Re-grokking Grokster (Linux Journal) [LWN.net]

Linux Journal's Doc Searls examines the effect of the MGM v. Grokster ruling on the spread of new technology. "Mark Cuban, for example, is an exceptionally innovative American individual who works on both sides of the Entertainment/Technology fence. From Broadcast.com to the Dallas Mavericks to HDnet to his own TV show, Mark knows how the games are played and has played them all very well. He's smart, shrewd and nobody's fool.* At the Web 2.0 conference last fall, he said, "When you're sitting around a table at a tough negotiation, you need to look around and see who the sucker is. If you don't find one, it's you.""

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Grokking Cuban

Posted Jul 9, 2005 5:06 UTC (Sat) by b7j0c (guest, #27559) [Link] (3 responses)

First, Cuban did not coin that "sucker" quote, it predates his birth at the least. Second, I give Cuban credit for one shrewd act - selling Yahoo! a pet rock for $2 billion+. As for Grokster, lets face it all of the peer services that have anything resembling a central resource are dead meat, the RIAA and MPAA have the green light to toast these firms. What will be left will be a new generation of truly distributed services that will provide the same functionality users have always demanded - any media they want any time. The RIAA are thinning the herd of weak solutions just as peer trading is about to take off - a truly unique way to commit suicide.

Grokking Cuban

Posted Jul 9, 2005 13:55 UTC (Sat) by peace (guest, #10016) [Link] (1 responses)

Don't forget the waves of "John Doe" lawsuits against actual p2p end users, harassing colleges/schools, etc. The RIAA/MPAA strategy is multi pronged. It includes making available legal channels for music download via iTunes and all the immitations, each infused with incompatible DRM. In other words, creating a huge mess of the technology leading to fear and loathing and profits.

The "in" crowd will always be able to find the networks that have the non-drm material. But those networks may start to look like a barral, and the crowd a bunch of flopping fish. Enter the **AA with their legal shotguns and its not a pretty picture. If they can isolate the inovators, technologists and copyright haters then they can make them vulnerable. History has shown that society is all to willing to turn on minority populations based on mainstream propaganda.

This battle needs to be fought in congress and in the courts against current US copyright laws. That way people will feel that it is actually reasonable to follow the law.

"The RIAA are thinning the herd of weak solutions just as peer trading is about to take off - a truly unique way to commit suicide."

I hope your right, it would be the most amusing outcome.

Kind Regards

Grokking Cuban

Posted Jul 9, 2005 16:42 UTC (Sat) by khim (subscriber, #9252) [Link]

It includes making available legal channels for music download via iTunes and all the immitations, each infused with incompatible DRM.

Isn't it the great thing ? I've seen a lof of people who tried iTunes and some other services. And were happy at first. But when they found it's impossible to use "bought" records as they wish (with regular MP3-player, for example; or with mobile-phone) they switched to Kazaa, Ed2k, BitTorrent, ... - and never looked back.

In other words, creating a huge mess of the technology leading to fear and loathing and profits.

True, but this short-term gain leads to long-term loses. If compatible DRM schemes were implemented everywhere and "Joe Average" was able to listen to iTunes bought song on his MS-enabled PDA he'd never even though about DRM!

Only time will tell who'll win this one... There are two possibilities only:
1. RIAA, MPAA and others will be defeated.
2. We'll enter the new "Dark Age" (since most DRM schemes are designed to make information totally inaccessible after some time future historians will have even less info about that time then thay have about times without written languages).

poor pet rock

Posted Jul 11, 2005 1:25 UTC (Mon) by xoddam (subscriber, #2322) [Link]

> selling Yahoo! a pet rock for $2 billion+.

Wow! I made my pet rock at pre-school, I love it, it's way too valuable
to sell it to some faceless corporation!

He sure lost out on that deal. And imagine how the rock feels!