"J. Coon" wrote:
http://www.hitsquad.com/smm/news/535/?nl44
http://www.hitsquad.com/smm/news/534/#body
The RIAA, and the Motion Picture Academy have always been happy when
they were giving a free hand to do what ever they damn please. To a
large extent, that's the way it should be. In the US we live in a
capitalist country and if you don't like the practices of an
organization, you boycott.
Unfortunately, although strikes still go on, I haven't seen a good
boycott in years. Boycotts work. If enough people stop buying a
product, the person that they are boycotting against either comes to a
compromise or throws in the towel and closes shop.
The RIAA thing is really a minor thing compared to the drug industry and
the banks. Lets leave the banks out of this because one could argue
that since they do not directly affect the public's health and welfare,
they should be deregulated.
But the drug companies are another matter. Like anything in the health
provider area, here there must be more government intervention. This is
one of the exceptions to the "keep the government out of it rule, in my
opinion.
Drug companies have to be made to to realize (just as doctors and health
insurance companies do) that if they can not police themselves, the
government is going to have to take some steps.
If you want to charge $400 for an MD recorder that cost you $25 to make
go a head. But when they don't sell, that's the price the manufacture
pays. If you want to charge $17 got a blank MD that costs
you...
But health care and medication are an entirely different thing. As a
health care provider, if the government came to me and said, you are
going to have to treat some people who can not afford your fees a
reduced government subsidized fee, as long as I did not lose money, I
think that I would have to work out an agreement with the government.
I have never expected MP3 songs to be available totally free. If you
want that, go to the radio and copy the crap off of an FM broadcast in
analog (with the DJ talking through it and the ending usually cut off).
For quality MP3 digital songs, I think it is fair to pay a small
royalty.
BTW, I have played around with my Sharp MD-CD3 a little more. If you
are looking for the kind of quality that only ATRAC R will deliver and
plan to copy your CDs to MD and then eliminate your CDs (e.g.. sell them
on eBay), this might not be the system for you (just like any standard
portable with ATRAC 4 would not be either).
However, if you want decent sound quality to jog with or listen to in
your car, this is the way to go. You load 3 CDs and 3 blank MDs and
press CD to MD. Come back later and you have 3 digital copies of your
CDs.
You still have full editing and titling capability and can then go back
and add more much to each MD. Since this is not a Sony product, you
don't have to worry about end of search. Just place a different CD in
and hit copy again. It will be added to the MD without deleting the
songs on the MD.
Larry
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