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- babbling, on 10/12/2007, -1/+46DRM is one of the two big fights that consumers need to win.
The other is the fight against software patents. When software violates someone's patents, it isn't just the developers of that software who can be sued - the users of the software can be sued, too!
One of the areas that software patents affect the most is audio and video. Most audio/video codecs are covered by software patents, but there are two notable exceptions: Vorbis (audio codec) and Theora (video codec). We need to get people to start using these.
If you come across a website offering audio/video for download or streaming, and it isn't in Ogg Vorbis/Theora, email the website and say "I would like to watch your videos, but I want them in Ogg Vorbis/Theora format". If enough of us do this, we will start seeing these formats used. Firefox has shown that big companies start paying attention to new software when it gets to about 10% adoption, but if people make some noise and actively ask about Ogg Vorbis/Theora, it can get adopted quicker than that!
When you download a video that isn't in Ogg Vorbis/Theora format, convert it using ffmpeg2theora, and then send it to some friends. This will ensure everyone has software that can play Ogg Vorbis/Theora.
Linux comes with these built in, but if you're running Windows, this site should be helpful:
http://www.illiminable.com/ogg/ - inactive, on 10/12/2007, -0/+34Every little bit helps in the war against DRM
- masamunecyrus, on 10/12/2007, -2/+25You missed one -- net neutrality.
To sum it up...
Why is it bad?
DRM -- effectively makes anything you own *not* yours, you just own a license to use it however they want it to be used to maximize their profits
Software patents -- Anyone remember the GIF fiasco? Or how about the guys that sued Square Enix, Sega, and a bunch of other publishers because they effectively copyrighted the concept of "3D"?
Net Neutrality -- Suddenly Google is slowed down (unless Google pays the telcos a bunch of money) so that users have to use sbcyahoo.com or some other crappy search engine/web portal. - AdamsGuitar, on 10/12/2007, -0/+12Does anyone have a transcript? I'm at work and can't listen to the audio.
- mozrat, on 10/12/2007, -0/+11It's worth signing up to their site and keeping informed about their campaigns. There aren't enough people looking out for our digital rights - If you don't pay attention they'll all be taken away.
- bennyboy371, on 10/12/2007, -0/+10Yet another person who thinks strictly legally and doesn't let morality or even logic in.
- meltingrobot, on 10/12/2007, -0/+10"Independent bands are only RIAA tools that have not yet been signed." That's about the dumbest thing I've seen all week. And I surf a lot of digg. Believe it or not, there are bands that are independent because they choose to be. Not all bands are after the mega-ultra rock star dream thing. At the same time, not all bands are stupid enough to think that they would get a good deal signing with a major label. Take Mindless Self Indulgence for example, they are on Metropolis Records and have been for some time. I'm sure they have been offered a major label deal several times. They sell plenty of albums and sell out every concert I've seen of theirs. But if you look at http://www.riaa.com/about/members/default.asp , you will notice Metropolis appears nowhere in there. Why? Because it's an independent label.
- jessekeys, on 10/12/2007, -0/+9Don't support the RIAA.
Buy good music, support good and independent bands.
Check out the RIAA Radar ( tool that music consumers can use to easily and instantly distinguish whether an album was released by a member of the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA)).
- http://www.magnetbox.com/riaa/ - - inactive, on 10/12/2007, -0/+7@babbling's comment
someone find a way to word that nicely and submit it as a story. i have heard of vorbis and theora and such, but seeing it like that makes me actually interested. i'm sure others would be as well if worded correctly and it was on the front page. - bdmbdm, on 10/12/2007, -0/+6"Sorry, a mirror of The truth about the RIAA lawsuits - DefectiveByDesign.org is not available.
This is because the site is using a robots.txt file to block DuggMirror."
