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November 09, 2010

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DG

Jonathan Coulton is another great example of a singer/songwriter who's doing very well without needing the traditional distribution model.

His thoughts are here:

http://www.jonathancoulton.com/primer/get/

Kay Tie

"ruins the ability of a generation of creative people in Ireland, and elsewhere, to establish a viable living"

They said the same thing about why copyright needed to be extended to nearly a century. Funny, but the ancient Cliff Richard didn't seem reticent to sing songs when he got far less protection.

Oh, must dash. I keep hearing voices in the distance. "Wolf!" they say, "Wolf! Wolf!". Shall I run to help fight off the wolf?

Kay Tie

"It's probably premature as well as overly hopeful for me to say this but .. woohoo."

Yay, another win for the rule of law and the right to a fair hearing!

Kay Tie

"is there a word for that awful, teeth-edge feeling you get when you find yourself in agreement with a person you'd rather be arguing with?"

Lately me and HuwOS have been feeling this. It's not so bad.

HuwOS

Okay so the Guardian article repeated the same nonsense

http://www.rte.ie/news/2010/1012/upc-technology.html

Isn't it also fascinating that judges as well as MPs to be able to state things as fact without any evidence to support it as in the Guardian article where Justice Charleton was quoted as saying
"This not only undermines their [the creative industries] business but ruins the ability of a generation of creative people in Ireland, and elsewhere, to establish a viable living," said Charleton. "It is destructive of an important native industry."

Colour me frustrated.

Paul Flynn

Thanks DG and HuwOS. This is very instructive.

HuwOS

Having said that, the industry propaganda still gets spouted even on the BBC

"Last month the High Court in Ireland ruled that laws cutting off internet users who have illegally downloaded content cannot be enforced in the country."

No, the Irish high court ruled that as there were no legislation for a three strikes rule in Ireland that 3rd parties could not force ISPs to adopt a three strikes disconnection policy.
Which is kind of quite a lot different from a court ruling that legislation could not be enforced.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2010/oct/11/three-strikes-filesharing-ireland


HuwOS

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-11724760

Net providers get Digital Economy Act judicial review

Plans to monitor illegal file-sharers will be scrutinised by a judge

It's probably premature as well as overly hopeful for me to say this but .. woohoo.

HuwOS

I have to admit, I am, perhaps unfairly, not that bothered for them.

When they were getting them, both other major parties had already stated they would scrap them if they got into power and most people would not have reckoned that New Labour was all that likely to win re-election.

If it makes them feel any better they can at least swap them for a citizencard for no cost.
Although without government getting behind that as a definitive proof of id, it's acceptance by those requiring ID seems pretty spotty.


DG

Oh dear... is there a word for that awful, teeth-edge feeling you get when you find yourself in agreement with a person you'd rather be arguing with?

HuwOS

One person in Manchester definitely agrees

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2010/06/02/epstein_bye/

DG

I think physically destroying it is appropriate in the circumstances. Forensic computing can do wonderful things these days.

This line caught my eye

"not all identity data will be destroyed - some will be kept for the purposes of investigating fraud."

Also, I'm appalled to hear that the 15,000 people who voluntarily paid £30 for a card in Manchester won't get a refund. £30 tends to be a lot of money for people who don't have passports or driving licences to use as ID. Maybe the person who made that decision considers that they could claim it on expenses?

HuwOS

For clarity, I was opposed to the ID scheme and am in favour of scrapping it completely.

I am tremendously embarrassed by the way in which I phrased it on the previous comment, although as stated would obviously make me a shoo in for a career in politics, talk about playing to all sides.


Kay Tie

"On the music thing."

I actually laughed out loud at that article!

HuwOS

Presuming the current government actually do go ahead and pass a bill scrapping the id card system, which I am completely and utterly in favour of, is the plan to destroy the data perhaps a little over the top?
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-11719764

HuwOS

On the music thing.

http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20101109/10571011777/with-the-limewire-mole-wac-d-up-pops-plenty-of-other-options-including-a-new-limewire.shtml

Kay Tie

"It may be that I believe that the Times paywall is a disaster that would destroy the paper, such as it is, if Murdoch didn't have such deep pockets"

To be fair to Rupert, he's doing OK selling physical paper. The Times is now making less from subscriptions than from advertising pre-paywall, it seems. But again, Rupert's not bothered by that: he's sticking to a point of principle that it costs money to make a newspaper, and people should pay for it.

I do respect his principle (after all, there's no such thing as a free lunch) but I don't think it will work out. The world doesn't owe corporations a working business model. One day, the landscape changes and businesses have to come to terms with the fact that they can't make as much money as they used to (or even a profit). The music industry doesn't like it one little bit, but reality intrudes in the end.

Online publications like The Register do very well by running lean and keeping their margins up. It's a different kind of business, but I have to say that the journalism on The Register is vastly better than that of The Times. So I am sure The Times could change if it wanted to - it would have to adapt and let go the ways it used to do things.

HuwOS

Imagine... excerpts ... from a book giving us a glimpse inside the inner workings of the brain of the decisionator or the decidinator himself
a book that someone who can make marks on paper mean stuff helped with.

I'm all aflutter with excitement.

HuwOS

Oh My Gosh

in email today from the Times
"This week, The Times has exclusive extracts from Decision Points, the controversial new memoirs of George W Bush."
Join thetimes.co.uk, and enjoy even more coverage including:
Watch the Editor of The Times talk about his meeting with the former President
Read exclusive online commentary from Ben Macintyre
View a stunning picture gallery and interactive graphics

Join now for just £1 for your first 30 days"

It may be that I believe that the Times paywall is a disaster that would destroy the paper, such as it is, if Murdoch didn't have such deep pockets
and it may be that I haven't seen or heard of a single Times story since the paywall went up.
It may further be that I had no intention of ever signing up to pay for anything from the times website

But now I need to rethink, they have exclusive extracts from the ghostwritten book of the dumbest president of the U.S. in history.

That'll have me parting with my money Rupert, I guess I was wrong all along.

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