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Digital rights management- DRM music
The DRM graveyard: A brief history of digital rights management in music
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There are more than a few reasons digital rights management (DRM) has been largely unsuccessful. But the easiest way to explain to a consumer why DRM doesn't work is to put it in terms he understands: "What happens to the music you paid for if that company changes its mind?" It was one thing when it was a theoretical question. Now it's a historical one. Rhapsody just had the next in a line of DRM music services to go--this week the company told its users than anyone with RAX files has unil November 7 to back them up in another format or lose them the next time they upgrade their systems.
The Electronic Frontier Foundation summarizes the battle:
Corporations claim that DRM is necessary to fight copyright infringement online and keep consumers safe from viruses. But there's no evidence that DRM helps fight either of those. Instead DRM helps big business stifle innovation and competition by making it easy to quash "unauthorized" uses of media and technology.
Unfortunately, the side effect in this less-than-successful attempt to fight piracy is the hours it takes users to retrieve, rip, and back up their music when a services shuts down, is sold, or simply decides DRM wasn't the right way to go (sometimes in as little as five months). The following is a brief history of the rise and fall of DRM in music services.
October 1998
The Digital Millennium Copyright Act makes DRM circumvention and circumvention tools illegal.
December 2001
Rhapsody unlimited music streaming subscription service launches with songs restricted by the company's Helix DRM.
October 2001
"Beale Screamer" cracks the Microsoft Windows Media DRM and posts a how-to on the sci-crypt Usenet board along with code for stripping the DRM from Windows Media files. In his message, he writes to music companies, "Give us more options, not fewer. If you try to take away our current rights, and dictate to us what we may or may not do, you're going to get a lot of resistance." To users he writes, "Please respect the uses I have intended this software for. I want to make a point with this software, and if you use it for purposes of violating copyrights, the message stands a very good chance of getting lost."
May 2002
Shuman Ghosemajumder proposes the Open Music Model, which states that subscription services free of DRM are the only successful model to beat piracy. It requires open file sharing, open file formats, open membership, open payment, and open competition.
April 21, 2003
RealNetworks (known for RealAudio, RealVideo and RealPlayer) acquires Listen.com, owner of Rhapsody and offers streaming downloads for a monthly fee.
April 28, 2003
One week later, the iTunes store launches with its songs encrypted with FairPlay DRM. It restricts users to accessing songs from only three (later five) computers and making no more than ten (later seven) copies of a CD playlist. Apple does not license its encryption, so only Apple devices can play iTunes music.
November 2003
FairPlay is cracked by Jon Lech Johansen ("DVD Jon"), previously known for his part in the DeCSS software, which was released four years earlier for decrypting DVDs.
January 2004
RealNetworks announces sale of DRM-restricted music in the RealPlayer Music Store.
August 2004
Microsoft begins certifying devices and providers with the PlaysForSure mark, noting that they had been tested and certified for compatibility with files encrypted with Windows Media DRM.
February 2005
Yahoo! Music offers unlimited music as a rebrand of LAUNCH Media at the Open Music Model's recommended $5 subscription price point, but using DRM.
October/November 2005
Consumers of Sony CDs discover the Sony rootkit in its SecuROM DRM. Removing it leaves some forced to reinstall Windows. Sony settles in December. (Read a timeline of the Sony rootkit story.)
July 2006
The eMusic subscription service, which sells songs DRM-free, becomes the second-largest digital music service, though with an 11% market share to iTunes' 67%.
September 2006
Steve Jobs announces that Apple has 88% of the legal US music download market--still locked under DRM.
November 2006
Microsoft abandons the PlaysForSure strategy in favor of a more Apple-esque approach with the Zune player tightly tied to the Zune Marketplace. PlaysForSure music will not play on the Zune.
February 2007
Steve Jobs writes in "Thoughts on Music" that it is the music companies who force Apple to use DRM in iTunes contracts, and he calls on them to relax the demand. "DRMs haven't worked, and may never work, to halt music piracy," he writes.
April 2007
EMI's music library becomes available DRM-free on iTunes for a premium charge through "iTunes Plus."
May 2007
Amazon announces it will sell DRM-free music for 99 cents/song. Shortly thereafter, Apple drops the DRM-free premium price.
Customers soon discover that each of these tracks downloaded from iTunes--even the new, DRM-free ones--has the user's personal information embedded.
August 2007
Wal-Mart begins offering DRM-restricted mp3 downloads.
Nokia Music Stoore launches to provide Nokia phones with an on-phone music store using DRM that allowed music to be played only on the phone.
February 2008
Wal-Mart decides to offer only DRM-free mp3s.
April 2008
Apple becomes the largest music seller in the US, followed by Wal-Mart and Best Buy.
March 2008
Microsoft announces that the MSN Music Store will no longer be supported and users will not be able to play their songs on any computer they do not authorize by August 31--songs definitely no longer "play for sure."
June 2008
Microsoft responds to customer outrage and agrees that MSN Music Store songs will continue to be transferrable through the end of 2011.
September 2008
Yahoo! Music Unlimited shuts down and merges into Rhapsody. It encourages users to burn their music to CDs by the end of the month, as the move to Rhapsody does not include the continued ability to access license keys for purchased music.
Wal-Mart decides to shut down its DRM system, ending support for protected files from the five months when they chose to use it.
January 2009
Apple agrees with the four major music companies that all music sold via iTunes will be sold DRM-free.
April 2009
Apple announces availability of DRM-free versions of all music in the iTunes store (but keeps it on video, audiobooks, and apps).
April 2010
Rhapsody spins off from RealNetworks.
September 2010
Nokia Music Store (Ovi Music) decides to go DRM-free.
November 2011
Rhapsody tells its users that anyone with its older RAX format files has unil November 7 to back them up in another format or lose them the next time they upgrade their systems.
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47 Comments
There is a new BIOS standard evolving which is called UEFI. Microsoft is trying to get the hardware manufacturers to include a "secure boot" feature whereby a computer can only run the OS first installed and never be switched to a different OS.
I predict that if Windows 8 machines ship with UEFI's secure boot enabled that the history of secure boot will look like a sped up version of the history of DRM as described by Ruth Suehle. As the cracking and counter measure battle over secure boot unfolds Microsoft will leave many Windows 8 users stranded with unusable Windows 8 operating systems that they have already paid for. At the same time second hand cracked machines will sell for more than second hand uncracked machines. Second hand machines that have been subjected to Microsoft's counter measures will be worthless.
Any bets on which country first produces "UEFI Maria"?
Steve Stites
In a way, we've already seen that happen with gaming consoles. For a while, there was a slight premium secondhand market for modded Xbox 360s. Then Microsoft started banning users with modded boxes from XBox Live, and suddenly you could pick up a modded Xbox pretty cheap on craigslist.
Unfortunately I don't think that what's happening with Windows is going to matter to most users who purchase a machine and never try to muck with the OS. It will, however, send Linux users and other DIY folks away from the big hardware vendors and over to those who sell boxes meant for or pre-installed with Linux. Could be a boost in business for people like ZaReason and System76.
The reason for the premium on modded consoles was because they play pirated content. no less than 1000 of these systems show up daily on eBay and are considered easy low-hanging-fruit to ban users for.
Microsoft hasn't completely closed the DRM door on the Xbox360 however, as users still pirate software, they just don't use their modded console online. JTAG hacking is still a problem and xbox live leaderboards are still completely useless.
This will never be solved as the problem exists on every game with leaderboards (including STEAM games,) cheats just proxy the connection and change the data without having to modify the system they are playing on.
Basically the pro-DRM argument is as follows:
- Anti-piracy
At this point I don't see why game developers even bother to produce physical media. They can easier control the piracy level by having the games only downloadable from their own servers or as the master seed in a torrent. Movie studios and Music publishers can learn from this.
- Anti-cheating/modding
Any game with an online component needs to have the entire chain protected to protect the integrity of the multiplayer game environment. Nobody wants to compete with cheating players when they know they can't beat them legitimately.
Both points are largely addressed by "Freemium" content and DLC, which can't be acquired by cheating, only by spending real money by having an account with the publisher. However these games are largely made less fun when you instead end up competing with people with deeper pocketbooks. 1% of players pay for the other 99% of players who never buy anything.
The Anti-DRM argument on the other hand:
- Mostly touted by people who don't want to pay, or feel that content is overpriced for it's value. As there's no competition, there is no way to introduce market forces except by piracy. There are people who have no qualms about buying bootleg chinese-made purses, shoes and DVD's because they are cheaper, they don't care if the owner is being ripped off.
- Opensource proponents
There's actually two factions of opensource people, the louder bunch, which believe DRM will intentionally prevent the use of opensource and homebrew alternatives. However this mostly comes as a just a guise for piracy. (You'll often see the "homebrew" argument presented for mod chips, when their real agenda is piracy or cheating. Go ahead and look for Wii's and Xbox's modded and running Linux) Then there is the less vocal but more legally sound group which are the GPLv3 Licence enforcers. The GPL guys don't like DRM because of interoptability concerns primarily because of patents on DRM make them illegal to create free alternatives and free implementations to proprietary and expensive software products.
Only in very few cases does the homebrew argument add up. The WRT54G router is one of them, where the router originally runs Linux, and the GPL operating system allows it to be a much better router from third party firmware.
Part of the reason we see dirt cheap DVD players is because CSS was broken. The Chinese-made DVD players that play any region of disc undermined all the expensive region locked DVD players. Software on PC's also can play any region.
China will always undermine DRM because everything is too expensive for Chinese users.
Set the price low enough that everyone in the world can buy, and then the piracy problem on media goes away. Get rid of region locks, and the mod-chip piracy problem goes away on consoles.
You can even prevent media piracy by embracing the fans desire to share translations. The fansubbers can release free subtitles to any language video on the PC, if only it were made easy to use. iTunes and Zune could and should add a way for subtitle bolt-ons during the purchase.
The ANti-DRM argument you've made is admittedly a straw man of readily discounted arguments. It is, of course, convenient to present only the weakest arguments if one intends to dismiss the position. The Anti-DRM argument (for me) is *actually*:
I play games. I've paid for my games. My favorite games are 10-20 years old. (Yeah. I know. "What do you play that on, old man? A Commodore 64?" Well, sometimes, yes; I have one right here.) It's called "having an attention span".
(1) No one promises that DRM servers are going to be around 10-20 years from now. So you can bet there won't be any analogs of me in the current population of gamers, because all of their games won't work by then.
Would I have bought (random example:) Spore? Sure would have, *if* it would have been possible to play it in 10-20 years. Since I can't, I didn't bother. Never played it. Never will.
(2) DRM in console games locks games to particular consoles. Show me where I can buy a new N64 to play games that only work there. Emulators? Sure. Let's all get together and violate the DMCA.
Just as no one promises to have DRM server up in 10 to 20 years, no one promises to keep making consoles to support current games for 10 to 20 years.
(3) I also won't waste money to buy another computer to be rootkitted by every online game service that comes along. I have a hard enough time controlling the security of my home network. (I repair other people's computers. Sometimes their security practices are less than stellar...) Intentionally adding invasive, obstreperous blobs of code to my computer would be dumb. So I don't.
Use Steam? No thanks. I don't have an additional machine to just throw away when I'm done.
To sum up...
Why do I like CDs? They'll last as long as I will. I can be certain that I can play them 'til the day I die. I don't have to rely on third parties to keep servers running, or to make hardware, or to not screw up the hardware I use to play them. (I've built a CD player from discretes. It's not as hard as one might think.)
Why do I sorta' like DVDs? They'll last as long as I will. I can probably play them until the day I die. I don' thave to rely on third parties to keep servers running. I *do* have to rely on third parties making hardware to read them because the DMCA makes it illegal for me to break the DRM that I can't individually license. So there exists government enforcement that limits my ability to make a player for this media.
