The RIAA just hates everyone. They think they are owed a shamefully lucrative living without effort and without having to adapt to a changing marketplace.
They are everything that is bad about capitalism and none of what is good.
When the liberals lose in the free market of ideas, they always fall back to government coercion, whether it's trying to use the court to "legislate" what they can't get through the legislature or forcing talk radio to cover their side, when the free market has soundly rejected it. I guess having a huge influence over TV and newspapers isn't enough, they need to have a government take-over of talk radio because in the free market of ideas, the liberals always lose. Talk radio doesn't capture more audience than all the TV networks combined because people are being forced to broadcast or forced to listen, it's because that's what people want. They tried Air America, which is the proper reponse, but Air America failed, so I guess rather than finding better hosts or better programs, they just go home crying to Mama Government.
I can guarantee one thing, if Hillary Clinton gets elected, the Fairness Doctrine will rise from the dead again.
Yes, and we all know how prescient Bill Gates has been in the past 15 years. This is the guy who missed the bus on the whole Internet thing, tried to take it over and remake it in his own image with too little too late and has spend the subsequent years making failed prediction after failed prediction of what his company would achieve technologically.
Although in this case, he may actually (and possibly only coincidentally) be right.
Yes, and we all know how prescient Bill Gates has been in the past 15 years. This is the guy who missed the bus on the whole Internet thing, tried to take it over and remake it in his own image with too little too late and has spend the subsequent years making failed prediction after failed prediction of what his company would achieve technologically.
Although in this case, he may actually (and possibly only coincidentally) be right.
Does the U.S. even have _any_ bullet or maglev trains? I know we don't have the latter, and I thought only places like France and Japan had actual "bullet trains", i.e., passenger trains that travel over 150MPH.
CNN is "real"? CNN is about as real as a Senator's speech, or the promises made suring a presidential campaign. Or those melting walls when you drop acid.
That's not belittling at all, but drawing a conclusion based on the statements Scott Adams made.
Essentually, he said "He seems confused because his arguments don't make sense." And then gives detailed reasons why. It seems that either you have extremely thin skin, or you are confusing debating and name-calling.
...without doing anything. Even if they were dead today, they'd be around until the middle teens based solely on the money they have. However, they are not dead, and they are still wielding plenty of monopoly power, gearing up for a huge patent war to try to take down Linux and somewhere in there they might actually deliver some software.
Nice rant, and it's just that, a rant. Your logic is fine, I suppose. Your facts, however, are wrong.
CleanFlicks didn't rent the movies, they essentially took your purchased movie and edited out the bad content.
The fact of the matter is that this is entirely about the media companies once again strongarming their way to prevent what is perfectly lega (and even lucrative for them) because of their fanatical need to spread filth as far and wide as possible.
I have to give credit to them: for once it isn't about money. Of course, in Hollywood, the only thing that could trump the love of money is moral depravity.
I picked up the Spider-man collection on CD-ROM, a few years ago which reprinted about 35 years worth of Spider-Man. The price was reasonable. The quality of the scans is good. I would buy more of these if they made them, and it costs less than many of the individual issues I'm missing from my collection (from #101 up to about the early 90's with some holes).
Of course, it's not going to stop piracy, but media companies have got to learn to at least offer to sell what people are downloading. This should be obvious. And it's not just the material, it's the value. Pirated software/music/television isn't just free, it's often of higher quality, more conveniently packaged and easier to obtain. That's the part the companies refuse to acknowledge.
As far as TV shows, it's funny how much they don't get it. They sell lower-quality, lower-resolution shows saddled with frustration-inducing DRM, whereas the "free" product is better in every way. Legal or not, it's a free market, and you need to compete whether you want to or not. No law can function based solely on enforcement. That nightmarishly stupid national speed limit was a perfect example. 30 years later most people view speed limits with nothing but contempt because they too often aren't based on safety, but on revenue.
A good chunk of the whole comic book industry operates on the scarceness of old material, which is fine if you are a speculator or obsessive. But the average fan just wants to experience the stories and artwork, and by offering reasonably-priced digital reprints they are giving people what they want. It's no replacement for a physical book in your hands, but the people torrenting stuff aren't looking for that.
