|
Show Posts
This section allows you to view all posts made by this member. Note that you can only see posts made in areas you currently have access to.
Topics - Demosthenes
Pages: 1 ... 5 6 7 8 9 [10] 11 12
226
« on: April 12, 2004, 11:46:09 AM »
This has been brought up before, I'm sure, but I was recently thinking about this again. I recently interviewed for a new job and I think if I get it, I'm going to reward myself by getting a new desktop machine. And I'm sorely tempted to purchase one of these: "Latte" Mini PCThe specs are really cool, considering its size. - Intel Pentium-4 2.4Ghz processor with 533MHz FSB
- 512 MB DDR333 RAM installed
- 60GB Hard drive installed
- 24x/10x/24x/8x DVD/CD-RW combo drive
- SiS 651/962 chipsets
- Integrated video with 64MB shared memory. Supports up to 1600 by 1200 with 16 million colors.
- Built-in 16-bit stereo (sound blaster / Adlib compatible)
- Two 184-pin DDR slots (1 open), user upgradeable to 2GB
- Four USB 2.0 ports (two front, two back)
- Three Firewire ports (one front, two back)
- VGA port
- One 3.5mm Micro-phone in port
- One 3.5 mm line out port (using Active Speaker)
- One S Video and AV video port
- One 6 pin PS/2 mouse port
- One 6 pin PS/2 keyboard port
- One printer port
- Built-in 56k faxmodem RJ11 port
- One SPDIF port
- 10/100 LAN connector
- No operating system installed.
- Weight: approx. 4 lbs
- Dimensions: 8" x 6" x 2.5"
- Manufacturer Warranty: 1 year [/list:u]
I'm thinking if I get one of these, I can retire my current desktop machine permanently. It's a PIII 450mHz with 384mb of RAM and I'm dual booting Windows 2000 and Slackware 9.1 Linux on it (but mostly I hang around in Slackware... I haven't booted into Windoze on it for about a month and a half, and even that was just because I tweaked some hardware and wanted to make sure everything still worked in both OSes).
I'm thinking that by retiring my current desktop PC, I will open up enough space in my computer cabinet that I'll be able to put my printer in there and out of the way, since the mini-PC is small enough to put on my desk next to my monitor without too much headache.
Plus, since it comes with no OS, I'm not paying for a fricken XP license I'll never use (that really pissed me off about the laptop I bought last year). 
I figure I'll just partition the 60gb hard drive out to 10 gigs for Windows 2000, 3 gigs for Slackware Linux root (which should be way more than enough), 3 gigs for Linux home, and 44 gigs FAT32 for data, shared between Linux and Windows.
And at $1,269.99 I think the price is right. 
227
« on: April 09, 2004, 11:31:31 AM »
I heard the original song on the radio yesterday and for whatever reason, this just practically wrote itself.
Sung to the tune of The Who's "My Generation"
Regeneration
People try to put us d-down (Talkin' 'bout regeneration)
Just because we troll around (Talkin' 'bout regeneration)
Things we do look awful c-c-cold (Talkin' 'bout regeneration)
I won't die 'cuz I'm a troll (Talkin' 'bout regeneration)
This is regeneration
This is regeneration, baby
Why don't you all h-hack away (Talkin' 'bout regeneration)
And don't try to burn our skin away (Talkin' 'bout regeneration)
I'm not talkin' 'bout retaliation (Talkin' 'bout regeneration)
I'm just talkin' 'bout re-g-g-g-generation (Talkin' 'bout regeneration)
This is regeneration
This is regeneration, baby
Why don't you all s-slash away (Talkin' 'bout regeneration)
And don't throw acid in my face (Talkin' 'bout regeneration)
I'm hungry enough for s-s-salivation (Talkin' 'bout regeneration)
I'm just talkin' 'bout re-g-g-generation (Talkin' 'bout regeneration)
This is regeneration
This is regeneration, baby
People try to put us d-down (Talkin' 'bout regeneration)
Just because we t-t-troll around (Talkin' 'bout regeneration)
Things they do look awful c-c-cold (Talkin' 'bout regeneration)
Yeah, I won't die 'cuz I'm a troll (Talkin' 'bout regeneration)
This is regeneration
This is regeneration, baby
What have you other gamer geeks got?