Why will I never own a Blue-Ray player? I don't trust Sony to keep their DRM servers running. I don't trust Sony or their licensed publishers to not randomly decide that I no longer have access to media I own. I have to rely on Sony and others (e.g. Oracle) to continue to license DRM and other software to make working players. It is overwhelmingly likely that Blue-Ray disks will become unplayable, shiny disks during my lifetime, and paying for that is dumb.
So I *am* anti-DRM. But, ..., I *do* pay for the stuff I run. I maintain a meticulously licensed universe of software at home. Because I *actually* know about the licenses of the software I have, I'm far less likely to trust the DRMed and close-sourced stuff, for the reasons I've described above. This stuff is tools. Some of it is tools for entertainment and some of it is tools to get something done. In either case, paying for tools that require someone else's permission and continued good will to work is dumb. And I minimize the amount of this kind of dumb that I am.
I think you're a huge shill. DRM Breaking is NOT primarily for piracy as you seem to believe, or rather are paid to believe. Homebrew is a legitimate pass-time, a technical challenge and an exciting one at that. Mod Chips facilitate this process, and the people who build them DO KNOW that piracy will take place, but that is the COST of freedom to experiment and build. Bad people do bad things, but just because they do you CANNOT classify ever mod chip as inherently evil. All this crap that people just don't want to pay, well perhaps if these big corporations gave a rat's ass about the consumer there wouldn't be a problem.
Stop spewing what we all know is lies put forth by large media corporations; all they want is to control and dominate the markets and us consumers. We Won't Stand For It.
> The Anti-DRM argument on the other hand: ....
The above part was so badly worded ...
> Mostly touted by people who don't want to pay
Uses logical fallacy of Ad hominem
Here's why its wrong.
* Many of the anti-DRM folks are linux users.
What DRM is really doing is locking the user into some small ecosystems. You're stuck in either the microsoft camp, the amazon camp, the rhapsody camp or another, losing your freedom to use what's already out there. Making you pay for things that already exist in the commons or have already been paid for. The techniques used are market monopoly and exclusive channels.
I have a block buster subscription, rent DVDs because bluray DRM prevents it from running on linux. Avoid netflix becuase silverlight is another lock in strategy for a windows system. I would have subscribed to Netflix if it worked on Linux.
I tend to buy software only if its java, flash, runs on wine, advertised to be cross platform, or can be compiled on multiple platforms
ex: Readiris Pro 9 / Machinarium / Shredder Classic 4 / OxygenXML editor. thunderbird (over Ximian Evolution)
Here's why the accusation that Linux users pirate falls apart.
* Linux users use Linux precisely because they do not want to live within their means and not pirate.
* Also there is nothing to pirate as the desirable pirated software are usually meant for windows.
* Usually most software in the commons already does what most people need.
* You feel that paying up for something already paid for, is like giving in to bad marketing practices.
The pressure is higher for Windows users to pirate because the system causes them to spend more and more.
The irony is that if you're the Linux user amongst a group of windows users with similar affordability at a party, then most likely you're the one who doesn't pirate, while the windows users underground software to transfer just about anything around. So the DRM system doesn't really work, it only inconveniences people who use legit free and open software. no DRM system can really prevent copying, its always possible to re-record the rendered audio/video in the last hop using a simple video/audio-recorder. Again, so DRM system just don't work.
At the same time, If one argues that DRM does help content be secured, I see nothing wrong in having a DRM for linux. I think its possible to implement security systems for the code to self-check itself whether its compromised and play the content, while simultaneously being open-source. Perhaps part of this code should bury itself into the graphics card, decrypt the content outside of user accessible space, and provide some guarantee that no other memory access / screen grab or audio capture has access to it, assuming that's how DRM accomplishes its objectives. If that's not how DRM works on windows, then as mentioned there is no point in DRM at all.
What I value is the ability
* to migrate the DRM system and the content secured by it to any new machine / running which ever operating system
* perpetual executability / playability
Its good to see a list of non-DRM providers, because I think their business model and the artists behind them ought to be patronized.
A big concern would be live-CDs, including WInPE and BartsPE.
Secure boot is likely to make these unusable. meaning that it will be harder and more costly to repair corrupted, even WIn8.
Given Windows penchant for curruption, I think this means it will affect most users fairly rapidly.
Secure boot is need for only one reason, the requirement that users be able to access the bios from Windows. Allowing access to the bios at boot as was standard, and only allowing the bios to be flashed at boot from physical media virtually obviate the risk for a boot loader virus. Only a fool who would flash the bios with an untrusted upgrade would be at risk the,
The biggest irony, the people who cannot live with access to the bios only at boot are precisely the people who should not access the bios at all aka Grandma.
An increasing number of companies are selling 'bare bone' PCs for the purchaser to add a HD a DVD writer and possibly a graphics card/module and subsequently to install a preferred OS ,say Linux or FreeBSD or even Windows
At least in the UK one can now purchase a laptop without an installed OS . Personally I shall never again buy a brand make machine with pre-installed M$ software. In this circumventing any lock-down attempts by (software) vendors.
Microsoft doesn't like that model, I'm sure, because it would involve users purchasing a "full install" copy of their software, and they couldn't play pricing games with hardware manufacturers... Even more important, Microsoft doesn't want "full install" versions of their OS floating around to be virtualized and disseminated.
Actually, it looks like UEFI may not be much of a concern:
We are going to believe the word of a known Microsoft shill (Ed Bott).
Just search Groklaw for Ed Bott to see.
Personally, if MS wants Win8 to only run on secured hardware then they should design their own computers (like they did with Xbox, or the way Apple does). It should be illegal (monopoly laws) for MS to force hardware manufacturers to lock the hardware. It would be in best interest for PC makers to tell MS: "Unlock Win8, or it will not run on our hardware".
Imagine the outrage if BP forced GM/Ford/Honda/Toyota/Nissan to build cars that only accept BP fuel.
MS does not want the computers to be locked to Win8 permanently, they just want the ability for this locking to exist. In MS's vision, you will be able to go into the BIOS and set a key for whatever OS you may happen to have. The problem arises when you realize that real world computer manufacturers wont be including this menu in their BIOSes.
"In MS's vision, you will be able to go into the BIOS and set a key for whatever OS you may happen to have. "
How does that affect people like me who boot several operating systems, none of which is Windows?
Steve Stites
It wont effect you at all. You just get the keys (probably just a hash) for the OSes you plan to install, and add them to the whitelist in the BIOS. The requirement to whitelist bootcode will prevent a particularly nasty brand of malware that inserts itself so far up the bootchain that it gets loaded before the OS.
The real issue is that the large computer makers will not ship with full featured BIOSes. We can see this already, where you can't overclock a computer running a Dell BIOS or the like, because the BIOS manufacturer simply cut that capability out of the BIOS.
You turn off secure boot.
All MS is saying is that for a computer/motherboard to be declared "Windows Ready" it has to have two things.
1)Implement the "Secure Boot" option in the UEFI
2)Have that option enabled by default in the BIOS
MS doesn't care if there is or is not an option to disable it as long as it is enabled by default.
The debate come in if the hardware manufactures do not include a way to disable the option.
In my opinion secure boot is a good thing as it can ensure that malware can't mess with the OS load process.
See here for more details on the Secure Boot
What good will it do if secure boot just insures the bootloading of the biggest malware payload there is? A Microsoft OS.
Sounds like another half-baked idea from Microsoft to try to comfort their hardware vendor zombies with the sliding market share of Microsoft-based PCs in the consumer world.
The enterprise IT guys need to chime in here, because at an enterprise level, I get the sense that Microsoft is becoming a much more insidious monster... likely paying off IT decision makers in various ways to choose Microsoft enterprise tools. I use Windows XP Professional every day in an enterprise setting, and I feel like anything *but* a professional with it.
I have worked as an enterprise IT guy for most of the past 30 years. Before there were PCs. Most purchasing departments buy computers strictly because of discounted prices for the larger counts of computers needed for a business. As such, only the big names can compete.
Anyone who has ever used a brand new name brand computer knows that it is vitually useless as it comes from the manufacturer. There are numerous bloat applications, applications disguised to look real but are only ads for the OEM, and applications that are not usefull in a corporate environment. Now we can see how this is going to add to the price in the IT/corporate world.
When I setup a new computer for a user, I take the first unit of that particular model (in an IT department a certain PC model may be used for 6 months to a year) and wipe the hard drive. Then intelligently install the OS and the applications needed for the user to do their job. Then make an image of that install to load on all of the other units of that model. UEFI will have to be accessed in order to do this.
We're still talking about the OS that came licensed on this particular PC, but not in the form it came in. This is where MS wants more and more money. And that is what this is really all about. I will imagine there will be a pay for key to do this. Or you will have to be an OEM builder who buys an enormous amount of licenses to get the keys.
Any restriction to what can be done with hardware YOU OWN should be a crime. BIOS is an outdated way for the hardware to pass to the software what is in the system. I have been around long enough to have had to work with engineers to reprogram the BIOS of the first PCs because of the limited support of the newest peripherals, which were not neccesarily designed for PCs.
Something needed to be done, but putting limitations on what the device can be used for is counterproductive. And as with all commercially available systems, like cell phones, PCs and DVD players, the hackers have probably already found the hacks to get by this all. So only legitamate users suffer from these futile attempts to stop malware and root kits.
My concern about these "requirements" of Microsoft is. What will happen to the pre-installed Win8 if you turn of the Secure Boot option?
My bet is that it will pop up a message like "Windows could not boot, because this PC is tampered with. You might have a pirated version of Windows installed"
And the OS will probably phone home to report this.
Which is why I will never use Windows to begin with. If this means that I have to take the extra step to ensure a computer works with GNU/LINUX then so be it. Screw Microsoft, seriously!
Here is something with impressive specs and *no* Microsoft tax:
Of course, DRM really stands for Digital Restrictions Management. It's all about *Restricting* your Rights, not enforcing them.
And who manages/licenses these keys? Who decides which OS is secure to be authorised? How will the key/BIOS know if an OS got infected with malware or what if you custom build your OS how do you prevent BIOS a false positive. IF MS is worried about malware then maybe THEY should secure Windows so that malware can't get to the bootchain.
I can already see it:
- MS support: How can I help you?
- user: My computer won't boot.
- MS: You need to call you PC maker and get BIOS key
- PC maker: You need to run Windows updates
- User: But I can't boot, how can I run Win Updates?
- PC maker: Call MS for support
- MS: Due to previous Win updates the hash has changed, you need to update your BIOS to get the new security key, call your PC maker.
- PC maker: There is no new BIOS update. We only support the OS setup that shipped from the factory, run Full System Recovery from your DVD recovery disks.
- User: I don't have any DVD recovery disks.
- PC maker: You can create recovery disks by going to Start-Programs-CrateRecoveryDisks.
- User: But I can't boot to Windows
- PC maker: You can order DVD recovery disks from our sales department, please hold.
- PC sales: How can I help you?
- User: I need Recovery Disks.
- PC sales: What's the serial # of the PC?
- User: The s/n is A325BK48-P58
- PC maker: Sorry that s/n is not showing up in our database, can I get the model and OS.
- User: Dell K58, Pentium i3, Windows 8
- PC sales: Ok, great. The Recovery Disks cost $49.99, plus $9.99 shipping & handling. It takes about 5-7 business days for the disk to arrive to you. We accept MC and Visa.
- User: I only have Amex.
- PC sales: Sorry, we don't accept Amex. Goodbye.
The BIOS of my 2010 laptop still supports the A20 gate option introduced so that old DOS programs that relied on a 20 bit 8086 address bus didn't fail on the 80286. What makes you think that the OEMs will prevent WinXP, WinVista and Win7 to run on their hardware? I really don't see it. Especially if enterprises are just starting to standardise on Win7...
