I'd have to say even I cannot hit 250GB a month in usage considering all the media and "other" information I download. What concerns me about limits is when are they raised? Will this limit be imposed for the next decade at which time it will probably be an issue? That's the only problem I see with limits.
The Security Now Podcast recently did a spot where PayPal routes you through DoubleClick for almost every action you take on their site. This in effect sets up a first person relationship with Double Click allowing them to put tracking cookies in your browser regardless of how you have your 3'rd party cookie settings set. In other words, Paypal intentionally took steps to bypass the wishes of consumers requesting not to be tracked by turning off 3'rd party cookies. This coming from a site with so much financial information on their users. It's scary...and they need some competition to put them back in their place.
Regardless of what happens, someone somewhere will come up with a way to bypass anything that is put in place to control you. History has shown this to be the case over an over again.
TrueCrypt - It's free software that easily does the following. Creates an encrypted "drive" for you to store stuff in. Here is the cool part. It can partition this drive into 2, with different passwords for each. You have one "safe" drive and one "public" drive. When forced to provide an encryption key, you provide the one for the "public" drive. There is no way to to tell there are two drives....as they appear as a single file on your computer. It's called plausable deniability.
Use something like skype and use something like VPN shield, or set up a real VPN, they'll NEVER be able to tell what kind of traffic is encapsulated in that encrypted data stream, problem solved. Oh, there is VPN shield, Ipig, and others that would make that easy.
Even though I'd agree that Real's products have slowly slipped towards the term "Badware", I am excited about the prospect of a large corporation, with suficient legal funding, diving headlong into the copyright infrigement battle arena. The technical innovation that has been thrown into copyright protection has been wasted as it can, and has been, cracked/hacked/destroyed repeatedly. The idea of giving someone all the tools they need to use a product at home and then expect that they cannot use those same tools to copy that product is silly.
Let's face facts, it's not the copying that's illegal, at least by the current statues on file (fair use anyone?), but the sharing of that media. That and the revelation that pressed media (the type bought from store shelves) has a life of about 15 years or less due to oxidation where "burned" media has a lifespan much longer would push a person further into the conclusion that copyright protection on discs is silly. Imagine if parents could copy that game/video that their children watch over and over, that'd be fair use. We are currently not allowed to follow our fair use becuase of the millenium copyright act (spelling?). I'm glad to see someone big, as stated above, fighting in course over the protection of nothing more than data. 0's and 1's people, that's all it is.
If you have a google account and are signed in EVERY search is recorded. Clich the "Search History" link your google search pare (after you sign into your account). Every search that we done while you were signed in is recorded and saved forever!
It would seem that all alternative fuel would need to be taxed as fuel, extrapolating from this article. Electricity, LP, CNG, Hydrogen the list goes on and on.
Someone calculated some time ago that if the moviecompanies sold off their content at $0.99 a download, then they would in effect earn about twice the amount that they are getting today. At that price, I would think everybody would buy movie-downloads instead of pirating them. But then, that is just my opinion!
So BearShare went down. Glad it's this one instead of another.... BearShare was so laden with spyware and other nuisances, if any one was to go, this was a good choice.
Still though, I agree with the rest of you. Just as Google is not responsible for the ads that people and data people upload, BearShare and other P2P software companies are not liable for the data that people choose to upload and share on that network. The adage is old but still just as true, "Don't hate on me, I'm just the messenger" or "Don't kill the messenger for the message"
This just goes to show that no matter how rich corporate America becomes, they still can never have enough. It's really no longer about money (we know this because they have it and don't stop). It's now about control and power of a market and group of people. This has to stop...
theres nothing abstract about it. it is historical fact that ANY government that accrues power will do everything it can to KEEP that power, and even work to increase it at the expense of freedom and free choice.. Tyranny was and is a very real occurrance. the real problem is that far too many people are sheep, unwilling to actaully take a hand in regulating themselves instead relying on "government" to do it for them. crass laziness on the part of most people. It isnt a case of "maybe" the technology (and the power that comes with it) will be abused, but how quickly it will happen. so called "tools" such as this will NOT promote a better society. 'nuff said.
The reason they want to sell more cd's is money. If you look at the price per song vs the cost of a cd they make more off the cd. Currently the artist makes more off merchandise and concerts than they do cd's. So if downloading songs makes them more popular then the RIAA won't get it's cut and will get mad. That's why they are starting to get a take of the concert money now too.
One cannot incorporate ones self. A corporation is a legal fiction created by the state at the request of the stockholders. The "corporate veil" only applies to civil actions and liabilities, not criminal. For example, a corporation going bankrupt will not affect the the individual assets of the stockholders (unless fraud is a factor.) This does not apply to criminal activity. The guy is seriously ignorant.
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Re: Seen this repeatedly...
Of course they do. The USA helps run Canada.
Bandwidth Limit
I'd have to say even I cannot hit 250GB a month in usage considering all the media and "other" information I download. What concerns me about limits is when are they raised? Will this limit be imposed for the next decade at which time it will probably be an issue? That's the only problem I see with limits.
