Excerpts from John Dvorak in PC Magazine...
http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,1895,1943257,00.asp
I'm in complete agreement. The Movie and Recording industries are lobbying to have all sorts of technological entrapments "built-In" to HDTVs and HD-DVDs, that your own fair use is completly tossed out the window. When you purchase a film, you should be purchasing the "content", not the medium it's on. I'd be supportive if the movie industry offered a "Lifetime" Replacment" for a DVD I purchased (If it's dammaged, they will replace it, free of charge) but they don't. Sure, Piracy is wrong. I pay for DVDs, because I like the extras, the Audio Quality, etc. But if a college kid downloads a film, and is caught, slap him on the wrist, fine him, and move on.
http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,1895,1943257,00.asp
Quote:
| While the world moans and groans about the French and their attitude of cultural superiority, you sometimes have to give them credit, often in hindsight, for their ability to see through all the BS out there. So France doesn't like the idea that Apple and the iPod and iTunes are intertwined with a proprietary structure that has no way for any other player/music download service to compete. The French say that Apple must either open the kimono, as it were, or be banned. Apple thinks it may as well walk away from France. Screw those French! The French are also skeptical about the whole movie-piracy phenomenon. Why should illegally downloading the equivalent of a $19 disc result in a $250,000 fine and 5 years in prison? Shoplifting a $100 item from a store—which is tangible and real—has fewer consequences. Does this make any sense to anyone? The French don't think so. Illegally copying movies or downloading should be like a traffic ticket—perhaps a $100 fine. Now they are being accused of "encouraging" piracy. How's that? $100 is a lot of money. This is the problem, and I finally realized it. To Hollywood, $100 is not a lot of money. In fact, $250,000 may not be a lot of money to many of these folks. I just died when I was looking through the latest Forbes list of Hollywood's top incomes. Comic actor Will Farrell makes $40 million a year? For what? I mean seriously, I don't want to exhibit income envy, but what great skills does Farrell employ to deserve $40 million? Well, he obviously must attract more money in box-office receipts than he's paid, but if that's the case, things are quite skewed, and some college kid downloading a movie can't be a threat that deserves jail time. I mean, really. The French have got it right. Especially when you consider that you can record the movie off a cable channel without penalty. |
I'm in complete agreement. The Movie and Recording industries are lobbying to have all sorts of technological entrapments "built-In" to HDTVs and HD-DVDs, that your own fair use is completly tossed out the window. When you purchase a film, you should be purchasing the "content", not the medium it's on. I'd be supportive if the movie industry offered a "Lifetime" Replacment" for a DVD I purchased (If it's dammaged, they will replace it, free of charge) but they don't. Sure, Piracy is wrong. I pay for DVDs, because I like the extras, the Audio Quality, etc. But if a college kid downloads a film, and is caught, slap him on the wrist, fine him, and move on.
