"If buying isn't owning, piracy isn't stealing"
pluralistic.net
"If buying isn't owning, piracy isn't stealing"
1–10 of 49 posts
Re: "If buying isn't owning, piracy isn't stealing"
#2If Wired does not want to write the entire disclaimer (whether because it is too long or for whatever other reason), then perhaps "WARNING: THIS DEVICE’S FEATURES ARE SUBJECT TO REVOCATION WITHOUT NOTICE" should be good enough.
> My argument – then and now – was that any tech company that sells you a gadget that can have its features revoked is defrauding you.
Yes, I think they are correct, and whoever sells you such thing should be sued for fraud.
Although, forced automatic updates can be a problem anyways, together with many other problems of modern computers, such as "always-on network access with indiscriminate criminalization of user modification" and much more problems than just that, actually.
> Imagine putting years of your life into making a program – showing up on set at 5AM and leaving your kids to get their own breakfast, performing stunts that could maim or kill you, working 16-hour days during the acute phase of the covid pandemic and driving home in the night, only to have this absolute turd of a man delete the program before anyone could see it, forever, to get a minor tax advantage. Talk about moral injury!
Of course, they shouldn't be allowed to remotely delete your files like that anyways. But, nevertheless, it is why WORM media is important (although I don't know how to make it secure enough against remote tampering, if the writer device can somehow be programmed to destroy it; however, you could print it out, or even write it out by hand if you have to).
Re: "If buying isn't owning, piracy isn't stealing"
#3It is just not even just deleting shows, they do whatever they like. For example, if you buy a "HD" show on youtube, you are actually getting 480p, because something something DRM will prevents you from playing that HD version you bought on anything but a locked up air gapped computer in Youtube's VP's own office.
This is a scandal that has been going on for years -- they still sell you HD versions of the movies and shows knowing full well you can't possibly play them in anything but 480p
Re: "If buying isn't owning, piracy isn't stealing"
#4It is just not even just deleting shows, they do whatever they like. For example, if you buy a "HD" show on youtube, you are actually getting 480p, because something something DRM will prevents you from playing that HD version you bought on anything but a locked up air gapped computer in Youtube's VP's own office. This is a scandal that has been going on for years -- they still sell you HD versions of the movies and…
What do you actually need to playback the HD version in a browser?
A recent-ish version of Chrome on Windows and an HDCP connection? It's annoying sure, but not an outlandish requirement.
Re: "If buying isn't owning, piracy isn't stealing"
#5Words matter. So let’s be clear on both sides. It isn’t piracy. It isn’t stealing. It’s copyright infringement.
Re: "If buying isn't owning, piracy isn't stealing"
#6It is just not even just deleting shows, they do whatever they like. For example, if you buy a "HD" show on youtube, you are actually getting 480p, because something something DRM will prevents you from playing that HD version you bought on anything but a locked up air gapped computer in Youtube's VP's own office. This is a scandal that has been going on for years -- they still sell you HD versions of the movies and…
What do you actually need to playback the HD version in a browser? A recent-ish version of Chrome on Windows and an HDCP connection? It's annoying sure, but not an outlandish requirement.
You don't need any of it. But if you buy it, you should expect to receive it, and if you don't receive it, you should get your money back.
Re: "If buying isn't owning, piracy isn't stealing"
#7Words matter. So let’s be clear on both sides. It isn’t piracy. It isn’t stealing. It’s copyright infringement.
Copyright infringement is about publishing, not consuming. If I copy a friend's legally-purchased .epub that's like borrowing their legally-purchased printed book. Same as if I take a book from a Little Library in my neighborhood, or borrow a paper book from the city library. Why is the transfer of digital content more restricted? A print publisher can't prevent a library from lending their book as many times as they want, so why do we give digital publishers that ability?
Re: "If buying isn't owning, piracy isn't stealing"
#8Words matter. So let’s be clear on both sides. It isn’t piracy. It isn’t stealing. It’s copyright infringement.
Copyright infringement is about publishing, not consuming. If I copy a friend's legally-purchased .epub that's like borrowing their legally-purchased printed book. Same as if I take a book from a Little Library in my neighborhood, or borrow a paper book from the city library. Why is the transfer of digital content more restricted? A print publisher can't prevent a library from lending their book as many times as they…
Without sounding overly pessimistic, but I have the opinion that copyright laws were written and developed in a different era.
Finical interests, not the public’s, are to blame for the overly restrictive copyright laws.
Re: "If buying isn't owning, piracy isn't stealing"
#9It is just not even just deleting shows, they do whatever they like. For example, if you buy a "HD" show on youtube, you are actually getting 480p, because something something DRM will prevents you from playing that HD version you bought on anything but a locked up air gapped computer in Youtube's VP's own office. This is a scandal that has been going on for years -- they still sell you HD versions of the movies and…
What do you actually need to playback the HD version in a browser? A recent-ish version of Chrome on Windows and an HDCP connection? It's annoying sure, but not an outlandish requirement.
Wait, why is requiring Windows not outlandish? It's not like other platforms or browsers don't have DRM support. Even on Firefox on Linux, there's a setting to enable DRM-required media.
Re: "If buying isn't owning, piracy isn't stealing"
#10What's the problem even?! I'm back to torrenting, it feels as awesome as ever.