PC makers will design to run only Win8, because it's cheaper for them to test the hardware just for one OS, instead of testing it for WinXP, Vista, 7, 8, and Linux. And then when Win9 comes out, PC makers will build hardware for Win9. I've seen on other posts that users can't get tech support form the PC maker because they installed different Windows than the factory installed Windows. So yes, there's a good possibility that PC makers might lock their h/w to Win8. MS may also offer licensing discounts to the PC makers that lock their h/w, and PC makers will take the discounts.
That would be great. Then Microsoft Windows-based PCs will finally be seen as what they are... useless pieces of crap.
Don't buy them. It's not your hardware. It's Microsoft's.
I would love to see this next level of DRM experiment. Microsoft will take some participating hardware vendors down with them.
Check out the android phones - how many of them received OS update after 6 months?
And, as they have protected boot-loader, the owner is stuck even if some willing and skilled tech-gurus create an image of the new version.
This realy sucks - and I expect the same situation in PCs, too.
BTW, the A20 gate option is supported mostly on DIY HW, not on the mainstream products - haven't seen the option for years.
Hi Ruth,
Nice write up. However, I see a glaring mistake in your article:
It's "Digital Restrictions Management". The only "rights" in DRM are the ones that get damaged - those of the consumer, even those of the issuing corp.
Hi Ruth,
I've moved countries a few times and travelled quite extensively, and one of the glaring issues which really winds me up when it comes to DRM (and things like Zoning) is that the legitimate content I purchased in one country can become little more than a coaster or worse (useless bits on my hd) in another country. Where as if I bought an illegitimate copy (or downloaded one) for a much lower to free price, I could play it anywhere I wanted. In short DRM winds up punishing real customers rather than stopping pirates who likely wouldn't have paid for the content anyway
my 2c
Maybe it's just me, but none of the music or movies I've downloaded have ever been DRM-crippled-crapware. Oh, and there was no cost, either.
/Sea-brigands' Lagoon
//Fark big media.
I owned a DVD of "Gentlemen Prefer Blondes". Region encoding prevented me from playing it. So I bittortented an unlocked copy, and scizzored the original. No guilt here!
I work at a school. One of the recurring problems we have is people bringing pirated movies into school.
Not the pupils. Though one of them did have a copy of Jackass 3.
It's the teachers.
The english department uses movies for teaching purposes. They have these movies, legitimatly, on DVD - but this is a school, and these discs are constantly getting misplaced, borrowed or lost. When found, they tend to have been left on a table and gotten so covered in scratches they won't play properly any more. So a few of the teachers found a simple workaround - they just download the movies from bittorrent and bring them in on USB stick. Those copies play better and with none of the loss or damage problems of DVDs. Every few months we catch one and give them a telling-off, but they always go back to their pirate ways.
Obviously, these teachers are the scourge of the content industry... making a digital copy for limited use. They are just trying to use the content that they own in a useful way.
Stupid Microsoft Windows reliability games moved me to Linux in 2007 with Vista. I feel like Charlie Brown in the fall special with Lucy holding football for me to kick. Every year I thought that *finally* Microsoft will fix the many user problems with their software. Not so, PC fan breath.
It finally moved my computer-illiterate parents to an iMac in about 2009. My mother still has to be tutored on how to cut and paste a URL *every time* she tries to due it, but *now* she can use the machine to email and surf the web without being subjected to the latest Windows-world sh*tstorm of malware. Her old Compaq runs Ubuntu reliably for my kids to use.
If Microsoft thinks that UEFI is going to fix their crappy software issues, they need to look in the mirror. Their crappy software issues are a part of a *design* and *quality* problem, not a *security* problem.
Everybody who knows the Microsoft beast needs to spread the word to his/her fellow user: Buy a Mac. Buy only hardware that allows for alternative OS installations. Help Microsoft flush their consumer market share further down the toilet.
Why buying a MAC when there are umpteen Linux distributions to choose from .
Just erase M$ Windows from any PC and install Linux
It is just a matter of KISS (Keep it simple stupid)
I took the freedom to post a German translation of the above article on my blog. Take a look if you like.
Nice article, but it is missing quite a bit, such as BlueRay encryption and DVD Jon's crack for it. More involving the DeCSS lawsuit would have also helped. The DVD Shink case was not covered. Nor was the Sonny Bono Copyright Extension Act. PirateBay deserves a footnote, as does Napster. How about the fight over VCR's, scrambled outputs, and "Don't copy that floppy"? Metallica's Lars Ulrich downloaded his own album, after being a strong RIAA supporter.
You really could expand this article into a book.
Some of those would make good additions. I was trying to keep it manageable, though, and about DRM, not piracy. DeCSS was more about video, as of course is VCRs, all of which is interesting but tangential to the specific story of music and DRM. FWIW, I'm thinking of doing a separate timeline about video issues.
Easy solution:
Charge the minimum denomination in hard currency in each country each time a song/movie is played. Here in Oz, its 5c. In China and india it will be cheaper, reflecting what people there will more likely be able to play. As the country becomes more affluent, the lowest denominations tend to disappear. We've already lost 1c and 2c - they're already talking about 5c. Good luck if you're in Zimbabwe!
The music "industry" (And especially artist associations) have always been crying wolf.
In the mid 1800'th with the invention of the mechanical piano they predicted the end of music in as few as 10 years. No one would pay to listen to a musician when these devices could play instead and when musicians could not make a living they would stop producing new music. A national newspaper campaign were set in motion to "help save the music" moving for a ban of this new technology... They didn't succeed and strangely, music didn't die. Every time something new have been invented that relates to music, the "industry" cries and says we have now seen the end of music...
And as to the UEFI, It IS a disaster, not because you won't be able to run linux on a machine (you will by going through some settings in the pre-boot interface on almost all machines) but because you will not be able to upgrade your paid system or actively save a wrecked system (By that I am talking about using a Linux live CD to open a locked up Windows system and re open it for use) AND (and this is probably why Microsoft is so keen on this) you won't be able to try out linux with an easy LiveCD because you need skills that are not common to allow it to boot, and Microsoft knows that this is the main cause of people using other systems, they are introduced to how easy and simple they are using a LiveCD.
I was one of the many burn victims of the Yahoo! Music Service. They actually had a pretty decent library of old stuff, obscure stuff, eclectic stuff. I downloaded so many songs. Thought I had ripped and saved all of the purchases, but even still, even now, I'll go to my library wanting to play something, and that useless, goddamn Yahoo DRM license website pops up. Rhapsody gave me a credit to download X amount of music to compensate when Yahoo shut down - but I obviously I missed many of the songs I'd bought. Never thought I'd have to bookkeep my music.
Here's the thing: Because of DRM, I've had to purchases songs two, three, even four times. That's just wrong.
I don't buy music or movies anymore. I don't do any online music service (rhapsody, iTuNeS, yahoo, walmart, MS/Zune, etc). I don't even give music as gifts.
I don't pirate the stuff, either.
I've stopped buying and going to movies. The rare exception being a trip to the drafthouse movie theater with friends to have a few beers and watch a movie - usually these are old movies or cartoons (Spike and Mike's) with a theme.
Considering the mess that Sony made with their root kit, and the fact that no one went to PMITA JAIL for a computer crime, means that I don't buy their hardware, either.
It's all an intangible luxury, and if there's ever been an industry that needs to be taken to task for it's greed and corruption, it's the entertainment / media industry. I don't need any of it. They need me. I need gas, food, cars, clothing, tools, etc, but I don't *need* movies, music and TV - they're a luxury, and in my opinion, the market is a bubble waiting to pop.
YMMV, but i've actually had good luck with STEAM. Any complaint or gripe I've had has been resolved quickly. Games go on sale pretty regularly, and around Chistmas and new years', whole catalogs of games go on sale for pennies on the dollar.
After Sony CD fiasco I started using nothing but Flac and MP3's for music and since downloading music is legal in Canada I downloaded digital copies of all the music I owned since about 1965 and now have an awesome digital library....thanks Sony:P
DRM is nothing short of more creative control for the distributor. As an artist, once I sell my work to a distributor who has DRM, I lose my copyrights per the law. Not that I don't actually own my intellectual property, I do! But what good is my property if I can't do anything with it now that I have it locked it in a DRM? It turns it into a criminal act to distribute my own creativity outside of that specific DRM provider. I can't sell a copy, I can't give a copy away, or even showcase a copy without breaking DRM - even if I already have the ORIGINAL copy! DRM doesn't work because it is ALWAYS broken. Someone will break it. The claim DRM providers that it is used for anti-piracy is a joke because a creator can't pirate his own copyright. It may have been made originally for the purpose of anti-piracy, but distributors found a loophole that allows them to make larger profits by confiscating copyright with it. Because breaking a DRM is illegal even if the intention of breaking a DRM is not used for illegal purposes. What good is holding the right to something with DRM laws the way they are now? Now these distributors are playing a whole new ball game. And it's just big business for them - they are fighting for control over not just your use of their content, but user privacy. Rootkits, internet-only platform access, privacy removal for sharing sites like Youtube, internet copyright infringement cops - Countries has even gone to the lengths of shutting down entire households from internet access due to infringement claims. Like the web is used only for entertainment or something. People need it nowadays for just about every aspect of their lives! And most people don't realize that even if YOU don't even think so, YOU ARE technically, A PIRATE. You copy copy copy, everytime you stream content, save a picture as, use a quote in a text and put it on your Facebook without citation, or share a song with somebody. Believe me, no matter how ridiculous and trivial it may sound to you, it is not trivial but serious business to these corporations who are controlling copyright via DRM. If you realize the potential of knowing your own personal habits through your use of the computer, they can better understand how to profit from you - keep talking about being for-DRM, it's not about copyright anymore its about privacy, control and ownership.
DRM is nothing short of more creative control for the distributor. As an artist, once I sell my work to a distributor who has DRM, I lose my copyrights per the law. Not that I don't actually own my intellectual property, I do! But what good is my property if I can't do anything with it now that I have it locked it in a DRM? It turns it into a criminal act to distribute my own creativity outside of that specific DRM provider. I can't sell a copy, I can't give a copy away, or even showcase a copy without breaking DRM - even if I already have the ORIGINAL copy! DRM doesn't work because it is ALWAYS broken. Someone will break it. The claim DRM providers that it is used for anti-piracy is a joke because a creator can't pirate his own copyright. It may have been made originally for the purpose of anti-piracy, but distributors found a loophole that allows them to make larger profits by confiscating copyright with it. Because breaking a DRM is illegal even if the intention of breaking a DRM is not used for illegal purposes. What good is holding the right to something with DRM laws the way they are now? Now these distributors are playing a whole new ball game. And it's just big business for them - they are fighting for control over not just your use of their content, but user privacy. Rootkits, internet-only platform access, privacy removal for sharing sites like Youtube, internet copyright infringement cops - Countries has even gone to the lengths of shutting down entire households from internet access due to infringement claims. Like the web is used only for entertainment or something. People need it nowadays for just about every aspect of their lives! And most people don't realize that even if YOU don't even think so, YOU ARE technically, A PIRATE. You copy copy copy, everytime you stream content, save a picture as, use a quote in a text and put it on your Facebook without citation, or share a song with somebody. Believe me, no matter how ridiculous and trivial it may sound to you, it is not trivial but serious business to these corporations who are controlling copyright via DRM. If you realize the potential of knowing your own personal habits through your use of the computer, they can better understand how to profit from you - keep talking about being for-DRM, it's not about copyright anymore its about privacy, control and ownership.


