The Archives
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The News
(File) Sharing is Not Caring
Jammie Thomas isn’t the only file-sharer to choose to litigate her defense. While it’s true that most people the RIAA sues for copyright infringement elect to settle (or point out that they don’t own a computer, or that they’re dead), a graduate student named Joel Tenenbaum has just finished litigating his defense in a civil copyright suit against the RIAA.
I think it’s safe to say that it could have gone better.
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The News
All’s Well that Orwells
I confess that I own a copy of George Orwell’s 1984. I’ve read it, and enjoyed it. I will also confess to going through a bit of an anti-authoritarian phase in my youth; my hair was shaggy, I wore flannel shirts with holes in them, and I referred not infrequently to a vague consortium of evildoers known collectively as “The Man.” But here’s the important thing: I learned more about the world, and subsequently stopped spouting insipid nonsense. Some people have yet to do that.
But first, Dear Reader, let me tell you a story. Amazon sells a device called the Kindle. The Kindle is like an iPod, but instead of playing music, it displays books. (In point of fact, the Kindle also can play music, but this ubiquitous feature is built into practically any consumer electronics you can think of today.) Kindle owners put books on their device by connecting it to a computer and either (1) purchasing books from Amazon directly, or (2) “finding” the full text of books somewhere else.
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The News
Competition
The RIAA has spent millions of dollars on litigating copyright infringement suits against people who illegally download music. Companies like Viacom use litigation to remove their copyrighted material from sites like YouTube.com. And you can’t blame them. They don’t want their copyrighted stuff generating money for anyone else.
With their awesome size and economic strength, media conglomerates had it easy for a long time. Customers who wanted content had to consume it on terms dictated by the RIAAs and the Viacoms. With regard to delivering this content, (i.e. in CD format, or in the hour-long drama format) the conglomerates only had one another to compete with.
Oh, and then in 1993, Vice President Gore invented the internet or something, and the media conglomerates started buying antacids in bulk: because technology changed everything.
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The News
Banned!
So there’s this company called Apple. They sell this product called the iPhone. It’s this computer that drops makes phone calls, and I’m pretty sure I’m not the only one on the planet that thinks they’re really cool.
Apple sells programs for their iPhone through this online store they run called iTunes. They’ll let you sell your programs for their product in their store, and they’ll even split the money with you. More than 100 million programs have been downloaded: some free, and some not free.
But what would the internet be without bombast, grandstanding, and brave souls exercising the right of self-defense against the vicious attacks of straw men?
Almost Legally
Now with 33% more student loans
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I don't know what's worse. Being too sick to make it to school to turn in your homework, or having to hand-write it in 2010.