228
« on: April 08, 2004, 02:16:54 PM »
From here: To fight piracy, the industry has begun suing the most prolific online music swappers. The legal clampdown, which started in the United States and recently spread to Europe and Canada, will become a global initiative, the IFPI said last week. .... which will cause sales to plummet even further because of consumer backlash, fallout from a PR nightmare the industry is creating for themselves.  I just don't get it. I mean, if I were a major label, I'd be interested in one main thing: making moneyThis doesn't seem to be the way to do it. Inciting industry-wide boycotts, suing your own customers, driving away the few people left who are actually buying your product... none of these things seem to be a very lucrative way to conduct business.
229
« on: April 08, 2004, 11:57:53 AM »
Ran across this gem this morning. I think I'm gonna try me some downloadin' of a bunch of these tonight when I get home. Particularly "Roadwar 2000"... I used to love that stupid game. The-Underdogs.orgW A R N I N G :Site loads extremely slow. Be patient.
230
« on: April 07, 2004, 04:24:29 PM »
LinkageNext time Earth's magnetic field flips, compass needles will point South instead of North. But scientists can't say when it will occur, and until now they've disagreed on how long the transitions take.
A new study pins down how long it took for the last four reversals to play out. It also finds that the dramatic turnarounds occur more quickly nearer the equator than at higher latitudes closer to the poles.
That means folks living during the next reversal -- which some scientists speculate might be underway -- will see compasses change and behave differently in different locations, study leader Brad Clement, of Florida International University, told SPACE.com. Great. As if my sense of direction wasn't bad enough already. 
231
« on: April 06, 2004, 10:55:40 AM »
I ran across a link to this site on Wired and I thought that it was pretty interesting. Looks like The Smoking Gun has some competition: The Memory Hole
232
« on: April 02, 2004, 09:36:09 AM »
I'll take Shakespeare for 1000, Alex.
Duct tape won't fix that.
Come to think of it, I'll have a Heineken.
We don't keep firearms in this house.
Has anybody seen the sideburns trimmer?
You can't feed that to the dog.
I thought Graceland was tacky.
No kids in the back of the pickup, it's just not safe.
Wrasslin's fake.
Honey, did you mail that donation to Greenpeace?
We're vegetarians.
Do you think my gut is too big?
I'll have grapefruit and grapes instead of biscuits and gravy.
Honey, we don't need another dog.
Who's Richard Petty?
Give me the SMALL bag of pork rinds.
Too many deer heads detract from the decor.
Spittin' is such a nasty habit.
I just couldn't find a thing at Walmart today.
Trim the fat off that steak.
Cappuccino tastes better than espresso.
The tires on that truck are too big.
Unsweetened tea tastes better.
Would you like your salmon poached or broiled?
My fiance, Bobbie Jo, is registered at Tiffany's.
I've got two cases of Zima for the Super Bowl.
Little Debbie snack cakes have too many fat grams.
Checkmate.
She's too young to be wearing a bikini.
Does the salad bar have bean sprouts?
Hey, here's an episode of "Hee Haw" that we haven't seen.
I don't have a favourite college team.
I believe you cooked those green beans too long.
Those shorts ought to be a little longer, Darla.
Nope, no more for me. I'm drivin' tonight.
233
« on: April 01, 2004, 01:12:11 PM »
LinkageI'm a night owl. Incurably so. I've tried everything. My body clock will never, ever adjust... it doesn't matter what hours I work. When it comes down to it, my body thinks that somewhere between 3am and 5am is bedtime, and somewhere between 11am and 1pm my body decides that's when it is time to wake up. And I have been this way for as long as I can remember (which is pretty much back to when I was 2 or 3 years old). What that means to me is that even when exhausted, I can go to bed at 9:00pm and I won't be sleeping in any meaningful fashion until at least 3 in the morning. Since I have to get up around 6:45am or so in order to get ready for work on time, that means that during the week, I'm usually getting an average of 3 hours or less sleep per night. I've had a sleep study done, and I'm told that I'm not functioning very well on less than 8 hours a night; this means that by the time Friday rolls around most weeks, I'm dealing with a pretty major "sleep debt" (as it's known), which is why most of the time after I get home on most Friday nights, I'm pretty much useless, as I've racked up about 20 to 25 hours of sleep debt over the course of five nights. Most Friday evenings I am cranky (to say the least) and not interested in doing anything other than being left alone. Think of how you are after being awake for 20 to 25 hours straight. That's how I feel all the time, getting worse and worse as the week progresses. Usually by most Friday nights, I'm practically incoherent. I've tried everything most doctors can think of, including most of the stuff they talk about in that article, like forcing myself to stick to a schedule -- that just makes it worse if it's a schedule that has me getting up before 11am at the earliest. Melatonin (also recommended in that article) does absolutely nothing for me. Light therapy, other medications, you name it. If I go to bed before 3:00am, I toss and turn, regardless of how tired I may be. I'm also something known as a "slow sleeper", meaning that if I do manage somehow to get to sleep before 3:00am, it takes me about an hour at a minimum to get to that state, and even then, the very slightest thing will wake me up... and it takes at least another hour for me to get back to sleep. Stronger medications put me to sleep earlier than that, and more deeply, but I wake up just as tired at 6:45am as I do when I'm not medicated, so I don't bother with stuff like valium or other sleep aids. I just need to find myself another job that lets me work evening hours again. I used to have one... it was great! I didn't use an alarm clock, I was always rested and refreshed. Now I'm never rested and refreshed. I don't even catch up completely on weekends. About the only time I ever do catch up is if I take a week off from work and do nothing but stay home and sleep in every day. Feh. I guess it's true what they say.... there really is no rest for the wicked.  So, what about you guys?