text:
Simulation Gives People Bitter Taste of Mid-Missouri Poverty
Related Story
COLUMBIA - Odds are you consider yourself a busy person, trying to take care of your own business and those around you. But I and a handful of community members who are considered "busy" by any standards got a glimpse at just how time-consuming being poor is.
In my reality, it lasted just a couple of hours. The poverty simulation hosted by Central Missouri Community Action asked us to pretend. We acted like a family struggling. We had fake conversations about what help we needed. We filled out phony applications for services and jobs. It wasn't real--except it was--just not for us.
The depressing family facts we were handed upon arrival were very real. We played out a slice in the lives of actual mom, dads, children and senior citizens trying to navigate a huge and complicated assembly of resources designed to help-as long as you can figure out how to use them.
You start seeking any kind of support you can find. I was an eight-year-old boy. Our formerly dual-income family was down to one parent working, three kids to feed, no health insurance and a lot of monthly bills. I had some resources, but I couldn't get to the right place at the right time to get anything accomplished. Playing the parent, I applied for a job and they told me they would get back to me. But then I never heard from them.
That's no place to be, believe me.
Other families had it worse: homeless, living with a disability, or with no transportation to get help. Again, that's reality.
I did see success. We kept our house!
But I saw far more payday advances and eviction notices.
Twenty-eight thousand men, women and kids live in poverty in Boone County. Right here. Whether you see it or not, you're passing by them every single day. Most are trying. But the amount of time required to get help is daunting. And the unexplained intricacies of an overwhelmed system would frustrate and anger pretty much anyone. Central Missouri Community Action exists to help guide the poor in our community through the frustrating and slow system.
It helped almost ten thousand families in eight mid-Missouri counties get more than $5.9 million in help last year.
CMCA community services director Angela Hurst talked about her disappointment in our country's public aid system. It cuts off huge chunks of money to recipients when they get even slightly more money at work. They lose childcare subsidies, rent assistance and more. It all gets taken away or significantly reduced if a working mom accepts as little as a 5 cent per hour raise.
Hurst said it is a system with too many penalties for those living in poverty when they improve their circumstances.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Enable the SQL Server Browser service
If you're trying to add MS SQL Web or Standard to your server, you must enable the SQL Server Browser service so that Plesk can recognize the database server.
- While logged into your server with Remote Desktop, open Administrative tools from the Start Menu.
- Double-click Services to open the services menu.
- Right-click on SQL Server Browser, then click Properties.
- Toggle the Startup Type drop-down menu to Automatic.
- Click Apply to save the changes.
- Click Start to start the service.