It seems that the Google cache can't find the page. :( - TheCookieMaker, on 10/12/2007, -0/+6here is a direct link to the files
http://www.archive.org/details/DefectiveByDesignCallWithRayBeckerman - randal2k, on 10/12/2007, -3/+9full boycott... been doing it since napster went off line the first time.Never missed Music/cd's never looked back. Independent bands are only RIAA tools that have not yet been signed. Full boycott.
- Matsu, on 10/12/2007, -0/+6Maybe if they stopped disabling our freedoms to place the music, for which a licence we BOUGHT to use, wherever we want on whatever device we should own or so choose to back-up on. Maybe if they stopped treating us like criminals people wouldn't be driven to those very acts! (Although granted, copyright violation -isn't- criminal..) It's their restrictions that they put in place that force those at least even somewhat savvy with a computer to go seek a copy online that won't tell them that they can't play it on their iPods or whatever else they might want to use. Having done that, they attempt to make examples out of those who won't play by their rules with lawsuits whose settlements run in the thousands of dollars.
It's far from being about the RIAA introducing these restrictions because of us. Rather, it's about the RIAA attempting to squeeze as many pennies out of us by attempting to force us into buying a separate copy of one song for a portable music device AS WELL AS a mobile phone and god knows what else. Allofmp3 had the model completely right. Shame that the RIAA would have it crushed. - HyperHacker, on 10/12/2007, -0/+5We don't have much choice. We're forced to "steal" music because the legal copies we bought are unusable due to DRM. If you tell someone that after they buy the CD, they have to download an illegal copy anyway to be able to use it on their portable player/make a backup/etc, how many of them do you think will even bother to buy the CD?
- BobMacSlack, on 10/12/2007, -2/+7"If you stopped burning my dinner, I would stop beating the crap out of you every night. You have yourself to blame."
- inactive, on 10/12/2007, -0/+5You don't really understand what's going on. There has been a revolution in the music industry.
Back when I was a kid (playing in bands, making a couple of hit records), record companies had to actually pay quite a lot of money for the material the distributed. Studio time was expensive, pressing the vinyl and printing the sleeves was quite costly and the big record companies didn't care because they still had huge profit margins.
From the late 80s onward, the record companies invested ever less in Artists and Repertoire, because the day of the home studio arrived, and the big record companies could churn out the "Dance" crap produced by kids with computers for practically nothing. The profits were immense!
Then access to the internet became commonplace, and file sharing became possible. The record companies didn't see it coming, and carried on ripping off the public and making huge profits. As file sharing took off, the record companies saw a small decline in sales - the fact that the quality of the material they were trying to sell was becoming even worse didn't seem to occur to them.
The record companies took the easy way out, and blamed everyone but themselves. Don't buy shares in record companies, because they're dying out (not before time!).
The vast majority of the material that's distributed "illegally" on the 'net is older than 20 years. This has a couple of implications - much of the material is getting close to the end of copyright, and more modern music is poor in comparison (with a few notable exceptions).
All that's going on is the death thoes of a defunct industry. - babbling, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4It just got released, so there isn't a transcript yet.
- cremate, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4@jet: But if you steal "anything" the people who you stole from are losing money because their item is missing and they can't sell it now and make a profit. When sharing data (or anything) the company isn't losing money because you haven't taken anything from them, you took music from a friend off the internet -- that is all.
Its more like borrowing your neighbors John Deere to mow you're lawn. Is John Deere losing money? No, it doesn't have anything to do with them. Its sharing between you and your neighbor. Sharing is done everyday and is not criminal. - babbling, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4teethman: The other formats/codecs are covered by software patents. This means that you could be sued for running programs that use other formats, whereas Ogg Vorbis/Theora are safe.
It also means that anyone is allowed to write software that can use Ogg Vorbis/Theora, which, in the long run, results in more (and better) software for everyone. - mdc777, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4I have one simple question about downloading 'free' music. What percentage of those who have downloaded music from the Internet would have ACTUALLY bought it if they didn't have the ability to download it?
