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Um, Nightflier. Have you thought about moving to Europe? You might find you're happier there.
Whoo boy, where to start....
***"
You can thank the RIAA for supporting... legislation to extend copyright for a very long time."
- I can see that the "free and independant judiciary system" really helped here.
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The judiciary doesn't make laws. That's the role of Congress.
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"this paranoia that 'The Industry' is denying you rights that you don't have in the first place is just weird."
- I take it you haven't really spoken to any musicians lately?
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Are musicians paranoid too?!
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"If you don't want to pay $1 you do something else."
- There is no other download solution that is legal. That's the problem.
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I see. So you agree that allofmp3 is illegal. POINT NODDIN
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"Other countries can do what they want with their laws."
- This is just the kind of arrogance that's going to come bite us Americans in the rear, one day.
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What's arrogant about acknowledging that other countries make their own laws?
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"The American market isn't protected."
- Econ 101: ever heard of a tarif? Why do US copyright laws fly in the face of everyone else's?
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Um, copyright laws are not tarifs. Nor are music downloads subjected to tarifs. Your point?
Let's see...
Europeans and Beef: Kenyan's and GMO's, Syrians, Toxic waste..... And you're worried about paying a buck for a song?
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- If the price is $1 everywhere in the US, there is no "market." Where is the competition in this "market"?
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The competition is evident in the fact that several download options exist, some are failing, some are starting up. I'm truely sorry you can't score that old album produced during your teething years for $0.99. But you see, no one wants to sell it for $0.99 cents and they're willing to wait for someone to pay $12. Why? Because they like money!
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Look, we can go back & forth with the insults, but it's still $1 pretty much anywhere in the states. What other evidence do you want that there is no competition? Competition is about offering a better mouse trap value. If all mouse traps are $1, then there is no competition.
And yes, you really should try and talk to some musicians or foreigners sometime, or at least stop eating twinkies, they seem to affect your ability to answer the questions.
Getting back to iTunes, I agree that they provide a convenient and simple interface for the most part, but where did they come up with $1 a song? I'd really like to know. Maybe someone else can chime in (if they're still following this thread).
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"The judiciary doesn't make laws. That's the role of Congress."
Actually, that's nothing more than a talking point thrown out by conservatives who dislike whatever the judiciary is doing at a given point in time.
The fact is, the judiciary also makes law. It has been so since the inception of this country. In fact, that tradition far preceded the inception of this country.
It's called "common law", and it's an old English tradition we inherited from day one.
And don't let the conservatives put one over on you. Even Justice Scalia is up for making law when it suits his purposes. See the case of Boyle v United Technologies, for one example.
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Let me clear things up for people, since you don't seem to understand exactly what is going on.
They made the iPod recognize a wide variety of formats, their main one of choice being the AAC (Apple Audio Codec)
Which in my opinion is fine, since it's a better means of compression then the MP3 anyway, provides better quality sound.
The only reason you can 'only' use the iTunes interface to import music on to your iPod is on account of the fact that after writing the files to your iPod it then writes an index file that the operating system on the iPod can recognize.
They didn't restrict access in any way, and not using iTunes is as simple as downloading a python script that builds the same index file FOR YOU, you just put the file on your iPod and double click it whenever you want to rebuild the index. Or you can even choose to change the operating system on the iPod (yes they didn't restrict that either).
Yes battery problems are an issue, but I doubt an issue they wanted.
You're not 'forced' to use any one store, people just don't know how to use other ones and still put it on the iPod. The french court battle is over digital compression methods, because Apple and Sony both use their own compression method for files on their stores, which makes them unplayable on other players.
That should be their right.
Anyway, just my 2 cents.
Scott
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Mike Anderson
"The judiciary doesn't make laws. That's the role of Congress."
Actually, that's nothing more than a talking point thrown out by conservatives who dislike whatever the judiciary is doing at a given point in time.
The fact is, the judiciary also makes law. It has been so since the inception of this country. In fact, that tradition far preceded the inception of this country.
It's called "common law", and it's an old English tradition we inherited from day one.
And don't let the conservatives put one over on you. Even Justice Scalia is up for making law when it suits his purposes. See the case of Boyle v United Technologies, for one example.
POINT MIKE. Obviously not my forte. The concept of copyright grew out of common law, yes? But the limits are set by Congress as legislative law? I don't listen to conservatives, they make me angry. On the other hand paranoid Maxists just make me giggle.
