Wirehead Studios

http://www.thepittsburghchannel.com/news/18160365/detail.html#

I don't even need to comment on this.  Read it yourself.

Looks like they've found the most profitable way to rake in the cash now: just attack those who are unlikely to defend themselves, unlikely to be guilty, and depressed as well. Excellent strategy -- if you don't mind greedy and soulless, that is.

Capitalism breeds greediness and soullessness.  I don't think any form of government or society is any better than another -- none of them work; all of them are corrupted and make life harder for the majority of people under that system.

Disgusting.

I agree.  Socialism turns a society into a Borg collective of zombie slaves to the state.  Capitalism was supposed to empower individuals, but it only empowers the rich and ultra-wealthy, and though it does have the benefit of letting people keep what they actually earn, earning anything of significance is more a matter of blind luck and being in the right place at the right time than talent, unless that talent is fueled by pure greed and a lack of any kind of ethics.  Both systems tend to make people miserable.  Chesterton had condemned both systems in favor of something called distributivism (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Distributivism), which never really took off on a large scale but would have been an interesting alternative.

I think the larger problem is that, while technology has changed, the human tendency to desire domination over other humans has not, and that remains at the heart of all of mankind's problems regardless of what system you attempt to govern it with.  There will always be those who seek to oppress.  Such as these must be opposed continually.  I see the RIAA as not a capitalist or socialist problem, but simply a manifestation of the more deep seated problem of human greed and the corrupt nature of the power elite.

Everyone's a criminal. :wall:

Every month they're going after cheaper and cheaper targets. Disabled people, OAP's, kids. Perhaps the anti-piracy campaign is working after all. It isn't discouraging piracy but it's certainly raking in the cash. It doesn't matter what side you're on in this argument. NO piece of music is worth half a year's wages.

The way they do it over here (although it's mainly the games industry and, as it turns out, the porn industry - I'm not kidding) is first they send you a letter demanding usually between ?300 and ?500 within three weeks or they sue. Usually ends up around the ?15000 mark. Atari got scuppered a couple of weeks ago trying to sue someone for sharing Race 07 but the people that the IP was attached to were two OAP's who had never played a game in their lives. The case was dropped, for reaons unknown.

The RIAA and the rest of these organizations have seized on Internet piracy as a means of generating revenue. I read a comment someone put up on the BBC News site saying that Piracy can not be beaten "unless they find a way to monetise it." Thing is, I think they already have.

What amazes me is how they try to shove DRM down everyone's throat and it's having the opposite effect.  Spore has had the bat snot pirated out of it, and the number one reason cited is that people hate the DRM.  Gabe Newell even said that intrusive DRM is not the way to go.  I think what the software developers need to realize is that you should not consider people who will never buy your game as a "lost sale".  Sure, they'll pirate it, but you'd never sell it to them anyway, so why grouse over it?  Better to provide incentives to buy a legit copy.  There's no shortage of ideas in that department, just look to the past.  Posters, T-shirts, discount coupons of other games, coupons for free strategy guides, collectibles, etc, a lot of stuff that usually requires a box to go in but... with online ordering, can still work.  You pay online, they ship you swag.  You pirate, no swag.  Granted that's not a flat out solution to piracy, but giving gamers something extra for being legit, to me, is certainly preferable than assuming everyone's a crook and punishing all equally.  Simply put, if you make your game more trouble than it's worth I'm not going to play it anyway.  If  I read that potentially system-destroying rootkit-type DRM is packaged with it, then I'm going to avoid it like a bad smell and I guarantee you will not have a customer.

As for music, I think the same basic formula should be used - carrot as opposed to stick.  I pre-ordered a copy of Iron Maiden's latest CD after hearing some sample tracks, and it came with a bonus DVD with documentary stuff, and a T-shirt.  Granted, I cannot wear the shirt, but it's something I have that is unique and nifty and the bonus DVD was insightful.  Not only that, but the music was great, which is what sold me on the CD anyway.  The swag just makes it all that much better.  Now... why is this so hard for the RIAA and other so-called "artists" to figure out?  Stop suing people and paying lawyers and use the lawyer money for nifty stuff to actually make a worthwhile product, and people WILL buy it to get the nifty stuff.  Sure, not every listener cares, but your hardcore fan base will go for it, and aren't repeat customers worth their weight in gold?  Why not appeal to the fans instead of trying to bludgeon them into submission?

This just in:  RIAA to stop suing people.
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,470039,00.html

In other news:  Hell freezes over.  Film at 11:00.

Now that is a turn-up for the books. :doom_?:

Well, they have apparently not stopped filing lawsuits.  It might be either an outright lie or some sort of elaborate wording.

http://www.dailytech.com/article.aspx?newsid=13753

I'll take "Outright Lies" for $500.