On Jan 7, 2005, at 11:59 AM, Marcin Wichary wrote:
If you break a physical CD the record labels make you buy another one. If I lose a paperback book, I can't just waltz into the nearest B&N, snag another copy and back out without paying for it again....
Comparing physical CDs/books to files (where the content is decoupled from the medium) doesn't make much sense, therefore I'm not even gonna comment on this.
Excuse me? Simply decoupling the data from the medium does not impose an obligation on the seller to provide a replacement copy of the data in perpetuity.
That was my point.
I think people are assuming a false dichotomy between downloads and 'physical' music.
In reality, whether you buy a CD or you download an album from ITMS, or even a book, you're paying for the same thing: one copy of the data contained within the medium.
After all, the material costs of a book are pretty much the same, whether it's a $300 textbook or a $14.95 potboiler. A CD is a CD is a CD whether it has Britney Spears or Beethoven on it.
In the download case the medium is wherever you store it, and unlike books you can make a functionally identical backup copy of the data.
That doesn't change the fact that you paid for *a* copy of the data with specific usage rights.
The medium you purchased the data in is largely irrelevant within the context of the contract between the purchaser and seller.
The complications with electronic data all come regarding the ease of reproducing the data by the purchaser, something that was some problem with CD's and is an acute problem with electronic copies. (A problem, that is, from the point of view of the publisher.)
I find it ironic that people disparage Apple for their 'restrictive' DRM, when it's far, far more open than CD's or books.
After all, how many books come as 5 complete hardbound copies, and unlimited portable paperback copies?
That's what you get with ITMS music. (at the very moment, I'm copying, legally, my entire music collection to my wife's powerbook.)
-- Bruce Johnson University of Arizona College of Pha cy Information Technology Group
Institutions do not have opinions, merely customs
-- G-Books is sponsored by <http://lowendmac.com/> and...
Small Dog Electronics http://www.smalldog.com | Refurbished Drives | -- Check our web site for refurbished PowerBooks | & CDRWs on Sale! |
Support Low End Mac <http://lowendmac.com/lists/support.html>
G-Books list info: <http://lowendmac.com/lists/g-books.html> --> AOL users, remove "mailto:"; Send list messages to: <mailto:G-Books@mail.maclaunch.com> To unsubscribe, email: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> For digest mode, email: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subscription questions: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Archive: <http://www.mail-archive.com/g-books%40mail.maclaunch.com/>
--------------------------------------------------------------- iPod Accessories for Less at 1-800-iPOD.COM Fast Delivery, Low Price, Good Deal www.1800ipod.com ---------------------------------------------------------------
