Bush signs controversial anti-piracy law

[jamotto]

the Sewing Machine, and the COMPUTER!

Where French and British inventions respectively.

[____anders____]

recording companies can't do anything about it.. never

they will lose the war no matter what they do

[trugamer]

Where French and British inventions respectively.

Isn't there a bit of confusion about the first computer, I've heard loads of stories about who invented the first computer, the earliest (I've heard of) being the Germans during the Second World War.

I've also heard that Babbage's mechanical thing counts as the first computer.

Can anyone clear up this confusion?

[davidcrew]

Well I think the argument for piracy is simply that we have been disappointed several times with the quality of products emerging from the music industry and movie industry.

Prices for a CD before piracy were ridiculous, especially when 90% of the time, only two tracks tops were good and the other bunch were just formulaic pieces of $#@!. If they focused on quality instead of quantity, they may convince people to stop pirating their $#@!. Look up Deltron 3030 (or Del the Funky Homosapien) and other bands that do not get a lot of attention but could run circles around mainstream artists that like their Rolls-Royce and their fancy watches.

Movies are the same deal. How many revamped movies have you seen look like crap? The new indiana jones movie was madness, SAW is just the same horror gore nonsense over and over, and for everything else, everyone copies themes from the Twilight Zone or Alfred Hitch$#@!.

American innovation may have been in the past, but it's mostly about doing the same thing over and over. Just look at how many fps games there are, and what, how many stupid EA revisions that come out every year that are just the same game with different stats?

Ridiculous.

This bill won't do anything, people will continue to do it, and $250 billion is exaggerated. Change those things about your music and movies, and maybe people won't pirate.

[gamev8]

I've also heard that Babbage's mechanical thing counts as the first computer.

Babbage's difference engine would have been the first computer but he never built it I was lucky enough to see the one they made for Nathan Myhrvold at the Computer History Museum in Mountain View California and I must say it was beautiful.

[Uberman]

So what should have been done? Lower penalties for piracy?

How about stimulating sales by substantially lowering prices on DVDs?

How about making movies that are worth owning on DVD, or watching on PPV? I'm not about to give them money for a remake of a movie that came out only two years earlier, about The Incredible Hulk. Do they actually expect to be rewarded for that?

How about putting cheap HiDef into homes? Blu-ray players are still hundreds of dollars, Blu-ray movies are still $30-$50US.

There's lots that can be done to curtail the flow of copyright violation. The RIAA isn't interested in it. They'd rather lobby to get laws passed to force you to purchase their lukewarm crap than actually compete in the market.