At the risk of being the devil's advocate, your point isn't logical... The police has the burden of having to get warrrants to tape/record individuals who are often thugs yet individuals are free to record/tape police in their line of work.
UFC puzzles me. I'm an outlier fan who would definitely not pay $50 to watch a live fight but certainly would pay $5-10/month to stream past and recent fights online. But UFC doesn't allow option #2... it's either $50/fight every few months or nothing. So I'm left streaming illegal and bad quality feeds found on the web. Shame really.
That is Mike's point...you can compete with free if you are able "to offer it in an easy and convenient manner".
I face the same issue every time I want to watch UFC fights. I'd pay a few bucks a month for last week's or last month's fights if Dana White would stream them online in a quality format and secure transaction. Instead I have to search the web for streams of free but dubious quality sites... One thing is for sure, I'm no longer willing to subsidize my other tv shows (available on the net) and my cable company $120/month just to watch UFC fights.
I suspect that behind this isn't a concern for the artist or art resellers but only about government's ability to tax a transaction that today is pretty murky (unless purchased at auctions). Because of his interest in it, the artist would be the defacto enforcer of the transaction's legality and openness while the government would be the silent collecting middle man. Rich people will have to find another way to avoid the taxman's reach, possibly skipping art works and moving to other products that may appreciate with time.
The monthly fees paid by US customers to their cable and satellite providers has to be one of the highest in the world as a percentage of average income. In Europe the TV, phone and internet package costs $30...
Oh right, I forgot... Americans are angry at their government for medling "too much" in private business affairs. Oh well! suck it up then! wahahah
Yes, it's bad customer service for Samsung to deny service because of where the product was originally purchased. But it's also bad customer service for Samsung to sell a same product at different price points based on where the product was sold. It's a lack of transparency that the European Union has been working on doing away with by liberalizing its internal markets.
It is likely that the Samsung product was sold at a lower price in the US with a lesser value added service (1-2 year warranty) while it was sold at a higher price in Canada with a higher valued added service (3 years warranty). Consumers would all understand (and probably accept) this if it was clearly presented at the time of purchase instead of having to find out later when the product has broken down.
The back and forth argument over the Photoshop suggestion is pointless. That's what art work is, choice to create any which way you want and this guy wanted to do this real.
Should he have the right to sue anyone who uses his pic without authorization? I think so, particularly if -as in this case- it is a business using it to promote one of their activity/product.
Don't get me wrong, I'm a proud liberal and strongly believe that government has a necessary place in overseeing the affairs of economy and society. But government doesn't need to be where is doesn't have to be.
Research undertaken by private enterprise should provide for fair profit. Let's say...25% return on investment? After that, after that, government should require that the fruit of research go into public domain for others to build on or profit from.
No Mike, a neutral search is not the "best" result first, it is only results in no particular order. By applying "best" you establish a value system which, I believe, is what this article points to.
While you guys were bred on computers, the great majority of people, particularly those 60 and above, have either never or rarely used a computer. You may be dumbfounded by their ignorance but ultimately you're just showing your low tolerance. Maybe you should get another job, one where your youthful peers can challenge your own skills?
Isn't what law firms and lawyers do every day? Who says lawyers and their firms fight for what they believe in?!? That's tv lawyers! In real life, they will argue anything they think them may win and get paid for.
Unless you're a believer in absolute truths in everything, much of any point of contention can be argued for or against.
Since you used my name to make your point , I find myself obligated to reply. To start with, I used Murdoch as an example because he is the most powerful media mogul in the world and the NYT because that paper is the source of this article. Nowhere do I suggest on is better than the other; that's your assumption.
Finally, if I understand your rant, media is elitist and only serves their evil master, the government and its special interests....right? And your alternative would be?!? Because now that you've painted the world in black and white, I can't wait to hear the white knight story...
Subscription Federation to me is simply a middle men trying to make a buck on other people's work. The essential question is, "are we willing to pay for content and if so, how much?" There are plenty of information outlets for those who don't want to pay, starting with rabbit ears tv. All those interested in specialized news already pay for it or at least their company pays for it. Insightful generalist news is where the battle is and no one outlet has sufficient leverage to force people to pay (unless Murdoch succeeds in his battle with Google). So, $10, $20, $30 a month/a year? Not a chance.
