It's interesting because DESPITE the ubiquity of lightbulbs candles are still a fairly healthy market. They aren't THE light source, but they've found their niche.
if they think they are in the right, they can decline the offer of a pre-settlement and invite a lawsuit (and all that comes with it).
The "all that comes with it" bit is the clincher, because that includes legal fees, probably travel fees, lost productivity, etc and so on. For most people, that's enough to destroy them even if they're found not liable.
you can get sort of the story online, or you can get the whole story with the Times.
Even now, with the Times available for free, I'm not convinced that's true. They seem to be as reliable (no more and no less) than any other news publication out there. Unless their plan is to dramatically step up their game after the wall goes up, they're just being narcissistic. And if that IS their plan, no one will notice because it'll be hidden from them. I can't think of any worthwhile site that charges even $1 a day; what makes these guys so great?
but if what they are losing is freeloaders, have they really lost anything except expense?
Eyeballs. As Mike noted above, the whole business of newspapers has been selling ads, and no one wants to buy ads on a page that has little readership. Sure, freeloaders might not give you money directly themselves, but the extra attention makes your site more attractive to people who WILL pay you.
The game changes if online advertising really is dying, but it seems to be working well for Google.
Re: According to Cohen, the ethics of ripping are relative to the title (though this would be news to him)
So, essentially, it's ethically wrong because the publisher set up a stupid model? It's ethically wrong because he's made an artificial piece of the game essential to his survivability?
Further, to say pirating is "just like" theft in the same way that inflation is "just like" a bank robbery and to then claim that pirates should be held responsible for theft strongly implies that those responsible for inflation (the government, banks?) should be charged for bank robbery. By the same logic, eating at Wendy's is "just like" stealing from Burger King, isn't it? Or would it be that competing with Burger King is "just like" theft?
Finally, how is my downloading a digital copy of content I already own increase anything? So long as I don't then give that copy to someone else (who doesn't already have it) then I've changed absolutely nothing -- unless you think I would (not simply should) pay for a second copy of what I already own. I submit that most people would not pay twice for the same thing.
I'm a long-time fan of Netflix, though I'll admit that there are delays getting new releases, because EVERYONE wants them. This generally doesn't bother me because there are enough other movies that I want to see that i'm never left waiting for a movie. I have a queue a couple hundred DVDs long, so if the top one's unavailable they just send me the next one down.
I remember early on that there would sometimes be a delay if I sent a movie back "too quickly," but they've gotten a lot better about it and I haven't noticed it happen in a long while.
I did try BB Online once, but I found their digital storefront as disorienting and cluttered as their brick-and-mortar ones, and I'd already invested a lot of ratings in Netflix's algorithm, so I didn't stay long. Maybe they fixed those problems, but I've no reason to go find out.
I'd agree with you more, Ima, if the fact were they were just making you choose between your current static device and future updates. However, if choosing to not update the firmware means you lose current functionality (ie, playing online), then I think there's heavier guilt on Sony's part. There's not saying, "keep what you bought, or choose free upgrades," they're saying, "give up functionality A, or give up functionality B".
Are free upgrades worth the cost? I don't know; I don't think anyone had it explained to them that any functionality Sony decided was no longer "profitable" could be removed without notice or recourse, so no one was able the figure in that "cost" before they bought.
The problem is that this legal policy provides potential suidide victims with stronger motivation for committing the deed. "Traditionally," the motivation has had to come down to "this is the only way to escape," but now you're adding on "this is the only way to get justice/help/revenge." That can be a lot more motivating, and whereas "escape" is mostly motivated by feeling of despair and depression, revenge can be motivated by anger. So you're effectively widening the pool of potential suicides by making it look more appealing to more people.
I don't think the teens should get off either -- I think there's definitely real-world harrassment and assault charges here -- but I think there's a real danger with linking their punishment with the girl's decission to commit suicide. Her behavior isn't the kind we want to promote.
What I want to know is why it took a fifteen year-old girl hanging herself before anyone bothered to notice this was going on?
Bingo. The teens involved are most probably not "innocent" (especially if the rape bit is true), but I want to know where the "responsible" adults were in this situation, and why they're not being held responsible.
