arstechnica.com— A bill introduced this week would give schools a new way to use federal money granted under the Higher Education Act: piracy prevention.
Apr 2, 2007View in Crawl 4
The thing that no one seems to understand, is that poor college students aren't going to pay $20 for a dvd, $15 for a cd, $50 for a game, etc. These companies aren't going to receive any money from these kids anyway. They are all broke from having to spend $100 on each paperback textbook. So regardless of whether or not they share, the RIAA won't get any money.
Here is the letter I just sent to all my Representatives in Congress:-----------------Dear (Insert name here), I recently read about a new bill being brought forward in the House of Representatives called the "Curb Illegal Downloading on College Campuses Act of 2007." I am deeply disturbed by this bill, not because I illegally download - I don't - but because it allows funds for education to be redirected to protecting the RIAA and MPAA's interests. Tuition costs have been skyrocketing for a long time and I do not support any bill that places the priorities of the few (the RIAA) to be placed above that of the greater public good. Try telling a middle or lower class family their son or daughters overall cost of a higher education just became higher so that Point to Point file sharing can come to an end. The RIAA and MPAA continuously make false claims that every download is a lost sale, when I find it hard to believe that most college students would have the money to purchase every song they download. This leads me to believe that their figure of $500 million in lost sales is overly inflated. Even $500 million is insignificant compared to the billions American families pay for education. Don't get me wrong, I do not advocate stealing in any shape or form, but I will never tolerate education funds being redirected to subsidize corporate interests, EVER. It also deeply disturbs me that the RIAA and MPAA would lobby for such a bill, considering the huge payoff higher education is for them. Higher education allows for students to study film and music creation and production as well as trains the engineers to produce the technologies that allow them to enhance the quality of their art and distribute it. Where would the RIAA and MPAA be without the Record, the VHS tape, Film, Cameras, CDs, DVDs, and now the new HD technology? They would have no medium in which to make money. In can be argued that higher education allowed the end of the age of the starving artist by giving the artist the means to distribute their work to the masses, and now they want to take funds away from it. Thank you for your time.Sincerely,
Sorry for the reply abuse but i read the whole page and heard nothing but b*tching. How about doing something about HR 1689 (His name is Ric Keller, btw)? Why don't we ALL call every office and ask why he wants to give money to support private businesses without considering its benefit in alternate uses FOR THE CHILDREN!Washington Office 419 Cannon House Office Building Washington, D.C. 20515 Phone: (202) 225-2176 Fax: (202) 225-0999 District Office (Orlando) 605 E. Robinson St., Suite 650 Orlando, FL 32801 Phone: (407) 872-1962 Fax: (407) 872-1944 District Office (Eustis) 301 West Ward Avenue Eustis, FL 32726 Phone: (352) 589-9909Fax: (407) 872-1944Toll Free: (888) 642-1211 District Office (Ocala) 3330 SE Maricamp Road Ocala, FL 34471 Phone: (352) 624-9994Fax: (407) 872-1944Toll Free: (888) 642-1211
Almost exclusively I pirate a band I don't know. If I don't like it I delete it. If I do like it, I (pay to) go to their shows and then pay for a cd at the show and if I really like them I'll buy a T-shirt.Also there's almost nothing I listen to from a major record label that was put out after the early 90's. Radiohead is probably the only band. Is that just me or do the major labels put out crap now? I don't know
"The Higher Education Act (HEA) generally allows schools to spend the money they receive only on certain prescribed areas such as financial aid grants and Pell loans. The new bill would allow that money to be used for more things, but does not contain a request for additional funding."This part is classic. Taking money from school loans and using it to fight p2p.
merrebornApr 3, 2007
Blocking P2P altogether would also keep students from accessing data they *have* to have for their studies, like Linux distributions.
marmanukemApr 3, 2007
The thing that no one seems to understand, is that poor college students aren't going to pay $20 for a dvd, $15 for a cd, $50 for a game, etc. These companies aren't going to receive any money from these kids anyway. They are all broke from having to spend $100 on each paperback textbook. So regardless of whether or not they share, the RIAA won't get any money.
