* Posts by Raving

51 publicly visible posts • joined 26 May 2008

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World music sales slide despite digital dividend

Raving
FAIL

Greedy Buggers

Music. What's that?

The entertainment industry has consumed itself with greed. I don't listen to music anymore. I don't buy music anymore. I don't download music anymore. I don't care about the pieces of music "data" that I still have.

The fall to oblivion began with the introduction of digital audio. It sounded so clear. It promised to last forever. The enjoyment in the listening became lost.

Okay, so there were technical mistakes made with the early introduction of digital audio. Time, experience and degrading the digital information via DACs which added noise and strongly compressed playback formats such as MP3 brought some of the enjoyment back to listening.

The downsizing in reproduction fidelity was accompanied by the movement to ear buds and personal plugged in listening. Sorry, but a room filled with high fidelity music is so much more useable ... or wearable (one could work and play in a room filled with music) ... than those damn ear buds or headphones.

Only MP3 scaled up doesn't sound so wonderful as records or improved uncompressed DA ... and who needs uncompressed DA to listen through ear buds.

Finally the whole charge per song for hobbled MP3 compressed samples with constraints disincentives and stipulations of 'license-to-device' and 'limited-time-license' makes the ownership experience very unsatisfying.

There is no reason to collect a personal library when all the crappy intangible material is available "on demand", a click away from downloading for a handsome transaction fee, only to disappear forever in some 2 TB hard disk with a million other files, that eventually gets bricked lost or thrown out 6 months to 10 years hence.

I have spent 10s of thousands of dollars on music in my life. Records were horrible. Tapes were worse. CDs promised perfection and eternity but proved to be abrasive cognitively demanding storage media which failed to live up to it's promise of durability.

Now I am offered crap MP3 Low Fidelity 'locked license" rubbish to stuff up my bodily orifices under dire threat of prosecution and incarceration should I attempt to assemble an heirloom collection. .. Why bother collect rubbish that can be acquired instantly in a virtual format without any sense of tangible presence?

Why pay $$ for exactly the same items I paid $$$$$ several times over in the past with the assumption of having a personal library of a scarce valuable limited tangible piece of history.

As far as I am concerned the entertainment industry can go pickle their entire endless limitless inventory and choke on greedy royalties supplied by other customers.

I don't listen anymore. I don't watch anymore. There is no longer enjoyment from it.

Voyager 2 finally agrees to a long hard thrust

Raving
Paris Hilton

Phone sex at 9 billion miles distance

"All probes out that far (including Mars), use fault protection systems that can 'safe' the craft when an anomaly is detected." https://twitter.com/#!/NASAVoyager2/status/136821567106719745

"~ 7 seconds to transmit a 140 character tweet in EBCDIC" https://twitter.com/#!/NASAVoyager2/status/135781481812463616

You've clearly never had a hyster*e*cal paroxysm

BBC explains 'All your Twitter pics are belong to us' gaffe

Raving
Pint

Free beer for Bristol!

No need for the car when the BBC can simply take your money.

Regardless of how 'state' public information providers are supported, they provide excellent value for the money. That is a huge accomplishment for a social support service.

Public, state and open-source information services provide excellent value-for-money because IP is replicated and distributed millions of times over. The greater value is achieved by giving it away to the fullest possible extent.

The function of 'copyright' is to protect the investment in the venture of replicating and distributing information. It protects the publisher's, manufacturer's and franchisee's substantial investment and risk to profit from replicate&distribute. Without copyright protection, a ruthless vendor could sit back and wait to see what was in popular demand before tooling up and rushing in to make a killing on the cream of the business.

"Care to buy a quality imitation Gucci bag at a mere fraction of the cost of the real thing?" The reason it's wrong is not because your are being sold a deceptively shoddy item. Rather the clone vendor has rushed in on the coat tails of the business who previously took the risk of providing an unknown product which has subsequently been demonstrated to be reliably profitable.

The BBC obtains IP with the reliable expectation that it will be distributed to millions of households. The cost of replication and distribution by electronic publication is minor. The worth is contingent on millions of households receiving and experiencing the delivered product.

Free beer for Bristol! The claim's worth in contingent upon the number of people who indulge in the offering. Virtual eBeers are a throwaway.

Raving
FAIL

Sportcars Illustrated

"the argument being that because something is left in public view, it becomes public property. If only all ownership worked this way, I would have an enviable collection of very expensive sports cars by now."

The worth of intellectual property or *information* is that it inexpensive to replicate and distribute. According to you it's fine to put a sport car on open public display as bait, enticing people to *look*

Taking a picture of the bait is theft of property and the same as taking the car itself.

Greedy enough?

Mummy, mummy, there's a nuclear monster!