234
« on: March 26, 2004, 04:55:57 PM »
I'm too tired to come up with any good rants lately.
Maybe I should write a rant about being too tired to rant?
235
« on: March 23, 2004, 05:16:29 PM »
I'm still in the process of replacing my aging cassette collection with CDs. The best way I've found to do that is to shop at my local CD Warehouse, where I can pick up used CDs that are guaranteed not to skip, and only pay between $5.99 and $10.00 for them apiece. Lately I've been on an Anthrax and Flotsam & Jetsam kick, so recently I picked up these gems there: - Anthrax: Persistence Of Time
- Anthrax: Among The Living
- Anthrax: The Sound Of White Noise
- Flotsam & Jetsam: Cuatro[/list:u]
What have you bought lately where music is concerned?
I highly recommend used CD shops if you have decent ones in your area... you get the full deal, but usually at about half the price of buying new, plus you get the added satisfaction of not paying those pigs in the RIAA any more money than they've already made on that album.
Personally, I think I'm moving on to replacing my old Ramones and Suicidal Tendencies tapes next. I've been jonesin' for that stuff, and I have no cassette deck in my car.
236
« on: March 18, 2004, 12:49:29 PM »
I'm so glad I moved out of the city of St. Cloud, Minnesota. I was just poking around in some current events type stuff regarding city business, and I ran across something those idiots just snuck in recently. Section 700; 12 of the St. Cloud ordinance code states that: No person shall leave any vehicle of any kind parked upon any street or municipal parking lot for periods of more than 24 hours. Vehicle must be moved and re-parked a distance of at least 900 feet (three city blocks) to be considered moved.  Either somebody didn't think that one through, or this is just another fine example of a city passing ridiculous ordinances just to drum up more money from fining an otherwise law-abiding populace. According to the rest of this ordinance, an officer can tag a car at any time. Once the car has been tagged it has to be parked three city blocks away to prevent being towed. A guy I work with has already tangled with this stupid law. Like thousands of other residents of the city, he has no driveway. He parks on the street. In front of his house. Year round. Cop drives by house, sees car there at 8pm. Drives by the next evening, sees same car there at 8pm. Tags car. Drives by next evening, sees same car there again, has it towed for violating the ordinance. He then had to go to the stupid city impound lot, pay a fine, and then go back and make sure he parked three city blocks away from his house in a different spot every night from then on. What's really funny is that the assholes that passed this ordinance apparently didn't tell anyone except law enforcement. The only mention it got was buried in tiny, 4 point text in the middle of an entire page of city business that they publish in the local paper. Apparently even the St Cloud commissioner of parking was unaware of it when that co-worker of mine called his office to complain about the ridiculous nature of this ordinance. Nice.
