H.I.T.S.
It looks as though the huge uproar over the proposed internet anti-piracy bills led to millions signing petitions and sending emails to members of congress. The legislation is now “shelved,” at least for the moment.
According to other reports I’ve read, though, the record and movie industries have made it plain that unless the bills are pushed through, they will not be writing checks to help the campaigns of various politicians in the upcoming elections. With that said, I’d like to take a tongue in cheek look at the changes in these industries during my lifetime.
It started with my introduction to vinyl records in the 1960s. If you remember, they were not really that sturdy and were scratched easily. It took a very special kind of teenager to not end up with a collection of discs that looked like they had been polished with steel wool. Of course, there was no technology available then to the masses to copy them, so if you ruined one, you had to buy or borrow another.
Then the powers that be decided to introduce 8-track tape players. As usual, they were touted to be the best thing since sliced bread. You could also install them in cars for portable entertainment.
Sadly, it was all too easy to end up with a collection of 8-track tapes with large loops of damaged tape hanging out as the hot weather or cold weather ruined them. All the while, the poor consumer took it on the chin.
The next bright spark was the invention of cassette tapes – an even more fragile and easily damaged medium. It makes you wonder if the record companies didn’t decide on a format so fragile just to sell more tapes. Let’s also not forget the money made from developing record players, 8-track players and then cassette players.
With cassettes, the first faux pas came when we saw the advent of the double cassette decks. You could actually (and quickly) copy a tape to another blank tape. At that point, the penny should have dropped for the record industry. They were still, however, making huge profits.
At this point, the movie industry entered the game with VHS tapes and, of course, expensive players that played a movie in the comfort of your own home. The same thing eventually happened with that process. Before long, you could dub a movie to a blank tape with a dual deck VHS player.
Then big business hit on CDs and DVDs. They could also sell a new line of special players to play your new small discs on. It seems that they thought that the encryption on CDs and DVDs could never be cracked. In fact, you can read more at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AACS_encryption_key_controversy. At some point, some brainy kid worked it out and put the code online for free.
At this point, the industry had forged ahead with product after product, leaving us consumers scratching our heads and looking at obsolete devices. They cunningly and quickly removed any of the former media from stores so you had to buy the new stuff.
I recall those horrible CD clubs that offered you so many CDs for 99c and then you found that you had an obligation to buy another half dozen at close to $30 a pop.
I believe that the industry really made their big mistake by going digital. Nowadays, a whole new generation of tech-savvy people are out there that can digitally copy and share music and movies.
One obvious solution for the motion picture industry would be to offer first-run box office movies on a pay-per-view basis. After all, people pay huge amounts to watch sports and concert events.
I asked Mrs. Schulze what she thought would be a fair price for a new movie streamed like Netflix does it. She said $10 and I thought that was pretty fair. The technology is already in place, as is shown by Netflix and all the other online streaming movie places.
If you don’t have a fast internet connection, then you could still go to the movies. For a about $30 (approximately), two of you could enjoy uncomfortable seating, restricted legroom, a bucket of popcorn and two large drinks. Oh, and also have people walking across in front of you or along your row or talking behind you. I told that you it was tongue in cheek at the start though, so I’m just kidding (mostly).
On a more serious note, don’t think that big business has given up with the anti-piracy bills. I’m sure that they are just regrouping for another assault. All this talk has made me want to watch a movie on Netflix, so stay warm and vigilant until next week.