The first rule of combatting piracy is to actually sell what people are pirating. It blows my mind how many companies seem to totally miss this point, especially in the digital age where the costs of quality and quantity of media are almost irrelvant.
Addicted is addicted and it probably means that person is not a productive member of society, which means everyone else pays to take care of him.
A gaming addict probably won't end up code blue in an emergency room somewhere, but if he's on the dole or homeless because of his addiction, it's still a huge expense for society.
Of course, the street crime would come right back once legal drug users had to start paying insurance premiums that reflect the dangers of their drug use.
Or worse, the U.S. will adopt HillaryCare and we will all haver to pay thousands of dollars more a year to support people's habits.
It was a cheap shot, but to be fair, it's not their job to worry about stupid people getting killed doing stupid things.
The problem with this country is that too many people are blamed when stupid people get killed doing stupid things _besides_ the stupid people themselves.
At the rate we are going, we will be legally mandated to swaddle ourselves in bubble wrap before getting out of bed.
These places are locked for a reason. There are high voltage signs posted for a reason. If you ignore the sign, break in,and die because of it, it's not the fault of the power company or phone company. Of course, try telling that to a shyster lawyer and the jury looking to award the lottery to some Jerry Springer candidate.
try to get away with anything they can. It's human nature.
But given the fact that the USPTO has decided to become a rubberstamper for patents and the courts will basically give any nut a hearing and a good chance of having been found to be owed money by someone, it's no surprise that there's a huge industry around these concepts.
Why do work when you can litigate your way to financial success. Thus continues the decline of the U.S.
Every Best Buy I've seen has cut its music section down to a small fraction of what it used to be. When BB first opened in this area (Northern VA) about 15 years ago their selection was quite impressive and I bought a lot of CDs there. I've bought maybe one CD at BB in the past 2 years and never bother to browse any more.
Now that Tower is gone, there is literally no brick-and-mortar store in this area that sells music that is worth even going in.
Good thing there's the Internet. Minus Tower records, I've probably bought 90% my CDs in the past 5 years or more online. Now that Tower is gone, that percentage will push 100.
On the post: Why Does The RIAA Hate Webcasters? Webcasters Don't Play Very Much RIAA Music
They hate everyone
They are everything that is bad about capitalism and none of what is good.
On the post: FCC Says Fairness Doctrine Not Needed
Typical libral response...
I can guarantee one thing, if Hillary Clinton gets elected, the Fairness Doctrine will rise from the dead again.
On the post: Complaints About Anticompetitive Behavior Mask Next-Gen DVDs' Real Problems
Re: this gen is the last gen
Although in this case, he may actually (and possibly only coincidentally) be right.
On the post: Complaints About Anticompetitive Behavior Mask Next-Gen DVDs' Real Problems
Re: this gen is the last gen
Although in this case, he may actually (and possibly only coincidentally) be right.
On the post: Problems In Commercial Travel Starting To Snowball
Re: Other option is
On the post: Indian Visa Application Data Easily Accessible Using Old 'Change Number In URL' Trick
Giving data to the government...
OK, I'm exaggerating. Let's say a billboard facing away from the highway... but it's got lots of neon on it.
On the post: Has The DVR Resulted In More Reality TV Programming?
Re: Reality TV
On the post: Google, Wikipedia Sued By Politician Confused About How The Internet Works
Re:
On the post: Scott Adams' Pointy Haired Views On Copyright
Re: Those who live in glass houses.
That's not belittling at all, but drawing a conclusion based on the statements Scott Adams made.
Essentually, he said "He seems confused because his arguments don't make sense." And then gives detailed reasons why. It seems that either you have extremely thin skin, or you are confusing debating and name-calling.
On the post: If Plagiarism Is Presenting Someone Else's Work As Your Own... What Did Katie Couric Do?
Re: If Plagiarism Is Presenting Someone Else's Wor
On the post: Plenty Of Exaggeration Over Microsoft's Rumored Demise
Microsoft could coast for a decade...
