History and Senator Stevens' iPod

Electronic Frontier Foundation ^ | January 25, 2006

[mhx]

Hah!

[mhx]

If "disintermediation" can be a word, "disaggregation" can be, I suppose.

[Paul C. Jesup]

"The suggestion is that if we don't do this, it will stifle creativity. Well...we have now an unprecedented wave of creativity and product and content development...new business models, and new methodologies for distributing this content. The history of government mandates is that it always restricts innovation...why would we think that this one special time, we're going to impose a statutory government mandate on technology, and it will actually encourage innovation?" The second revelation, dropped into the later discussion of the RIAA's audio flag, was that Senator Stevens' daughter bought him an iPod.

Finally someone in the Senate understands the issues. And that someone is Republican Senator John Sununu.

And if that was all. Hehehehe...

"The suggestion is that if we don't do this, it will stifle creativity. Well...we have now an unprecedented wave of creativity and product and content development...new business models, and new methodologies for distributing this content. The history of government mandates is that it always restricts innovation...why would we think that this one special time, we're going to impose a statutory government mandate on technology, and it will actually encourage innovation?" The second revelation, dropped into the later discussion of the RIAA's audio flag, was that Senator Stevens' daughter bought him an iPod.

This is unhappy news for the RIAA. Once again, their representative was forced to burst into praises of MP3 players (a technology his organization attempted to sue out of existence in 1998).

And when Stevens asked whether with the audio flag in place he would be able to record from the radio and put the shows onto his iPod: that's when the RIAA's Mitch Bainwol really began to sweat.

Rolling on the floor laughing as freedom wins out today. LOL!!

[SunkenCiv]

"The suggestion is that if we don't do this, it will stifle creativity. Well...we have now an unprecedented wave of creativity and product and content development...new business models, and new methodologies for distributing this content. The history of government mandates is that it always restricts innovation...why would we think that this one special time, we're going to impose a statutory government mandate on technology, and it will actually encourage innovation?"

I don't regard piracy as creativity. However, the RIAA has a history of being on the wrong side of issues, such as its opposition to the sale of used CDs. I'm reminded of John Dvorak's remark in InfoWorld nearly 20 years ago -- where but in the software industry can one take a $1 program, put it on a 50 cent diskette, slip it into a $2 paper box, sell it for $500, and spend the rest of one's time complaining that one can't make any money?