Lawyers, guns and the RIAA
There was no way the recording industry was going to come out of the Jammie Thomas file-swapping case smelling like anything but cow dung. If they lost, we'd be singing "Ding Dong, the Witch is Dead." Having won a jury verdict, they come off as a combination of Snidely Whiplash and Vlad the Impaler on a bad hair day. Apparently somebody at the RIAA really believes the cliche that there is no such thing as bad pr
2 RecommendationsThere was no way the recording industry was going to come out of the Jammie Thomas file-swapping case smelling like anything but cow dung. If they lost, we'd be singing "Ding Dong, the Witch is Dead." Having won a jury verdict, they come off as a combination of Snidely Whiplash and Vlad the Impaler on a bad hair day.
Apparently somebody at the RIAA really believes the cliche that there is no such thing as bad press. That somebody is a dumbass.
Wired.com had an interview with one of the jurors, who proudly proclaimed he'd never been on them crazy Internets and never planned to be. The verdict, he said, was designed to "send a message" to file swappers around the world. Yes, and that message is, "I'm a bleedin' eedjit."
Asking a Net-ignorant jury to reach this verdict is like asking a caveman to decide an arson case. (I'm sure he'd want to send a message to everyone who owns a cigarette lighter.) But he's exactly the kind of juror the RIAA wanted. Clinging stubbornly to the past instead of embracing the future is what the recording industry does best. It's taken Apple iTunes to drag them kicking and screaming into the 21st century.
All of this could have been averted in the pre-Napster '90s, had the record industry woken up, smelled the java, and began disentangling itself from the business of shipping pitted plastic platters around the world. Too late now.
Of course, the Phat Lady isn't singing just yet. Thomas plans to appeal, and the Electronic Frontier Foundation has decided to weigh in on her behalf -- the EFF having had some success fighting copyright evildoers. Lord knows she needs the help, because her defense strategy was awful.
White Paper
D2D Virtual Tape Library Replication Primer
This whitepaper explains the terminology and concepts behind Data Replication technologies and establishes some sizing rules through worked examples. Learn the new paradigm in disaster tolerance—protect data anywhere.
Download now »
White Paper
An Alternative to Virtualization for Datacenter Cost Savings
Server virtualization is a popular option for dealing with mounting datacenter costs. Another equally promising approach is the use of an Application Delivery Controller. Citrix NetScaler provides a low-cost way for organizations to reduce their server count and accrue cost savings from a reduction in space, cooling, power and personnel.
Download now »
White Paper
Why Your Firewall, VPN, and IEEE 802.11i Aren't Enough to Protect Your Network
The emergence of WLANs has created a new breed of security threats to enterprise networks.
Included in HP ProCurve WLAN solutions is security technology that alleviates threats from WLANs through:
* Monitoring wireless activity inside and out of the enterprise
* Classifying WLAN transmissions into harmful and harmless
* Preventing transmissions that pose a security threat to the enterprise network
* Locating participating devices for physical remediation
White Paper
Bringing the Edge to the Data Center
Effectively address data protection challenges, implementing solutions that help store and protect business–critical data while cutting costs and improving efficiency and reliability.
Download now »
- Upgrading to VMware vSphere with vWire | White Paper
- Removing Barriers To Better Server Virtualization Efficiency | White Paper
- Windows Phones and Unified Communications | White Paper
- Tackling the Top Five Network Access Control Challenges | White Paper
- Opportunities and Challenges with the Convergence of Data Center Networks | White Paper
Sign up to receive InfoWorld Resource Alerts