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I'm not aware that copyright law has its roots in common law, but it wouldn't surprise me, because so many statutes do.
People today are used to the idea that statutes are the only form of law, but that's really a modern phenomenon. Originally, judges made a lot more law than they do today; the proliferation of statutes was a byproduct of industrialization, which required a greater degree of uniformity and predictability.
But judges today really do still make law. At the federal level it happens in a several different ways. One form is the "federal common law" I referred to above, e.g. the Boyle case. This can be changed by statute, should Congress decide to "overrule" the Supreme Court on an issue of federal common law.
But the Court also makes law by interpreting the Constitution, and that sort of law cannot be overturned by Congress (see Marbury v. Madison). One obvious example is the language you hear cops say on TV every time they arrest somebody: "You have the right to remain silent..." If the police don't say it before conducting a custodial interrogation, any statements you make cannot be used against you in a prosecution.
That's not a statute passed by Congress; that's a rule the Supreme Court created in the Miranda case. In fact Congress even tried to modify this once, and the Court said they couldn't do it.
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uncle kam wants to tell a story....
copyright law grew out of the constitution (article 1, section 8, which granted congress the right to make laws "To promote the progress of science and useful arts, by securing for limited times to authors and inventors the exclusive right to their respective writings and discoveries;") and was later codified with the 1790 copyright act (and subsequent trademark and patent laws), and then much later, mr. disney founded a bunch of really interesting characters and made a company, and then later Mr. quincy jones made a whole lot of great music... and a bunch of record company's had a bunch of other artist sign away all the rights to the music they made so the company owned that music...and then much later after all these people made the art that they wanted to make, all that stuff they made was about to fall into the public domain (which means that you, me, and everyone we know could use it for free without having to pay them, or their heirs as the case with mr. disney, or, more precisely, their corporate entities with the case of mr. disney). so to avoid such a horrible fate of those characters and music (because... god knows how much the reputations of artists like beethoven have suffered since falling into the public domain... or Bram Stoker's work.. .or mary shelley's work... or well.. you can see how much all those older artists work have really suffered and been disrespecte today now that they are in the public domain), disney and quincy jones and many other music publishers decided to talk to that good 'ol bunch a guys known as congress and ask them to change that 1790 act just a leeeeetle bit, just one leeeeetle section in it only, the section that gives someone the right to continue to hold that monopoly on those works of art... and congress agreed and gave 'em more time. Then a bunch of years later, THAT extension was about to come and pass... so Disney got together with everyone else and again said, hey... you know we sure would appreciate it if you (those good 'ol gentlemen from congress) would give us another 20 years to stop anyone from using our stuff again... and what do ya know!!?? they agreed (EDIT: for the FOURTH time to extend that deadline). so mickey and donald, and gone with the wind and wizard of oz remained the highly coveted properties that they are today. Now when that twenty years is up... who do you think will go back to congress and ask for yet another extension?
so yes... there are a few corporations that you can point to and ask: Gee mister... arent you just using your clout and money and lawyers to influence congress and tell them to change the 1790 code in order to protect the works of people long since gone, and money that you've made... hmm... maybe 1,000,000,000 times over rather than allow property just like beethoven and mozart and other works of art that did, (and should of) eventually fallen into the public domain? couldn't you argue that the constitution really wanted to protect the artist who created the work of art, or the scientist who came up with the invention and not some shareholder of a company who bought that piece of artwork from the artist nearly a hundred years ago? why would you want to do that mister? oh... i guess you should make more money on those things... i guess THAT really is the end-all, be-all reason for everything... we really all should just make more money....
(ok... off of soapbox, and rant over! whew, have had a few already today!)
:)
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"The french court battle is over digital compression methods, because Apple and Sony both use their own compression method for files on their stores, which makes them unplayable on other players....That should be their right."
Should it? That's like if Verizon were to say that you cannot call anyone on the Cingular network. Not only would it force most people to buy into both networks and own two phones, but it would also hamper the whole industry.
Likewise, when one purchases the legal right to listen to a song purchased on the iTunes network, one should not be forced to buy an iPod to listen to it. It should be playable on an iRiver player too.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Kam
copyright law grew out of the constitution (article 1, section 8, which granted congress the right to make laws "To promote the progress of science and useful arts, by securing for limited times to authors and inventors the exclusive right to their respective writings and discoveries;")
Nope, the idea of copyright law predates the Constitution by decades, if not centuries. Like many other parts of American law, it was borrowed from English law.