text:
Because we think Good Tea is Important
Our Latest News
New coffee flavouring service
We are pleased to announce our coffee flavouring service is now available for a wide range of our coffee products. Simply select the coffee you would like and on the product page we have provided you with a wide range of flavours available to choose from. These include your traditional vanilla, caramel and cinnamon options plus coconut, mint, gingerbread and many more.
Assam Tea benefits: What are they?
Rich and malty with a great depth of flavour, Assam tea is easily among the tastiest and most satisfying beverages you can enjoy throughout your day. However, like many of our teas, there is much more to Assam than meets the eye – or taste buds in this instance!
Magisso Cup
Do you want a perfect cup of tea? We do. The Magisso Teacup makes enjoying tea nice and simple. Thanks to the triangle bottom, it is easy to adjust the strength of tea depending on your taste without making a mess.


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This was the most excited my husband has been since wedding planning started.
But of course! He wants you guys to be as fancy as possible on your wedding day. Remember, The One Percent are too good for restaurants so they eat in their cars while somebody else drives them around.


text:
Total number of intakes: 417
Total visits: 1,812
Gender: 65 percent men; 34 percent women; 1 percent transgender
Age: 10 percent 15-24; 19 percent 25-34; 25 percent 35-44; 29 percent 45-54; 17 percent 55+
Number of times homeless: First time, 38 percent; second time, 19 percent; three times, 15 percent; continuously homeless for at least three years, 4 percent
Receiving some services: 78 percent
Individuals receiving no government services at all: 129
Source: Bridge House Intake Survey
More than half the people who sought help at Bridge House's new resource center for the homeless had lived in Boulder less than six months, according to data released Wednesday by the day shelter and social service agency.
The information came from intake forms filled out by 417 people who sought help at the off-site resource center between October and April and was collected by Bridge House in an effort to better understand who Boulder's homeless population is and what services it needs.
Asked where they lived prior to becoming homeless, 31 percent said they lived in other parts of Colorado and 32 percent said they came from another state. The other 37 percent are from Boulder or Boulder County.
Asked how long they had lived in Boulder, 52 percent said less than six months. Another 38 percent had lived here more than a year.
Bridge House Executive Director Isabel McDevitt said she knows the information is potentially controversial, as there has been ongoing debate in Boulder about whether offering services for the homeless draws more homeless people to Boulder.
However, McDevitt said she wanted to be transparent about what the intake survey found.
"It's a community question," she said. "Do you care where people lived before they became homeless or do you care what someone is doing to get out of homelessness?"
Some communities have sought to restrict benefits to people who have lived there for a certain amount of time. McDevitt said proving residency can be challenging for many homeless people, and she said the community should think about what goals it is trying to achieve before restricting services.
She also stressed the data is not scientific and is based only on information from those who sought out services at the resource center.
However, that population has significant overlap with the adult, single homeless population that has made use of the day shelter at the Bridge House.
The intake survey did not ask people why they had come to Boulder. In an interview, McDevitt said she believed the same natural beauty, favorable weather and community atmosphere that draw people with housing and opportunities to Boulder also attract homeless people. She said she did not see evidence that generous services were drawing homeless people to Boulder.
The intake survey also found that 38 percent of homeless people who sought services were homeless for the first time. More than 40 percent had a disability, though only 64 people — roughly 15 percent — were receiving disability benefits.
Half had sought treatment for a mental illness, 41 percent reported abusing drugs or alcohol and 24 percent had a traumatic brain injury. McDevitt said that last group is a population that falls through the cracks, as some of the symptoms can be similar to mental illness, but there are far fewer resources.
The vast majority of the people who went to the resource center — 87 percent — were unemployed. More than half said they were actively looking for work.
The intake survey found that most homeless people were receiving some government benefits, even if it was only food stamps, but 129 people were receiving no assistance at all.
McDevitt said the intake results point to a continued need for addiction recovery services and employment opportunities. Bridge House has created the Ready to Work program to provide job training and experience with market-rate wages and is looking at other social entrepreneur opportunities to expand employment. And its recovery groups are among its most popular services, McDevitt said. However, more needs to be done, she said.
McDevitt said the results also point to lack of coordination between social service providers, as almost everyone who is homeless should be eligible for some assistance and many are not getting all the benefits to which they are entitled.
Bridge House opened the resource center two days a week in the annex of the First Presbyterian Church, near 16th and Walnut streets, last fall. It includes representatives of 12 other social service and government entities, and one of its main goals has been to improve coordination of services so that people who want to get out of homelessness have access to a full range of support.
Bridge House still has its day shelter in the carriage house behind the First Congregational Church. Its lease will be expiring in a few years, and Bridge House is looking for more space.
While the need for a day shelter will always exist, McDevitt said the experience with the resource center suggests that Bridge House doesn't necessarily need all of its services — like meals and social space — under one roof. The resource center doesn't even have coffee, yet hundreds of people sought services there.
In fact, McDevitt said, some people who had been homeless for years sought services for the first time because they preferred the quieter, more private environment to the crowds at the carriage house day shelter.
Karen Rahn, Boulder's director of housing and human services, said the results of the intake survey will help the city be more strategic in how it uses its resources. This summer, the city plans to present an assessment of its programs and how those fit into the 10-year plan to end homelessness.
Rahn said the knowledge that many homeless people are from outside the community will be part of the discussion of city priorities. There will always be a need for emergency services so that people don't freeze or starve in the streets, she said. At the same time, the city has financial constraints on the services it provides.
"You can't be all things to all people," she said. "That will be the community discussion, as we decide where to invest our limited resources."
City Councilwoman Lisa Morzel said she was surprised by the numbers. While she was proud of the services offered in Boulder, she doesn't want the city serving as a "mecca for the homeless."
"I would want to drill down into this a little more and find out why people are coming from another state and coming to Colorado," she said. "Did they come here for the social services? Did they come here for opportunities? Did they come here for the weather?"
Contact Camera Staff Writer Erica Meltzer at 303-473-1355 or firstname.lastname@example.com.


text:
Still Plays With Blocks
Founding Member
Supporting Member
- Joined
- Feb 28, 2011
- Messages
- 577
- Reaction score
- 1
Ratton posted a photo last year of how my logo has changed over the 7 years I have been making boards under the BoardSMITH name. Funny, I remember each one and how I got them. The first branding iron burned me so badly I was out of action for three days cooling a badly burned right hand. The first one was quite cheap and looked cheap. So I found a company that made logo iron and used them. The first heating iron was just a $20 soldering iron which was sloooooow to heat and broke soon after. I found the last company and their branding heads are more substantial and the heating element is fast. I used the first one from them for two years with no deterioration in the brand but decided an update was in order. The photo below is the updated logo which has been going out on the boards for a week now.


