The fight for the future of your entertainment is happening now (with or without you)

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SpangeMonkee

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This is a repost from somewhere else, but I thought it was such a good post that I asked the author if I could put it in other places so that it could be seen by more people. I also thought that this would be some informative reading for those building their own PVRs. Take your time and read it. Don't become complacent.

It struck me this weekend that most people have little if any knowledge about what steps the entertainment industry is taking in order to ensure their own survival. Are you even aware at how far some people are going to strip your rights and degrade the Frist Amendment in order to make a buck? Well now, you've come to the right place. Sit back, grab a cold beverage, and let's go over how in 2006 we're inching closer to 1984.

Now I know what you're thinking: "This sounds boring as hell". I know it all seems rather heavy, but I bring you CARTOONS! First, let's watch a little overview on the Digital Radio Audio Flag, the Broadcast Flag, and the Analog Hole.

Now that you've seen that, it sounds great doesn't it? The fun doesn't stop with "traditional media outlets"! We're going to extend it to your computer as well with the Trusted Computing(TM) model! YAY! What? You don't know what that is either? No problem, here's another fun little cartoon with an awesome soundtrack to inform you a little bit about trusted computing, DRM, and ICT. That video is amazingly well done. The song is "Hipdahop" by Simon Mahler if you care.

As if infecting your computer isn't enough, how about we throttle back on that brand spanking new FIOS service of yours unless you're using a service provided by your telco or thier business partners? That very well might happen if the battle for Network Neutrality is lost. You're in luck here. I not only have a cartoon on Net Neutrality, I also have a video of a ninja talking about Net Neutrality, and a more in-depth video for boring people like me.

Ok, I know what you're saying: "I don't watch TV, radio sucks, and I only use my computer for email. I play video games on my [insert-console-name-here], I don't give a crap about all this". Not so fast there, Sparky. What would you think if Congress was in charge of rating video games and deciding what you can and cannot play? Would you really want people who have never played a video game other than MS Solitaire and really have no concept what they are about to regulate your electronic entertainment? Well, its happening right now.

But I'm sure you're thinking this is all far off in the future. There's no need to worry about it now. I'm over reacting. Yeah, right. As already mentioned, Congress is debating video game ratings right now. They have already won in Lousiana by passing HB1381, which restricts the sales of video games. The next session to debate Net Neutrality (COPE Act) is June 22, 2006. That's this Thursday. Not only does it not fully protect Net Neutrality by still allowing for tiered pricing (COPE Act 2006, Title IX), it also includes riders that will enable the FCC to enforce the Broadcast Flag and the Digital Radio Audio Flag (COPE Act 2006, Title IV), require VOIP traffic to be identifible and therefore be open to throttling or blocking (COPE Act 2006, Title III), and it would forbid municple broadband service (COPE Act 2006, Title V) ! Don't think it will pass? The bill's "primary objective" is "to reduce the cost of calling home for U.S. military personnel stationed outside the United States in support of military operations, training exercises, or other approved purposes". Who wants to be seen voting against soldiers calling home? Think I'm kidding? Read S. 2686: Communications, Consumer's Choice, and Broadband Deployment Act of 2006 (aka COPE Act 2006) for yourself. Its not a joke.

