2010: The Internet Wars - Something wrong about DRMs
Here is the second part on the Internet Wars series, where I take a look into the near future and tell you all, beloved readers, why the obvious is bad for what you have.Today, DRMs and copyrightsDRM is not a new technology, we already all enjoy downloading files that get tethered to our computer, in-copy-able and mostly overpriced. We also (well many of us) enjoy downloading or encoding ourselves DRM free media, most of the time illegally.Copyrights VS Users is an old story, with the Jammie Thomas case as its best know issue.What's going to change this year?The Obvious:
Now e-books are coming to hold the front lines of download-able content along with music, video and games we will see some interesting web-literature emerging to face a wider public, I am talking about pro and anti copyright rants. There will be big headlines such as this one, depicting the fight between authors, publisher, on line shops and off course users. So to speak, many people are going to have it bad over the e-book free for all.The Less Obvious:
Unless you're spending your days downloading songs, you're not to worry about copyright laws, and for all I know, many among us don't really give an intercourse in a blimp about them.
This is going to change. The book reading crowd is somewhat different from the massive music download crowd. The difference is not only about converging/diverging interest or culture, but also about the access to the media and buyers/downloaders habits.A hard cover book is easier to share in real life. Book readers are used to pass books to one another, sell and buy them is used books shops. Books are one of the most tangible part of mankind's culture.A song is easier to transfer to a computer. Even if you have to encode a whole album, you won't need more than an internet connection and an encoding software. You insert your CD, press the button and let the music play. From there, you can distribute them via a plethora of means.A song is easier to buy than a book. For the main reason that you can preview it. You can't preview a book, you have to rely on other people's opinions, or your past experience of reading a particular author.A book is time consuming. "I've listened to all their albums" and "I've read all his book" occupy a drastically different space-time. You can listen to anything while driving, don't try reading.For all these reasons, the book buyers are harder to please than music buyers, much more critic and most of all are still (may it last) clinging to the idea that a book is a physical belonging, bought once, appreciated and shared.This 'new' public to content download will not take kindly (pun unintended) things like content providers fiddling with their electronic libraries and spying their transactions. They will want availability, because that's what e-books providers will use as a main argument, low prices, because there is no paper involved and freedom of use, because that's what a book is all about.So yes, many complains to be expected, a major case or two during the second quarter, many changes in end user agreements, an people will get better informed about DRM's.The Risky:
The MCA might be modified, and I see a whole debate about the tangibility of digital content such as music and books approaching. A whole new approach of personal digital property might be applied. There is going to be a lot of change.The Outcome:
The Jamie Thomas case outcome will mark a milestone in the copyright laws history, it will be one of the decisive factors for the media labels and publisher to act in favor or against the freedom of data. It will either be catastrophic, and prices and limitation of use will raise against the will of the consumer, either reasonable, and labels/published will have to understand the the crowd might become tired of being presumed guilty.Keep tuned for the following articles of The Internet Wars
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Now e-books are coming to hold the front lines of download-able content along with music, video and games we will see some interesting web-literature emerging to face a wider public, I am talking about pro and anti copyright rants. There will be big headlines such as this one, depicting the fight between authors, publisher, on line shops and off course users. So to speak, many people are going to have it bad over the e-book free for all.The Less Obvious:
Unless you're spending your days downloading songs, you're not to worry about copyright laws, and for all I know, many among us don't really give an intercourse in a blimp about them.
This is going to change. The book reading crowd is somewhat different from the massive music download crowd. The difference is not only about converging/diverging interest or culture, but also about the access to the media and buyers/downloaders habits.A hard cover book is easier to share in real life. Book readers are used to pass books to one another, sell and buy them is used books shops. Books are one of the most tangible part of mankind's culture.A song is easier to transfer to a computer. Even if you have to encode a whole album, you won't need more than an internet connection and an encoding software. You insert your CD, press the button and let the music play. From there, you can distribute them via a plethora of means.A song is easier to buy than a book. For the main reason that you can preview it. You can't preview a book, you have to rely on other people's opinions, or your past experience of reading a particular author.A book is time consuming. "I've listened to all their albums" and "I've read all his book" occupy a drastically different space-time. You can listen to anything while driving, don't try reading.For all these reasons, the book buyers are harder to please than music buyers, much more critic and most of all are still (may it last) clinging to the idea that a book is a physical belonging, bought once, appreciated and shared.This 'new' public to content download will not take kindly (pun unintended) things like content providers fiddling with their electronic libraries and spying their transactions. They will want availability, because that's what e-books providers will use as a main argument, low prices, because there is no paper involved and freedom of use, because that's what a book is all about.So yes, many complains to be expected, a major case or two during the second quarter, many changes in end user agreements, an people will get better informed about DRM's.The Risky:
The MCA might be modified, and I see a whole debate about the tangibility of digital content such as music and books approaching. A whole new approach of personal digital property might be applied. There is going to be a lot of change.The Outcome:
The Jamie Thomas case outcome will mark a milestone in the copyright laws history, it will be one of the decisive factors for the media labels and publisher to act in favor or against the freedom of data. It will either be catastrophic, and prices and limitation of use will raise against the will of the consumer, either reasonable, and labels/published will have to understand the the crowd might become tired of being presumed guilty.Keep tuned for the following articles of The Internet Wars
- Augmented reality - The gadgets attack
- Google - Why it needs to evolve
- Apple VS Google - We're caught in the middle
- The Fall of Firefox
- Privacy - Will you still have any?
- Online marketing's deceptions
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