replaced by a 90 minute long educational movie concerning the evils of piracy.
In fact, to combat piracy, Hollywood should churn out propaganda movies like it did during WWII, this time depicting teenaged American geeks as the evil guys, the pirates that are destroying civilization as we know it.
P.S. this idea has been copyrighted...
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Re: Great!
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Re: Great!
This will be more effective too, because people are stupid and will probably forget about the last insulting warning after about 9 minutes.
P.S. Despite the plethora of incongruous lawsuits and settlements you can't copyright an idea.
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Re: Great!
Yeah! Those movies could do things like encourage jocks to pick on nerds and make their lives miserable, because everyone knows nerds never get revenge.
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Re: Great!
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Clearly
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Re: Clearly
The first question should be would you like to view this educational content again, with YES autoselected and a 10 second timer to give you time to change it before it autoreplays.
Only once you are past that should it ask if you understand the legal position on piracy with NO autoselected and a 10 sec timer to change it before it autoreplays again.
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Re: Re: Clearly
If you answer any of the questions incorrectly(fair use is not a valid answer on any of them just a defense in court)
Then the educational content would play again.
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Re: VHS
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@Ninja
2- Visit [insert alternative illegal source] and then watch my movie comfortably from my sofa, on my computer, from my phone in the bathroom, or on my tablet in bed. ;)
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Movie studios couldn't even object to this requirement. Otherwise their films would be released unrated and be banished to the sort of theater that is coin-operated and offers complimentary tissues.
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Re:
Our theaters of that type don't offer nothing for nothing.
Tissues cost more than popcorn (btw, do not eat the popcorn there)
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mplayer dvd://1
The same would be true for a DVD player that did the same (jump to the actual main title).
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Nice!
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Wow, this is thinking outside the box!
So this is just another example of how people in law enforcement and politicians go after criminals, by targeting the law abiding citizens who don't break the law. I am sure any creative, effective ideas were shut down immediately by some career bureaucrat in favor of this ridiculous BS.
Quote real meaning "Law enforcement must continue to expand how it combats criminal activity by reinforcing that piracy is STILL illegal and we must focus on getting the message out to people that are honest, law-abiding citizens, who don't actually commit crimes; Then we can say things like "I implemented tough NEW initiatives to combat blah blah blah" thus implying that they actually accomplished anything but harassing the honest, hard working people who actually pay my salary."
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Re: Wow, this is thinking outside the box!
The industry needs to stop annoying people.
Instead they decide to annoy people more.
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working for pirates
Most of you believe that we work for Hollywood. but you are wrong. our goal is to destroy evil Hollywood by having anti pirate labels inserted in each movie every ten minutes, sort of like tv commercials. This will reduce the value of legitimate products while boosting the sales of boot legged copies. This also creates jobs by having people edit this out to increase value. Helping the economy is what we are about. Not immigration, not protecting our borders, and not justice.
Capt ICE Enforcer
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Re:
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Re: Re:
I always assumed that by downloading a torrent, I was helping someone else keep a distributed backup copy of their content, no?
Even better, there's no reason to make your own backup when someone has already done it for you.
Now my entire house can burn down and I'll still have backups of my movies.
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Re: Re: Re:
And to the poster who commented about wondering if the legacy bozos were going to start offering rewards for people being snitches about copyright, the BSA already does this for software. I think they must have said the words "software piracy" at least a dozen times in a 3-minute radio ad on one of those Fox sports stations. My brother had the station on when he was helping me put my new desk together a while back. Every commercial break that ad would play, it was annoying.
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Re: Re: Re: Re:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drobo
For those who know how to setup those things which is not easy there are open source alternatives that could come very close to the functionality if you know how to program a little so you can make the hot swap of a RAID 5 and know which hardware to buy which will almost cost the same thing.
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U.S.-only?
Does the rest of the world also have to suffer through this shite?
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Re: U.S.-only?
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Re: Re: U.S.-only?
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Re: U.S.-only?