What can you do?
  • Contact your state and national representatives and let them know how you feel. No, really. Your elected "leaders" have less of a clue as to what's really going on than your grandmother does about how to use a computer. They are being fed a line of crap by industry leaders who are only looking out for their company's bottom line. Order of effectiveness in communication : A face to face meeting > a hand written note > a phone call > a typed note (mailed or faxed) > email > online petition. I know you think one person doesn't make a difference, but in this day and age, the only people whispering in the ears of "leaders" are lobbyist. When a "leader" actually gets a legitimate communication from a constituant it is usually such a rarity that they actually take notice.
  • Stop supporting the RIAA and the MPAA. Its easy, the less money they have, the less power they have. Buy your CDs and movies used. Listen to internet radio. Buy CDs directly from the artist. Watch legal movies and shows online. Don't use services that propagate DRM (iTunes, Napster, Yahoo). There are some free download options out there if you just try harder to look for them. At least use a service that doesn't propagate DRM. The idea is to either stop using the goods and services that support them entirely or use the ones that produce the least amount of money going back to the RIAA/MPAA.
  • Stop stealing. If you think that the entertainment industry doesn't know that you're stealing, you must be high. While the original tactic to sue the pants off anyone and everyone has somewhat subsided, that doesn't mean they are paying any less attention. In fact, they are paying more attention as they move into phase 2 of their attack. It goes like this : they have whole troops of employees logging all the data they can to show how much piracy is taking place. Then they go to your elected officials and show them fancy graphs and charts based on this data demonstrating how "widespread the problem is"(TM)(C)(R). Laws like the ones above then get proposed. If you don't want to help, at least quit contributing to the firepower of the other side.
  • Tell someone else. Sounds simple, but it gets overlooked. How much of what's going on right now did you not know until you read this article? How much do you think your friends and family know? The more people know, the more likey they are to understand how stupid it is and rally against it.

Act now or you may end up seeing weird things pop up in your entertainment all the time.

If you read it all, you are now entitled to a deep fried, beer battered, bacon double cheese burger. Thank you.
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UPDATE : A Federal judge has issued an temporary injunction against the Lousiana law on violent video game sales.

http://www.2theadvocate.com/news/3192336.html
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UPDATE 2 : If you liked the info above, the following should make you downright livid. http://www.newnetworks.com/scandals.htm The author claims that Net Neutrality is the least of your problems ... apparently the Bells were given $2000 for every man/woman/child in the US to pull fiber to the home and they never did it. By his estimate, we should have internet speeds and pricing similar to that we hear about in Japan. Here is the synopsis of his 400 page e-book, which is also free to download : http://www.newnetworks.com/ShortSCANDALSummary.htm

I've only read over the summary, so I have no comment thus far. The only thing I can say is that his website is somewhat poorly worded and has a few spelling errors, which makes me wonder. For instance, he states Net Neutrality is hogwash, when in fact he supports it fully. He simply thinks that Net Neutrality is a drop in the bucket and that the entire PSTN should opened up because we essentially have paid for it several times over.
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I haven't had a chance to folow all the links, but this is good info for people that have no idea. I know about a good bit of the stuff, but not all. a couple of points that I want to comment on (of course).

video game ratings - I would love to see the same restrictions on games that we have on movies. a 14 year old can't rent/buy an R rated movie with cussing and violence, why should they be able to rent/buy a game with it? if their parents think they are mature enough to handle it, the parents can buy it for them. The ratings and restrictions only apply to the purchase of the games, not the play. When I was 15 and 16, I my dad would buy me the restricted contnet as long as he tought I could handle it. There are 2 groups that are pissed about the restricitons suggested. 1. underage kids 2.. parents that don't want to be troubled by being involved with what their kids are doing.

stealing - thank you for saying it. all the piraters are what is causing the copy pretection schemes. If we just bought the stuff, hollywood wouldn't have to protect it. I have a friend that bitches and moans about th protection schemes for movies. But the only reason he bitches is because it makes it harder for him to steal the movies. You don't see home invasion crews lobbying congress against new home alarms do you? Now I know that people will come back and say "I bought my movies, I should be able to do whatever I want with them". Not true. If you read the fine print, you bought rights to the disc, not the data on the disc. The movie companies paid millions for the rights to the data. Your not gettingit for $18.99 plus tax. I rip my movies for convenience, but if it comes down that I can't rip, I'll just buy a dvd jukebox. all of this appies to recorded TV too, excluding free over the air. I think if you are openly and freely broadcasting something, it should be unprotected. It is available to all, so why protect it?
 
Thanks for taking the time to alert us of this issue, I think it's one we should all be more concerned with. I'd have to agree with the OP and the above poster, the best way to fight this, is to support websites that don't offer DRM.
 
