[clug] A most interesting read, most interesting

Sam Couter sam at couter.id.au
Thu Dec 28 11:22:04 GMT 2006


Randall Crook <rcrook at vtown.com.au> wrote:
> 
> If I want to have a DVD on in the background to listen to as I work, then
> I use the DVD player connected to my TV. 

I don't have a DVD player hooked up to my TV. They do what the disc
manufacturer wants them to do (refusing to skip ads, for example), not
what I want them to do. So I'll never buy one.

> Am I the only one who thinks that its is mainly "Geeks" who want
> to play and copy DVD's on their PC? I mean seriously, when you can go into
> woollies and buy a DVD player and TV for less than $150, whats the real
> desperate need to have a PC play and copy DVDs???? 

Convenience. Exactly the same reason why people rip CDs to their
computer. The valuable original discs can be stored somewhere safe away
from small jammy fingers, and the CD or DVD jukebox can get on with the
job of playing what I want, when I want. No stuffing around changing
discs and such.

> You may say its good to be able to turn your PC into an entertainment
> center, fine, then its no longer a PC is it? 

Err... Yes, it is. "PC" stands for "Personal Computer". If it's used for
browsing the web, is it just a web browser and not a computer? No, it's a
computer with a web browser running on it.

> And here we are debating the fact that the greedy no longer want us to
> have the ability to make copies of their product on our PCs.

It's not about making copies, it's about use. It's about owning something
I've paid for and being able to do what I want with it. It's about not
being forced to watch ads before movies. It's about media and hardware
that doesn't "phone home" and continues to work, even if the vendor goes
bust or decides they don't like me anymore. It's about not having to pay
extra for deliberately broken stuff.

To rant a little further from the topic (because reading between the
lines, you may be making a common mistake in your thinking), copyright
(should really be called copy privilege) is an artificial construct. Be
very careful you don't fall into the trap of thinking creators have some
kind of inherent ownership rights over works they produce. They don't.
Copyright is a bargain society has made with creators, to give them
TEMPORARY rights in exchange for continuing to create. They're trying to
break that bargain AFTER the fact, using technological and legal measures.
That's wrong by any standard.

> What is wrong with this picture?

Mostly ignorance and limited thinking.

Have I been trolled?
-- 
Sam Couter         |  mailto:sam at couter.id.au
                   |  jabber:sam at teknohaus.dyndns.org
OpenPGP fingerprint:  A46B 9BB5 3148 7BEA 1F05  5BD5 8530 03AE DE89 C75C
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