- HyperHacker, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3"I don't think I would say quit buying music altogether." - that's not what's being said. Keep buying music, just not DRMed music. Buy CDs without invasive copy protection, or buy the music you want from a site that serves them in a non-protected format like MP3 or OGG.
- inactive, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3"Rather, it's about the RIAA attempting to squeeze as many pennies out of us by attempting to force us into buying a separate copy of one song for a portable music device AS WELL AS a mobile phone and god knows what else."
This is my take on it as well.
I only buy music from independent sources like CDBaby.
Of the changes I see that scare me the most are fair use being taken away from consumers by the RIAA, DRM...And also the potential loss of net neutrality.
Seems i read a review of a SF book about what the world would be like if these big corps' get their way...End Of The rainbow,Rainbows End? Or something like that.
- meltingrobot, on 10/12/2007, -2/+5I don't think I would say quit buying music altogether. Maybe try listening to and supporting independant artists would be a better way to help move on to a place where musicians get properly taken care of for their works. Personally, most of the music I buy anymore is independant because of tastes. It helps that I'm a huge fan of riot grrl. A fair amount of industrial I buy is indie as well.
- duest, on 10/12/2007, -4/+6The weird thing is that what you just said arguably isn't bad grammar... assuming "digg effect" is a proper noun.
- iSEPIC, on 10/12/2007, -7/+9Yes, you can stop the RIAA, QUIT BUYING CDS/DVDS/iTUNES !!! STOP NOW, TELL EVERYONE YOU KNOW TO STOP - then the RIAA will die and maybe, just maybe we'll get some true musicians with talent that would like to make some money rather than having the RIAA take 80-90% of it for "advertising". But it will never happen - why? Just look at the demographics of 99% of the people who walk into retail outlets such as WalMart, Target, and Amazon.com - they don't know, they don't care, and they just want their boy-band cd and nothing else matters.
- teethman, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2Why should people switch to open source formats rather then standard formats? Educate the people who do not know. (me)
- lokean, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2Whoever still has doubts about why it's good to share, read or listen to professor Lessig's Free Culture:
http://www.free-culture.cc/remixes/ - duest, on 10/12/2007, -2/+4A suitably altered quote from the most recent State of the Union address, projected 5 years into the future:
"Our nation, working with allies and friends, has also confronted the enemy abroad, with measures that are determined, successful, and continuing. The RIAA terror network that attacked our country still has leaders -- but many of its top commanders have been removed. There are still companies that sponsor and harbor DRM -- but their number has declined. There are still regimes seeking weapons of mass copy protection -- but no longer without attention and without consequence. Our country is still the target of big-wigs who want to sue many, and intimidate us all -- and we will stay on the offensive against them, until the fight is won. (Applause.) " - aamini2, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2I'm a student and I donated $20 for their cause (which is nothing when you compare to all the other expenses a student might have). If you listen to the audio recording, you'll realize that if they win this case, it will put an end to these RIAA lawsuits as courts have a judge ruling to refer to where "the act of making things available online is not copyright infringement".
Please donate to help defeat the RIAA. Thanks.
For those people wondering, donations are tax-deductible in the US (if this makes any difference for you). - inactive, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2It depends on the quality of the content. Most current "music" is appalling, which mostly accounts for the drop in sales. File sharing, backups and whatever have little to do with the quantity of CDs sold. In some instances, on-line sharing can increase sales - if you get something you like on line, you may well go out and buy a higher quality CD copy!
The record companies are dying out, and the RIAA is just trying to squeeze a few last dollars out of the market. - IMustBeEmo, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2If you want a CD that's on an RIAA label, either pirate it or buy it from a USED CD STORE. CDs are a lot cheaper used and the money goes to the store not to the RIAA.
Edit: oops, I meant to reply to the comment below me
When in doubt use the RIAA Radar. And BitTorrent =] - inactive, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2Ufortunately your "State of the Union" speech is exactly contrary to the American presidential stance on DRM (not that Bush could understand it). Official American Governmental policy is definately in favour of DRM and Software Copyrights simply because Bill Gates told them that they're a Good Thing (tm).