As far as I know, the first copyright <i>statute</i> dated back to 1710, known as the Statute of Anne. Without researching it, my guess is that it was a common law development preceding the statute.
Learn somethin' new every day, don't cha? :)
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Quote:
Originally Posted by nightflier
"The french court battle is over digital compression methods, because Apple and Sony both use their own compression method for files on their stores, which makes them unplayable on other players....That should be their right."
Should it? That's like if Verizon were to say that you cannot call anyone on the Cingular network. Not only would it force most people to buy into both networks and own two phones, but it would also hamper the whole industry.
Likewise, when one purchases the legal right to listen to a song purchased on the iTunes network, one should not be forced to buy an iPod to listen to it. It should be playable on an iRiver player too.
I've got a really good rebuttal to this argument but I've decided to write it in code. You'll need to pay me $1 to buy my super secret decoder ring.
5yq58b5y3j9wx58hwqqh34y8lht8f33af34y3qv4elq4z3697h m75w
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Mike Anderson
Nope, the idea of copyright law predates the Constitution by decades, if not centuries. Like many other parts of American law, it was borrowed from English law.
As far as I know, the first copyright <i>statute</i> dated back to 1710, known as the Statute of Anne. Without researching it, my guess is that it was a common law development preceding the statute.
Learn somethin' new every day, don't cha? :)
danke very much! did not know that at all! always just knew of the origins of the us statute, which, am sure, had some connection to the queen anne one beyond just the constitution letting congress make it, since that's prolly where they made it from!
knowledge is a great thing... never stops. :)
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Kam
danke very much! did not know that at all! always just knew of the origins of the us statute, which, am sure, had some connection to the queen anne one beyond just the constitution letting congress make it, since that's prolly where they made it from!
knowledge is a great thing... never stops. :)
Very true; I have the benefit of an education from one of the top law schools, so I know firsthand what a cornucopia of knowledge the law presents.
Intellectual property law isn't my area of expertise though. Here's more from Wikipedia, for what it's worth:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_copyright
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Quote:
Originally Posted by nightflier
"The french court battle is over digital compression methods, because Apple and Sony both use their own compression method for files on their stores, which makes them unplayable on other players....That should be their right."
Should it? That's like if Verizon were to say that you cannot call anyone on the Cingular network. Not only would it force most people to buy into both networks and own two phones, but it would also hamper the whole industry.
Likewise, when one purchases the legal right to listen to a song purchased on the iTunes network, one should not be forced to buy an iPod to listen to it. It should be playable on an iRiver player too.
You can convert to MP3, and even if you couldn't, apple can provide **** in whatever format they want. You choose to buy it in that format, knowing you can only use it on your computer or on an ipod.
Don't like that? Then use a service that provides songs in MP3 format. People are allowed to provide content thats platform dependant, always have been.
Do people tell software developers that they have to make linux versions of their software?
Forcing people to use windows to use certain software would fall under the same realm. Microsoft would be guilty of the same thing. But, they provide the stuff, they can provide it any way they want.
Like I said, if you don't like it, then don't buy it. It's not infringing on anyones rights though.
EDIT: Also, Verizon should be allowed to provide a service that would only allow you to call their own network, they own the network after all. Just no one would buy the product.
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Swick,
"Verizon should be allowed to provide a service that would only allow you to call their own network, they own the network after all. Just no one would buy the product."
If they owned every section of the network that might be true. But can you say unequivocally that they own every satellite, land-based relay point, every source of power that powers these, every standards protocol that makes communication possible and every receiving cell phone? I doubt it.
But even if they did, the same is not true for Apple. They do not own "the network" which is the Internet. Just because they own the delivery server and some of the receiving music players, does not mean that they can make their technology only compatible with these endpoints. If they want to use the Internet to sell their product, they have to make it compatible with the other technology companies there, many of which have been there a lot longer than Apple and have helped build the Internet.
This is what so many people forget: no one owns the Internet. Any technology that uses the Internet as a medium for communication has to abide by the open standards that make the Internet a useful medium in the first place. Attempts at privatising or locking out parts of the Internet only serve to destroy it's usefulness. Apparently those smelly cheese eating French understand that.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by nightflier
Swick,
"Verizon should be allowed to provide a service that would only allow you to call their own network, they own the network after all. Just no one would buy the product."
