I write this blog unfortunately because there seems to be an overwhelmingly foolish populace out there who shouldn't own computers. I have a friend who has been arguing with me over the legality of downloaded music from LimeWire.
I asked him, "Did you pay for any of the music"?
His response, "No! But, how do you know that LimeWire doesn't have a deal to allow the music to be shared?"
I followed, "Have you paid anything to LimeWire?"
His response, "No! Leave me alone!" and he hung up.
Later in an email he added, "Ever borrowed an album from a buddie who loaned it to you so that you could dubb it? I don't dub to sell this music. I see limewire as a buddie with lots of albums and he's loaning them to me. Why do they made stereos with recording capability??"
While the question would seem logical, I responded but I'll save you that diatribe. I'd like to hear yours.
Now, some of you out there are illegally copying music, software and many other things. I have done my share of copying to which I have made restitution and have been paying for the products I own. But, are things really free? I have repaired several machines that were hacked, and infected with viruses and spyware; all because the user needed to have Kazaa or Limewire running on their machine. My services now come with a charge! Some of you can be so wise as to have a firewall. Yet, it does squat when the file sharing program installs a hole in your firewall in order for it to work. Plus, how much data and information is being collected from your system unwillingly? Oh, yeah, I used to program my machines to crash and deteriorate all data when accessed illegally because I had the code memorized. Too much code now to memorize so I have at least three (3) levels of firewall technology running on my systems.
What about Blogspot.com? Yes, it's free (thank God!), yet at what price? How much data is gathered from just one of our sites? Isn't funny to know that we who wish to protect or civil liberties are allowing agencies like the NSA, BATFE, FBI & such to compile several profile schemes based off of our personalities? We're making the jobs for the criminal profilers all the easier. If you have nothing to hide, there's nothing to worry about. What about signing up for free email or online dating services (they work!)? You are putting out there information for even hackers to enjoy because you answered those "harmless" demographic questions. Secret questions for many of these sites are strikingly similar to what would be required of your financial institutions. How strange???? People still put their social security number or birthdate information in their stinking userids, email addresses, password and wonder why people seem to "know" them. HELLO RETARD! YOU TOLD THEM EVERYTHING THEY WANTED TO KNOW!
I'm sorry for the outburst. Just working in computers for over 15 years, I have seen some retarded things like people pasting their passwords on the monitor for the world to see. I am one of the most anal people you will meet when it comes to security. I am probably more anal than the NSA. But, that's just me.
So, in conclusion. Before you eagerly accept the next new thing: Go to Condition Orange (see Boston's Gun Bible 4/8) and check your rear; no matter who it's from; even me!
Your spelling and grammar suck. Are you sure English is your first language?
ReplyDeleteSince the rest of your readers weren't privy to our phone conversation the other day, I'll add a more on-topic note. This argument reminds me of the battle Pharmaceutical companies have. They spend millions to develop a drug; there's R&D, the salaries of the scientists working on developing a workable drug, you name it. Then, thanks to the raw deal given them by the FDA, their patent runs out after (I think) a decade, at which time another company begins producing the same drug--but at a fraction of the cost! How can they do this? Because they don't have all that capital tied up in research and development like the original manufacturer does. They also don't have the means to develop new drug technology, so when there is a new need, the cycle starts all over again, with the manufacturing companies' profits steadily declining because our society is infected with the Wal-Mart mentality that you can get top-quality for bottom-dollar. For crying out loud, I suck at math, and even *I* recognize that as an invalid equation.
ReplyDelete'Cellus is a fool, and you know Troy won't say anything about his file-sharing because it is a "socially-acceptable" form of stealing. When he gets a nasty letter from a legal firm representing a music producer we will see just how far his arguments carry him. Also, his attempt to equate his file-sharing with your taping of TV shows doesn't work; they are protected by vastly different copyright laws.
All good points NEO. I didn't know what downloading music meant until this June. I can't get over how wise your comments seem. Thanks.
ReplyDeleteI have a brother who found it simpler to replace his whole computer than mess with the damage that one of those music download programs did to his computer. I don't know which program his daughter put on it, but it must have been a beauty.
ReplyDeleteNeo...I think you're right...I love to download music...that I pay for on MusicMatch. It just doesn't seem right to cheat the artists. Over the Rhine is my favorite band and they're also family so I know artists really appreciate fans who are willing to pay for their music! (I took your challenge too.)
ReplyDeleteShoprat: we were very close to doing the same thing with our desktop system after our oldest "discovered" filesharing.
ReplyDeleteFor those others of you who love to download music legally, I recommend this site. Do not be intimidated by the fact that it is based out of Russia. I've used them for several years, and have yet to be disappointed. The dollar to ruble conversion rate is fantastic!
I have to admit, I'm a download king. The only music I don't download are from artist I really support. Otherwise, I'm not paying to listen to most of the crap being made.
ReplyDeleteI have a separate computer to do my downloading. I unplug it every night but there is nothing else on it except Photoshop, Limewire and about 3000 songs. Hope I'll never need your services.