Schneier tells it like it is

[ciphergoth]

Every time I write about the impossibility of effectively protecting digital files on a general-purpose computer, I get responses from people decrying the death of copyright. "How will authors and artists get paid for their work?" they ask me. Truth be told, I don't know. I feel rather like the physicist who just explained relativity to a group of would-be interstellar travelers, only to be asked: "How do you expect us to get to the stars, then?" I'm sorry, but I don't know that, either.

http://www.counterpane.com/crypto-gram-0108.html

Comments

Damn good quote

[bootpunk.livejournal.com]

Well, the first question could be answered (music biz PoV) "If their fans want more music, and we educate them as to the realities of the music business, then the fans will cough up even if they *could* get it for free. Plus there are live shows and T-shirts". [1]

Sadly, despite my MSc in Astronautics, I can't offer an answer to the second. Unless our physics is broken, but thats more Kitty than me ... ten dimensional string theory anyone?

1: Altho' the fans may not quite be so inclined to see their idols become multi-millionaires, and the record company execs fly around in private jets.

The real frustration

[ex-meta.livejournal.com]

The really frustrating thing -- for me at least -- is seeing the entertainment industries pull stupid shit like adding intentional data errors to music CDs to "stop them being copied", when it degrades the data, and you know it'll be cracked within five minutes of the first few "protected" CDs hitting CD ripper authors' hands.

Similarly, it bothers me that one of the reasons I don't have widescreen HDTV yet is that movie producers want an uncrackable copy protection system. (Their latest attempt was cracked last week, as you probably know.)