The Fool wrote:
Imagine that TV's have technology that tracks eye movements and recordsGlad there are still such low tech devices as books. Unless the chair will object to letting me sit down that is, in which case I'll go to the hammock in my garden or use the bed.... ;o)
the reflection in your eyes (they already have technology that can figure
out what you are looking at solely from reflections on eyes). Now
imagine that you cannot disable this big-brother device without disabling
the TV completely. Now imagine that in order to get the TV to show you
the programming you want, the device must first record you watching
twenty minutes of advertising propaganda, and that the TV won't show you
the programming you want to watch unless you do watch all twenty minutes
of the propaganda first. Now extend this to everything that the TV
shows, all programming, all games, all DVD movies, everything. All these
things described are likely to come about over the next few years. Most
of the technology I just described is in development.
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If all these things will happen eventually there will be that *one* clever entrepeneur who will grab a big market share by simply marketing a device that isn't as restrictive for less cost, or who will crack a code. and market that. It's been happening as long as there was technical development. As long as industry has been trying to force consumers into a single brand strangle bond, there have been clever businessman who tried to profit by offering ways out of that exclusiveness.
Lawyers, fighting contracts with unfair exclusiveness clauses.
Hackers, cracking programming codes.
Engineers, reverse engineering popular things, rebranding them.
Manufacturers, manufacturing cheaper then original parts.
Software engeneers offering cheaper software that does the same as the expensive original but at lower cost.
DVD region code cracks.
Illegal copies.
etc.
Untill now the human mind has always devised counter measures toward too restrictive conditions. It's a challenge many will take up, even in the future. Every system can be abused, every system can be dismantled, every system can be outmanouvered, every cleverly devised system can be replaces with something less complicated.
As for monopolies, if there is a market for it a monopoly will be broken. It might take time, sometimes it might take a lot of time but in the end it always happens. Even MS has to watch their back now and again.
Sonja :o) GCU: Puzzles and new ideas
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