[an0n]

Well, correct me if I'm wrong, but surely despite all the millions of dollars of investment into anti-copy research, all the thousands of little programs and hardware devices, all the thousands of people around the world being paid big-bucks by the global super-cocks of Corporate America™, all the new powers given to law enforcement, all the teams of lawyers rallying behind the RIAA like sharks in bloodied waters trying to cash in on all the new anti-copy technologies, all the thousands of reports on copy-prevention being written up by the music industry, all the masses and masses of law-suits against people distributing programs that crack copy-protection........

........can't I just circumvent any copy-protection by hooking my mic port to my speaker port (on any device) and pushing Record in Sound Recorder?

[SadisticSid]

Ultimately yes, but you will probably lose some quality that way from digital to analogue to digital conversion. Whether it's noticeable, you'll have to see

[Dark_4ce]

Not if you hook up your digital out using the light cable, but I dunno if that also transfers the "copy-protection" along with it. But if it doesent, lossless quality music.

[an0n]

It wouldn't have to be done directly like that, but what I'm saying is: What's the point in even trying to prevent copying when the very fundamental principle of tapes and DVD's and such is that they output data to another form?

As long as a DVD outputs an image, all you've got to do to get around any copy-prevention is take the image outside of the medium in which the copy-prevention exists. Which usually means shifting it into some analogue form and then back to digital.

They try to get around this by using things like the Mark system in VCR's whereby it stops you recording things with an underlayed 'I'm copy-righted' signal. And granted, to an extent this works. But to get around that you need only use an old VCR, and thus by using the anti-copyright system they're slowing the spread of newer and better entertainment devices.

I realise this is just my personal opinion, but I'd happily for-go buying a new VCR for 10-20 years if I knew that upgrading to a newer model would mean losing the ability to back-up my tapes and/or DVD's.

[an0n]

Hmmm. Now there's a thought.

Y'know all those masses of distorted tracks that the RIAA sticks on KaZaA?

Wouldn't that constitute illegally providing copy-righted material?

"Well, of course not. It's their stuff", I hear you cry. Also, because it's distorted it's no longer the copy-righted material, correct?

So, if you took the clear pieces from several of these files and pieced them together, would it still be illegal?

Technically, it'd be no more illegal than playing Amerian Pie on your guitar at home. You'd be playing parts of files that were free from copy-right. And even if the re-made file was to be considered the same as an original CD-rip, the RIAA would be the ones providing it to you.

Hmmm, indeed.


EDIT: I've had another flash of brilliance.

Put 'Microsoft' in all the file descriptions of the real files.

So people only need search for whatever they want and add Microsoft to the search words.

The only way the RIAA could counter this would be to start adding 'Microsoft' to the file descriptions, at which point Microsoft (or whatever trademarked company name you saw fit to use) could sue the goddamn **** outta them in some kind of anti-trust suit. As the RIAA would be purposely damaging the Microsoft name to improve their record sales.

[Nico]

That's wha I did, back then, with my C&C musics ( I wanted them on tape ).
Worked surprisingly well, no noise, nothing.
So yeah, that's still a valid option .

[Nico]

Originally posted by an0n
Hmmm. Now there's a thought.

Y'know all those masses of distorted tracks that the RIAA sticks on KaZaA?

Wouldn't that constitute illegally providing copy-righted material?

"Well, of course not. It's their stuff", I hear you cry. Also, because it's distorted it's no longer the copy-righted material, correct?

So, if you took the clear pieces from several of these files and pieced them together, would it still be illegal?

Technically, it'd be no more illegal than playing Amerian Pie on your guitar at home. You'd be playing parts of files that were free from copy-right. And even if the re-made file was to be considered the same as an original CD-rip, the RIAA would be the ones providing it to you.

Hmmm, indeed.
 

No, that's different. Coz what you're describing is sampling, and that falls under the same copyright issues as the full music/musics.