Faking the Gucci logo is a trademark offense; as the article notes, couterfeiting is really just a subset of trademark.
Also, counterfeiting is essentially a crime against the consumer, who thinks he's buying brand quality, not the company in question (people who can afford Gucci don't buy knock-offs, and vice versa).
I have to say I'm really disappointed in this post, Mike, mostly because of the reference to the Sony Rootkit. With Sony, they intentionally placed software on their CDs to enforce DRM, and then hid it with a rootkit. Sony was fully aware of what they did and fully intended the software to function as it did. In Energizer's case, they've been the victim of a disgruntled or rogue employee (or a shady company, I'm not clear on that detail) and were unknowingly saddled with malicious code. Whether that code was "necessary" to run the device or not (it wasn't) is a moot point, Energizer is essentially innocent here, and is responsible only for alerting their customers and removing the offending code, which they've done.
There was no malicious intention with Energizer, and missing that point (and in fact strongly implying otherwise) hurts your credibility.
CwF+RtB isn't a solution, it's a methodology for building solutions. Twelve people could implement CwF+RtB in twelve completely different ways, and the odds that any of those solutions will apply to all cases (one shot to save recorded music) is slim to none.
That being said, CwF+RtB is a good mindset to get started with...
This assumes that the vulnerabilities, degredation, and instability are bugs per se and not just a consequence of DRM as such. If the DRM needs to, say, intercept commands and do pre- or post-processing on those commends, then there will be system degredation, period. It's possible that this wouldn't necessarily lead to system instability, but there's A LOT to take into account there, especially when you're talking about DLLs and device drivers. It borders on simply infeasible.
It's arguable that there could be some Platonic ideal of DRM, but that doesn't mean it does or even can exist in the real world, and almost assuredly not at a price point that makes it comercially feasible.
It was a project the student initiated on his own, not one he was given by a teacher. So, no grade. also makes the story even more disappointing. A kid with talent does something interesting, and the school freaks out and treats him like a criminal.
H1-Bs are for skilled workers. Not everyone in India or China can be qualified as "skilled." Even if they all manage to get bachelor degrees, you would expect that their degrees are no great deal better than American degrees. In every case I've heard of, H-1B employees are paid the same as "domestic" employees. So they're being paid the same for the same work. It seems to me that domestic workers, if they qualify for the job, are a better choice because the employer doesn't have to go through the visa application process.
So the answer to "when do Americans get hired" is "when they qualify for the skilled jobs in question."
On the post: More Studies Show That Violent Video Games Aren't A Problem For Kids
Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Not a problem for kids; but adults *should* object.
On the post: Defining Success: Were The RIAA's Lawsuits A Success Or Not?
Re: Re: Re: Re:
On the post: Defining Success: Were The RIAA's Lawsuits A Success Or Not?
Re:
On the post: EFF, Public Citizen And ACLU Ask Judge To Quash Mass Subpoenas From US Copyright Group
Re: Re:
Though I'm still not sure what the problem with more pretection is, he's not quite as absurd as you're reading him.
On the post: EFF, Public Citizen And ACLU Ask Judge To Quash Mass Subpoenas From US Copyright Group
Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re:
The "all that comes with it" bit is the clincher, because that includes legal fees, probably travel fees, lost productivity, etc and so on. For most people, that's enough to destroy them even if they're found not liable.
On the post: French Senator Proposes Outlawing Anonymous Blogging
Re: Why do you Mike allow anonymous commenting here @ techdirt ?
How does requiring registration benefit or encourage the community?
On the post: Times Online Says Competitors Will Go Out Of Business Without A Paywall
Re:
Even now, with the Times available for free, I'm not convinced that's true. They seem to be as reliable (no more and no less) than any other news publication out there. Unless their plan is to dramatically step up their game after the wall goes up, they're just being narcissistic. And if that IS their plan, no one will notice because it'll be hidden from them. I can't think of any worthwhile site that charges even $1 a day; what makes these guys so great?
but if what they are losing is freeloaders, have they really lost anything except expense?
