The one thing that seems to get overlooked in all this discussion is Quality.

Take a music CD you bought at the store. Now download the .mp3 version of those songs. Now listen and compare.

Your download doesn't even get close to CD quality (unless you have real crappy speakers) till you get up into the higher bitrates (256 and 320).

So why pay $0.99 cents for inferior quality?? What a good scam for the recording industry. Music is like software. You make the product once and sell it many, many times... over and over again. And then you find out you can eliminate the ongoing cost of blank CDs and recording costs with the costs of some computer servers. Sure, they cost money and so does maintaining them--but folks, they could use the same old server software forever (Debian GNU Linux for FREE) and never incur an upgrade cost.

What you think you get here for FREE is really inferior quality. If you like the music, invest in the CD--don't waste your money paying for inferior downloads.

That's my opinion, anyway.

Well, I guess it's true that most of the "developed world" has the most of the bandwidth (along with everything else of monetary value) but I think that for the large majority on the planet, there is no need to worry, yes?

My point is that these discussions are very narrow in scope, and apply only to those in reach of Litigating parties, which is covered by a very short arm of the law. Example: in most of Asia, none of this applies, and in countries like India, Nepal, Afganistan, and surroundings, boot-legging is legal and state sanctioned: legal in the sense that valid tax-paying companies sell copied software, music, whatever, and that's just fine, as some of these countries have not even considered WTO's intellectual property agreements, and the local goverments just see this activity as everyday commerce, like selling a chinese rice cooker.

International tourists come to my hood all the time and fill suitcases full of CDs at 1USD (75 rupees) a pop. So I suppose this is file-sharing on a global scale, where the transfer methoud in this case is the Shop (vs. Limewire) and the files shared are with citizens of the planet and not within some small jurisdiction within a restrictive legal boundry (small portions of the internet).

BTW, whatever happenned to that upstate NY housewife charged, as her teenagers where using the computer to download files? We hear of things like that here over the internet radio, and think wahthefa.

Anyway, this is an interesting thread. Now I just wish I could get limewire to work and ditch Azureus. There are some things ya just can't find in the shops of Kathmandu...

jigs

I read a lot of the newsletters and am very involved with this one . I have found it most interesting in such things as the garbage that the RIAA is dishing out.

If you want the information on Patti Santangelo, that is the place to find it. They are asking donations for her legal costs, as she does live on Social Security Disability, as do I.

The cartel is constantly finding new ways to harrass and intimidate file sharers. They have gone the way of Microsoft, but I don't want to get into that here, I'm stuck with a Windows computer. My little check just can't handle a new one at the present time.

Back on the subject, just go to that link above. I think you'll find a lot on the goings on with the case there.

Actually I purchased LW Pro under the same assumption that downloading music would then become legal, because I was paying for something. Alas, I guess I don't mind supporting the developers.

There is a slight difference in quality but not a big difference. the listening pleasure via mp3's opposed to CD's bought is just as good in my opinion. i have noticed that you need to turn the volume on the cd player to around 16 or 17 to get a decent volume with mp3 music but thats not a problem.

Live in Canada.

File-sharing is legal here.

We're far less stupid than America.

Ooops--correction:

May I suggest you say "our judges make more sensible decisions"?

Re the legality of filesharing in Canada, the best source for info that I've found is http://www.cippic.ca/en/faqs-resources/file-sharing/

Quote:

According to the Federal Court, in a decision issued by Justice von Finckenstein on March 31, 2004, neither downloading a song for personal use nor merely making that file available to others to download from your computer (without some more active sharing activity) amounts to infringement under Canadian copyright law. The court ruled that "the mere fact of placing a copy on a shared directory in a computer where that copy can be accessed via a P2P service does not amount to distribution" or "authorization of the reproduction of sound recordings" under the Copyright Act. However, this decision has been appealed to the Federal Court of Appeal, so the issue remains in legal limbo.

The legality is under pressure and could change, so we need to keep informed. So far our courts have been quite sensible, but the copyright collectives like the CRIA have been working hard to get our politicians to change our laws.

I just heard on the news today that LimeWire is being sued over the free music downloads and that really sucks. I have about 800 songs and videos that I have downloaded. does anyone know what to do to keep from being sued?

Again? RIAA sued LW a little less than a yr. ago...
... you sure?


*burns music into cds...*
*deletes files from computer*

I saw it on the 5:00 pm news today. They did a "Special Investagation" on it and how to tell if the download site was lajidament.