Real's scramble points to isolation

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Too rational. You don't run a content company.

You wrote:
No matter what DRM measures have been taken, movies and music ends up on these filesharing networks. All it takes is one person to crack it and it's available to everyone. It's a losing game. Why invest so much money (through either research or fees paid to MS) in something doomed to failure?

You keep thinking the point is to sell product. In order to do that, having your customers like you is essential. That's the wrong premise.

The content companies are run by people who hate the internet because it's not what they're used to. And because people have more control, which is very dissatisfying to them.

So they tried to kill the internet by ignoring it. In response, people found their own way to get downloads. Therefore, the operators of the content companies thought of them as thieves.

Of course, internet downloads have probably not cost them a nickel, might have even increased their sales at stores.

When other companies like Apple and even WalMart came along with worthwhile systems for internet distribution, the content company leaders did their best to kill them off with fees high enough to make the business unprofitable. They must really hate the iPod, which makes it possible for Apple to stay with music distribution.

So, knowing that the internet would make huge profits for them, they are desperate to kill it off. They suborn legislators. They try to prevent player companies from making useful products. They take legal actions which disgust their consumers. They pay Microsoft a fortune to make internet use more inconvenient. Any desperate act they can undertake to avoid giving people what they want and have proven themselves willing to pay for.

You know all that.
No_Axe is correct; they're within their legal rights to do what they've done. Even if they have to buy laws that invent new rights.

So don't think as if these were rational people. Understand that what we see is unreasonable, vicious behavior.
Frankly, the normal reaction is to want to get even with them for the harm they're doing by using every crack and other opportunity to do damage. But some people going to have to behave civilly, and it's obviously going to have to be the public.

But even when this gets resolved at some sacrifice, the resentment is going to live for a long time. Probably so are the laws the content companies bought, which are an embarassment to a free society.

Posted by: Anton Philidor   Posted on: 04/15/04 You are currently: a Guest | Members login | Terms of Use

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