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Not far beyond Las Puntas checkpoint, the entry road descends into soft cloudforest and ends at OYACACHI, nestled at 3200m in the crook of a valley. The village lies at the high end of one of the oldest routes into the Oriente, very likely the one Gonzalo Pizarro used during his ill-fated search east for El Dorado. One legend maintains two families met here to establish the community, one from the highlands (the Parión family), the other from the rainforests in Oriente (the Aigaje family); it might be a quaint story, but almost every one of the village's Quichua-speaking residents has one of these names. They live by the reserve's environmental regulations, which prevent them from developing or cultivating the surrounding terrain, but do grant them generous plots of communal and individual land nearby. Self-imposed rules prohibit the sale of cigarettes and liquor in the village. A hydroelectric dam provides energy, and trout farming, cheese production and woodcarving bolster the local economy. On the main street opposite the school is a communal store many local families supply, where you can buy anything from a simple batea (tray) to elaborate animal carvings.
The main attraction for visitors though, apart from the starting point for a hike to the Oriente, are the thermal springs, Fuentes Termales (daily 8am–4pm; $2), where you can wallow in the warmth of several steaming pools while admiring the wooded hills around you. Apart from weekends, when there's a woodcarving market at the entrance, you'll have the place to yourself.
Oyacachi receives few tourists, but there is a bus service from Cayambe, meaning unless you come on Sunday you'll probably have to stay the night here. The hotel (no name, ask for it or the owner, Elgar Parión; t02/2288968 is the shared number for the whole village; $11–15) has a few perfectly comfortable yet simple rooms with a shared bathroom. Campers can pitch their tents near the springs for a few dollars. You can get meals up the street from the hotel at La Oyacacheña (no sign), run by María Zoila Aigaje, who cooks up a mean fresh trout. Other locals would also be happy to cook for you; just ask around. A taxi or camioneta from Cayambe costs around $20–30 one-way (1hr 15min), or around $40 for a full day.
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text: The Institute for Cancer Genetics was founded in 1999 as part of a commitment by Columbia University to examine the molecular mechanisms and pathogenesis of cancer. Researchers in the Institute use traditional approaches such as transgenic mice to model human cancers and also take advantage of new technology such as Nextgen sequencing to identify and characterize key proteins and transcriptional and signaling pathways involved in tumor initiation and progression. Research in the ICG includes cancer genetics and epigenetics, intensive analysis of key protein-protein interactions in oncogenic pathways, DNA damage and repair in normal and neoplastic cells, and experimental anti-cancer therapeutics.


text:
The average salary for a Warehouse Manager in Cincinnati, Ohio is $50,033.
Is Warehouse Manager your job title? Find out what you should be paid
Use our tool to get a personalized report on your market worth.What's this?
$35k - $71k
$721 - $24k
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$1k - $4k
Total Pay
$32k - $72k
Find your market worth – how it works:
Tell us about your job and pay factors like skills and education
Find your market worth with a report tailored to you
Negotiate your pay with confidence
What Do Warehouse Managers Do?
A warehouse manager has many responsibilities, all of which consist of maintaining and receiving equipment. A warehouse manager must also supervise the staff of the warehouse, along with working with them to complete tasks. The job duties a warehouse manager is responsible for include complying with federal, state, and local warehousing.
Other tasks that must be completed deal with coordinating tasks, enforcing programs, safeguarding the warehouse, and controlling inventory levels, conducting…Read more
Career Paths
Explore the most common career paths for Warehouse Manager. Thickness and color of lines indicates popularity of movement from one job to the next. Visit our career path planner to research other job paths.
Warehouse Manager
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Warehouse Supervisor
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Less common (< 8%)
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What Are Popular Skills for Warehouse Managers?
Avg. Salary
Inventory Management
40 responses
Inventory Control
27 responses
People Management
27 responses
26 responses
15 responses
Skills in Inventory Management and People Management are correlated to pay that is above average. Skills that pay less than market rate include Logistics, Shipping and Inventory Control.
What is the Pay by Experience Level for Warehouse Managers?
An early career Warehouse Manager with 1-4 years of experience earns an average total compensation (includes tips, bonus, and overtime pay) of $42,500 based on 15 salaries. A mid-career Warehouse Manager with 5-9 years of experience earns an average total compensation of $48,725 based on 22 salaries. An experienced Warehouse Manager with 10-19 years of experience earns an average total compensation of $50,260 based on 18 salaries. In their late career (20 years and higher), employees earn an average total compensation of $52,000.
Pay Difference by Location
Learn more about cost of living by city.
Employees with Warehouse Manager in their job title in Los Angeles, California earn an average of 17.2% more than the national average. These job titles also find higher than average salaries in Dallas, Texas (15.8% more) and Houston, Texas (14.4% more).
Years of Experience
This data is based on 71 survey responses.
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$29k - $56k
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$48k - $94k
$41k - $85k


text:
40 Glocc On Why Goons Took Tyga's Chain! "He Started Throwin Up B Signs. Actin Like He Was Gang Bangin"
"40 Glocc clears up the reason behind Tygas Chain snatching . he was a victim of the streets . presented by mikey t the movie star . "
Please click the "Report" button below if the video on this page is not working properly.
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text:
NHK uses carrot and stick approach to get your money
The good news first. Starting Oct. 1, NHK will be charging slightly less for subscriptions. If your account is only for regular terrestrial broadcasts (NHK-G and NHK-E), the price drops from ¥1,345 a month to ¥1,225, and if your account also includes satellite (NHK BS1 and NHK BS Premium) it goes from ¥2,290 a month to ¥2,170. The bad news, at least for corporate or institutional subscribers, is that the public broadcaster is cracking down on what it believes are scofflaws, particularly multiple-set users who don't pay for every single TV they have.
On Sept. 10, the Tokyo District Court started hearing a case involving a lawsuit that NHK brought against the hotel chain Toyoko Inn. NHK is demanding the company pay ¥550 million for the period of January to July of this year. The money represents subscription fees for TVs in 236 hotels comprising some 34,000 rooms, which NHK claims Toyoko Inn has not paid in full. Toyoko's defense is that it has for years had a contract with NHK to pay an annual subscription fee of ¥230 million, representing one-fourth of all the TVs in its possession.
The hotel chain says that it is unfair for NHK to demand fees for all the TV sets since rooms are not always occupied and even when they are guests don't necessarily watch TV. Toyoko Inn's lawyers told the Asahi Shimbun that NHK just "suddenly" demanded full subscription fees for all the rooms. He added that if NHK acknowledged the reality of the occupancy rate then the company would negotiate a new blanket subscription fee in good faith.


text:
Hasbro Offers Nerf Blogger Free Samples, Sends Lawyers And Investigators Instead
from the what-a-way-to-treat-a-fan dept
We've praised Hasbro in the past for embracing and supporting the fan culture that surrounds the My Little Pony cartoon, but we've also pointed out that they aren't always so accommodating. This story, unfortunately, falls into the latter category. Callum points us to a rather disturbing tale from the operator of an Australian blog about Nerf, another Hasbro product, who got quite a shock out of what he thought was a friendly gesture by the company.
It started wonderfully: he was contacted by a Hasbro product manager who was asking for his mailing address so she could send him some free samples of a rare-in-Australia Nerf gun to offer as a promotional giveaway on the blog. He gave it to her, and soon after got something in the mail from Hasbro: a legal nastygram.
Not the nastiest of nastygrams, sure—in fact he makes a point of saying how polite it was. Which is why he decided to comply with its request that he take down some photos of an unreleased Nerf gun from the blog, which Hasbro claimed were copyrighted and confidential. The letter also asked him to tell them where he got the images, and he responded explaining that he's not sure where they came from because he gets photos sent to him constantly—and also reminded them that journalists and their sources have certain protections under Australian law. They emailed back and said they wanted to talk more on the phone; he responded saying the matter seemed to be resolved and he couldn't see any point in talking further. In the mean time, he got another email from another product manager confirming that they were sending him free samples! He was understandably confused, and then things got genuinely nasty:
Flash forward to today- I forgot all about this for a bit and didn't reply to the latest letter from the lawyers. Then I get stories from neighbours that some strange woman and some burly, repo-looking type is hanging around my apartment block. How creepy is that?
Sadly they weren't here to give me free stuff. Turns out they're from Hasbro's lawyers!!! I told them the same stuff all over again and tried to explain that I got a bunch of stuff from ebay and taobao – of course they haven't heard of taobao and seem to want me to do their job for them.
Yup. They sent people to his house to investigate and intimidate him. All while at the same time trying to court him with free stuff from another arm of the organization. At first, naturally, he wondered if the offer of free samples was a ruse to track him down, but Hasbro's lawyers roundly denied that and as the story began to gain traction, Hasbro released a statement on the Nerf Facebook page:
We appreciate the opportunity to provide the following statement concerning Hasbro's investigation into "leaked" IP information regarding its NERF brand products. As with anything, there are two sides to every story. While we cannot comment on the details of any ongoing investigation, Hasbro takes all circumstances of its stolen and leaked IP very seriously and will continue to investigate sources of unauthorized information and products as it relates to its brands. We would like to clarify one of the inaccuracies that has been reported. While a local Hasbro Australia marketing team did reach out to the Urban Taggers website to engage in promotional activity for which it required its address, it was completely unrelated to the confidential global investigation being conducted on Hasbro's behalf by independent investigators looking into sources of leaked IP information. Hasbro greatly values and appreciates its fan communities and is very proud of its strong relationships with many bloggers and sites that cover our brands and products.
I'm inclined to believe them—but that doesn't make their behavior all that much less shameful. This is a problem a lot of big companies have: their legal departments and their marketing departments are completely disconnected, so one is out there encouraging activity that the other is trying to squash. It's why you get nonsense like Viacom suing YouTube over videos they uploaded themselves. This may have just been a coincidence with really horrible timing, but at the end of the day it's no way to treat a customer—much less a super-customer who promotes your products to others.
Oh, and he never got his free Nerf guns.
Filed Under: intimidation, nastygram, nerf
Companies: hasbro