If they owned every section of the network that might be true. But can you say unequivocally that they own every satellite, land-based relay point, every source of power that powers these, every standards protocol that makes communication possible and every receiving cell phone? I doubt it.
But even if they did, the same is not true for Apple. They do not own "the network" which is the Internet. Just because they own the delivery server and some of the receiving music players, does not mean that they can make their technology only compatible with these endpoints. If they want to use the Internet to sell their product, they have to make it compatible with the other technology companies there, many of which have been there a lot longer than Apple and have helped build the Internet.
This is what so many people forget: no one owns the Internet. Any technology that uses the Internet as a medium for communication has to abide by the open standards that make the Internet a useful medium in the first place. Attempts at privatising or locking out parts of the Internet only serve to destroy it's usefulness. Apparently those smelly cheese eating French understand that.
"Their own network" I didn't say they owned all of it, I said they should be allowed to limit people to calling only their own network.
Basically you didn't understand what I said. I was just using your example which doesn't even parallel, really you only supported me by saying all of that stuff.
As for the rest of your post, its stupid, and I'll tell you why.
The internet doesn't belong to any one person. What you're talking about has NOTHING TO DO WITH THE SITUATION AT ALL. Apple offers a service, the service is available on the internet, they pay for the bandwidth and the RIGHTS to host the music. They can host it in whatever format they want. I mean come on, do people complain about like, porn sites only hosting in .wmv format. Thats not universal but people still pay for their porn.
There are no standards on the internet, thats one of the facts of it. It's an open medium because people can do whatever they want on it. If that is hosting in AAC rather then MP3 then they should have that right. People offer services that aren't open, apple just gets picked on because theirs is more popular then the others. Look at say, Valves Steam system. It's valve (and now other) games available via streaming through their program called 'Steam'. You have to buy the game from them, and you can only use the steam program to play the game. In no way can you play any game offered on steam without the steam client.
But I guess the internets a free medium and they should offer it in a way that it can be played seperate from their program right?
Theres about a million examples of the same thing. All of the legitimate because people have the right to do whatever the hell they want with their own product.
OH and privatising parts of the internet in no way destroys its usefullness, it just gives people alternatives should they want to pay for it. The point is YOU choose.
Anyway, I should get back to working, well not really, but reading the post makes me head hurt.
Please in your response to this one try to read and comprehend.
Thankyou
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Quote:
Originally Posted by nightflier
Getting back to iTunes, I agree that they provide a convenient and simple interface for the most part, but where did they come up with $1 a song? I'd really like to know. Maybe someone else can chime in (if they're still following this thread).
Cd's have an average of 15 songs on them and usually in the $12-$20 range the averages out to little over $1 per song so minus the packaging you are paying right about the same.
Seperately:
I have to say that I back Apple on having a legitimate form of selling soft versions of songs rather than stealing them and distributing them. Putting them in an exclusive format makes it a little more difficult to steal.
I make money from music and it is not very much to begin with. It is a job. How would you take it if your boss told you that he didn't value your entire weeks worth of work so he is just not going to pay you for it.
If I want to give away music I will put it on Myspace etc. and do it myself not leave it up to someone sticking it in MP3 format and giving it away.
It would be nice for Apple to have a universal format for every player but then there is no safegaurd against theives.
(Not that I have never been guilty myself):(
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Swick,
Just so this doesn't sound like I'm bashing Apple, I'll be writing this response on a Powerbook. Apple makes great products, and I know that Steve Jobs is doing what he can to alleviate the restrictive policies of the RIAA and MPAA. That said, I maintain that the RIAA and MPAA are strong-arming Apple and others to maximize profits for the shareholders of the companies they represent and thereby stifling innovation (including Apple's), competition, and progress, IMHO.
You started off with: "As for the rest of your post, its stupid, and I'll tell you why.... What you're talking about has NOTHING TO DO WITH THE SITUATION AT ALL."
For an AR newbie, you sure can get irritatingly insulting. I read your post carefully, so let's dispense with the attitude, and there's really no need to shout, either. The point I am making is that a proprietary technology that only "members" can take part in (as in a Verizon-only network), defeats the purpose of the technology since it excludes all non-members. The only way for this system to be viable is for the technology to be universal, which is a monopoly. If you want to defend monopolies, I think you'll be in the minority, here.