PayPal is VERY Shady
The Security Now Podcast recently did a spot where PayPal routes you through DoubleClick for almost every action you take on their site. This in effect sets up a first person relationship with Double Click allowing them to put tracking cookies in your browser regardless of how you have your 3'rd party cookie settings set. In other words, Paypal intentionally took steps to bypass the wishes of consumers requesting not to be tracked by turning off 3'rd party cookies. This coming from a site with so much financial information on their users. It's scary...and they need some competition to put them back in their place.
Guerrilla
Regardless of what happens, someone somewhere will come up with a way to bypass anything that is put in place to control you. History has shown this to be the case over an over again.
Re: Sure is sad...
I wanted to post something, then realized you said everything I wanted to say. So very sadly true.
Here is the solution
TrueCrypt - It's free software that easily does the following. Creates an encrypted "drive" for you to store stuff in. Here is the cool part. It can partition this drive into 2, with different passwords for each. You have one "safe" drive and one "public" drive. When forced to provide an encryption key, you provide the one for the "public" drive. There is no way to to tell there are two drives....as they appear as a single file on your computer. It's called plausable deniability.
VPN baby
Use something like skype and use something like VPN shield, or set up a real VPN, they'll NEVER be able to tell what kind of traffic is encapsulated in that encrypted data stream, problem solved. Oh, there is VPN shield, Ipig, and others that would make that easy.
Wonderful News
Even though I'd agree that Real's products have slowly slipped towards the term "Badware", I am excited about the prospect of a large corporation, with suficient legal funding, diving headlong into the copyright infrigement battle arena. The technical innovation that has been thrown into copyright protection has been wasted as it can, and has been, cracked/hacked/destroyed repeatedly. The idea of giving someone all the tools they need to use a product at home and then expect that they cannot use those same tools to copy that product is silly.
Let's face facts, it's not the copying that's illegal, at least by the current statues on file (fair use anyone?), but the sharing of that media. That and the revelation that pressed media (the type bought from store shelves) has a life of about 15 years or less due to oxidation where "burned" media has a lifespan much longer would push a person further into the conclusion that copyright protection on discs is silly. Imagine if parents could copy that game/video that their children watch over and over, that'd be fair use. We are currently not allowed to follow our fair use becuase of the millenium copyright act (spelling?). I'm glad to see someone big, as stated above, fighting in course over the protection of nothing more than data. 0's and 1's people, that's all it is.
Re:
If you have a google account and are signed in EVERY search is recorded. Clich the "Search History" link your google search pare (after you sign into your account). Every search that we done while you were signed in is recorded and saved forever!
What about other alternative fuels?
It would seem that all alternative fuel would need to be taxed as fuel, extrapolating from this article. Electricity, LP, CNG, Hydrogen the list goes on and on.
Moviecost
Someone calculated some time ago that if the moviecompanies sold off their content at $0.99 a download, then they would in effect earn about twice the amount that they are getting today. At that price, I would think everybody would buy movie-downloads instead of pirating them. But then, that is just my opinion!
The principle of the matter
So BearShare went down. Glad it's this one instead of another.... BearShare was so laden with spyware and other nuisances, if any one was to go, this was a good choice.
Still though, I agree with the rest of you. Just as Google is not responsible for the ads that people and data people upload, BearShare and other P2P software companies are not liable for the data that people choose to upload and share on that network. The adage is old but still just as true, "Don't hate on me, I'm just the messenger" or "Don't kill the messenger for the message"
This just goes to show that no matter how rich corporate America becomes, they still can never have enough. It's really no longer about money (we know this because they have it and don't stop). It's now about control and power of a market and group of people. This has to stop...
Re: Irrational Fear
abstract fears of tyranny my a$$.
theres nothing abstract about it. it is historical fact that ANY government that accrues power will do everything it can to KEEP that power, and even work to increase it at the expense of freedom and free choice.. Tyranny was and is a very real occurrance. the real problem is that far too many people are sheep, unwilling to actaully take a hand in regulating themselves instead relying on "government" to do it for them. crass laziness on the part of most people. It isnt a case of "maybe" the technology (and the power that comes with it) will be abused, but how quickly it will happen. so called "tools" such as this will NOT promote a better society. 'nuff said.
That's not where the money is...
The reason they want to sell more cd's is money. If you look at the price per song vs the cost of a cd they make more off the cd. Currently the artist makes more off merchandise and concerts than they do cd's. So if downloading songs makes them more popular then the RIAA won't get it's cut and will get mad. That's why they are starting to get a take of the concert money now too.
Incorporation
One cannot incorporate ones self. A corporation is a legal fiction created by the state at the request of the stockholders. The "corporate veil" only applies to civil actions and liabilities, not criminal. For example, a corporation going bankrupt will not affect the the individual assets of the stockholders (unless fraud is a factor.) This does not apply to criminal activity. The guy is seriously ignorant.