[More random stuff...]
The RIAA/MPAA has been suing people for a while now. I've been following the developments for a couple of years but lost interest recently because it's always the same old shit.
Basically, these "trade organisations" hire companies like BayTSP, MediaSentry and SafeNet to collect information about the people on P2P networks downloading their material material owned by the record labels/movie studios they represent. They then proceed to sue these people, while at the same time giving them an option to settle out of court. (very clever, I'll explain later)
The way these companies collect information is an absolute joke. Why? Because:
1. They ended up suing dead people. 2. They ended up suing people with no computers. 3. They equate an IP address to a single person. (utter bullshit) 4. They've tried to distribute fake files on P2P networks with hilarious results. First of all, video files are of a...certain size. The files they're distributing could fit on a floppy disk (if you still have one...RAID users might). The naming convention's wrong and they "formed" a release group that no one's heard of. Not to mention the brilliant fact that they probably can't do much with that info, as it's unlikely any court in the world would entertain them trying to sue people for downloading fake files. 5. They opened up a site that encouraged people to upload and share their copyrighted files, but were exposed within a day. They claim it was all a "big mistake". Yeah, right. Nice try at entrapment. 6. Did I mention they sued dead people?
These incompetent acts aside, they were widely criticised for the way they carried out these legal actions. Attacking Universities, demanding the identities of students using a particular IP address at a particular time. Using tax-payer funded law enforcement agencies to carry out raids (although this is acceptable now that copyright infringement is a criminal offense and not just a civil matter). Oh yes, it's a criminal offense now due to RIAA/MPAA lobbying in the US, and FTAs with the US filtered this change to countries all over the world (I wonder how many people saw the connection).
Basically, what happens is this. Someone who had the misfortune of getting his IP address on RIAA/MPAA's radar will get the shock of his life (and probably shit himself) when he gets the legal letter from them. He then thinks..."How did they know who I was?" His ISP either sold him out by handing his information over, or had to if RIAA/MPAA got a court order.
So this guy reads the letter. Typical threatening legal mumbo-jumbo, with extra emphasis on the legal penalties of what he did. Basically, to convince him that he's guilty even before he's considered his next course of action.
He is then given a choice. He could either get sued (in court), or settle for a few thousand dollars, out-of-court. He would be most likely to settle because that's the lesser of two evils.
Ah-ha! Easy money for RIAA/MPAA. And they go on to claim that they've successfully "sued" hundreds or thousands of people, etc etc. Truth is, they haven't sued anyone. (well now they have, since people are fighting back) I wonder where all this money goes to.
More often than not, courts ruled in favour of the "alleged copyright infringers" because the evidence presented were mostly utter rubbish and was easily discredited. Especially if the judges knew a thing or two about this new technology called the "Internet" and how it works. The only problem is when judges don't know technology and don't understand the evidence.
So yes, that's the entertainment industry's strategy. To sue their ex-customers into buying their inferior product (seriously, what's on radio today is pathetic), on the (flawed) premise that if they did not have a way to download what they downloaded, that they would have paid for it. All of it.
So, why this rant about something happening half a world away, 23-hours and one stop-over by flight? Because now it's happening here. Yes, ODEX. The online forums are abuzz about what they're doing. The local anime community is torn apart by what's happening. Some's vowed never to buy anything from ODEX, some's vowed to parallel import. Whatever. I don't really care as I'm not into anime.
What ODEX is doing now in the region is very similar to what RIAA/MPAA has been doing in the US. And I'm pretty sure that most of the people do not closely follow what goes on. What's pretty amazing was that the people on the online forums are voicing views not all that dis-similar from what people have been saying about RIAA/MPAA for years. Cartel-like practices, over-inflating penalties (compared to serious/violent "traditional" crimes), etc.
Technology can change an industry. Any industry. There isn't a single industry I can think of that has not been changed by the Internet. While some industries change their business models to leverage technology, the entertainment industry prefers to use legal means to halt the progress of technology (don't get me started on the ridiculous DMCA - we actually have something similar in Singapore, it's just not widely known).
You can't fight technology. You're just prolonging your own death if you don't adapt but instead stick to old ways of doing business.
My HYP's fucked.
(I don't want to go into the boring details. Let's just say it a potential minefield right now. It's like being placed at the wheel of a car and asked to drive to a place you've never heard of without maps or GPS and with only pedestrians to ask for directions. Splendid.)
Tomorrow's the 100th day since my grandmother passed away, just before my exams last semester. We're going to visit her grave tomorrow. Taoist rituals, and stuff. It would be the first time most (if not all) of us would see her tombstone.
I remember it well. It was a rainy day when we put her in the ground. Just as it was when we put my grandfather in, 9 years ago. There wasn't enough pall-bearers, for some reason. And the oldest generation of grandsons had to help with carrying the casket from the hearse to the plot and then into the ground. While they have a splendid system of logs and ropes for this purpose, it was a challenge for me because of my not-so-good back and the terrain was extremely rocky. I don't know why they made the terrain so rocky. It was just as rocky 9 years ago. Did they want to see if anyone would fall into an open grave while lowering their loved ones into the ground? Because honestly, I think there's a good chance of that happening.
My sister introduced me to a show called Top Gear from the UK. It's a show about cars and I was surprised that my sister would like it so much (girls and cars get along as well as Bush and Osama). As it turns out, it's insanely funny. The three hosts' banter have me roaring with laughter. I don't know why, but it seems that British people can make the most ordinary sentences funny. And they're so polite even when they're angry.
Here are two short clips from the show. There's a ton of them on Youtube. Some are short crops, some are full episodes. It's a mess, really. Which is a pity. They are so enjoyable to watch.
In the clip below, one of the hosts tried to out-run a tank using an off-road vehicle. Being from an armoured formation during my NSF days and having seen what our patheticoldnonsenselousy not-so-advanced vehicles could do, I really didn't think the Range Rover in the clip below stood a chance against the monster they used in the British armed forces. Doesn't matter how fast you can go...4 wheels can't beat the tracks of an armoured vehicle.
It was funny at the end when the host said, "it really is a very, very good off-road car...but if you plan on invading another country, use a tank."
Broken for now. :( If anyone knows of a good way to display tweets without using Twitter's awful looking widgets, please let me know. Preferably something that allows me to retrieve my tweets in plain-text format.
What's this about?
Anything and everything under the sun. I write about my day, my thoughts, things I see in public, things to get off my chest, or sometimes just some senseless rants that make sense only to me.
About Me
30 year old male. Always with too many ideas in his head and too little time. For my 15 minutes of fame, I want to be a guest on the Late Show with David Letterman.
Interests
Movies, TV, cycling, computers, planted tanks, cherry shrimps, P2P legal issues, Manchester United, WWE, TNA, UFC, etc...
Disclaimer
Best viewed @ 1280*1024 or above. Views are expressed are mine and mine only, and are not meant to offend or influence anyone. Designed for readers with a sense of humour. If you can't laugh at yourself, you probably won't like my style of humour.