I think we need to better define what "news" is and give it some sort of value hierarchy. Being the first to upload a video file of whatever on YouTube isn't news in itself. I would venture to say that having millions of hits of that video doesn't make it news either. It's just an event among zillions of other events in our daily lives, with YouTube an outlet for voyeurs and exhibitionists. The only value in seeing a cop pulling a gun to a group of snowball throwers or a protester getting shot is the newness of capturing these events and disseminating them instantly worlwide. If we had cameras on every street corner feeding YouTube (gasp!) we'd continuously see hundreds of people getting shot, abused, mistreated and what not and that would quickly be boring.
None of this is news until it is analyzed and evaluated in a greater context. That's what quality reporting and "news" is about and that's why news organisations often have several journalists working hours and hours on producing valuable content. Is this capability limited to the paper media or the big news organizations? Certainly not. But they have been competing in a pond for a long time during which they've learned to perfect their skills and that's why the NYT and at least a dozen other newspapers have gained recognition. Now that the pond has expended to a lake (an ocean?) there are probably hundreds of wannabe journalists with great writing skills who can now find alternative outlets to express their ideas. But the challenge remains: How are you going to make a living at blog.com if idealist newcomers are all willing to work for free? And who is going to read or even find you when 1000 others write about the same thing?
Aggregators are middlemen pulling the work of others and sticking advertisement all around it. How is that benefiting writers or those who pay the writers?
@Kat: Twitter?!? As I say above, saying "First!" doesn't make anything news. I wish NPR would read what you have to say about their "free" content... their money drives are all about getting paid for their hard work!
What I find totally amazing is that people are going to whine about their $20/year news subscriptions while giving away $150/month for the hald dozen channels they actually look at on their cable television...
We all agree the printed media is in dire straits. From free to about $4 at your news stand, the pendulum swings. I suspect many who are so veciforous for "free" content are more often consumers of content while those wanting to put a price on content are more likely producers of it. Self interest is a fairly accurate common denominator in all things human.
I don't think anyone -dangerous idealists, teenagers and students who have never worked aside- believes information should be entirely free. Rather, the debate is who should be paying for that precious content. Should it be the consumer of it or could someone else pay for it in exchange for something else? That's our pendulum.
The paradigm shifted when the internet offered a means to access consumers with little or no upfront investment costs -no paper, no printers, no warehouses, no trucks, etc.. no more barrier to entry. Sit at your pc and blog.. pretty simple, hey? Every Dick and Jane can now blurr out an opinion -as I do here- in response to an opinion piece and we are all exhilarated with ourselves believing that what we write matters, so who needs paid content? Mike Masnik (whose articles I often enjoy) doesn't care, he makes a living off of the controversy itself and -I hope- a comfortable living.
But what about the news itself? Whose blog did you read to learn about the Haitian earthquake? Did you turn on your tv for which you most likely pay a subscription to? Did you go on the web to get the news from a recognized media outlet whose pages are loaded with advertisements? Fair amounts of money is spent to report that information and many outlets are competing with each other to get your attention. He who gets most attention gets most advertising dollars. But if that money is spread too thin and it becomes impossible for a news outlet to send journalists out, we will eventually be left with the Murdochs of the world to feed their interpretation of the news and hundreds of bloggers and talking heads to spin those feeds. More is less.
I watch UFC and WEC frequently on Spike and Versus, although I would never pay more than $3-5 for pay-per-view fights so I don't mind watching these a few days/weeks later. I did realize though that about 70% of my tv watching is Spike and Versus and the 30% remaining (Networks series) I can watch "free" on the internet, so I'm paying Dish Network $50/month to watch 2 channels!
It make sense that my next step is going to cut my satellite/cable subscription. Yet, neither Spike not WEC have full fights on their websites or streaming on hulu... so what am I to do? Their lack of imagination is pushing me to torrents when I would be willing to pay a token subscription fee (how much does Dish Network and cable companies pay them?) to watch their fights on the internet.
Imagine if the bicycle or combustion engine had been patented. We'd all be riding the same bikes and driving cars with the same combustion technology....Oh! but we do!
and since the placebo effect has shown to work as effectively as real meds in many circumstances, we should spend less time complaining about "The Government" are spend more time focusing on our disfunctions.
Re:
At the risk of being the devil's advocate, your point isn't logical... The police has the burden of having to get warrrants to tape/record individuals who are often thugs yet individuals are free to record/tape police in their line of work.
(untitled comment)
UFC puzzles me. I'm an outlier fan who would definitely not pay $50 to watch a live fight but certainly would pay $5-10/month to stream past and recent fights online. But UFC doesn't allow option #2... it's either $50/fight every few months or nothing. So I'm left streaming illegal and bad quality feeds found on the web. Shame really.
basic logic
Actually the math is more of this order:
12 guys for 3 months = $70K (salary) + $70K (business cost of employee) x 12 employees / 4 (3 months) = $420K Any slippage (very common) adds $140K/month.
50,000 copies x $15 (30% margin on $50 product)= $750K
Based on above, it's not worth porting to pc.
If the company's pc sales tripled or more (very possible based on sales of competing products) then it's a poor business decision not to port to pc.
At the end of the day, the issue is less about piracy than faith in one's product.
Dunno about privelege unless you mean privilege
Can't read an article with a misspelled word in the title.
Re: Ima Fish
That is Mike's point...you can compete with free if you are able "to offer it in an easy and convenient manner".
I face the same issue every time I want to watch UFC fights. I'd pay a few bucks a month for last week's or last month's fights if Dana White would stream them online in a quality format and secure transaction. Instead I have to search the web for streams of free but dubious quality sites... One thing is for sure, I'm no longer willing to subsidize my other tv shows (available on the net) and my cable company $120/month just to watch UFC fights.
it's a tax question
I suspect that behind this isn't a concern for the artist or art resellers but only about government's ability to tax a transaction that today is pretty murky (unless purchased at auctions). Because of his interest in it, the artist would be the defacto enforcer of the transaction's legality and openness while the government would be the silent collecting middle man. Rich people will have to find another way to avoid the taxman's reach, possibly skipping art works and moving to other products that may appreciate with time.
(untitled comment)
The monthly fees paid by US customers to their cable and satellite providers has to be one of the highest in the world as a percentage of average income. In Europe the TV, phone and internet package costs $30...
Oh right, I forgot... Americans are angry at their government for medling "too much" in private business affairs. Oh well! suck it up then! wahahah
(untitled comment)
@Still bad customer service.
Yes, it's bad customer service for Samsung to deny service because of where the product was originally purchased. But it's also bad customer service for Samsung to sell a same product at different price points based on where the product was sold. It's a lack of transparency that the European Union has been working on doing away with by liberalizing its internal markets.
It is likely that the Samsung product was sold at a lower price in the US with a lesser value added service (1-2 year warranty) while it was sold at a higher price in Canada with a higher valued added service (3 years warranty). Consumers would all understand (and probably accept) this if it was clearly presented at the time of purchase instead of having to find out later when the product has broken down.
(untitled comment)
The back and forth argument over the Photoshop suggestion is pointless. That's what art work is, choice to create any which way you want and this guy wanted to do this real.
Should he have the right to sue anyone who uses his pic without authorization? I think so, particularly if -as in this case- it is a business using it to promote one of their activity/product.
No need for government
Don't get me wrong, I'm a proud liberal and strongly believe that government has a necessary place in overseeing the affairs of economy and society. But government doesn't need to be where is doesn't have to be.
Research undertaken by private enterprise should provide for fair profit. Let's say...25% return on investment? After that, after that, government should require that the fruit of research go into public domain for others to build on or profit from.
Re:
No Mike, a neutral search is not the "best" result first, it is only results in no particular order. By applying "best" you establish a value system which, I believe, is what this article points to.
Re: Re: I wish...
While you guys were bred on computers, the great majority of people, particularly those 60 and above, have either never or rarely used a computer. You may be dumbfounded by their ignorance but ultimately you're just showing your low tolerance. Maybe you should get another job, one where your youthful peers can challenge your own skills?
Pleading both ways
Isn't what law firms and lawyers do every day? Who says lawyers and their firms fight for what they believe in?!? That's tv lawyers! In real life, they will argue anything they think them may win and get paid for.
Unless you're a believer in absolute truths in everything, much of any point of contention can be argued for or against.
Re: useless
Since you used my name to make your point , I find myself obligated to reply. To start with, I used Murdoch as an example because he is the most powerful media mogul in the world and the NYT because that paper is the source of this article. Nowhere do I suggest on is better than the other; that's your assumption.
Finally, if I understand your rant, media is elitist and only serves their evil master, the government and its special interests....right? And your alternative would be?!? Because now that you've painted the world in black and white, I can't wait to hear the white knight story...
Re: Re:
Subscription Federation to me is simply a middle men trying to make a buck on other people's work. The essential question is, "are we willing to pay for content and if so, how much?" There are plenty of information outlets for those who don't want to pay, starting with rabbit ears tv. All those interested in specialized news already pay for it or at least their company pays for it. Insightful generalist news is where the battle is and no one outlet has sufficient leverage to force people to pay (unless Murdoch succeeds in his battle with Google). So, $10, $20, $30 a month/a year? Not a chance.