- shredswithpiks, on 10/12/2007, -6/+8I'm not sure "internet jargon" falls into the realm of things able to be gramatically correct....
- sycorob24, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2@BobMacSlack - what kind of analogy is that? I'm in some sort mutually supportive relationship with the RIAA? Pirating music is an accident, not an intentional act? The RIAA is abusing me for something out of my control?
- nstern2, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2what you say is correct but your solution is impossible. People do things that are wrong. It is unfair for the rest of us who abide by the law and don't infringe on copyrights. What is wrong in this situation is that they are suing people who don't share files and in some cases don't even own a computer.
- jetx29, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0You must not have much emotion in your life if you've completely left music behind. Personally, I'm still loathe to not buy a cd from a band I've been following for some time on an anti-RIAA principle. It's true that not every band I like is on a smaller independent label (though most are), but I still feel some need to support a band I may have followed since before the days they went to a larger label.
(and any response such as 'they don't need the money anymore anyways if they're on a major label' isn't acceptable, I don't believe in stealing from people I respect to hurt the big bad RIAA by association). A complete boycott leaves legit bands out in the cold as well, not very fair to reward them with that for all their hard work IMHO. - benbalbo, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0@sirber: I agree that OGG is still very much unheard of, but there are hardware devices that support them. One, for example, is my Samsung YP-T6Z MP3 Player: "compatible with up to five formats including OGG, WAV and ASF".
http://www.samsung.com/au/products/mp3players/mp3players/yp_t6z.asp - labmouse42, on 10/12/2007, -2/+1Ill dig this comment
- bennyboy371, on 10/12/2007, -3/+2Plenty of people have. I have. But theres absolutely no chance of that happening on a total scale. They just attribute the sales that went missing to piracy and push harder.
I always laugh when people say this. Theres always at least one person to say boycott, but its not working. People still want their stuff. - sirber, on 10/12/2007, -4/+2theora is not very developped anymore, and quality is substandard.
vorbis is cool but no hardware support.
people like and use standard things, like JPEG, DVD (MPEG2), MP3, etc. - jetx29, on 10/12/2007, -3/+1Your question may undermine the RIAA's claim that they've lost money, but doesn't address the problem of the downloader having no business owning it. If you were to steal anything, you could always claim you wouldn't have bought it, doesn't mean you deserve to have it. Just pointing out a relative flaw in that line of thinking, doesn't mean I love the RIAA or anything.
- cremate, on 10/12/2007, -3/+1Why are software copyrights bad? And what does Bill gates have to do with DRM?
- nofxjunkee, on 10/12/2007, -5/+3unfortunately i think WMP and iTunes are going to be a big barrier to vorbis becoming widely accepted. add mp3 players, mp3 cd players, divx players into the mix and it doesn't look so good for the ogg-dwelling formats in the short run.
- haggie, on 10/12/2007, -3/+0mispost
- Darth_tater, on 10/12/2007, -6/+1aaaand it down.
mirror anyone? - lastingdamage, on 10/12/2007, -5/+0Edit wrong goddam button.
- aresef, on 10/12/2007, -8/+3Digg effected.
- tidu, on 10/12/2007, -7/+2He's just turning the term "digg-effect" into a verb. "Digg effect-ed!" would be correct... I know affect is the true verb form, but that would change the term and it would be unrecognizable.
- Atomic1fire, on 10/12/2007, -13/+3some of the music is good like 1-4 songs on a cd (but not the boybands)
but when they over popularise it so you here this stuff is so gay by the backstreet boys you get annoyed and thats the only time i have ever used the word gay on digg that and now - geekee, on 10/12/2007, -21/+1If you stopped stealing music online, they would stop suing people. They would also stop spending lots of money lobbying congress for more restrictive copyright legislation if people could be trusted not to steal their music. You have yourselves to blame. Now go ahead and mod me down and continue with your pathetic excuses.
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