Riaa

The only danger I see in all this was something I alluded to earlier ... that the multi-billion-dollar music industry might decide it's more cost-effective to toss "money" at the problem instead of threats. They could, for example, buy out major broadband entities. But, there's a cheaper alternative. FastTrack is the biggest target. And, Sharman Networks Ltd. is, after all, a business. What if the industry went to Sharman and said, "OK, you win. We're dropping all our lawsuits against you ... BUT ... would you sell us FastTrack for, say, $100 million?"

If they were to acquire FastTrack ownership, then they could threaten users without looking like the Gestapo. They'd merely be software owners, protecting their interests by punishing those using their software in a manner they don't approve of. And if FastTrack became industry property, smaller P2P creators/distributors might be even cheaper to acquire using the "We don't really want to haul your asses into court. But, we will do so ... unless ... you're willing to sell us rights to your software for $X million. Whattaya say?" tactic.

Sorry about mentioning such a nighmare. But, I wasn't the first one to think of it. It was mentioned as a possible industry strategy in an earlier Inquirer article.

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Originally posted by OlderThanDirt@9 May 2003 - 12:32

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Jibbler wrote:

Cloaking our activities sounds alot like "hiding from the law".

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It is not an independent and duly authorised legal body and yet has acquired for itself the power to hack into any computer to examine the contents of the hard disk and the power to deposit new software or modify exiting software.

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You don't smoke spliffs with narcs, but that won't stop anyone smoking spliff, or change the fact that spliffs are great

i don't know if they're still doing it but in the initial release, micro$oft reserved the right to add remove and exectute code on any XP system without any prior consent as part of your installation licience agreement, because in their eyes since all code on you XP box runs within a M$ jacket the system is therefore micro$ofts and you just have one or more licences to execute the code

at least M$ have a contract with the targets of this maddness
the RIAA are just corperate scale hackers if they start accessing systems without authority
[what if micro$oft granted/licienced the RIAA it's own 'option' of interfering with your XP box or did so on the RIAA's behalf?]

:: run your firewall from startup kiddies :ph34r: 4 whateva good it might B

With Micro$oft, anything is possible.

Yes, well, I don't see it being an issue for much longer. Bill Gates has a plan.

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But the same platform could be employed by content creators -- who include software makers like Microsoft. They could severely limit how materials are copied or even how long they last -- a stark contrast from the freedoms of today's computers.

Gates said the format of digital content is up to their creators, and Microsoft is only providing a platform on which record labels and movie studios -- as well as others -- can build. He said it's in the content provider's interest to use simple copy protection schemes.

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It's Bill Gates plan to put the anti-piracy in the hardware, not the software. He's too smart for his own good. :o

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It's Bill Gates plan to put the anti-piracy in the hardware, not the software. He's too smart for his own good.

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I expect this plan involves the new 64-bit operating systems since that's his focus for 2004/2005 and beyond:

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Users can opt to "turn off" the system when it becomes available, most likely in the next generation of Windows expected in 2004 or 2005.

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So, just make sure you snap up the best state-of-the-art 32-bit system you can before they're no longer sold.

there's always a workaround
we just don't know what it is
apart from anything else why would we want to change to M$ media format
if someone is going to improve mp3 my money wouldn't be on M$

tis a bit scarey though
bring on better linux distributions
[BTW you can buy linux apple G4s out of the shop these days]

Just wait until that system comes out. The older and "outdated" system prices will fall like a stone. ;)

Gotta love the computer industry.

:ninja:

Assuming Micro$oft follows through with their plans, and assuming that hardware sellers go along with those plans (the latter isn't necessarily set in stone), I'd like to do a straw poll of sorts.

Currently, I run Win98SE on a low-end P3 500mhz system with 256 megs RAM (overkill on the RAM, perhaps). I may eventually upgrade to a faster P4. Point is, I can't think of anything useful I could do with a 64-bit system that can't be done in a 32-bit environment. Does anyone here plan on upgrading to a 64-bit system when it comes out? And, if so, what things would you want it to do that you can't do now with a 32-bit system?

Also, while the speed of processing power is growing exponentially, the speed of hardware has not. If your hard drive has a top speed of 7200 rpm, it doesn't care a hoot in Hell if a faster processor is demanding information from it at a faster clip. The hard drive is just going to deliver information at the best speed it can muster ... period. I think we're getting to the point where a "personal" computer is doing all that people want personal computers to do ... and that only business environments will be all that hot on getting the new toy on the block when the time for unveiling comes around. And when Intel/AMD market their new Maserati-type chip to the public and Bill Gates releases an OS for it, they both might find themselves in for a big surprise ... that the public at large is more than happy with their Corvette-type chips and OS and have no plans on buying something they don't need. Actually, Gates may have smelled that coffee already ... which is why Microsoft is beginning to diversify into the home-entertainment realm and is no longer relying solely on OS development and software development for income.

Brief note on my op-ed submission to USA Today. Editor Chris Collins contacted me today with a thanks but no thanks. Ces la vie. Perhaps I'll find another home for it.

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Originally posted by echidna@9 May 2003 - 01:34
there's always a workaround
we just don't know what it is
apart from anything else why would we want to change to M$ media format

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Well, this isn't necessarily true. There has always been a workaround in the past, because the software and the hardware were different things. Microsoft is talking about partnering with Intel and AMD to use their anti-piracy software by integrating it into the hardware. Sure you'll have an option to turn it off, but they can also ban you from any network if your hardware doesn't meet the specifications. So its a very real possibility that Microsoft could elimate filesharing as we know it.

Besides, we aren't talking about a Microsoft media format, we're just talking about Digital Licences for music, or possibly, mp3 files that you can freely share, but that can't be burned to disk. Another idea, would be mp3 files that will only play for a limited amount of time, then they become useless. These are very real possibilites, and we need to watch this very closely. :huh: