A dark net or alternate DNS system could be stymied pretty fast by simply enacting a law saying that every ISP filter out all but DNS requests made to their own servers.
This is the crux of the whole matter -- governments are only gradually coming to grips with the notion that the Internet has given ordinary people an instantaneous voice. The old school still believe that they were elected in place of the people who elected them, that their judgement replaces that of their electors and that they don't have to worry about the electorate until the next election. That was the way it had to be when it took weeks for goings on in a government to propagate to the electorate.
The solons in our governments haven't yet understood that today it is only a matter seconds before we know what they're saying and doing and that a few minutes after that, we know what other people (often quite knowledgeable) are parsing and thinking about it. The 'net is full of chaff, but most people who care about an issue will encounter thoughtful takes on it in minutes; takes that change their thinking about it. It's really quite wonderful.
Years after I had taken an engineering exam (and passed it) the professor retired. Meeting him socially much later (I was by then a prof myself), I asked if he knew that most of the students in that course had known that the 50 questions on his final exam were from a set of 250 and that virtually every fraternity had compiled that list. His response was "Oh sure, but then if you know the answers to those 250 questions, you know the material I taught."
The other factor, it occurs to me is sales tax. Perhaps some of these restrictions arise because the vendor won't collect the tax and remit it to the foreign country.
To DRM your project implies the belief that all Internet users are potential infringers. To regionalize your product is the opposite; clearly you believe that no one will infringe.
I find that increasingly, I hardly browse at all; I'm a confirmed RSS reader. That means that I don't spend much time on any one site which is fundamentally what iPad magazines expect you to do. I don't want to be nailed to a single source any more; I want to hop around.
That's precisely what I meant. When a law is ridiculous, it might just as well not exist, for that's how folks will treat it. If draconian penalties apply to scofflaws, solutions to evade will present themselves. The harm, of course, is that copyright does have legitimate purposes, so those whom it's designed to protect will lose that protection just as street crossers lose the protection of a broken traffic light that's ignored.
"But what's changed when things go digital is the fact that every use involves copying. That wasn't true in the past. And copyright has never been designed to handle a situation where every use is a copy."
Regulatory capture assures us that the chances of copyright reform are slim to none at all. ACTA will make things worse, of course. The key issue, however, is that when laws become ridiculous they slowly become universally ignored. If a traffic light stays red for five minutes, you go through it presuming it broken. If copyright laws cannot or will not accommodate the digital age, we'll go around them.
After reading the comments here, I'm really pleased with my service here in Nova Scotia. Eastlink provides Cable TV, Phone, and Internet for a bundle fee with 30Mb/sec down and ~2Mb/sec up and I've never detected a cap.
Given tools like Dropbox, why would anyone want to run the risk of a hassle at the border (which I cross frequently from Canada)? As Mike has pointed out many times now, the Internet crosses the border without overt DHS hassle. Use it if you're carrying sensitive info or email the info ahead.
I know someone who buys video DVD, watches them, and if he thinks he might like to watch them again, downloads a copy. He does this so he can go straight to the main content without grinding through all the unstoppable bumph at the beginning of a commercial DVD.
Basically, this would make criminals of us all. Who doesn't make copies of kid's games to preserve the original, rip a CD for viewing on an alternative device or even for viewing from a laptop HD instead of a spinning plastic disk running their battery down?
If we come to a red light that doesn't change, eventually we go through it.
"... because that software has already totally crossed over the border via the still mostly borderless internet. ..." Clearly you're not familiar with Canadian Internet experience. Try to view a link on Comedy Central found in a US site or a link to Hulu, for example. Restricted to US audiences unless you have an US proxy account.
"Their mission is really to support the largest acts at the expense of smaller acts..." That's really not it. Their mission is to maximize the profits of the recording industry.
Diary Of An x264 Developer
A long article that keeps returning to the point that alternatives to Flash's domination of video streaming exist in a tangled web of patents.
http://x264dev.multimedia.cx/?p=292
Alternate DNS Not Likely
A dark net or alternate DNS system could be stymied pretty fast by simply enacting a law saying that every ISP filter out all but DNS requests made to their own servers.
Re: "We, the people" is not something they can comprehend.
This is the crux of the whole matter -- governments are only gradually coming to grips with the notion that the Internet has given ordinary people an instantaneous voice. The old school still believe that they were elected in place of the people who elected them, that their judgement replaces that of their electors and that they don't have to worry about the electorate until the next election. That was the way it had to be when it took weeks for goings on in a government to propagate to the electorate.