"Apple offers a service, the service is available on the internet, they pay for the bandwidth ..."
Correction: companies do not pay for bandwidth. They pay for access to the Internet, that's all. They may pay for more access points to maximize the number of people that can access the service at any one time, but once it's out on the Internet they are not responsible for the bandwidth that is being consumed. That responsibility falls on governments who maintain their section of the Internet.
"They can host it in whatever format they want.”
That is also incorrect. Because they are using the Internet to sell their service and find new customers, they have to abide by the agreements (both national and international) that allow their service to be accessed. These are the protocols that make up the Internet. A proprietary technology may be efficient, but that does not legitimize its legality. Torture is efficient too, but it's still illegal. Once these devices communicate via the Internet, they cannot exclude competitors from participating. If the format is playable on other devices like an MP3 file, then that's great, but if it only plays on Apple players, then that's exclusive, and thus does not abide by the international agreements that make up the Internet's protocols.
By the way, your example about porn sites does not apply because there is enough competition between these sites that customers can choose which sites provide the content they prefer in the format they need. A site that only offers wmv files, is only loosing customers. And unlike music files, it's perfectly legal to download a wmv file and convert it to a mpg file or any other format. So Swick, if you really want to view that porn file, I'm sure there is a freeware program out there that can convert it to another format for you. And you won't be a criminal for doing so.
"There are no standards on the internet, thats one of the facts of it. It's an open medium because people can do whatever they want on it."
Uh, what alternate universe are you living in? Ever heard of ICANN? The IETF? Maybe patent law was just a fantasy concocted by aliens? Is the UN foreign to your vocabulary too? Wait a minute, weren't we talking about copyrights? Well you can't have that without the rest, you know...
"Look at say, Valves Steam system. It's valve (and now other) games available via streaming through their program called ‘Steam'. You have to buy the game from them, and you can only use the steam program to play the game. In no way can you play any game offered on steam without the steam client."
From your English, I'm having trouble making out what you're saying, but I guess the gist of it is that this is a proprietary game network that operates over the Internet (correct me if I'm wrong, I don't play the game). If that's what this is, then they have to use standard protocols (IP, web browser interfaces, etc.) to allow people to play the game over the Internet, right? And these standard protocols make it possible to play the game using any computer. One doesn't need a Valve Steam computer (i.e. the hardware) to play the game. It can be played on a Mac, PC, Linux computer etc. Apple, on the other hand, is creating technology that restricts non-iPods from enjoying the music. The EU is simply asking for Apple to share this technology with other manufacturers, that is, to make the technology an interoperability standard.
"...people have the right to do whatever the hell they want with their own product."
Not if they want that product to be used on the Internet. Think of the Internet as a road. It's owned by the towns it travels through. The rules are fairly standard and allow you to travel from town to city to country. But because you are driving on that publicly owned road, you cannot do whatever you want in that car that you own. For example, you may not drink alcohol in your car, you cannot play your music too loud, or use human slaves to propel your vehicle. Owning the car does not entitle you to do whatever you want in it, specifically because you are driving on a publicly owned road.
To bring this example back to Apple, they are also drivers on this road, sort of like an ice cream truck. The product (ice cream or sound file) is assembled at their house, and they drive it around ringing their bell in every neighborhood asking people to purchase the ice cream. But these customers should not need an Apple branded spoon to eat the ice cream. Apple might be able to require this if they made all customers come to Apple’s house to eat ice cream, but then many people who live too far away would not hear the bell, that is, Apple would no longer have a viable distribution system. The fact is that Apple needs the public road, and on that road many of its customers don't have Apple branded spoons.
"privatizing parts of the internet in no way destroys its usefulness, it just gives people alternatives should they want to pay for it."
So we're back to econ 101. Privatizing the Internet is a lot like privatizing the USPS. Sounds great at first, right? One would think that it would make the service more efficient, faster, and more reliable, sort of like UPS or FedEx. But the problem with a privatized system is that at some point decisions are made by the shareholders to funnel funds, technology, and innovation more to those areas that are most profitable while the areas that are not profitable are dropped. With the USPS, that would mean that those houses that don't send or receive much mail, or that are in remote places where the expense outweighs the conveninence, would get dropped (maybe even your house). Privatizing the Internet would work the same way. Corporations with deep pockets would grab the lions share of the bandwidth, access points, and content while smaller organizations, charitable groups, public services, educational sites, even sites like AR, and eventually even individual websites, would all be dropped. It would become one big Walmart with average quality products, non-competitive pricing and no other choices, the exact opposite of the "choice" you were talking about.
