Sure, kill the middle man why don't ya
Written: Sep 03 '00
|
Product Rating:
|
|
|
Pros: great for sharing music
Cons: too many people abused the system
|
|
|
| digitalv's Full Review: Napster |
I find it amusing how these cry-baby record companies are whining about Napster and MP3 sites in general, when they're not the real problem.
The real problem is when people grab MP3's and then burn CD's to listen to in their car, their stereo, their office, where ever. That's the only real violation here.
Do the record companies really think Napster is the only program that will ever be capable of peer-to-peer file transport? Please. If Napster disappears, a new program will appear in its place. There's even the possibility that this new program will use ICQ's servers to authenticate and update a database at a constantly changing URL. Thus this new program would be IMPOSSIBLE to shut down without shutting down ICQ itself.
No matter how much the record companies try, no matter how much money they spend, they will NEVER be able to do away with MP3's of copyright protected songs unless everyone who creates them decides they're not going to do it anymore. After all, it's NOT illegal to archive your OWN CD's in MP3 format for your own use. So they would have to catch you in the act of copying them to someone else -- Nearly impossible in a peer-to-peer environment, since no server will mandate the actual file transfer, and no longs will be kept. And without "author credit" in a program, who would they sue? The hosting company storing the database? By the time they figured out where it was it would have already moved to another location.
If they really want to stop copyright violations, they need to remove all consumer write able devices from the market. You got it folks.. CD-R drives, casette recorders, MP3 Hardware, all of it.
But that will never happen - and it will never happen for the same reason it *SHOULDN'T* happen to Napster. The CD-writers aren't the problem; it's the people who misuse them. Napster isn't the problem; it's the people who misuse it. There are a TON of public MP3's out there by independent artists that aren't with any particular record label, and wish to share their music without profiting from it.
With every product comes RESPONSIBILITY. It's not fair to the product manufacturer to take the fall for people misusing their product. Would you sue GM if someone in your family was hit by a Chevy? Would you sue Smith & Wesson if someone in your family was shot using one? Should UPS be sued if their services were used to ship stolen merchandise? Of course not. I agree 100% that product manufacturers should take responsibility for their products - However they *SHOULD NOT* have to suffer or be held liable or put up with any general BS when someone misuses it. The record companies saw Napster as an easy target.. small, young, and easily destroyed.
I agree with the record companies that the PROBLEM should be stopped - As a software developer, I know how much it ticks me off to see pirated copies of programs I've written available on warez sites. But I also know my limits, and I know that it's NOT APPROPRIATE to target a victim.
Napster is a victim. They are the victims of system-abuse by their users. And whether you realize it or not, this case is going to set a precedence for other lawsuits against companies who produce a product that is misused by the end user. If the court rules against Napster, the Napster case will be referenced in future lawsuits when someone tries to sue the middle-man.
Right now you probably think my Car and Gun and UPS examples are over-exadurated. Maybe. But if Napster loses, they might be more possible than you think. Next time someone ships me a Bomb, I'm suing UPS. We'll see what happens.
Recommended:
No
|
|
|
|
Epinions.com ID:
digitalv
|
|
Member: Ron Rule
Location: Tampa Bay, FL
Reviews written: 5
Trusted by: 1 member
|
|
|
- Add to My Yahoo!: 
- Add to Google Homepage: 
© 1999-2009 Shopping.com, Inc.