Re: Re: A name change does nothing for the station itself.
I'm with Comcast cable in mid-coastal California (Monterey/Salinas area), and Sci-Fi isn't part of the basic cable lineup - you have to go with one of the premium packages to get it.
I know you're talking about "V for Vendetta", but I still thought your post was funny, because "V" was the 1983 film where the lizard aliens try to take over Earth. At least *that's* not happening yet in London!
Audio gear is a pretty mature technology, so the "average" stuff from today isn't necessarily better than the "top-of-the-line" stuff from yesteryear, but the same is NOT true when you're talking about rapidly-changing technology.
As an example, compare a modern Nikon D80 digital camera ($600) to the Nikon D1X from 2001 ($5350). The D80 kicks the D1X's butt in almost every possible way except for brute heft and ruggedness, and it's less than one-tenth the price of the D1X (after adjusting for inflation).
Likewise, I remember as recently as 2003, when a 42-inch plasma set was $15,000. Do you really think that even a high-end plasma set from 2003 is better than any of the current crop of plasmas that cost one-tenth the price?
Whether or not Nemesysco ends up being successful in their legal actions, the researchers definitely could have gone about things better. They admit that the article was "aimed directly at the company's lie detector patent" and that it was "provocatively-written". Even the title of the research paper baldly accuses Nemesysco of being charlatans.
Nemesysco shouldn't be able to sue for libel unless they can show that the researchers purposefully falsified data in order to discredit Nemesysco, but in the same vein, the researchers shouldn't be throwing around words like "charlatantry" unless they're ready to prove that Nemesysco is purposely promoting technology that they don't themselves believe to be effective.
But if Psystar's really figured out a hardware-based method of making their computers appear to be Apple hardware, so that their computers will work with an unmodified copy of OS X, then how hard could the actual software installation be for the customer? Shouldn't it just be like installing OS X on a Mac? Or are there still hoops that you have to jump through during the installation to make it work?
I'm only bringing this up because letting the customer buy and install OS X instead of shipping the computers with it preloaded would solve almost all of Psystar's legal problems overnight, at least the ones coming from OS X's EULA.
If Psystar stops preloading OS X, and instead just sells a computer that "happens to work perfectly with OS X", should the customer decide to install it, I don't see how any of Apple's current legal claims against Psystar would still be applicable. Instead, Apple would have to go after the individual end-users, which would be a lot more difficult and unpopular.
If Psystar is truly making no changes at all to the OS X software and taking care of all the compatibility issues in the hardware, then couldn't they have avoided almost all of their legal hassles by simply not shipping their computers with OS X?
Psystar could then simply sell their computers with no software included or installed, and leave it up to the buyer to purchase and install OS. Then at least it would be the end user that's violating Apple's EULA and not Psystar.
How important is the court's interpretation of the first sale doctrine in this particular case, anyway? It seems to me that Apple's problem isn't with Psystar's reselling of legally-purchased copies of OS X, it's with the fact that Psystar violated the EULA by modifying the software and installing it on non-Apple computers (among other violations).
In fact, the OS X EULA specifically allows for transferring ownership of the software to another party, so Apple's already addressed the first-sale issue and specifically said that they're okay with it.
What Psystar's doing isn't the same as buying a CD and reselling it on eBay - it's more like buying a CD, re-mixing all the tracks, adding their own beats and changing the lyrics, and *then* selling it on eBay.
On paper, CD beats vinyl hands-down. Better frequency response, wider dynamic range (potentially, at least - more on that later), no surface noise, no wow/flutter, etcetera.
The problem with CDs is in the mastering, not the physical medium. I have a lot of duplicates in my collection (same album on vinyl and CD). When I record the two versions to Audacity or a similar program, in every case, the dynamic range of the CD has been intentionally compressed, reducing the difference between the peaks and valleys in the signal to raise the overall volume level, often by as much as 6-8 dB. This makes the CD versions almost tiring to listen to over time compared to the vinyl versions.
I've even noticed a difference between different CD pressings. I have a few Mobile Fidelity Sound Labs gold CDs, and they sound better than the equivalent regular mass-market CD pressings, not because of any physical difference in the CDs themselves, but because of how they're mastered. They're not as compressed, so there's more of a volume difference between the loud passages and the soft passages. It makes them harder to listen to in the car, because I'm constantly having to raise the volume for the soft parts and lowering it back down for the loud parts, but for listening in my living room, the MFSL CDs are *much* nicer.
I can't imagine uploading an entire hard drive to an online service. Never mind the per-gigabyte transfer and storage costs, there's the little issue of time. Even with a steady 16 Mbps internet connection, you're looking at over eight minutes per gigabyte.