The solons in our governments haven't yet understood that today it is only a matter seconds before we know what they're saying and doing and that a few minutes after that, we know what other people (often quite knowledgeable) are parsing and thinking about it. The 'net is full of chaff, but most people who care about an issue will encounter thoughtful takes on it in minutes; takes that change their thinking about it. It's really quite wonderful.
Re: Re: Life Lessons
My father's version was "competent and ethical behavior requires that you do the thing right and that you do the right thing."
(untitled comment)
If Wikileaks was hosted in the USA, you can bet it would be seized too.
Re: That's my library.
Mine too. I'm really proud of them.
(untitled comment)
Years after I had taken an engineering exam (and passed it) the professor retired. Meeting him socially much later (I was by then a prof myself), I asked if he knew that most of the students in that course had known that the 50 questions on his final exam were from a set of 250 and that virtually every fraternity had compiled that list. His response was "Oh sure, but then if you know the answers to those 250 questions, you know the material I taught."
Re: Don't take my money
The other factor, it occurs to me is sales tax. Perhaps some of these restrictions arise because the vendor won't collect the tax and remit it to the foreign country.
Can't have it both ways
To DRM your project implies the belief that all Internet users are potential infringers. To regionalize your product is the opposite; clearly you believe that no one will infringe.
(untitled comment)
Blurring of license plates is not done everywhere. In the street view of my home in Canada, the license plate number of my car is easily read.
(untitled comment)
I find that increasingly, I hardly browse at all; I'm a confirmed RSS reader. That means that I don't spend much time on any one site which is fundamentally what iPad magazines expect you to do. I don't want to be nailed to a single source any more; I want to hop around.
Re: dumping it altogether is better than reform
That's precisely what I meant. When a law is ridiculous, it might just as well not exist, for that's how folks will treat it. If draconian penalties apply to scofflaws, solutions to evade will present themselves. The harm, of course, is that copyright does have legitimate purposes, so those whom it's designed to protect will lose that protection just as street crossers lose the protection of a broken traffic light that's ignored.
Copyright Overhaul
"But what's changed when things go digital is the fact that every use involves copying. That wasn't true in the past. And copyright has never been designed to handle a situation where every use is a copy."
Regulatory capture assures us that the chances of copyright reform are slim to none at all. ACTA will make things worse, of course. The key issue, however, is that when laws become ridiculous they slowly become universally ignored. If a traffic light stays red for five minutes, you go through it presuming it broken. If copyright laws cannot or will not accommodate the digital age, we'll go around them.
Cable Service in the Maritimes
After reading the comments here, I'm really pleased with my service here in Nova Scotia. Eastlink provides Cable TV, Phone, and Internet for a bundle fee with 30Mb/sec down and ~2Mb/sec up and I've never detected a cap.
(untitled comment)
Given tools like Dropbox, why would anyone want to run the risk of a hassle at the border (which I cross frequently from Canada)? As Mike has pointed out many times now, the Internet crosses the border without overt DHS hassle. Use it if you're carrying sensitive info or email the info ahead.
Bank analogy
I see DRM as more like the bank agreeing to give me money from my account provided that I spend it as they specify.
Re: Jorvay's comment (as Adam)
I know someone who buys video DVD, watches them, and if he thinks he might like to watch them again, downloads a copy. He does this so he can go straight to the main content without grinding through all the unstoppable bumph at the beginning of a commercial DVD.
(untitled comment)
Basically, this would make criminals of us all. Who doesn't make copies of kid's games to preserve the original, rip a CD for viewing on an alternative device or even for viewing from a laptop HD instead of a spinning plastic disk running their battery down?
If we come to a red light that doesn't change, eventually we go through it.
(untitled comment)
"... because that software has already totally crossed over the border via the still mostly borderless internet. ..." Clearly you're not familiar with Canadian Internet experience. Try to view a link on Comedy Central found in a US site or a link to Hulu, for example. Restricted to US audiences unless you have an US proxy account.
(untitled comment) (as Adam)
"Their mission is really to support the largest acts at the expense of smaller acts..." That's really not it. Their mission is to maximize the profits of the recording industry.
An article how software patents tangle video streaming. (as Adam)
Diary Of An x264 Developer A long article that keeps returning to the point that alternatives to Flash's domination of video streaming exist in a tangled web of patents. http://x264dev.multimedia.cx/?p=292