237
« on: March 18, 2004, 11:19:49 AM »
Okay, I own a cell phone, but I'm not one of those people that can be seen talking on the damn thing 24/7, rain or shine, indoors, outdoors, driving, and pissing in the men's room at the local pub. I'm just not a cell phone kind of guy. My current plan gives me something like 300 minutes a month and I have never, in almost four years of having it, gone anywhere near approaching that amount. HOWEVER... This is something I could get used to. Think about it. In just a few short years, WiFi technology could conceivably improve to the point where cell phone technology is now, where basically if you're in a populated area, there's a signal. Combine that with VOIP, and we may be seeing people wearing little communications devices like this. I could see something like this working well with an individual user account set up with pre-configured lists of other users on your "buddy" list with whom you can open a connection at will via voice recognition/name recognition (by touching the button and speaking the person's name). If their device is on, and if they're in a covered area, you're talking to them... simple as that. Like a cell phone, you would obviously be able to turn something like this off (like while at work, or in a theater, or whatever). I think it would be conceivable to even have the batteries on such a device charged kinetically, like some watches... but that would depend greatly on the power requirements. Anyway, I just thought it was kind of an interesting idea. I could see some good applications for it. I could also see some really annoying applications for it, but you're gonna get that with just about anything.
238
« on: March 15, 2004, 09:13:42 AM »
We picked up the new puppy on Saturday morning. She's a 9 week old Pembroke Welsh Corgi whom we have named "Dot". Here are some pics of the little scamp:   
239
« on: February 24, 2004, 05:25:37 PM »
I was originally going to just PM Pb about this, but I figured some of you other lowlifes might have some ideas as well.  I am looking for vintage 80's metal band t-shirts. I have a few specific ones in mind, but at this point I'm just curious to see if there are any vintage t-shirt retailers that have an online presence at all. Not new ones, mind you... I'm not interested in buying a "vintage style" Iron Maiden shirt that just came hot out of a factory in China. I'm interested in buying t-shirts that were actually made in the 1980's. Particularly tour/concert shirts. I've just spent an hour Googling around looking for such things online, and I've found that either my Googling skills aren't up to snuff or there just isn't much out there. Anyone have any ideas?
240
« on: February 19, 2004, 04:03:37 PM »
Hey Chris... what gives?
241
« on: February 13, 2004, 02:30:17 PM »
I just wanted to post my latest Fluxbox screenshot: Clicky clickyI'm really digging this Fluxbox thing. Very fast, only runs what you tell it to run, and 100% customizable. I also found something similar that I've been running on my Windows 2000 laptop: BB4WinSlick. 
242
« on: February 13, 2004, 11:15:56 AM »
Who left teh Idiot Faucet running in teh Geekery (OMFGLOL!!1) again? I just walked in here in socks and stepped squarely in several huge steaming piles of Stupid.
243
« on: February 11, 2004, 11:57:33 AM »
Thinking out loud here.
I've never been one to watch my weight. I have a pretty good metabolism.
That changed slightly back in 2000, when I quit smoking. Take nicotine out of the equation and metabolism slows a bit.
Add to that the fact that I'm not getting any younger.
End result?
I'm about 10 pounds heavier now than I was before I quit smoking. Not too bad, I figure. It could have been a lot worse. My natural metabolism is still pretty good, plus, I do get some exercise, and I make a conscious effort to eat less than I used to.
I'm pretty much steady at 160 pounds. At my height and build, that's a pretty healthy weight.
I don't think about it much. My cholesterol is always measured well into the "healthy" range, so I don't watch that kind of stuff. My heart's good, I don't smoke anymore, so I don't have that to worry about. No family history of obesity, heart disease, cancer, or much else to worry about.
Even though I don't pay much attention to my weight, I do step on the bathroom scale occasionally and check in, so to speak.
Last week I weighed myself and noted with mild surprise that instead of saying the usual "160", it said "155".
This morning I weighed myself again and noted with even more surprise that it said "150". A completely different scale (a shipping scale we have here where I work) corroborated that, so I know it's not just my scale malfunctioning.
I've lost around ten pounds recently, and I have no idea how or why. I'm not any more stressed than usual, so I doubt that that's it. I haven't altered the two other main factors (caloric intake and exercise) to my knowledge, and I feel fine.
Sudden weight loss isn't normal for me though, so now I'm all paranoid.
</rambling>
244
« on: February 02, 2004, 02:35:48 PM »
245
« on: January 29, 2004, 10:35:40 AM »
A part of me thinks this is really cool, and yet another part of me finds it strangely distasteful: XPDEReally cool in that I'm impressed at what these guys have done in the interest of making something that Windows users won't shy away from or be able to legitimately point at and say "I don't want to use Linux because I don't want to learn an entirely new interface". Strangely distasteful in that I don't think XP is very nice to look at or use in any OS. Part of me wants to say "if you're so dead-set on using Windows XP, just use Windows XP". Know what I mean?