I can see doing what you're talking about with a few sensitive folders/directories, though - send them to the online service, delete them from your hard drive, and use any of the "wipe free space" utilities on your hard drive. Then when you get where you're going, download the files from the service if you need them.
I think there's a difference between being a "criminal" because you removed DRM in order to play something you've purchased and being a "criminal" because you pirated it in the first place and never paid anyone a damn cent for it.
Saying that you might as well "pirate stuff in the first place" because of the future *possibility* of having to remove the DRM in order to play it is a bit of a stretch.
On the post: We Can't Own 'Sci Fi', So Let's Change Our Name To Something Stupid
Re: Re: A name change does nothing for the station itself.
On the post: British Cops Try To Force CCTV On Pub Owner
Re: Please to remember the 5th of November
On the post: If Consumers Won't 'Pay Up' For Quality, Whose Fault Is It?
Re: Re: Even the bad stuff is pretty good
As an example, compare a modern Nikon D80 digital camera ($600) to the Nikon D1X from 2001 ($5350). The D80 kicks the D1X's butt in almost every possible way except for brute heft and ruggedness, and it's less than one-tenth the price of the D1X (after adjusting for inflation).
Likewise, I remember as recently as 2003, when a 42-inch plasma set was $15,000. Do you really think that even a high-end plasma set from 2003 is better than any of the current crop of plasmas that cost one-tenth the price?
On the post: Lie Detector Company Threatens Researchers, Draws Much More Attention To Research
Nemesysco shouldn't be able to sue for libel unless they can show that the researchers purposefully falsified data in order to discredit Nemesysco, but in the same vein, the researchers shouldn't be throwing around words like "charlatantry" unless they're ready to prove that Nemesysco is purposely promoting technology that they don't themselves believe to be effective.
On the post: Psystar Back To A First Sale Defense Against Apple: Software Was Legally Purchased...
What Skill?
I'm only bringing this up because letting the customer buy and install OS X instead of shipping the computers with it preloaded would solve almost all of Psystar's legal problems overnight, at least the ones coming from OS X's EULA.
If Psystar stops preloading OS X, and instead just sells a computer that "happens to work perfectly with OS X", should the customer decide to install it, I don't see how any of Apple's current legal claims against Psystar would still be applicable. Instead, Apple would have to go after the individual end-users, which would be a lot more difficult and unpopular.
On the post: Psystar Back To A First Sale Defense Against Apple: Software Was Legally Purchased...
An easier way?
Psystar could then simply sell their computers with no software included or installed, and leave it up to the buyer to purchase and install OS. Then at least it would be the end user that's violating Apple's EULA and not Psystar.
On the post: Psystar Back To A First Sale Defense Against Apple: Software Was Legally Purchased...
Does this really matter?
In fact, the OS X EULA specifically allows for transferring ownership of the software to another party, so Apple's already addressed the first-sale issue and specifically said that they're okay with it.
What Psystar's doing isn't the same as buying a CD and reselling it on eBay - it's more like buying a CD, re-mixing all the tracks, adding their own beats and changing the lyrics, and *then* selling it on eBay.
On the post: Album Sales Fall, Of Course
Re: Re: Re: CD Collection
The problem with CDs is in the mastering, not the physical medium. I have a lot of duplicates in my collection (same album on vinyl and CD). When I record the two versions to Audacity or a similar program, in every case, the dynamic range of the CD has been intentionally compressed, reducing the difference between the peaks and valleys in the signal to raise the overall volume level, often by as much as 6-8 dB. This makes the CD versions almost tiring to listen to over time compared to the vinyl versions.
I've even noticed a difference between different CD pressings. I have a few Mobile Fidelity Sound Labs gold CDs, and they sound better than the equivalent regular mass-market CD pressings, not because of any physical difference in the CDs themselves, but because of how they're mastered. They're not as compressed, so there's more of a volume difference between the loud passages and the soft passages. It makes them harder to listen to in the car, because I'm constantly having to raise the volume for the soft parts and lowering it back down for the loud parts, but for listening in my living room, the MFSL CDs are *much* nicer.
On the post: UK Ruling Says Authorities Can Force You To Hand Over Your Encryption Key
Re: Re:
I can see doing what you're talking about with a few sensitive folders/directories, though - send them to the online service, delete them from your hard drive, and use any of the "wipe free space" utilities on your hard drive. Then when you get where you're going, download the files from the service if you need them.
On the post: xkcd Speaks Truth To DRM: You're A Criminal Either Way
A moral difference?
Saying that you might as well "pirate stuff in the first place" because of the future *possibility* of having to remove the DRM in order to play it is a bit of a stretch.
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