Ice Cavern Studios

I’m saying this now, it’s geeky. You’ve been warned.
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Digital Copyright, Software, Technology, The Internet, Web Development

…or why subscriptions make more sense.

So I was checking out Websnark when a I found a link to John Hodgman’s book, The Areas of My Expertise on the iTune’s Music Store. The big deal is that, at the time of this post, the book is free. Because I think the man is funny, and I’m all about free stuff, I figured I’d go get it.

It was at this point I realized a major issue. I don’t use my iPod anymore. I use my Zune. Makes sense, I have access to a much larger collection of music and I’m paying the liscencing fee to listen. No big deal, it was a free MP3. It shouldn’t have any drm on it, since, well, they didn’t charge for it. Wrong. ITunes messed up and forced me to use my second machine rights token on the machine I downloaded it to. Hmmm….

No big deal, it’s an audio book, I don’t need high fidelity. I’ll just burn it to a CD and then re-rip it. Right? Wrong. The book is broken up into 3 2 hour incriments. I can’t burn it to a bloody CD because it’s iTunes restricted, so I have to use Itunes which I don’t think will split up the track onto multiple CDs. So I have to listen to it either on iTunes or my iPod.

Sure, not a big deal, but what if I actually paid for this?

These tracks were free. Whatever. But if I had to pay, shouldn’t I at least have the same options of having bought the audio book on CD. With audio tracks at the store, I at least have the option of burning to a CD and re-ripping (although there is quality degridation). But this? I don’t even get that right. It’s super restricted. What the hell?

And this is my big issue with the iTunes system of purchasing music versus the subscription method used by Zune. With a subscription, I realize I’m only leasing the music. It’s inherent in the system. The fact that I can’t just burn the tracks to a CD is fine. I don’t own it. But I also don’t have to worry about losing the file. If I delete a song, and want it again, I can just download it. Simple.

But iTunes treats you like you walked into a brick and morter store and bought a CD. But unlike a real CD, which comes with liner notes, a case and, oh yeah, an actual physical CD, anything bought from the ITMS is a restricted file. If you delete it by accident, do you get it back? Not that I’ve ever heard. Plus, with a CD, I can rip to unrestricted MP3′s and play it…EVERYWHERE.

I think the iTune’s model is DUMB. If you buy an album on iTunes, sure you save a few dollars, but you’re also getting what you pay for. Less rights. Awesome.

Digital Copyright, The Internet

So for those of you who don’t know what that means, I recently purchased a Zune. What’s a zune? It’s the Microsoft personal digital media device. Basically, imagine a video ipod but made by Microsoft. That’s basically what it is, and after having it for about 5 days, I’m really impressed by it.

Firstly, the hardware itself is pretty sweet. The screen looks awesome and the interface is really slick. It also has a nice feel which I prefer to the iPod since it’s not metal. Since I’m going from a fourth generation iPod, the size of the Zune isn’t that big a deal. It’s bigger than a current gen iPod and definitely bigger than a Nano, but it’s still smaller than my DS lite, so it’s fine. I’m not sure about the battery life right now because I tend to keep it charged, but at some point, I figure I’ll have an idea how good it is for me. I’m also a fan of having my photos on the device; it lets me view pictures of good times when I’m feeling down. (Which has been awesome) Now all I need are some videos.

What really gets me psyched about the whole thing is actually the software, or more specifically, the Zune marketplace. For $15 a month, I will have unlimited download access to a great library of music. While I have to keep paying to keep the music, that’s basically the price of one album a month, I can listen to a whole lot more. This will definitely help when my friend Dan asks, “Have you heard , yet?” So now I can just download it and hear it. And it’s all legal. (I’ll discuss the DRM subscription thing at some point)

But yes, I’ve joined the social. I’m a big fan. I’m not sure how cool the wireless stuff will be, but I’ve heard that it will get better from a friend on the team. So for now, this thing is awesome.

Digital Copyright, Gadgets, Geekdom, Music, Technology, The Internet

It would appear that the bookstore loosely affiliated with my Alma Mater has decided to release e-books locked with DRM that expires in 5 months. One of my old professors has a

blog post about it.

