looks like the entertainment industry is getting a clue

[Apotheosis]

http://apnews.myway.com//article/20050402/D897HE580.html

here's the foundation for the way internet entertainment is going to be distributed in the future.

[Bobmuhthol]

Why can't I be in college? :'(

[Back]

Most schools ultimately expect to charge students future subscription costs of $5 to $8 per month in dorm fees.

Just another line item in your bill.

[Edited on 4-2-2005 by Backlash]

[Bobmuhthol]

Oh no $8/month for wicked good downloads!

I'd be all over it even if it was $20/month.

[Killer Kitten]

The stuff isn't theirs to keep, though. They have to log on through the college dorm once a month or it's all rendered useless. So come graduation, they're hosed.
Unless, of course, they continue the service for a much higher fee.

[ElanthianSiren]

It's a pyramid marketting scheme Bob; did you not read the entire article?

You don't get to keep the stuff you download. You don't even get to transfer it to a more accessable medium, (like your MP3 player), so in effect, you are paying for nothing.

I have 3k plus tracks on my MP3 player. I have 20k tracks on my computer, which encompasses my entire cd collection. I think I'd be pretty melancholy if I put in the energy to track all that stuff down and then lost is because I graduated from college.

Oh further, I doubt they'd have much by the 5, 6, 7, 8s. It seems like the music is rotated by what's popular. Just what we need -- Britney Spears circulated at every campus aud nauseum.

-A neat idea, aside from those small points.

Oh and I found this funny



Sophomore Scott Goldstein of Marlton, N.J., watches movies like "Groundhog Day" or "American Beauty" on part of his computer screen at the same time he does his homework. "It's a good distraction," said Goldstein, 19.


-Melissa

[Bobmuhthol]

Most songs on these services can be played only on a Windows computer and cannot be transferred to most portable music players, including Apple's popular iPod.
Assuming the songs are, in fact, downloaded and stored on a personal computer, all it takes is recording software and a flash drive (which my MP3 player uses <3) to completely own the entire security concept.

[ElanthianSiren]

Originally posted by Bobmuhthol

Assuming the songs are, in fact, downloaded and stored on a personal computer, all it takes is recording software and a flash drive (which my MP3 player uses <3) to completely own the entire security concept.

Assuming enough people do as you would do, then we would be back at square one, I imagine. ...until the recording industry says uncle and gives up their pesky 30+ year battle on this.

-Melissa

[Doyle Hargraves]

Originally posted by ElanthianSiren
Assuming enough people do as you would do, then we would be back at square one, I imagine.

That's what the record company gets for trying to rip people off. $5-8 a month to download stuff you can't keep or even use on anything besides your computer? No thanks.

[Bobmuhthol]

<<Assuming enough people do as you would do, then we would be back at square one, I imagine.>>

I don't see how they could know if people are doing it.

[Apotheosis]

First of all, people WILL find a way to subvert security. I am willing to bet the record company won't be able to do much at that point, but at least they will be collecting some income on electronic downloads.

Second of all, they have to start somewhere. With the way technology is advancing, and the uncertainty of the file sharing rulings, the entertainment industry has to adapt, whether they want to or not.

Finally, the fact that someone Bob's age is so enthused about this shows that this is going to be a popular/accepted way of downloading media, therefore, the entertainment industry is conditioning people to use certain services/business models/subscription models to make money.

[Artha]

The fact that it's temporary ruins any value it might have. I'd rather just turn off sharing and download my stuff for free.

[Bobmuhthol]

The people complaining about only being able to use the files on a temporary basis are the ones that are not equipped to bypass the rudimentary file sharing prevention.

<-- not one of them.

[Artha]

Yeah, you could put them on your 1gig flashdrive.

I'd rather not have to deal with it.