On the post: CleanFlicks Now Claiming It Can Edit DVDs For 'Educational' Purposes
Re: My rant, worth reposting.
CleanFlicks didn't rent the movies, they essentially took your purchased movie and edited out the bad content.
The fact of the matter is that this is entirely about the media companies once again strongarming their way to prevent what is perfectly lega (and even lucrative for them) because of their fanatical need to spread filth as far and wide as possible.
I have to give credit to them: for once it isn't about money. Of course, in Hollywood, the only thing that could trump the love of money is moral depravity.
On the post: No RIAA For The Comic Book Industry
Re: Marvel seems to be moving forward
Of course, it's not going to stop piracy, but media companies have got to learn to at least offer to sell what people are downloading. This should be obvious. And it's not just the material, it's the value. Pirated software/music/television isn't just free, it's often of higher quality, more conveniently packaged and easier to obtain. That's the part the companies refuse to acknowledge.
As far as TV shows, it's funny how much they don't get it. They sell lower-quality, lower-resolution shows saddled with frustration-inducing DRM, whereas the "free" product is better in every way. Legal or not, it's a free market, and you need to compete whether you want to or not. No law can function based solely on enforcement. That nightmarishly stupid national speed limit was a perfect example. 30 years later most people view speed limits with nothing but contempt because they too often aren't based on safety, but on revenue.
A good chunk of the whole comic book industry operates on the scarceness of old material, which is fine if you are a speculator or obsessive. But the average fan just wants to experience the stories and artwork, and by offering reasonably-priced digital reprints they are giving people what they want. It's no replacement for a physical book in your hands, but the people torrenting stuff aren't looking for that.
The first rule of combatting piracy is to actually sell what people are pirating. It blows my mind how many companies seem to totally miss this point, especially in the digital age where the costs of quality and quantity of media are almost irrelvant.
On the post: Microsoft: When We Said Microsoft Vista Capable, We Didn't Mean For All The Important Stuff
Re: Vista Capable
Someone who doesn't know much about computers and has seen _any_ Microsoft marketing. That's their target customer.
The fact of the matter is, as with most things, unless you are educated well above average as a computer customer, you are going to get ripped off.
On the post: High Copper Prices Have Some Shocking Consequences
Re: Re: Re: Re: Good
A gaming addict probably won't end up code blue in an emergency room somewhere, but if he's on the dole or homeless because of his addiction, it's still a huge expense for society.
On the post: High Copper Prices Have Some Shocking Consequences
Re: Re: Good
Or worse, the U.S. will adopt HillaryCare and we will all haver to pay thousands of dollars more a year to support people's habits.
On the post: High Copper Prices Have Some Shocking Consequences
Re:
The problem with this country is that too many people are blamed when stupid people get killed doing stupid things _besides_ the stupid people themselves.
At the rate we are going, we will be legally mandated to swaddle ourselves in bubble wrap before getting out of bed.
These places are locked for a reason. There are high voltage signs posted for a reason. If you ignore the sign, break in,and die because of it, it's not the fault of the power company or phone company. Of course, try telling that to a shyster lawyer and the jury looking to award the lottery to some Jerry Springer candidate.
On the post: Trademark Law Spinning Out Of Control
Lawyers will naturally...
But given the fact that the USPTO has decided to become a rubberstamper for patents and the courts will basically give any nut a hearing and a good chance of having been found to be owed money by someone, it's no surprise that there's a huge industry around these concepts.
Why do work when you can litigate your way to financial success. Thus continues the decline of the U.S.
On the post: The Death Of The CD Is Greatly Exaggerated
Re: Bring back LD's
On the post: The Death Of The CD Is Greatly Exaggerated
Re: Re: CD not RIP yet!
Now that Tower is gone, there is literally no brick-and-mortar store in this area that sells music that is worth even going in.
Good thing there's the Internet. Minus Tower records, I've probably bought 90% my CDs in the past 5 years or more online. Now that Tower is gone, that percentage will push 100.
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