Since the mark up session for COPE is tomorrow, please C&P this to others, post it in other forums, and digg it.
 
I have to agree with IDversusEGO about the game situation. I see no problems, and actually applaud the idea of game stores being required to check ID before selling certain games. I would hope that would make today's parents (which I became a member of in March) to take a stronger interest in what their children are doing. Unfortunately, even with the restrictions I have a feeling that many parents will just pick up the game and give it to the kids without really looking at it (let alone trying it out).

Maybe I'm weird, but I was raised in a family that my parents always knew what I was doing. If I was reading a new book, they would ask me what it was. When I went to the library to check out books, they went with me, escpecially when I started getting into the young adult section (around 4th or 5th grade). When i wanted a new NES game my dad would sit down and play it with me at least the first couple times to make sure everything was okay. Finally, I never watched a movie at home that my parents were not watching with the remote in hand to turn off if anything inappropriate should appear on the screen.

The problem is that we practically have to have this sort of restriction to do the job that many of today's parents fail miserably at. Maybe if the parents took more time to pay attention to their children we wouldn't have this sort of legislation trying to be passed.

I can honestly say that I had fewer friends growing up due to some of the restrictions my parents placed on me such as wanting to know exactly where I was and not allowing me to go to parties if they had not talked to the other parents first (even in high school), but the friends I did have are the people that I keep in touch and had similar family values. My 3 month old daughter may not like it when she gets to be teenager, but she will get to follow many of the same "restrictions" that I grew up with because I believe that parents should know everything about their children that they can.
 
I have always been in favor of game ratings and their enforcement for the obvious reasons, but I am not in favor of the government having any role in it. It should be a voluntary thing that retailers do because it's the right thing to do. I can live with a store or two that does not comply in exchange for keeping federal regulation away from the industry. Movie ratings are not federally enforced and the system works - theaters and rental shops choose to enforce the ratings, many of them do, and they use it as a marketing point for parents. Government involvement in video game ratings/access would set a bad precedent for any other type of media.

The ESRB is on the right track, and maybe the threat of federal/state involvement would get game retailers to do a better job of enforcing an existing system that already works.
 
I see both your points on video games, but consider the Louisiana law in question

The law defines prohibited materials as those that an average person would conclude appeal to a youngster’s “morbid interest in violence,” depict violence “patently offensive” to adult standards and lack serious literary, artistic, political or scientific value. Violators face fines of up to $2,000 and/or one year in jail.
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Ok, who decides what is patently offensive?

We have ESRB. The problem isn't that the information isn't out there, the problem is that ESRB isn't enforced at retail and most parents don't care enough to keep up with what their kids are doing. If publishers agreed to stop providing games to shops that don't follow ESRB and check id's, then there wouldn't be problem. There is zero need for a vague law that can only open up the avenue to abuse.
 
You know what's starting to really piss me off? I sent this e-mail to all of my friends (all college students in an IST degree) and all of my coworkers (all working in the IT department of a Fortune 500 Company) and the response I get? "I'm not reading all that shit", "Sum it up for me", "I can't complain about this stuff until it happens." Seriously, WTF is wrong with America. Most people are too lazy to read a simple page of words or care about their future?
 
If you think that the entertainment industry doesn't know that you're stealing, you must be high.
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They know? :cool:

I applaud the efforts and inspirational speech, but I'm just depressed about the whole thing. Big Money is in bed with Big Brother, and they own all. Our 'leaders' are not in their positions to make moral decisions or even do what is right, they're just gears in the machine.

otoh, I do support indie artists, but that's mostly because retail media is crap.
 
I am nto sure about the rest of the community, but when I hear that a company has the confidence in its product to release it without protections (Galactic Civilizations), or with protections it knows can be broken (Oblivion), my respect for them increases substantially.
 