kyl87Apr 3, 2007
f**k the RIAA!
hackwrenchApr 3, 2007
Gu$$erment then?(think of the $'s as really deformed b's)<a class="user" href="http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=gubberment&defid=2325900">http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=gubberment&defid=2325900</a>
Closed AccountApr 3, 2007
So this means tax payers money will go to compensate private corporations losses instead of helping future generations education, how pathetic.
babar77Apr 3, 2007
Here is the letter I just sent to all my Representatives in Congress:-----------------Dear (Insert name here), I recently read about a new bill being brought forward in the House of Representatives called the "Curb Illegal Downloading on College Campuses Act of 2007." I am deeply disturbed by this bill, not because I illegally download - I don't - but because it allows funds for education to be redirected to protecting the RIAA and MPAA's interests. Tuition costs have been skyrocketing for a long time and I do not support any bill that places the priorities of the few (the RIAA) to be placed above that of the greater public good. Try telling a middle or lower class family their son or daughters overall cost of a higher education just became higher so that Point to Point file sharing can come to an end. The RIAA and MPAA continuously make false claims that every download is a lost sale, when I find it hard to believe that most college students would have the money to purchase every song they download. This leads me to believe that their figure of $500 million in lost sales is overly inflated. Even $500 million is insignificant compared to the billions American families pay for education. Don't get me wrong, I do not advocate stealing in any shape or form, but I will never tolerate education funds being redirected to subsidize corporate interests, EVER. It also deeply disturbs me that the RIAA and MPAA would lobby for such a bill, considering the huge payoff higher education is for them. Higher education allows for students to study film and music creation and production as well as trains the engineers to produce the technologies that allow them to enhance the quality of their art and distribute it. Where would the RIAA and MPAA be without the Record, the VHS tape, Film, Cameras, CDs, DVDs, and now the new HD technology? They would have no medium in which to make money. In can be argued that higher education allowed the end of the age of the starving artist by giving the artist the means to distribute their work to the masses, and now they want to take funds away from it. Thank you for your time.Sincerely,
pixelbenderApr 3, 2007
Sorry for the reply abuse but i read the whole page and heard nothing but b*tching. How about doing something about HR 1689 (His name is Ric Keller, btw)? Why don't we ALL call every office and ask why he wants to give money to support private businesses without considering its benefit in alternate uses FOR THE CHILDREN!Washington Office 419 Cannon House Office Building Washington, D.C. 20515 Phone: (202) 225-2176 Fax: (202) 225-0999 District Office (Orlando) 605 E. Robinson St., Suite 650 Orlando, FL 32801 Phone: (407) 872-1962 Fax: (407) 872-1944 District Office (Eustis) 301 West Ward Avenue Eustis, FL 32726 Phone: (352) 589-9909Fax: (407) 872-1944Toll Free: (888) 642-1211 District Office (Ocala) 3330 SE Maricamp Road Ocala, FL 34471 Phone: (352) 624-9994Fax: (407) 872-1944Toll Free: (888) 642-1211
blindwebsterApr 3, 2007
Almost exclusively I pirate a band I don't know. If I don't like it I delete it. If I do like it, I (pay to) go to their shows and then pay for a cd at the show and if I really like them I'll buy a T-shirt.Also there's almost nothing I listen to from a major record label that was put out after the early 90's. Radiohead is probably the only band. Is that just me or do the major labels put out crap now? I don't know
m4tt3rApr 3, 2007
"The Higher Education Act (HEA) generally allows schools to spend the money they receive only on certain prescribed areas such as financial aid grants and Pell loans. The new bill would allow that money to be used for more things, but does not contain a request for additional funding."This part is classic. Taking money from school loans and using it to fight p2p.
lisafordegMay 8, 2007
Perfect post! Wow, these are cool!
brainxsMay 17, 2007
Thanks! But my mom told me such things don't worth my attention.