Swick,
Reading your post didn't "make me head" hurt, but it did make me realize that people who shout while waving tiny sticks still need to be reminded to think through what they are saying. As you said, "Please in your response to this one, try to read and comprehend."
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Well Apple could licence it's codec to other manufacturers so they could build AAC support into their players. That's what every player that uses WMA does. They pay for the license. Do you have a beef against wma? or .rm? or ...
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Night, the problem I have with your posts is they are constantly talking about a level of the internet that has nothing to do with distribution, but rather with its functionality.
I know what IETF/ICANN are, and I still don't know what they have to do with what I said. They're both organizations that contribute to the physical functionality of the internet, not the functionality of the content hosted on it. That's another level altogether.
"Correction: companies do not pay for bandwidth. They pay for access to the Internet, that's all."
That's what I meant by bandwidth, good sir.
"but once it's out on the Internet they are not responsible for the bandwidth that is being consumed. That responsibility falls on governments who maintain their section of the Internet."
They're not responsible for routing no, but how could they be? Once it leaves their subnet and travels through about a million different hops it travels through areas operated by various different companies. Like, I buy bandwidth from time warner myself, and I operate from off of their backbone, which is a direct throw onto the overall web, which yes is controlled by the government. But I don't know why this has anything to do with the format apple is providing their music in, I was just saying that paying for bandwidth to throw stuff onto this universal network should be afforded the right to put whatever they like up there, while abiding by their own local laws of course.
" the format is playable on other devices like an MP3 file, then that's great, but if it only plays on Apple players, then that's exclusive, and thus does not abide by the international agreements that make up the Internet's protocols.By the way, your example about porn sites does not apply because there is enough competition between these sites that customers can choose which sites provide the content they prefer in the format they need. A site that only offers wmv files, is only loosing customers. And unlike music files, it's perfectly legal to download a wmv file and convert it to a mpg file or any other format. So Swick, if you really want to view that porn file, I'm sure there is a freeware program out there that can convert it to another format for you. And you won't be a criminal for doing so."
My point does apply, because it is possible to convert an AAC file without breaking the law. You're allowed to convert these files, so long as you don't circumvent the copyright protection embedded into the AAC file (in other words, modify the code of the original file)
You can however, stream it into another recording device on your computer, slower but still works. You CAN legally make these files into MP3, you just can't legally modify their format.
"One doesn't need a Valve Steam computer (i.e. the hardware) to play the game. It can be played on a Mac, PC, Linux computer etc. Apple, on the other hand, is creating technology that restricts non-iPods from enjoying the music. The EU is simply asking for Apple to share this technology with other manufacturers, that is, to make the technology an interoperability standard."
Nope, one doesn't need valve hardware to play the game, just software (and its only an windows platform) Nor does one need apple hardware to play AAC files. I have AAC files playing on my palm pilot. One just needs the software. Same concept.
As far as the privitization thing, large corporations do own a bulk of the bandwidth available on backbones. Especially in the states. But it makes more sense for them to sell it off and remain competative then to sink the ship they already own.
Anyway, I have to go, someone needs to make a quote.
Have a nice day.
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Nod,
I don't have a problem with any format, as long as it is open to be used by other manufacturers. Microsoft's wmf has had legal issues in the past, but it seems to be something that anyone can license for the most part. So there's no issues of monopolies there. If the wmf format were not licensable on anything but a Windows PC, then we would have a problem.
One irritating example that always sticks in my mind is when a guy in the EU wanted to watch a DVD on his Linux computer and couldn't because there was no player that would do this. So as any good open-source programmer would do, he wrote his own and got shafted for it because it broke that (in)famous DVD copy protection. Some people wanted him deported to the US to stand trial for a possible life sentence! I'm not joking. Apparently when you mess with American shareholder's profits, no punishment is cruel enough.