IDversusEGO said:
stealing - thank you for saying it. all the piraters are what is causing the copy pretection schemes. If we just bought the stuff, hollywood wouldn't have to protect it. I have a friend that bitches and moans about th protection schemes for movies. But the only reason he bitches is because it makes it harder for him to steal the movies. You don't see home invasion crews lobbying congress against new home alarms do you? Now I know that people will come back and say "I bought my movies, I should be able to do whatever I want with them". Not true. If you read the fine print, you bought rights to the disc, not the data on the disc. The movie companies paid millions for the rights to the data. Your not gettingit for $18.99 plus tax. I rip my movies for convenience, but if it comes down that I can't rip, I'll just buy a dvd jukebox. all of this appies to recorded TV too, excluding free over the air. I think if you are openly and freely broadcasting something, it should be unprotected. It is available to all, so why protect it?
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well i do disagree with the whole logic, i do see your point.

the point that people pirate stuff is because many things cost WAY too much. a dvd that costs $19 for extra features, alternate ending, the whole 9 yards basically, and then another dvd that has the movie and the trailer for the same $19. its ludicris.

some people like to make a copy of their movies because they have little kids. and we all know how destructive they can be. who wants a destroyed dvd? no one, but if the copy was destroyed, oh well, make a new copy and the original stays in good condition.
 
protias said:
well i do disagree with the whole logic, i do see your point.

the point that people pirate stuff is because many things cost WAY too much. a dvd that costs $19 for extra features, alternate ending, the whole 9 yards basically, and then another dvd that has the movie and the trailer for the same $19. its ludicris.

some people like to make a copy of their movies because they have little kids. and we all know how destructive they can be. who wants a destroyed dvd? no one, but if the copy was destroyed, oh well, make a new copy and the original stays in good condition.
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Well most new releases can be found for $15-16 week of release. Plus I buy all of my movies from the "previously viewed" bin for a little less. I have little kids and do the same as you. But I understand it is not my right to do so. I do it becuase I can. However, this isn't the behavior I was referring to primarily. I meant those guys that rip friends discs, rip rentals, and download illegal copies.
 
And there's no more hope for correcting that than there is preventing the Big Money connection. The end of days is among us.
 
Keetha said:
You know what's starting to really piss me off? I sent this e-mail to all of my friends (all college students in an IST degree) and all of my coworkers (all working in the IT department of a Fortune 500 Company) and the response I get? "I'm not reading all that shit", "Sum it up for me", "I can't complain about this stuff until it happens." Seriously, WTF is wrong with America. Most people are too lazy to read a simple page of words or care about their future?
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What's funny is that is a summary. It could have been an article 3 or 4 times that size, easily. There is simply too much going on right now to boil it down further.

The thing that pisses me off is that when you do try and summarize it further people a.) don't understand what you're talking about b.) don't believe what you're saying and ask for more documentation c.) don't care. I can't tell you how many times I've heard "no one is going to listen to me, why bother". Guess what? When the broadcast flag first came around I wrote to my representatives and I got a response. I have rewritten all of them now. None of them have any power on the committee to mark up COPE, but maybe they can influence friends on the committee or they'll remember how I feel when it comes time to vote on the bill in full. Doing nothing isn't an option here. Write your representatives and tell them why in a sane and non-profane way why you think this isn't a good idea. Digg the story so others read it. Bug Kyle to mention something about it on the front page. Whatever. Point is that it would really suck for us now and will suck more in the future. I can't even imagine what it would be like to be some anthropologist in the future trying to study our culture and not being able to learn anything because its all locked down and encrypted.
 
theacoustician said:
b.) don't believe what you're saying and ask for more documentation c.) don't care.
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Yeah, I got that :/.


theacoustician said:
Bug Kyle to mention something about it on the front page.
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Great idea, I'll get on it.


theacoustician said:
I can't even imagine what it would be like to be some anthropologist in the future trying to study our culture and not being able to learn anything because its all locked down and encrypted.
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LOL! But hopefully they'll be able to crack our encryptions pretty quick :).
 
theacoustician said:
I can't even imagine what it would be like to be some anthropologist in the future trying to study our culture and not being able to learn anything because its all locked down and encrypted.
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lol, never thought about that. that is pretty funny. can i use that for a sig someplace?
 
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