Blog Jones

Well, virtually. See it on the U.S. News and World Report website.

Just a brief word of background first: The RIAA (Recording Industry Association of America) and the MPAA (Moving Pictures Association of America) are evil incarnate. As examples, the RIAA once sued a 12-year-old girl for thousands of dollars because she traded music on Kazaa, and the MPAA keeps trying to push “Broadcast Flag” legislation through Congress that would allow television executives to decide whether or not you should be able to record their shows and how long you should be able to keep them. They’re the ones responsible for things like DRM, which prevent you from putting music you buy off of iTunes onto any non-Apple MP3 player and which brought us the joy of the Sony Root-Kit fiasco that hid files from you, the customer, on your own computer if you used one of the DRM-infested CDs.

So, what happens if these guys get their way in the future? Tarmle gives us a hint:

Going to the movies is not what it used to be. Security at the studio-owned theatres is heavy, it’s not a trip to be taken lightly. But if you want to see the film everyone is talking about without waiting a year for the home release, you have little choice. When you enter the lobby the first thing you see are long ranks of tiny, thumbprint activated lockers. This is where you must leave all of your electronics, your personal server and peripherals, even your watch, and you had better not be wearing smart spectacles or contacts. As you enter the security zone you’re scanned for anything you may have forgotten. Cochlea and optical implants must be capable of responding with a coded RF identification signal to indicate their systems are secure and cannot record. People with older models, or models implanted abroad where such interrogation is illegal, are turned away. Perhaps they would like to see one of the older releases? Once through the scanner you must submit to a biometric ID test - this is where the known bloggers, hackers and spoilers are ejected. Finally there is the non-disclosure agreement to be signed - these days most moviegoers choose to sign via the MPAAs annual subscription, just trying to take some of the hassle out of visiting the cinema. Finally you get to see the film. In the auditorium the audience is constantly scanned by an AI looking for suspicious activity, so don’t rummage in your pockets for too long. It’s strange that all this effort to protect the movie industry has done so little to improve the movies.

There’s more; read the whole thing. Especially interesting is the bibliography at the end, which I have duplicated in the extended entry for the BJU “Livejournal-impaired” dorm students. (Yes, I know, “Can any good thing come out of LiveJournal?” The answer is yes.)

The music and movie industries just don’t get it: How can they ever expect to gain market share when they keep deliberately trying to frustrate their customers’ desires?