------ Forwarded Message From: matthew patton <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Date: Mon, 9 Jan 2006 15:32:03 -0800 (PST)
IMO it makes a whole LOT more sense to use totally standard encoding schemes but just encrypt the file. Of course nothing is ever not going to get broken but seems to me a 'loadable module' could be made for MS' media player, iTunes, VLC etc. Or have a very small "Google Opener" binary that asks for credentials, decrypts the stream, launches the standard commercial player of choice and sends the decrypted output to a file-handle or pipe. I'm sure there is something akin to the Digital-Analog-Digital problem here too but does it really matter? NOTHING will ever deter those with so much time on their hands that they will do anything to rip for-pay content. And NOTHING will ever stop those who likewise have so much time on their hands as to go look for ripped content from getting it. Personally, I think it's high time the entertainment industry get it through their heads that what they produce is so unimportant and worthless it should be priced accordingly. An episode of a TV show is worth just about nothing. So it should cost the viewer about nothing. The only ones who actually think there is value in it are advertisers. And that will approach zero as the percentage of people who punch triple-fast forward on their DVR's perfect their key-press timing. In some respects, if $50/mo buys you 300 channels on cable then that's like 0.02cents a show. And if I put the show on the DVR, it can be replayed for different people over and over again with no additional income for the studios. Price it at 10 cents and not only do you get 500x the income than derived from cable, but you get the chance to charge it for each and every showing because Dave with his iPod will download a copy, and Steve will put the show on his laptop too. They'll probably watch it once, or twice then delete it. When Steve says "hey Jen you gotta see the latest LOST" he could hand her a burned DVD, do the Laplink, or give her a USB drive. And yes, a 'sale' would be lost. But Jen could just as easily want to download it herself to a device of her choice. Chalk up another sale. I don't know why the cable/ISP companies don't become the "DVR in the sky". Pay the $10/mo and download every show I care to to my computer or lacking that a set-top box which is actually nothing more than a computer anyway. Every customer that downloads a file becomes a torrent peer. Seems silly to me to have Comcast, BabyBells, RoadRunner et. al. all running fibre/copper alongside each other. Why dig up that street N times when once should have been enough? Why should the physical plant be a service differentiator? Maybe it should be like water mains and electricity lines - run by the municipality? I get the feeling the whole notion of wires is quickly going away, anyway. You are a subscribed member of the infowarrior list. Visit www.infowarrior.org for list information or to unsubscribe. This message may be redistributed freely in its entirety. Any and all copyrights appearing in list messages are maintained by their respective owners.