My gf laughs when I shout things about the FBI not having jurisdiction in Canada. I'm not sure whether she thinks it's funny that I get annoyed by those warnings or that I'm naive enough to think that the FBI *don't* have power here...
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How to stop theft...
Simple
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The price for honesty is getting threatened with imprisonment
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Re:
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Hilarity will ensue
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Re: Hilarity will ensue
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"Hey stupid! We know you really wanted to pirate this video, but you were too stupid to. So stupid are you that you probably don't even know that pirating is illegal and hurts lots of people. Since you're so stupid we wanted to remind you that you're too stupid to understand and need to be reminded. Crap, out of time. Can we get these extended by another 60 seconds or so. It takes a while for stupid people to get the message."
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Re:
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Just so I can keep up...
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Idiocracy....
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Fuck the FBI, ICE, RIAA, MPAA, ASCAP, BMI, IFPI, Leahy and anybody else who wants to defend IP law.
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In which case, technically, the thing that would be "pissing them off", in atuall fact would be the "warnings" NOT the pirates
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Re:
It's the result that matters not the journey.
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Don't invite them to innovate. This will result in something far more annoying...
You want them thinking solidly 'in the box' and not outside it!
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Re:
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http://www.videolan.org/vlc/
You can spend $30 bucks on a Raspberry PI and build your own HTPC(Home Theater PC)
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(read in the voice of Homer Simpson)
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Simplicity
I wanna be a fascist ranger.
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thanks
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Re: thanks
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Re: Re: thanks
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Double the warnings
Now I have even more reasons to save my money and not consume video! Thanks DHS!
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That sucks.
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Re:
Nobody but a pirate would watch a movie a day they couldn't possibly afford the time or money.
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I don't know what's worse - the fact that you apparently think working people don't have 2 hours of leisure time a day, or the fact that you don't know that you don't have to buy every movie you watch.
No, wait, attacking people for being pirates when they've only referred to legally purchased content, that's the stupidest thing...
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Most movies today are only 90 minutes, the 2 hour feature movie is gone since theaters need to get people out quickly.
Most TV series are only 40 minutes long.
Berating pirates will accomplish nothing also since you are powerless to stop the behavior LoL
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Erm, I'd recheck your facts if I were you. Pretty much every blockbuster today is nearly 2 hours, if not longer. Avatar, the Transformers movies, Hunger Games, Avengers, Harry Potter, etc. all exceed 2 hours.
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Why not books?
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Yeah...
Fixed!
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FFS
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Re: FFS
What it does do, is discourage them from buying DVDs and then the subsequent drop off in sales of DVDs can be blamed on piracy.
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Re: Re: FFS
The sexual abuse of children is a problem that we want to deal with (this differs from piracy in that there is a real problem here)
To deal with it we will tell people how any sex is a terrible thing and they shouldn't do it.
In the unlikely event that such an education campaign were successful, then people would have less sex, leading to fewer children in turn leading to less child sex abuse.
Then you know that you just have to keep ramping up the campaign until there are no more children and the problem has been solved.
This is literally, thinking outside the box.
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This is why I rip my dvds and re-burn sans nonsense
I strip off menus, warnings, etc and make them go straight to start of the movie as soon as you put them in, and eject when done.
It's the only sensible way to watch a movie...
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another reason
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Re: another reason
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Re: Re: another reason
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Re: Re: another reason
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There's a perfectly good explanation for this
No no no, it's simply an example of "Morton in a hurry"
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"Damn. Now I'm going to have to start pirating movies."
Literally, this was the first thought that occurred to me. It's going to be hard to convince myself to keep spending money on movies when I'll have to put up with this stuff.
I know people might say it's only 20 seconds, get over it. But I really don't feel like paying $X.00 to watch a 20 second warning when I'm already obviously not pirating stuff. I can find other uses for my money.
So well done to ICE and the FBI. I've resisted till now, but I guess it's finally time to start pirating movies.
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Wasteful
The consumers buy a movie CD/DVD to watch the video/s it contain/s... Not the warnings on the start of it....
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threatening your customers
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can't think of one
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