September 07, 2004

• A related thread at AskMe.
• Missed that, thanks man.
• In fact that is the exact question I am asking.
• I think by weight is the way to go.
• /this is where I get caked in flung poop It may be a hypocritical stance, but anyway: while I can't deny to have obtained my share of not-quite-legal software and music from any kind of net-based medium (from newsgroups in the pleistocene to the latest p2p channels), I draw the line at actually *paying* for it. It's one thing to get some advance preview, unblemished with watermarked results or time-limit constrains, in order to judge if those $$$ will be a good investment, but actually fueling someone's trickybusiness is other thing. Yes, I have MP3s of bands I just won't buy any CDs from, but also have bought many after stumbling upon some music, after a friend gave it to me or found it in some cache. Where I live, you can see all the not-yet-on-movie-houses films, on crappy DVD/VCDs, weeks before their local premiere. I'd never buy them, not out of loyalty to the legal distrbutors, but because you know those street peddlers are funding underworld rackets with the profits. Of course, I don't think twice about copying a friend's compilation CD-R. Conflict of interests? Self-denial? Who knows.
• You're a pirate. ;-)
• 600 acres...
• Now ain't the time for your tears...
• This is a racket.
• I'm going to start a service where I arrange murders in Russia from here in the US. I dont keep up with the laws of different countries, so I'm assuming this is perfectly legal in Russia. Personally, I just use Kazaa Lite.
• Isn't there a bit of plausible deniability here? "I thought it was just like one of those other sites where you pay to download the music, so I didn't know I was doing anything wrong!" I've used allofmp3 for about a year and a half now. Much like Flagpole, I've obtained music in other not-quite-legal ways too. I pay for fast download speeds and for the convenience of everything in one place. I don't expect the veneer of legitimacy to hold up under scrutiny. And I sure as hell don't give them a credit card number...
• Personally, I just use Kazaa Lite. There is no Mac version...
• And as we wind on down the road....
• Now, let's see the other side of the story: any iTunes or other legit MP3 service users here? I'm curious about their service, and what worries me about DRM issues and such, are the possible problems down the road: when changing machines, about transfering files to another iPod or such, etc...
• No iTunes so far in Canada. :-(
• I'm wth Flagpole on this one. I have no qualms handing over the CD I bought, or borrowing and ripping the CD my friend buys, because it's our stuff and I'll be darned if I let some record company tell me what I can or can't do with my stuff. But I wouldn't ever pay a pirate. That's where I draw the line. Besides the whole organized crime thing, if I'm going to pay a pirate, I'd rather pay the one that is nominally involed in the creation of the music (like, say, TimeWarnerAOLTurnerSomething). So I guess this means that I'm a cheap bastard. It's either free or it's not for me.
• Limewire for the mac, kids. The reason this isn't front page news is that it's out of the RIAA's jurisdiction and drawing attention to it would just drive up the traffic.
• I've never decided where I stand on the whole issue of downloading MP3's, except to say that I keep it to an absolute minimum (I can count the downloaded ones on one hand). On the other hand, I have over 150 CD's that I've ripped onto my PC for convenience sake and a hundred or so more to go. Most of the stuff I've downloaded just isn't available by any other means (some 1990's techno, some French techno, etc.) that I can find.
• I'm curious about their service, and what worries me about DRM issues and such, are the possible problems down the road: when changing machines, about transfering files to another iPod or such, etc... I use iTunes too, for newer stuff. I also get some audiobooks from Audible.com. Recently I transferred all of my music to my new computer. When installing iTunes and importing the files, I was prompted for my iTunes and Audible username and password. I had a little difficulty when I was syncing my iPod to the new machine, which required me to re-authorize myself before I could sync the iTunes tracks. However, the whole thing was relatively painless. I've also used eMusic, and they have a good catalog of indie stuff, all of which appears to be DRM-free. I've never had a problem transferring one of their files to the iPod. Napster, on the other hand - I made that mistake before I bought my iPod, not knowing the tracks wouldn't be compatible. I had to do the burn-and-rip trick to get around the WMA DRM.
• Arrrrrrrr!
• I use allofmp3 for stuff that I bought on cassette a long time ago and don't feel like paying full price for twice. Allofmp3 lets me buy it in high bitrate aac (Ipod user) that sound a lot better than the crappy bitrate mp3s that i seem to find on kazaa. There are tons and tons of good free legal mp3s out there. Epitonic and better propaganda are two of the better sites. Itunes is ok. As a ipod owner I use it for the odd single. audio lunchbox typically has better prices and higher bitrate mp3s (you can also download ogg versions as well, they let you download BOTH for the same price if you want!). Emusic used to be pretty good, but i quit when they changed their service from unlimited downloads to their current setup. I don't use kazaa very often because I simple get tired of downloading crap and often can't find what i'm looking for anyway.
• Speaking of pirates, Talk Like a Pirate Day is less than two week's away (and on a Sunday this year; less fun doing it in church than at the office...)
• Dude, please. Don't you mean more fun doing it in church? I might even GO to church that day, just for the opportunity to say "arrrrr father who arrrrrt in heaven..."
• Oh God, arrrrrr help in ages past, Arrrrrrrr help for years to come...
• This may help easing your conscience, or not...