Derrick
ლ(ಠ_ಠ )ლ
- Joined
- Nov 22, 2010
- Messages
- 5,085
- Reaction score
- 5
My technology-loving geek heart is torn asunder today. Perhaps that’s a bit melodramatic, but it’s true nonetheless. How more stupid can humans be?
The idea behind the new start up Slacker is brilliant. It’s a portable digital music player. Smart, huh?
But wait, it’s also wi-fi enabled. And it can link up with satellites. And you can get a car stereo version. And you subscribe via the internet where you can specify your music preferences, including settings like ‘more popular’ or ‘more eclectic’. And it ‘syncs’ whenever it finds an open wi-fi spot or picks up satellite reception, so no more fuzzy FM signal under a bridge. Who stil listens to FM anyway, never mind AM?
For about five seconds my square eys were glistening with pride – humans are so smart. We really have the power to shape our world and change our destiny and amuse ourselves.
To death, it seems.
On the same day as I read about Slacker, Viacom announces a $1 billion lawsuit against YouTube owners Google.
A month ago Viacom sent a ‘seize and desist’ to YouTube, ordering them to take down 100 000 videos that ellegedly infringed Viacom’s copyright. In their haste, they unfortunately fingered some innocent videos as well, so some people had to kiss their home movies good-bye.
A week later Viacom announce a deal with new IPTV player Joost (from the creators of Skype and Kazaa). This is significant, as Viacom owns such brands as MTV and Paramount Pictures.
Now they are sueing Google for a nice round $1 billion. My bet is that it’s probably a bargaining chip, or a way to throw down the gauntlet. Whatever the reasoning behind it, it will be a landmark case.
My initial euphoria at something as cool as Slacker soon wilted. They will have to pay so much
royalties that the service will probably be inhibitively expensive, or else so peppered with ads as to be nearly useless.
Even considering normal human greed as well as stupidity, how is it possible that we can produce two such radical concepts in such a short time?
Don’t just take my word for it, read an article on Slacker or visit their website at Slacker.com, and compare that with the Viacom lawsuit against YouTube.
What’s the opposite of innovation? It seems us humans constantly conjure up several opposites: greed, lawyers, copyright, lawsuits, money, fear…
The idea behind the new start up Slacker is brilliant. It’s a portable digital music player. Smart, huh?
But wait, it’s also wi-fi enabled. And it can link up with satellites. And you can get a car stereo version. And you subscribe via the internet where you can specify your music preferences, including settings like ‘more popular’ or ‘more eclectic’. And it ‘syncs’ whenever it finds an open wi-fi spot or picks up satellite reception, so no more fuzzy FM signal under a bridge. Who stil listens to FM anyway, never mind AM?
For about five seconds my square eys were glistening with pride – humans are so smart. We really have the power to shape our world and change our destiny and amuse ourselves.
To death, it seems.
On the same day as I read about Slacker, Viacom announces a $1 billion lawsuit against YouTube owners Google.
A month ago Viacom sent a ‘seize and desist’ to YouTube, ordering them to take down 100 000 videos that ellegedly infringed Viacom’s copyright. In their haste, they unfortunately fingered some innocent videos as well, so some people had to kiss their home movies good-bye.
A week later Viacom announce a deal with new IPTV player Joost (from the creators of Skype and Kazaa). This is significant, as Viacom owns such brands as MTV and Paramount Pictures.
Now they are sueing Google for a nice round $1 billion. My bet is that it’s probably a bargaining chip, or a way to throw down the gauntlet. Whatever the reasoning behind it, it will be a landmark case.
My initial euphoria at something as cool as Slacker soon wilted. They will have to pay so much
royalties that the service will probably be inhibitively expensive, or else so peppered with ads as to be nearly useless.
Even considering normal human greed as well as stupidity, how is it possible that we can produce two such radical concepts in such a short time?
Don’t just take my word for it, read an article on Slacker or visit their website at Slacker.com, and compare that with the Viacom lawsuit against YouTube.
What’s the opposite of innovation? It seems us humans constantly conjure up several opposites: greed, lawyers, copyright, lawsuits, money, fear…