Eyeballs. As Mike noted above, the whole business of newspapers has been selling ads, and no one wants to buy ads on a page that has little readership. Sure, freeloaders might not give you money directly themselves, but the extra attention makes your site more attractive to people who WILL pay you.
The game changes if online advertising really is dying, but it seems to be working well for Google.
On the post: NYTimes Ethicist: Not Unethical To Download Unauthorized Copy Of Physical Book You Own
Re: According to Cohen, the ethics of ripping are relative to the title (though this would be news to him)
Further, to say pirating is "just like" theft in the same way that inflation is "just like" a bank robbery and to then claim that pirates should be held responsible for theft strongly implies that those responsible for inflation (the government, banks?) should be charged for bank robbery. By the same logic, eating at Wendy's is "just like" stealing from Burger King, isn't it? Or would it be that competing with Burger King is "just like" theft?
Finally, how is my downloading a digital copy of content I already own increase anything? So long as I don't then give that copy to someone else (who doesn't already have it) then I've changed absolutely nothing -- unless you think I would (not simply should) pay for a second copy of what I already own. I submit that most people would not pay twice for the same thing.
On the post: Blockbuster Using Its Deal With Warner Bros. To Mock Redbox And Netflix
Re: Love BB Online, Can't Stand Netflix
I remember early on that there would sometimes be a delay if I sent a movie back "too quickly," but they've gotten a lot better about it and I haven't noticed it happen in a long while.
I did try BB Online once, but I found their digital storefront as disorienting and cluttered as their brick-and-mortar ones, and I'd already invested a lot of ratings in Netflix's algorithm, so I didn't stay long. Maybe they fixed those problems, but I've no reason to go find out.
On the post: Sony Deletes Feature On PS3's; You Don't Own What You Thought You Bought
Re: Re: Re: Re: Re:
Are free upgrades worth the cost? I don't know; I don't think anyone had it explained to them that any functionality Sony decided was no longer "profitable" could be removed without notice or recourse, so no one was able the figure in that "cost" before they bought.
On the post: Teens Face Felony Charges Over Girl Who Committed Suicide
Re: increased suicides?
I don't think the teens should get off either -- I think there's definitely real-world harrassment and assault charges here -- but I think there's a real danger with linking their punishment with the girl's decission to commit suicide. Her behavior isn't the kind we want to promote.
On the post: Teens Face Felony Charges Over Girl Who Committed Suicide
Re:
Bingo. The teens involved are most probably not "innocent" (especially if the rape bit is true), but I want to know where the "responsible" adults were in this situation, and why they're not being held responsible.
On the post: Teens Face Felony Charges Over Girl Who Committed Suicide
Re:
But no one's trying to blame them.
On the post: ACTA Set To Cover Not Just Copyrights & Trademarks, But Seven Areas Of IP
Re:
Also, counterfeiting is essentially a crime against the consumer, who thinks he's buying brand quality, not the company in question (people who can afford Gucci don't buy knock-offs, and vice versa).
On the post: Why Real Programmers Don't Take The USPTO Seriously: Doubly-Linked List Patented
Re: You should really fix the subject
And this is non-obvious how?
On the post: Energizer Introduces USB Battery Charger With Bonus Rootkit Feature [Update]
Disappointed
There was no malicious intention with Energizer, and missing that point (and in fact strongly implying otherwise) hurts your credibility.
On the post: Sorry, There's No Silver Bullet Business Model For The Music Industry
Re: silver bullet
That being said, CwF+RtB is a good mindset to get started with...
On the post: Can You Still Say DRM Is Effective When It Creates Security Vulnerabilities, Performance Degradation, Incompatibilities, System Instability And 'Other Issues'? [Update]
Re: DRM definition
It's arguable that there could be some Platonic ideal of DRM, but that doesn't mean it does or even can exist in the real world, and almost assuredly not at a price point that makes it comercially feasible.
On the post: If School Officials Got Confused By Kid's Science Project, Why Does The Kid Need Counseling?
Re: Re:
On the post: Sometimes Protecting Free Speech Means Protecting Speech You Don't Like
Re: A question
So the answer to "when do Americans get hired" is "when they qualify for the skilled jobs in question."
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