In comp.os.linux.advocacy, Roy Schestowitz
<newsgroups@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
wrote
on Tue, 29 Jul 2008 16:11:26 +0000
<3317431.jDm2J4SLRx@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>:
>
> Who wants a music tax?
>
> ,----[ Quote ]
> | "Should the music industry tax you to use the Web?" asked CNET. "Leave it to
> | our friends across the pond to come up with a creative, tax-heavy way of
> | punishing music downloaders," wrote Brian Heater at PC Magazine, who
> | continued - "Culture Secretary Andy Burnham is proposing yearly fees of £20
> | to £30, which would be imposed by ISPs."
> `----
>
> http://www.theregister.co.uk/2008/07/29/who_wants_a_music_tax/
>
> Taxing hard-drives, taxing blank CDs, taxing everything that
> the criminals at the RIAA decide they 'own'.
>
> Almost every computer is connected, so this would become
> the equivalent of government tax. It /makes/ RIAA 'the'
> government, privileged with a moneyflow monopoly.
Hmm...an interesting problem, especially when generalized
to any sort of data. The RIAA and the MPA may have
to merge, change their name to IAIDA (Information
Authorization and Identification Association), and
watch each and every one of us to make sure we're good
little boys and girls, so that they can get their iaias
(pronounced yayas).
Or maybe the Ministry of Information would be more appropriate.
(Would the UN approve?)
It's those darned
terrorists/democrats/gays/lesbians/foreigners/sheep
herders/lobbyists/extraterrestrials/..., I tellya...
>
> Release: Call for participation in the
> international action day ?Freedom not Fear?.
>
> ,----[ Quote ]
> | Noting a drift toward a surveillance society where freedom of expression and
> | information is threatened, officials of many organizations throughout the
> | world call for an action day on October 11, 2008.
> `----
>
> http://www.odebi.org/new2/?p=481&langswitch_lang=en
>
The above relates to a French variant; Germans have an identical
concept:
http://www.vorratsdatenspeicherung.de/content/view/242/1/lang,en/
This links to
http://wiki.vorratsdatenspeicherung.de/Freedom_Not_Fear_2008
which shows efforts in many European cities, as well as
Washington, DC -- though one might also suggest Redmond,
Washington... ;-)
>
> Recent:
>
> Japan to tax MP3 players
>
> ,----[ Quote ]
> | According to a report in the Asahi Shimbun newspaper, Japan's Agency for
> | Cultural Affairs wants to force MP3 player manufacturers to pay a royalty
> | charge to copyright holders that may have lost out as a result of illegally
> | recorded content.
> `----
>
> http://www.reghardware.co.uk/2008/05/07/ipod_tax_japan/
>
iPod tax? Sheesh...the iPod is not an MP3 player
(or perhaps not *only* an MP3 player would be a better
phrasing); it's connected to iTunes.
Then again, they'll probably want to tax every radio, TV,
phone unit, computer, microwave oven [*] -- anything that can
reliably transmit copyrighted (or potentially copyrighted)
information.
Just in case.
>
> Microsoft May Build a Copyright Cop Into Every Zune
>
> ,----[ Quote ]
> | If you like to download the latest episodes of ?Heroes? or other NBC shows
> | from BitTorrent, maybe you shouldn?t buy a Microsoft Zune to watch them on.
> `----
>
> http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/05/07/microsoft-may-build-a-copyright-cop-into-every-zune/index.html?ref=technology
>
Why not? Can't be too careful, after all.
>
> UK music industry pines for the good old days, seeks an iPod tax
>
> ,----[ Quote ]
> | But that's different from what the UK's music industry is demanding. I
> | happily pay Apple every time I download a song from iTunes. EMI and crew get
> | a piece of that $.99 fee to cover their costs of discovering and marketing
> | artists.
> |
> | What I'm not going to pay is for the right to move that song to my computer,
> | or to my phone, or wherever, just as I never had to pay to move a song from
> | vinyl to cassette tape. The music industry incurs no cost in that transfer,
> | and offers me no help in facilitating it. Why should it get paid for that
> | transfer?
> `----
>
> http://www.cnet.com/8301-13505_1-9924262-16.html?part=rss&tag=feed&subj=TheOpenRoad
>
>
> Copyright cops demand Ipod tax
>
> ,----[ Quote ]
> | British legal eagles have been trying to unshackle the UK from a law which
> | makes a criminal out of you every time you copy one of your own CDs to your
> | mp3 player for some time now, but the Music Business Group (MBG) says it
> | won't support the change in legislation unless manufacturers impose the tax.
> `----
>
> http://www.theinquirer.net/gb/inquirer/news/2008/04/17/ippod-tax
>
>
> EFF: Microsoft betrayed MSN Music customers
>
> ,----[ Quote ]
> | The Electronic Frontier Foundation says that Microsoft has "betrayed" MSN
> | Music customers and wants the company to make things right by issuing an
> | apology, refunds, and eliminate digital rights management technology from the
> | Zune music player.
> `----
>
> http://www.news.com/8301-10784_3-9931304-7.html?part=rss&subj=news&tag=2547-1_3-0-20
>
>
> Related:
>
> Music industry meeting could change the Zune
>
> ,----[ Quote ]
> | Bryan Lee, corporate vice present for Microsoft's entertainment
> | business, told me today that the meeting was set up as part of the
> | deal struck between Microsoft and music business honchos, who are
> | always wary of piracy... The meeting was supposed to take place "some
> | time after the holidays," he said. It also talks about the future
> | of the zune.
> `----
>
> http://blogs.chron.com/techblog/archives/2007/01/music_industry_meeting_could_change_the_zune.html
> http://tinyurl.com/y7z5wl
>
>
> A Legitimate Reason to Hate the Zune (And Microsoft Too)
>
> ,----[ Quote ]
> | Here's the situation: Microsoft has agreed to pay a portion of
> | the profits from the sales of the Zune to a record company
> | (Universal) because the Zune will undoubtedly be used to
> | store unpurchased songs.
> |
> | [...]
> |
> | Here it is important to remember a few simple things. The
> | money goes to the Universal, not to the artists.
> |
> | [...]
> |
> | Microsoft's move sets a bad precedent and turns all consumers into
> | thieves without evidence.
> `----
>
> http://www.applematters.com/index.php/section/comments/a-legitimate-reason-to-hate-the-zune-and-microsoft-too/
>
>
> Universal to seek money for each iPod sold
>
> ,----[ Quote ]
> | "It would be a nice idea. We have a negotiation coming up not too
> | far. I don't see why we wouldn't do that... but maybe not in the
> | same way," Morris said. His "same way" comment is a reference tot
> | he Zune, which Universal already gets $1 from after signing a deal
> | with Microsoft.
> `----
>
> http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20061128-8309.html
So...when are they going to tax the Internet?
[*] presumably, some of the fancier ones can play a tune when
the chicken's done. Can't be too careful.
--
#191, ewill3@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
If your CPU can't stand the heat, get another fan.
** Posted from http://www.teranews.com **
|
|