246
« on: January 27, 2004, 12:50:03 PM »
<rant>
Okay, here's an idea I've been kicking around to approach the problem with politics in the United States these days.
The biggest problem is MONEY.
Politicians in the US make their decisions on policy, prospective laws, taxes, funds for pet projects, et cetera in the following order of preference:
1) Who they get their money from, so they can have a huge presence in the next election (corporations)
2) Who they get their money from, so they can have a huge presence in the next election (other organizations/groups)
3) Who they can do lots of favors for that they know will vote for them in the next election (religious zealots, women, minorities, other people to pander to)
4) People they actually represent (i.e., their actual constituents).
This is a problem. #4 should be #1, and #'s 1 and 2 shouldn't even be on the board.
Now don't get me wrong here... I understand that politicians need an enormous amount of money to run for office.
But do they?
I see a company contribute $3,000,000 to a candidate's campaign and I don't see the political process in action. I see bribery.
It's easy to see because of the laws these people enact... it's quite clear where their priorities lie. They lie with those who fund their campaigns, well and above all else.
I propose we outlaw bribery in our political system. Period.
By that, I mean that corporations and organizations (i.e., "special interest groups", such as the NRA, MADD, the American Family something-or-other that's always trying to get video games and R-rated movies outlawed, et cetera) should not be permitted to contribute money, favors, or any other gifts to people running for public office, or people currently serving in such a position.
BUT WHAT ABOUT THE FIRST AMENDMENT!!!!? you might ask in shock.
This doesn't violate the First Amendment. Corporations and special interest groups are not individuals. The Bill of Rights only refers to people as individuals. Individual people can have rights.
Individual people can still contribute money if they want to. As is their right.
But no more of Congress making crap like the DMCA because their pockets are lined by the entertainment industry. No more of the soft environmental laws because of pockets being lined by companies that insist on polluting our air and water.
Do I sound like a Green yet? Hardly. One of the main reasons I don't like companies contributing to political campaigns is because it then causes politics to play favoritism to those companies, which upsets the free market.
In short, it's bad for business, and for the economy as a whole.
Discuss.
</rant>
247
« on: January 21, 2004, 11:06:46 AM »
So, do any of you guys use Fluxbox ( site)? I've been messing around with it more lately. It's quick like Blackbox and Windowmaker, and once you figure out how to customize menus it's pretty easy to use. I don't have any screenshots yet, but there isn't much to look at anyway... I like it pretty barebones. My desktop under Fluxbox looks about as exciting as this one (screenshot from the Fluxbox site): clicky
248
« on: January 20, 2004, 11:42:53 AM »
LinkySHANGHAI, China - A Shanghainese couple has sued their former high school over images of them kissing in a video on "irregular behavior," saying they were mocked by other students because of it, a local newspaper reported Tuesday.
Wei Gang and his girlfriend, who wasn't named, have demanded 5,000 yuan (about US$600) in compensation for mental anguish and a public apology from Fuxing High School, where they graduated last year, the Shanghai Daily reported. News flash, you two. If people are making fun of you and taunting you and insulting you, it's probably got more to do with the fact that you went to Fuxing High School, and less to do with you being caught on tape kissing your girlfriend...
249
« on: January 16, 2004, 12:11:51 PM »
Okay, here's the deal. Some of you may be familiar with my " Brotherhood of the Nine" HackMaster thread over on HN that I was using to blather on and on about the side campaign I started running for my cousin and my brother-in-law. I have a good plot developed for them right now... they're working for Lord Sorsho (a Brotherhood bigwig) and are about to embark on their mission to start hijacking his enemy's lucrative smuggling operations to let the enemy know who's boss in this area. That's all well and good. It's a good plot, and I have some fun twists planned for them, and it'll take them up a few levels by the time they're done with it. Once they're done with that, I'm sending them back to a little, out-of-the-way village to the east of their present location so that they can work on how they lost their memories, and perhaps learn a little more about their own backgrounds. In that quest they'll be taking on a nasty magic user (who was responsible for their amnesia), and they'll find out the unfortunate truth: their memories are lost for good. However, in the process of this quest, they will... uh.... run across something, that will lead them to the next plot... which is something. I'm not sure yet. Here's what I have in mind, big-picture: The campaign setting they are operating in is a homebrew one of my own, called Wyndfyre. It has a long, convoluted, very in-depth history, and to make a long story short, for the past 600 years (since the very destructive "War of Tolyk"), there have been some very distinct absences from this place: - Dwarves were wiped out, though a good number of them (entire clans, in some cases) managed to escape to another plane through some portals right before the big destruction happened. Currently in Wyndfyre, no dwarves are left.