There isn’t much I can add beyond what Professor Felten has already said. I think it’s a stupid idea and most students, if given the choice, will simply choose the Òdead treeÓ version. I personally wouldn’t take a version of any of my textbooks in electronic format. Especially anything for Math/Science/Engineering related fields that I’ll want to use (or burn) later.

I will say that, having been a student, the Screw-Store is just out to increase profits. I’m not sure on the financials of this, but I doubt this is for the good of the student body. Especially given their ÒmonopolyÓ on books in the area. (I know there is Macabre but in four years, I only had to get books there once.)

Oh well, it will definitely be fun to see how long it takes the student body to crack the DRM, or at least reject this crap outright.

Digital Copyright

About five years ago (1998), my friend, Erin, sent me a copy of the song �I’m Only Happy When it Rains� by Garbage. This was the first time I had ever even heard of an mp3. I had to go grab a player and first settled on one whose name I can’t even remember; just that the System Tray Icon was a green square that said NP on it. I wouldn’t even hear about Winamp (still on version 2) for another three months. It was at this point that my life was changed forever.

It’s crazy, in retrospect to see how far mp3′s and digital music have come. At first it was only on IRC that we could get mp3′s. Then it was scour.net. Then Napster (RIP). Then AudioGalaxy, Then Kazaa. There was also Gnutella, Morphious, MusicCity and others. I’ve been involved in the whole scene for a while now. I’ve watched the music industry try harder and harder to curb music piracy. For some reason, I feel a need to talk about it in great depth.

Personally, I find music piracy to be a very�grey subject. There are a lot of sides, a lot of arguments. A lot of people feeling self righteous about their beliefs. A lot of it comes down to people not seeing all the sides of the argument. Ultimately, in most cases, it doesn’t matter who �wins� in the current situation. There are two sides to this argument, the Legal, and the Illegal.

The Legal

On the one side of the issue stands the legal side. There are more people here than just the RIAA, there are also the artists, legitimate store owners and people who generally like to feel holier than thou. Generally, these people are in the legal right. Legally, one must pay in order to get something. When one buys a CD they buy the right to listen to it. And that it is, it’s a right to do so. Unfortunately, it’s not a god given one, so it comes at a premium. And the people who make the music have the right to be compensated for it. That’s really it. There’s not much to it, people should be compensated for creating something. Period.

The Illegal

On the other side of this are those who have decided that they no longer want to pay for music. I mean, that’s really what it comes down to. Some are college kids with little cash, others are people who are just tired of paying $18 bucks for a cd. Generally, these people do it for their own reasons. Ultimately, these people really can’t say much in the legal sense, stealing is just that, stealing. Generally that’s where that argument ends.

Personal Opinions

Personally, I download music without any intention of paying for it. Is it stealing, yes, do I feel bad about it, depends. Do I feel bad just downloading songs by certain artists like the Chemical Brothers or Real Big Fish, yeah. Do I feel bad downloading the latest Eminem album or say grabbing some of the garbage put out by boy bands? No. I don’t mind paying for music when it’s at a good price for the music. Currently, I am listening to a CD I just bought while ripping another to disk. Over the past couple of weeks I have bought five albums. All of them were techno, all of them are good, and all of them were bought from the Princeton Record Exchange for a heavily discounted price.

As I have mentioned before, it’s very strange of me to actually go and buy a cd. I generally don’t do it. Mainly because it wasn’t until recently that I started listening to non-mainstream music. I’m buying what I am now for two reasons. 1. I want to support an artist who’s mp3′s I have taken and who I really like. 2. To expose myself to music that I wouldn’t really be able to find on the Internet.

Otherwise, the RIAA can kiss my rear. Personally, I have a problem paying 18 dollars (even for music I like), so I can support Brittney Spears. Especially knowing that the artist I am paying to listen for will only see about $1 (as in 100 pennies, or the price of a bottle of pop). The interesting thing is, at least for me, I wouldn’t have bought the CD’s to begin with. So they technically didn’t LOSE any money. Mainly because I wasn’t going to buy anything. Do I share my stuff? Nope, so I’m not distributing. On the other hand, I am more willing to see a concert for these groups.

Ultimately, it’s a personal choice. For now, I’m willing so spend the time to get music. For others, $.99 for a download is cool. *shrugs* I’ve made my choice. I may change it, but for now, I’m cool.

Digital Copyright, Music, Technology, The Internet