Read this Wired news article: One File Swapper, One Lawsuit.

“On Friday, Judge Clarence Newcomer authorized a subpoena in the case of John Doe No. 1, because the RIAA had submitted a detailed case against the individual. But the judge ordered the music industry to file separate suits against the remaining 202 alleged infringers.”

Good job! Lumping them together would infringe on their rights.

Something I found humorous:

The music trade group must pay court fees for each of these cases. Filing each lawsuit will cost $150 in court fees, for a total of over $30,000, according to the EFF.

The RIAA would not say what it plans to do.

“We are weighing our options,” said RIAA spokeswoman Amanda Collins. She declined to elaborate.

Josh said:

Wait, wait… Did you just say “Run it like a Video Game so people can’t get in”? Do you realize how incredibly wrong that statement is? Ever hear of Game Shark? Game Hackers? ‘Nuff said.

Let me respond: If all you had access to was the controller, would you be able to do any hacking? Likewise, I don’t think it’s that hard to encase the thing so people can’t get in. Key and alarm and more. When I meant like a video game, I meant making the thing with no access to any underlying OS. It’s like those little handheld games which only run one game. I feel like they’re making it way too complicated. Anyway, a voter-verifiable paper trail should solve all that anyway.

I don’t know what the big fuss over e-voting is. The program is just counting the number of votes. There should be no bugs. If each console is individual, then you can’t worry about outside hacking. Why can’t it run like a video game, where people can’t get in and mess things up? I don’t see any problem with a voter-verified paper trail either. It shouldn’t be hard.

But first, check out today’s Help Desk comic, it’s about the RIAA.

[commentary later today]

[10/03/03 – EDIT: Changed title of this entry since I didn’t actually get around to writing “More Recall! Commentary”]

Remember, back on June 4th, when I mentioned Verizon being forced to give up names? Well, as if this wasn’t expected, now the RIAA is going on a random suing spree to try to scare people into not using file sharing. I bet if the RIAA had a way to figure out if you were letting people copy tapes off of stuff you recorded from the radio (back in the day…), they would’ve been suing people left and right for that.

More people use P2P file-sharing than voted for the president. That’s telling you something. File-sharing isn’t going to go away that easily… I think. I’m going to dig up one of my old Discover Magazine articles, back when the case against Napster was new, and I will inform you on that later.

I would never download movies or computer programs online. It would make me feel like I’m stealing. Lots of people put hard work into making a movie happen. Ever sit through the credits? And, I know first hand how much work programming takes.

The prospect of downloading music, however, would make me feel different. Pop stars and their music are manufactured. Practically none of these so-called “artists” have any talent whatsoever. It’s been proved that CDs are a rip-off, otherwise that class-action lawsuit never would have been successful. (How much of a success, I cannot say.) Also, some music people are interested in are older and harder to find. They aren’t sold anymore, unless you want one of those crap CDs they advertise on TV with a billion songs you don’t care for.

When people buy music CDs, they often don’t know what they are getting. Not all the songs on the album have been played ad nauseam on the radio. All that’s known when bought is the title of song and (maybe) the length of the song. At a bookstore, you can look at the book before buying it. Even if you can’t try out a computer game, at least you can read the box and know what it’s about, or find reviews online. Music is different.

Here’s a useful site from the ever-helpful EFF. If you haven’t already, JOIN!

RIAA, evil… synonyms.

News link for you to read and enjoy.

Today, I just laugh at the ridiculousness. Tomorrow, I think a bit more.

Read all about it, court forces Verizon to give up names of two people to the RIAA. Anyone else scared by this? The RIAA doesn’t need any proof. All they have to do is say that they suspect you of stealing files and they can get all your information. That’s like if you thought someone had stolen something from you, so you simply went and searched through their office or home, and it was legal.

I guess the greedy record industry isn’t aware of something called the 4th amendment: “The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the
persons or things to be seized.” The courts aren’t either.

The EFF puts a succinct point out. If you haven’t already, join the Electronic Frontier Foundation; they’re out there to protect our digital rights. Keep yourself informed on these issues.