- Halflings are almost extinct. Their primary homeland was razed, and all that remains of the little folk are scattered groups of nomadic halflings, mostly living in fear in a gigantic forest in the center of the continent. In the past five or six generations, they have forgotten where they came from, and live like barbarians, shunning outsiders and keeping to the shadows
- Dragons have disappeared completely, with one exception. One remains, named "Bylzlym". He is a Red Dragon of extreme age and power... he's over 9,000 years old, and doesn't do much anymore. He's been asleep for the past 250 years and doesn't get out much. Nobody is quite sure what happened to the rest of the dragons in Wyndfyre, but one thing is known for sure: before the War of Tolyk they were numerous, and mighty. Since the War, they have not been seen. Speculation is whatever claimed the dragons in Wyndfyre wiped them out completely, but left Bylzlym because of how powerful he is if disturbed.[/list:u]My plans eventually include the dwarves coming back and reclaiming the areas they once ruled. This will cause some havoc, but it's a ways down the road yet, so I'm not going to deal with it quite yet.
More immediately, the dragons are going to be returning to Wyndfyre. The above is just what players/characters know. The reality of the situation was that while many dragons were destroyed in the War of Tolyk, the rest of them were put into hibernation by a god that didn't want to see them lost completely... in part because he has his own purposes for them later on, when the time is right.
The god who sent them into a 600 year sleep can wake them, but he won't, not yet. One other can wake the rest of the dragons, and that is Bylzlym himself.
My current idea involves sending the characters on the "Brotherhood" campaign to Bylzlym to convince him to awaken the dragons.
But why?
Currently, the continent of Wyndfyre is spiraling downward into a perpetual state of chaos and turmoil. The powerful head of the Divine Council (a god named Tolyk) has ignored his duties and has allowed things to come to the current situation, which is leading headlong down a path of anarchy. Armies are massing, prophecies are being fulfilled, wars are a-brewing, et cetera.
Dragons coming back at this time will only cause MORE chaos and problems for everybody.
What would prompt the need for the character party to go on a quest to bring them back? What will this accomplish?
In other words, I need a hook for this one. I have the rest of the plot worked out, and I know where I want to eventually go with it, but I don't know what I should do to get things rolling.
Any ideas?
250
« on: January 15, 2004, 01:43:43 PM »
... from the mistakes of its American counterparts. LinkyYeates said the legal crackdown would be "proportional," suggesting the BPI would, as the RIAA has in America, go after those who distribute the most songs and leave the occasional file-sharer alone. But he neglects to notice that it hasn't helped lagging CD sales here, and it probably won't there, either. Consumers don't like to be treated like criminals. Sue your customers, and as a result your customers stop buying things from you AT ALL. Then you will have happen there what's happening here: Instead of people buying fewer CD's, they end up boycotting and buying none. Some is still better than none, guys. Oh, and no amount of suing will stop file sharing. It'll just happen somewhere you aren't looking. And as soon as you start watching that area, it'll move on to some place else, or with other means. And your CD sales will still suck. He also hinted legal enforcement would not start until after new industry-backed music download services, such as Apple's iTunes and Napster, make their European debut later this year. Which are so soaked and besotted with DRM that anyone who realizes it after purchasing a few songs won't be likely to be a repeat customer, if they know what's good for them. If I pay as much for a crappy-quality songs online as I do to just buy the CD in a regular brick-and-mortar store, I expect to be able to use them anywhere I want, like a regular CD. But with things like ITMS, you end up having to re-rip things if you do the pay-to-burn option, and quality then gets even worse than where it started out. For the same amount of money as if I were to just go buy the CD off the shelf and be able to rip it wherever and however I like? No thanks. If the industry-backed services prove a hit with consumers and piracy levels tail off, he said, legal steps may not be necessary.
The music industry blames file-sharing services such as Kazaa and Grokster for creating a massive black market of free songs on the Internet that is crippling CD sales. Oh, I'm sure that's it. Not a smaller selection of artists being promoted now? Not lower quality of product? Not a consumer base that's more tech-savvy than most recording exec's can understand? Read between the lines here, guys: online file trading will never go away. And the more you fight it -- instead of embracing it -- the worse your sales will get. Accept it.
Pages: 1 ... 5 6 7 8 9 [10] 11 12
|