Swick,
The very fact that a file travels over the Internet, makes it subject to the laws that apply to that section of the Internet. That is why this is important to this discussion. It's a lot like the road metaphor, you might be able to turn right on red in California, but that does not apply in all states. So following that example, if the EU believes that ACC files are not playable on other players, they have a right to bar ACC files on their section of the Internet or request that they are made playable on non-Apple players. If that is possible, then maybe they are addressing issues related to conversion, file quality, or speed. These are all issues that can be addressed through technology and it's obvious someone is dragging their feet. My guess is that the RIAA and MPAA does not agree with the EU's more liberal copyright laws since they have not been as successful in changing them to their benefit there as they have here. Unfortunately, since the traffic is traveling over the EU's section of the Internet (actually Apple will even be using EU-located servers), there's not much that they can do about it.
As for privatization of the Internet, you are right that this has already happened to a large extent. The result is a reduction of choice. For example that whole fiasco last year when a page that could not be found on a search engine would bounce you right to a commercial service, coutesy of ICANN and a pay-off here & there. Search engines are the single most annoying example of privatization. If I want to research a piece of electronic gear, the major search engines always bounce me around the same core sites. With an industry-targetted search enigine, on the other hand, I get far more sites, most of which don't even show up on the regular search engines. This is bad for those of us who want a choice. After it was made public, the Internet was developped for the purpose of sharing information with people all over the world, not to keep it from them.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by nightflier
I don't have a problem with any format, as long as it is open to be used by other manufacturers. Microsoft's wmf has had legal issues in the past, but it seems to be something that anyone can license for the most part. So there's no issues of monopolies there. If the wmf format were not licensable on anything but a Windows PC, then we would have a problem.
I guess we have a different view of what constitutes a monopoly. Microsoft (wmf) and Apple (aac) have the same control over a respective proprietary format. Microsoft chooses to maximize profits by charging licensing fees (extorting fees) from other companies so other companies can include wmf support. Those other companies wouldn't have to pass the cost on to the consumer if Microsoft gave away its proprietary format. Apple chooses to maximize profit by not licensing its format. They both have a monopoly with respect to their format in that no one else has rights to use it unless they purchase those rights. If any one makes a unique product they can sell it however they want.
Apple for a short while licensed their operating system allowing other manufactures to make Mac clones. The potential advantage was better market penetration, the downfall would be lost profits from computer sales. The now no longer license. No one demands they let other manufactures license their OS software. Same with the iPod...
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Nod,
Correct me if I'm wrong, but anyone should be able to convert a wmf file using any open source converter. That is, if I want to view a wmf file on a Linux box, I should be able to view it in my viewer or download it and convert it to whatever format I need.
Now Apple's ACC file should work the same way. I don't know because everything I have ever worked with was MP3.
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As I understand wma is a licensed format. I'm not familiar with wmf, I assume its the same, and since I'm on a mac most the time I don't interact with these formats often. I think the way a free wma converter works is that it accesses codecs that you essentially have already purchased, that reside on your computer. So if you have Windows Media Player (which you would if you run a Microsoft OS) converters can work with the players codecs to exchange file formats. I believe a portable player would have to pay to install such translation/playback capability. So while you can down load the converters for free, they are really not stand alone programs.
On a Mac, you can play wma with a cruddy (free) version of Windows Media Player and recently a 3rd party, Flip4Mac™, (with Microsofts blessing) now offers a free component that will allow the much nicer interfaced QuickTime player to play wma. iTunes still does not support wma on a Mac.
A few years ago HP was going to start making iPod clones (I think they do still?) and there was some suggestion that this HP alliance would bring wma capability to the iPod via agreements HP has with Microsoft.
Anyway I'm sure if you dig you can find ways to do anything for free because programmers are clever. For instance, I just found this link describing how to convert Apples protected formats to whatever you want on a PC
http://www.bpurcell.org/blog/index.c...try&entry=1036
Its two years old, maybe it doesn't work anymore.
The open source movement is terrific, but I'm not sure that just because it's under the 'open source' umbrella that all there offerings are completely legitimate. Too many grey areas.
I still propose the best way to make sure you can get your music into any format you want as many times as you want for any player you want is to buy the CD.
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Well I'm sure the new Wintel macs should have no problems with wma files.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by nightflier
Well I'm sure the new Wintel macs should have no problems with wma files.
I still don't understand why anyone would ever go down that route anyway. Wintel Macs don't perform as well as windows PCs.
I thought the point of a mac was... well... MacOS really. They don't have anything else going for them (save for a higher price tag for lesser hardware).
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