2007.02.13 – 13.52 UTC+08 (Singapore Time)
In the criminal justice systems of the countries I have lived in (and given my server logs, most probably yours too) it’s not only accepted that you are innocent until proven guilty, it’s the law.
DRM, or digital restrictions management is a series of technological measures implemented by paranoid corporations to protect them from the biggest evil force in the world: consumers. Give a consumer the freedom to use the content in the way it was originally intended to be used and they’ll end up just ripping you off and not use your technology to use said content right? Horror of horrors!
This arrogant position of most media companies will be their undoing eventually, but in the meantime it just bugs me that they’re taking advantage of consumers and taking away our rights that are written in law and unwritten in common decency.
Steve Jobs from Apple even admitted that he wouldn’t be using DRM in iTunes if media companies were reasonable. I’m a tad skeptical, but at least he said that instead of nothing.
Now there seems to be some legitimate reasoning behind DRM. By theoretically preventing the copying of media they can protect themselves from piracy. The problem is DRM is rarely used for this purpose; instead of protecting themselves media companies seem instead to be using it so they can re-sell you the same content over and over again. Why let someone buy media to play on their TV, their portable media player, their phone and in their cars when you can sell it over again for each one?
But the part the really boils my blood is that by using DRM companies are sending out a clear message: they don’t trust us with their content. They assume we’re all out to destroy them, and that we have nothing but malicious intent. They’re treating us like little kids; it’s beyond contempt.
DRM: Guilty until proven innocent!
2006.11.15 – 20.04 UTC+08 (Singapore Time)
Don’t you think that would be a great show idea? Segway Cops! Chasing the bad guys down the streat, guns blazing, swear words being thrown everywhere and the cops on Segways! Where’s my television contract? Anyone want to licence it from me?
Actually just for fun I typed Segway into Google Image search and discovered that the Italian Police Force actually use Segways!
20-01-2006 - Segway: un veicolo elettrico per la sicurezza delle stazioni
I’m sure having people on Segways is much better than having them on smoke spewing petrol motorbikes too. You can read more on the official Italian Police Force website.
2006.09.07 – 12.20 UTC+08 (Singapore Time)
Support Bloggers’ Rights!
The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) is a non-profit advocacy and legal organization based in the United States with the stated purpose of being dedicated to preserving free speech rights such as those protected by the First Amendment to the United States Constitution in the context of today’s digital age.
Despite the fact I live in Australia, Malaysia and Singapore where technically the EFF has no “juristicition” so to speak, I feel this group still plays a critical role in the protection of free speech online, which is why I have placed an EFF badge on the sidebar.
If you want to support this noble group and its cause, the EFF has a spiffy gallery of badges you can put on your blog.
2006.08.12 – 05.51 UTC+08 (Singapore Time)
Our Starbucks is better than yours: keeping our cities distinctive
Author: Peter Spearritt
Date: 19 April 2006
Tourists are becoming more discerning and demanding about what makes a holiday destination desirable. Yet many developments are making our cities more uniform and homogenous. Peter Spearritt considers some of the difficulties facing the tourist industry in Australia.
Read the full article…
And Kerry’s rebuttal:
“… The more vibrant the economy of a city/town, the more likely it is to knock down its old buildings because they are a poor economic use of space and the more likely it is to attract McDonalds and Starbucks. A stagnant economy is actually what allows our history and “culture” to survive.
I suspect you can assess the economy of a town by seeing what phase of “homogeneity” has been achieved. First test: does it have a Coles or Woolworths? Second test: does it have a McDonalds? Third test: does it have a Starbucks?
So, while we might despair about the rise of homogeneity and the loss of historic buildings, the simple economic reality is that every time we drive to a large modern supermarket with its satellite chain stores surrounded by a large carpark to do our shopping (which almost all of us do), we are driving another nail into the coffin of historic buildings and our unique culture.”
2006.08.03 – 20.54 UTC+08 (Singapore Time)
I love reading the Jordy Blog by Jordan Gunderson, all his posts are informative and interesting and the design of his site is very slick… not like mine ;).
In particular I liked his response to the recent court ruling in the United States against companies that edit and distribute “clean” versions of modern Hollywood movies.
The skinny of it is that U.S. District Judge Richard Matsch ruled that the distribution of edited movies (which have been scrubbed of objectionable content) violates copyrights.
…
My response: “Thank you from protecting me from those malicious sanitizers! My children will finally be protected from accidentally viewing a nudity-free ‘Titanic’! Thanks to your bitter reluctance to give your paying-customers what they want, society can finally rid itself of the harmful effects that occur when children aren’t exposed to graphic violence and soft porn on a regular basis. Again, thank you Hollywood for looking out for me and mine!”
© Jordan Gunderson
Jordy Blog: Hollywood Hates You
Post to del.icio.us