text:
Stress can have such a detrimental effect on both your skin and health. For many years it has been associated with high blood pressure and strokes but stress can cause sudden acne and rosacea flare-ups as well.
When you become stressed your cortisol levels which is your stress hormone rises, this increases the oil production in your skin. This is a problem for everyone but it can make the matter worse if you suffer from problem skin.
If you are stressed but don't currently suffer from acne then stress can contribute to you developing stress related acne. Within the cells of your skin there is a barrier which fills any gaps and protects you from bacteria that may enter your body. When you are stressed the outermost cells in your skin shrink which in turn allow the lipids which are found in the barrier to evaporate. When this happens tiny cracks start to appear which then allow bacteria to penetrate the deeper layers of your skin. This can lead to eczema and psoriasis out-breaks.
Stress can affect the barrier function of your skin which can lead to dehydration and inhibits your skin's ability to heal itself when you have an accident. It has been proven that you will experience an acne break-out if you are under stress. Stress stops the blood flow in your skin which can lead to clogged pores.
If you suffer from cold sores then stress is there to weaken your immune system which allows the virus that causes cold sores to become active.
The collagen and elastin protein fibers that keep your skin youthful can become damaged when you are in a constant state of stress, this can lead to premature ageing and visible signs of wrinkles.
Learning to take care of your skin and health, and recognize any under lying problems that are associated with your stress are key.
Minimizing your stress can be dealt with in a number of ways.
Exercise helps release endorphins your feel good hormone in your body that can reduce stress and make you feel so much better.
Talk to a friend about what is going on in your head, rather than trying to deal with it all yourself. As the saying goes "a problem shared is a problem halved".
Find a healthy way to relax. Try meditation or take a yoga class, both are great ways to deal with stress.
Listen to some calming or motivational music, take a bath or go for a walk in the park.
Stress can be such a difficult thing to deal with in your life but once you find the right outlet for you, life will become a whole lot easier and your skin will become a whole lot clearer.


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Lake Tisza is Hungary's largest artificial lake at 127 km²and wascreated as part of the flood control project of River Tisza between the 1970s and 1990s. As the area used to be the flood plain of the river, cut through by several river and creek beds, the emerging lake has an exceptionally diverse water environment with a great variety of depths (the average depth is 1.3 metres, the deepest spots are 17 metres deep, however) and 43 km² of small islands. Its newly formed local ecology includes a great diversity of birds, plants and animals. There is also an amazing variety of fish as the River Tisza flows through the lake as well and you can find river water and still water fish at the same time. Fishing can be done all year round here – choose the right target and the appropriate fishing technique and you won't go home empty-handed. The lake's shores offer a variety of comfy accommodation, well-equipped fishing stores, busy landing-stages and erudite anglers' guides.
The best way to go fishing on Lake Tisza is on a small boat – there are 15 landing stations in operation with hundreds of boats to rent all year around. If you'd like to get a picture of what you're up against on your fishing trip beforehand, head to the Lake Tisza Ecocentre and check out all the species of fish that can be found in the lake, in an aquarium system of 1 million litres of water – Europe's largest fresh-water aquarium (www.tiszataviokocentrum.hu)!
Of course you can do your fishing at the shore as well – the water is particularly deep at some parts of the shores while others are shallow with a solid ground, preferred by carp and bream. The best spots include the shores of Poroszló and Sarud as well as the dam between Kisköre and Abádszalók. If you choose to take the car don't forget to get permission and keep in mind the parking rules and trash-regulations – you are in a nature reserve, after all.
Different seasons bring different kinds of fish to your bait. The river is the favourite spot for those on the hunt for big predator fish – catch huge catfish from spring to autumn or pike perch, even in the winter. And how to get those catfish to come to you? There's a special method called kuttyogatás that works from May to September. As the technique requires great skill and elaborate local knowledge, ask a fishing guide for help. In the summer months go for pike perch – the best time of the day to catch them is in the morning twilight. When the clearness of the water is disturbed by small tidal waves, try your luck at the lake-like reservoirs along the river. The shallower parts are great to catch bream, especially from spring to autumn.
A particularly exciting technique, search-fishing, is best done in April. Paddle your boat into the shallow and warm waters of the reservoirs quietly to catch fish gathering for spawning – the moving water surface will reveal the fish's location.
Autumn is the time to catch some pike. Lake Tisza is a perfect habitat for these large predators. The best time to catch them is at the end of autumn, when the pike swim from the colder shallow waters into the deeper backwaters.
The end of autumn brings another great opportunity: to avoid damage created by frost, the water level of the lake is decreased by about two metres in the months of October-November – this might be your chance for a really good catch.
Even winter time is fishing time at Lake Tisza – and not just any kind: in fact, winter brings about a particularly high density of pike in the reservoirs. Just cut a whole into the ice and see for yourself. But remember: ice-fishing can be dangerous, so always take a partner with you.
Before you throw the bait, make sure to buy an angling ticket at one of the numerous fishing shops or gas stations. via gotohungary.com


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You can also get the PEBL, whose design I prefer, with a T-mobile plan and one cent, with a 75-dollar rebate, which I'm in the process of doing as we speak. Just looking for a friend who wants to buy something for 25 bucks from amazon, so that we don't have to pay shipping.
Pay 1 cent, get a RAZR and $100. Seriously!
As a dealhunter, I've seen a few offers that have defied reason. Here's another one.
Drop by Amazon at this link and pick yourself up a nice new Motorola cell phone for the grand total of $0.01. Not a bad deal. But it get's better. You also qualify for a $100 rebate. Which means you get a spanky new phone and around $100 cash, all for buying something you want anyway.
Of course, you'll have to commit to a Cingular service plan, but if you're already on a service plan anyway, no biggie. And as Cingular has excellent covearge it's a service plan with one of the best providers out there. Now, if only I can get the same kind of deal on my next house. I doubt they'd ever do $250,000 rebates any time soon though. Shame.
Disclaimer: The links and mentions on this site may be affiliate links. But they do not affect the actual opinions and recommendations of the authors.
Wise Bread is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com.
That is a good deal. When I got my Razr I had to pay $50 for it (on Cingular's 2-year plan).
The phone is very stylish and people often compliment its looks. But the voice quality isn't that fantastic so I highly recommend getting a ear piece.
Only problem is that Verizon has the best range in mountainous areas! Or US for that. I can get service where other companies can't. No. I don't get a kickback on my bill! And I just verified this with Billshrink!


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This is a handy reference book for use during the medical-surgical nursing course and as a refresher for practicing nurses.Eckman, Margaret is the author of 'Medical-surgical Nursing Made Incredibly Easy! ', published 2007 under ISBN 9781582555676 and ISBN 1582555672.[read more]
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Scottish farms up for sale as Co-op to offload agricultural assets
The Co-op is to sell its farming assets and will consider the future of its pharmacy business as part of plans to revive the troubled mutual.
The group, which is reportedly set to announce losses of £2bn in results for 2013 due next month, has started the process of selling its agriculture business, which features three packing sites and 14 farms — including sites in Blairgowrie, Longforgan, Aberdeenshire, Carnoustie and the Borders.
It also confirmed that it is exploring options on its pharmacy business, including the sale of all or part of the operation.
The division is one of the UK's three largest pharmacy chains, with 750 branches and 6500 staff.
The Co-operative Group's farms business dates back to 1896 and covers around 50,000 acres of land in Scotland and England. The sites grow a variety of cereals, including wheat for bread flour, and a number of fruit and vegetables, including potatoes, cider apples and peas.
However, the enterprise is not considered a core business to the Co-op as it supplies only a small proportion of the food sold in its stores.
The pharmacy business, which was established in 1945, has felt the brunt of attempts by the Government to cut back on the cost of prescriptions.
Other businesses in the Co-op group include funeralcare, legal services, travel and general insurance.
Its banking arm, which is now under the control of bondholders as part of a refinancing to fill a £1.5bn hole in its balance sheet, is expected to drive the group to an overall loss of more than £2bn, according to the BBC.
The group is facing a raft of inquiries into what went wrong at the bank, with regulators recently launching formal investigations that could see former senior managers fined or banned from working in the industry.
The company's results are due on March 26 but chief executive Euan Sutherland is unlikely to reveal full details of his turnaround plan until nearer the group's annual meeting in May.
He recently asked people to have their say on the future of the Co-op through an online nationwide poll.
The survey asks a broad range of questions, from how to improve its goods and services to thorny issues such as whether the Co-op should make political donations.
The Co-op said on Wednesday: "As part of the wider strategic review of all of its businesses, The Co-operative Group has decided that its farms are non-core and has started a process that is expected to lead to a sale of the business.
"In addition, it is exploring options for the future of the pharmacy business; this could include the sale in whole or part of the business."


