tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19798349.post8892796355710323602..comments2024-03-04T06:09:18.295+00:00Comments on open...: Copyright Industries' Pyrrhic VictoriesGlyn Moodyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04436885795882611585noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19798349.post-34941952678083571272009-04-18T06:32:00.000+00:002009-04-18T06:32:00.000+00:00@Christian: you're absolutely right - proprietary ...@Christian: you're absolutely right - proprietary codecs are a hidden danger that few are aware of. At least there are some free ones coming through, and so it's up to us to promote.<br /><br />And educating students about freedom is indeed hard. I think the good news is that they are already learning to share - which is what the intellectual monopolists hate - which is a good starting point.<br /><br />When do you hope to finish your documentary?Glyn Moodyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04436885795882611585noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19798349.post-61503829629753371762009-04-18T00:09:00.000+00:002009-04-18T00:09:00.000+00:00Hi Glyn,
I hope that you are right that the unrea...Hi Glyn,<br /><br />I hope that you are right that the unreasonable restrictions of copyright will fade with time and generational aging.<br /><br />I am concerned that proprietary codecs are winning where DRM is losing. As a user of GNU-Linux, I am faced with the choice of downloading and installing non-Free codecs for watching videos or sitting out the conversations which movies and videos precipitate. <br /><br />I am producing a documentary called the Digital Tipping Point that tracks the ups and downs of migrating one San Francisco public middle to Free Software. The kids there expect to be able to interact with whatever videos, games, and pictures they want. Here is a teacher talking about the kids using video to study the issues surrounding Obama's election:<br /><br />http://www.archive.org/details/e-dv593_elmer_rivera_a_2009_feb_001.ogg<br /><br />The Internet Archive, which runs on GNU-Linux, uses non-Free Adobe Flash to deliver that video!<br /><br />Here is the same teacher talking about how the existence of the Xubuntu GNU-Linux lab teaches kids the importance of giving back to the community (without the donated labor that went into the lab, the kids would not have computers to see the Obama videos on their own, at their own pace!)<br /><br />http://www.archive.org/details/e-dv593_elmer_rivera_a_2009_feb_001.ogg<br /><br />And yet, due to the demands of standardized testing (which dictates funding for schools in the US), there is no time to teach kids the value of digital freedom. The kids are using GNU-Linux daily, and yet, as Richard Stallman warns, they are not learning what digital freedom is, nor are they learning why it is that digital freedom means they have a Xubuntu lab to begin with.<br /><br />And yet the kids continue to be drawn to movies and music which can be experienced only with non-Free codecs. Even the speeches of the President of the US can't be watched without the use of these non-Free codecs.<br /><br />So it seems as if there might be some substance to the victories of the copyright cartel after all, unless we can persuade people, institutions, and companies to produce really great content in completely Free wrappers.<br /><br />---<br />Christian Einfeldt,<br />Producer, The Digital Tipping Pointeinfeldthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08177956664196325696noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19798349.post-71765367346716824592009-04-17T11:11:00.000+00:002009-04-17T11:11:00.000+00:00@Crosbie: excellent comparison.@Crosbie: excellent comparison.Glyn Moodyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04436885795882611585noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19798349.post-13454543948677515122009-04-17T11:10:00.000+00:002009-04-17T11:10:00.000+00:00Yes, that aspect worried me, so I asked RMS about ...Yes, that aspect worried me, so I asked RMS about it' here's what he said:<br /><br />"I would be glad to see the abolition of copyright on software if it<br />were done in such a way as to ensure that software is free. After all,<br />the point of copyleft is to achieve that goal for derivatives of certain<br />programs. If all software were free, copyleft would not be needed<br />for software.<br /><br />However, abolishing copyright could also be done in a misguided way<br />that would have no effect on typical proprietary software (which is<br />restricted by EULAs and source code secrecy rather than copyright),<br />and only undermines the practice of copyleft. Naturally I would<br />be against that.<br /><br />In other words, I am more concerned with how the law affects users'<br />freedom than with what happens to copyright as such."Glyn Moodyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04436885795882611585noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19798349.post-50066999642649245662009-04-17T11:03:00.000+00:002009-04-17T11:03:00.000+00:00One could imagine a trial in New York, 90 years ag...One could imagine a trial in New York, 90 years ago that would probably find a similar crew guilty of directing tourists to speakeasy clubs, i.e. assisting in the sale of liquor.<br /><br />Prohibition was abolished 14 years later.<br /><br />Not long now...Crosbie Fitchhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06554471152790988479noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19798349.post-65100162789361731232009-04-17T10:28:00.000+00:002009-04-17T10:28:00.000+00:00I agree that we might see the collapse of copyrigh...I agree that we might see the collapse of copyright in the future, but this could pose a problem for the GPL software ecosystem.<br /><br />Indeed, I can think of some nasty players who might seize the opportunity and mobilise their lobbyists to try and dilute copyright laws in an attempt to <br />weaken the GNU/Linux competition.Phil Driscollnoreply@blogger.com