[an0n]

Yes, but they'd be being made available for download by the RIAA itself.

So they'd be guilty of entrapment and all law suits would be therefore invalid.

[an0n]

Haha. There's a nice defence:

You: "I download the music accidentally."
Lawyer: "How so?
You: "I was trying to get one of those distorted copies of the track that the RIAA put up."

[Turnsky]

better circumvention of the RIAA...


Move to australia

[an0n]

False [Arab] Beard + Bag + Tricycloacetone Peroxide = Bye-bye. Wehey. No more RIAA.

[Flipside]

Well, Creative Labs stuff has always come with a 'What you hear' channel you can record, so they already provided the means.
And since the RIAA are currently being sued by Kazaa for breach of copyright, they've been pretty quiet of late

[IceFire]

The whole industry has become a total farce since the advent of digital media.  They are still stuck in the 80's while the users are plunging forth into the 21st century.  Lawsuits and big money aside, its totally comical how badly the RIAA handels itself.

The movie industry has already come out and said that they will use the RIAA as an example of what not to do.  But the movie industry really isn't having any problems...this year was a bit of a shortfall of the recordbreaking year they had last year but you can't be record breaking every year.

[Petrarch of the VBB]

HOME TAPING IS KILLING THE MUSIC INDUSTRY.

That was 20 years ago.

If they don't want you to copy music/videos/etc, then why do they sell blank media?

[an0n]

The movie industry's problems are easy to fix.

All they've got to do is make films longer (file-size), make them so they go from real-dark to real-light more during the film (contrast issues) and make them have more detail in the scene (quality issues).

Three relatively simple things to have their directors, editors and set-dressers consider during production and by doing such things they make it so you either have to get the 1.4Gb version of the movie (thus killing all dial-up downloads), watch a version so low in quality that there's little point watching it (thus killing all 'casual downloaders') or you pay to go see it at the movies (increases revenue).

I've got no problem with the movie industry. They're not being dicks about it. If I got caught copying and selling movies by the MPAA I'd be like "Damn. Ah well. Serves me right" but if the RIAA caught me I'd be all "Fight the power! Death to the RIAA! ATTICA! ATTICA!".

[Corsair mk. 2]

Cuz they're stupid and greedy. And think that they will make more money that way, and they're depending on the consumer to NOT use it for anything illegal, like pirating. Blank media (such as VHS tapes) are for home videos of course!

[Drew]

Originally posted by an0n
but if the RIAA caught me I'd be all "Fight the power! Death to the RIAA! ATTICA! ATTICA!".

what kills me is the softwere they relese to counter piracy. Remeber the whole shift key deal?

[an0n]

Also, it's not the RIAA/MPAA selling tapes.

People see a nice opportunity to cash in on pirating movies and **** so they start selling blank media.

Hmmm. Wouldn't that be considered 'aiding the circumvention of copyright infringement prevention devices'?

C'z if they had nothing to copy to, it'd stop the circumvention. But then I suppose hard-drives would be outlawed too.


What they don't seem to understand is that while they've got tons of people sat working on way to build a system to stop copying whose only concern is getting paid, there are ten times as many people looking for a single crack in such software to exploit and to bring it down with. And while the RIAA has 9-to-5 morons doing it with all the energy a cup of coffee affords, the EFF has people willing to sit at a computer for 20 hours attacking the code with as much vigour and energy as they would use to defend their first-born child from a coyote.

They can't win, but they just flat-out refuse to accept it.

[Flipside]

I seem to recall that the old tape copy-protection used on 8-Bit games was far more effective that anything produced since.
But then, it was often so effective you even had to try the original about 3 times before it believed it was real.

Ahhh... the good old days

[an0n]

Gimme a nice number-table or a plastic-tag system over this techno-crap any day.

Even after all these years there's STILL no crack for Mega-Traveller 2. You either need the number-table or you're ****ed. Which, incidentally, is why I can't play my legal copy of Mega-Traveller 2. Bastards.