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Being whisked away with the magic of Millthorpe
It would be so easy to start this tale with the obligatory; Millthorpe, what a gorgeous and charming village it is. With its heritage listing making it a stylishly historic gem, it is, in my opinion, one of the jewels in the Central West NSW crown. But I have to say after my midweek visit to this little beauty, it is the citizens that make it such an inviting and delightful part of Australia.
So, with that I would like to introduce to you some of the beautiful people that embraced me like I know they will embrace you, should you choose to drop in.
Let's start with the matriarchs of Millthorpe, the absolutely divine Clark sisters, Ada and Ruby. These two delightful humans have called Millthorpe home since 1994 and at the tender ages of 87 and 90 show no signs of slowing down their stimulating lives.
I was welcomed into their home and treated not only to entertaining stories from their travels all around the globe, but some delicious home-made cake and freshly brewed tea. Ada has been sharing her artistic flair with the world for many years and although big sister Ruby takes a somewhat back seat she also holds an artistic ability – as well as a wicked sense of humour. Do not miss out on popping in to see the girls when you visit. Open house is every Saturday from 9am – 5pm, otherwise by appointment on 0412 663 114 or visit www.adaclark.com
Another couple of local identities would have to be Russell and Charlie, who are also happy to invite you in, if not to their home, then definitely their garden. The boys are proud of what they have created around their historic splendour and are a big part of the Millthorpe Garden Ramble, which takes place early November every year. Properties in and around town are opened up to the public to come and peruse, and the village itself comes alive with music, crafts and plenty of good food and wine for ravenous ramblers. Visit www.millthorpevillage.com.au
Then we have some of the occupants of Victoria Street. There's Jules at Old Bowerbird Wares with its eclectic collection of antique and bucolic merchandise. It's a really adorable little venue which is matched by Jules herself. Drop in and check it out, there may just be something that you have been hunting for and the Bowerbird herself may just have it hidden away. Oh, and I must add that unlike the calls of the Bowerbird, Jules has an amazing operatic voice and if you're as lucky as I was she may be warming up those golden tonsils on your visit! Visit www.facebook.com/bowerbirdoldwares/
Just across the road from Jules is Joey and her scrumptious little venture called 'Le Billet de Boucher' (The Butchers Block). It's a little taste of France right here in the Central West of NSW. French Café by day and restaurant by night, with fresher than fresh ingredients to be enjoyed in the charming rustic surrounds, with a lovely alfresco garden to relax in through the warmer months, and log fire to warm you on those cooler days. Visit www.facebook.com/LeBillotdeBoucher/
A short stroll from Joey and you must pop in for a tipple and maybe one of the enticing salumi plates at The Slow Wine Co. This is where I met Terrey and his delightful daughter Jen who were equally welcoming and producing some absolutely outstanding wines. Loved a little taste of the Riesling with a few of the above aforementioned joined me for a little afternoon delight. Visit www.slowwineco.com.au
Opposite Terrey you will find Pattie McKenna and Millthorpe Providores. This lovely lady just always seemed to be smiling and had such a positive vibe going on. I guess that's why her store is always well frequented and the place itself has a friendly feel about it. It's full of delicious looking treats and apparently the best coffee in the village. You can also get your paws on small-goods such as bacon from nearby Trunkey Creek, Bills Beans, freshly baked breads and Huntley Berry Farm jams. Visit www.facebook.com/MillthorpeProvidore/
At the top of town, you may like to visit another cellar door where they are also kicking goals when it comes to mastering the grape. Angullong Cellar door sits just behind the top pub and Cynthia will gladly guide you through a tasting, while imparting her knowledge of the wines and the region. Visit www.angullong.com.au
Lunch with John Mason, President Millthorpe Village Committee was a total treat – not only do the owners of The Old Mill Café where we dined turn on an absolutely divine meal, John also regaled me with his total knowledge of Millthorpe and its current day event's, and also its brilliant history. The combination of chef Darren Tracey's brilliant creations from the kitchen and his partner Stacey Ewin's mind-blowing desserts it was a lunch to remember. Visit www.theoldmillcafe.com.au
Another local treat was delivered at dinner with an amazing meal hosted by the renowned chef Tony Worland at Tonic. There is a good reason that Tonic has been regularly awarded chefs hats during his 14 years at the helm. The best of the best local seasonal produce delivered in an imaginative and inspiring way that had me from the first bite. Tony also is just a great fella and is happy to engage with his guests. I loved that. Visit www.tonicmillthorpe.com.au
My accommodation was split between the historic and the current day offerings of the village. Rosebank which is owned by Richard and Jenny is the old Bank of NSW and sits proudly at the top of town. Not only does it have charming rooms that have that old-world charisma, the property also doubles as a gallery and is filled with many an engaging piece. The gardens are also a delight. Visit www.rosebankmillthorpe.com
At the other end of town, I had a totally restful night at Pym 23. Mary has nailed it with her accommodation here. All the mod cons are at hand but at the same time the property seems to ooze that country allure. I think it's the combination of its garden setting with the buildings corrugated iron finishing's and the fact that Mary herself just radiates that good old-fashioned country friendliness. Visit www.stayz.com.au/accommodation/nsw/explorer-country/millthorpe/182601
Oh, I must add that you have to visit the towns Bowlo and its unbelievable offerings at their Japanese Restaurant. It is as good as any you get in the big smoke. Also, if you love a little history then The Golden Memories Museum is a must. It's not a little history, it's a lot – and it is really engaging.
Well that's just a smattering of the lovely folk that will make a trip to Millthorpe so memorable. I suggest you take a little midweek break there. You will be more than welcome!
Scott McRae was a guest of Destination NSW
Scott McRae is the host of 'A Taste of Travel' on the TEN/WIN Networks www.scottmcrae.com.au


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Nicole Camille Richie (born Nicole Camille Escovedo; September 21, 1981) is an American fashion designer, author, actress, Singer and television personality. Her father was Peter Michael Escovedo, a musician who played for a brief time with Lionel Richie, and her mother was the executive assistant for Sheila Escovedo, Karen. Nicole Richie is the adopted daughter of soul singer Lionel Richie and his then-wife Brenda Harvey. Richie is perhaps best known for her role in the Fox reality television series The Simple Life. In recent years Richie has focused on charity work and environmental issues. In November 2007 Richie and husband Joel Madden created "The Richie Madden Children's Foundation".
Richie's tumultuous personal life has attracted significant publicity in tabloid press, for her dramatically thin appearance, which sparked rumors of an eating disorder, to driving under the influence (DUI) arrests in 2003 and 2006, and her extensive drug abuse throughout her late teenage years and early twenties.
Nicole Richie was born Nicole Camille Escovedo in Berkeley, California, Nicole's birth parents found it difficult to provide for her financially and, at the age of three, they agreed to let her move in with Lionel Richie and his then-wife Brenda Harvey. "My parents were friends with Lionel," she says. "They trusted that they would be better able to provide for me." Initially, Lionel Richie became her guardian. Lionel Richie and his wife, Brenda Harvey, effectively raised Nicole as their daughter. Nicole began attending weekly sessions with a psychotherapist at age three, remaining in therapy throughout childhood. Nicole was legally adopted by the Richies at age nine. Shortly after the adoption was formalized, Lionel's affair with another woman became public knowledge. The Richies went through a bitter, public split, and as a result, indulged Nicole's every whim. "Their way of making me happy was to say yes to everything I wanted, but I don't think a little girl should have that much freedom," said Richie in an interview with Vanity Fair magazine. Lionel Richie remarried following his divorce and gave Nicole two younger siblings: Myles (born 1994) and Sofia (born 1998). Richie has one godmother, Nancy Davis, daughter of Marvin Davis and mother of Brandon Davis. Quincy Jones and Michael Jackson were each Richie's godfathers. Jones said in a People magazine interview that he has "known Nicole Richie since she was a baby. She's a very smart girl". Early Childhood friend of Paris Hilton.