Re: Re: Complex issue
I think we need to better define what "news" is and give it some sort of value hierarchy. Being the first to upload a video file of whatever on YouTube isn't news in itself. I would venture to say that having millions of hits of that video doesn't make it news either. It's just an event among zillions of other events in our daily lives, with YouTube an outlet for voyeurs and exhibitionists. The only value in seeing a cop pulling a gun to a group of snowball throwers or a protester getting shot is the newness of capturing these events and disseminating them instantly worlwide. If we had cameras on every street corner feeding YouTube (gasp!) we'd continuously see hundreds of people getting shot, abused, mistreated and what not and that would quickly be boring.
None of this is news until it is analyzed and evaluated in a greater context. That's what quality reporting and "news" is about and that's why news organisations often have several journalists working hours and hours on producing valuable content. Is this capability limited to the paper media or the big news organizations? Certainly not. But they have been competing in a pond for a long time during which they've learned to perfect their skills and that's why the NYT and at least a dozen other newspapers have gained recognition. Now that the pond has expended to a lake (an ocean?) there are probably hundreds of wannabe journalists with great writing skills who can now find alternative outlets to express their ideas. But the challenge remains: How are you going to make a living at blog.com if idealist newcomers are all willing to work for free? And who is going to read or even find you when 1000 others write about the same thing?
Aggregators are middlemen pulling the work of others and sticking advertisement all around it. How is that benefiting writers or those who pay the writers?
@Kat: Twitter?!? As I say above, saying "First!" doesn't make anything news. I wish NPR would read what you have to say about their "free" content... their money drives are all about getting paid for their hard work!
What I find totally amazing is that people are going to whine about their $20/year news subscriptions while giving away $150/month for the hald dozen channels they actually look at on their cable television...
Complex issue
We all agree the printed media is in dire straits. From free to about $4 at your news stand, the pendulum swings. I suspect many who are so veciforous for "free" content are more often consumers of content while those wanting to put a price on content are more likely producers of it. Self interest is a fairly accurate common denominator in all things human.
I don't think anyone -dangerous idealists, teenagers and students who have never worked aside- believes information should be entirely free. Rather, the debate is who should be paying for that precious content. Should it be the consumer of it or could someone else pay for it in exchange for something else? That's our pendulum.
The paradigm shifted when the internet offered a means to access consumers with little or no upfront investment costs -no paper, no printers, no warehouses, no trucks, etc.. no more barrier to entry. Sit at your pc and blog.. pretty simple, hey? Every Dick and Jane can now blurr out an opinion -as I do here- in response to an opinion piece and we are all exhilarated with ourselves believing that what we write matters, so who needs paid content? Mike Masnik (whose articles I often enjoy) doesn't care, he makes a living off of the controversy itself and -I hope- a comfortable living.
But what about the news itself? Whose blog did you read to learn about the Haitian earthquake? Did you turn on your tv for which you most likely pay a subscription to? Did you go on the web to get the news from a recognized media outlet whose pages are loaded with advertisements? Fair amounts of money is spent to report that information and many outlets are competing with each other to get your attention. He who gets most attention gets most advertising dollars. But if that money is spread too thin and it becomes impossible for a news outlet to send journalists out, we will eventually be left with the Murdochs of the world to feed their interpretation of the news and hundreds of bloggers and talking heads to spin those feeds. More is less.
(untitled comment)
I watch UFC and WEC frequently on Spike and Versus, although I would never pay more than $3-5 for pay-per-view fights so I don't mind watching these a few days/weeks later. I did realize though that about 70% of my tv watching is Spike and Versus and the 30% remaining (Networks series) I can watch "free" on the internet, so I'm paying Dish Network $50/month to watch 2 channels!
It make sense that my next step is going to cut my satellite/cable subscription. Yet, neither Spike not WEC have full fights on their websites or streaming on hulu... so what am I to do? Their lack of imagination is pushing me to torrents when I would be willing to pay a token subscription fee (how much does Dish Network and cable companies pay them?) to watch their fights on the internet.
(untitled comment)
Imagine if the bicycle or combustion engine had been patented. We'd all be riding the same bikes and driving cars with the same combustion technology....Oh! but we do!
Re: Re: Government run health-care.It can be scary!!!!!!
and since the placebo effect has shown to work as effectively as real meds in many circumstances, we should spend less time complaining about "The Government" are spend more time focusing on our disfunctions.