Simulating the Ideal
Eric | December 27, 2005
Wired has several “foot-in-mouth” pieces that are noteworthy as far as science and technology are concerned.
Some of my favorites:
“Most people don’t even know what a rootkit is, so why should they care about it?”
– Thomas Hesse, president of Sony BMG’s global digital business division
“I’m going to f***ing bury that guy, I have done it before, and I will do it again. I’m going to f***ing kill Google.”
– Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer, in statements attributed to him in court documents by former Microsoft engineer and recent Google hire Mark Lucovsky
In other tech news, the media companies are killing their own standard over some petty squabbling. As a result High Definition DVD will have to wait despite the fact that drives are ready to ship. Here is a good piece on the “DRM vs Fair Use” fight. As the RIAA files thousands of lawsuits per year over “infringement”, this discussion is becoming more relevant for the average joe. Unfortunately, its not getting the attention it deserves.
As monopolies stamp out the competition as they expand their power over consumer technology and rabid attorneys persecute children [Warning: PDF] and strip away our rights in the name of creating a legitimate digital society. But for whom is justice reserved? Certainly not this kid.
The illusion exists with the idea that digital technology represents a threat to music as a profitable form of media. Battlestar Galactica was so successful because of P2P swapping of episodes. The internet allows indie bands to spread music at next to no cost without the hassle of using a label. swapping damages long term profitability. Metallica was born because of tape swapping, and later led the charge against Napster. I would wager that P2P song swapping sells more concert tickets (which benefit the artist) than CDs (which benefit the label). So who needs the label?