Raving
Linux

Japanese tsunami debris to reach West Coast in 2014

RADIOACTIVE DANGER

http://i53.tinypic.com/28s57yu.jpg

Raving
Grenade

Rational arguments don't work for unforseen or irrational eventualities

Don't exclude irrational absurdities.

Famous last engineering words - "The problem was misconstrued. It was an unforeseen eventuality."

Fukushima fearmongers are stealing our Jetsons future

Raving
Dead Vulture

One, Two, Three, ... Seven

Is a 10% emission *rate* relative to Chornobyl insignificant?

"Japan has raised the severity rating for its tsunami-stricken nuclear reactor from Level 5 to Level 7, the highest grade, ... the radiation emission rate at the Fukushima Daiichi plant is about 10 per cent of that at Chornobyl, the crippled Japanese facility has emitted a huge amount of radioactive substances that pose a risk over a large area."

http://www.cbc.ca/news/world/story/2011/04/11/japan-quake-anniversary.html

A fifth of Europeans can't work out how much a TV costs

Raving
Paris Hilton

Consumers were asked which TV would be cheaper.

Neither. Buy it for €19.99 during Black Friday's shopping madness

(Remote and activation P.I.N. including exclusive 5 years deluxe content access is €499.99 extra)

Paris 'cos she knows a good deal when she sees one.

Fukushima's toxic legacy: Ignorance and fear

Raving
Grenade

500-1,000 millisieverts? For a Japanese samurai < y a w n >

"Half a league, half a league, Half a league onward, All in the valley of Death Rode the six hundred. Forward, the Light Brigade! Charge for the guns' he said: Into the valley of Death Rode the six hundred."

That's the problem with too little ignorance and too much fear. Not like good ol' days,

Raving
Happy

Nothing like a good glass of Chateau de Chassilier wine, ay James?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minamata_disease#Victims

Compare the Japanese passive aggressive display of 'Denial of Responsibility' to the British 'stiff upper lip' smirk at the prospect of being caned.

Notice that similarity between the two cultures. Interesting.

Raving
Linux

Ignorance, fear and significant background radiation

Elevated background levels of .5 - 1. microsieverts per hour persist and are clearly indicated around Hitachi, Ibaraki Prefecture. http://www.rdtn.org/en

Care for some Fukushima® sashimi with a side of Chisso-Minamata dipping sauce?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Four_Big_Pollution_Diseases_of_Japan

Fukushima: Situation improving all the time

Raving
Linux

Initial food sampling

Care for some Fukushima® sashimi?

Raving

Surprise Surprise

Elevated background levels of .5 - 1. microsieverts per hour are clearly indicated around Hitachi, Ibaraki Prefecture.

Exposure at that level carried over the course of month translates to .336 - .672 millisieverts

Fukushima one week on: Situation 'stable', says IAEA

Raving
Coat

(housekeeping) IAEA tweets ...

Vacancy: Senior translator (P-4), Russian Translation Section, Division of Conference and Document Services. http://bit.ly/gsn1SG

http://twitter.com/#!/iaeaorg

Raving
Dead Vulture

IAEA calls it as it is

(Reuters) - The U.N. atomic agency said on Friday conditions at a damaged Japanese nuclear power plant were grave but not deteriorating badly.

New York Times tucks skirt behind stilted paywall

Raving
Pint

Eh?

Another Canadian please

Raving
Dead Vulture

R.I.P.

Not paying for it.

Fukushima on Thursday: Prospects starting to look good

Raving
Happy

GE's Dim wit

Oh good. The electricity is scheduled to be turned back on in reactor buildings 2 3 & 4 by Sunday.

No problems then.

Calls for US nudie perv scanner 'opt-out day'

Raving
Welcome

Who gives me the 'grab & ticlke'?

Do I get to choose who gives me the 'snatch & tickle'?

Male or female, gay or lesbian. It makes a difference. :-)

Shareholders sue HP over Hurd's sex scandal probe

Raving
Linux

Chinese Proverb

The sheep that are once fleeced return to be fleeced again.

Nude trampolinist bounces free from court

Raving
Linux

Picking up Penguins for 75 years

Here is another one as well

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-10794227

Comet-bomb interceptor makes low pass above Atlantic

Raving
Coffee/keyboard

Aborted fail

Very disappointing. Unlike the politically savvy architects of the Phoenix Mars Lander project, the designers of the "Deep Impact" ignored obsolescence.

Costa Rican elbows out South African as UN climate boss

Raving
WTF?

Maurice Strong + UPEACE

Maurice Strong + University for Peace (UPEACE) in Costa Rica.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maurice_Strong

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/University_for_Peace

Times websites want £1 a day from June

Raving
Dead Vulture

An Oscar performance too

http://www.observer.com/2010/media/after-three-months-only-35-subscriptions-newsdays-web-site

Aussie net censorship turning Chinese

Raving
Terminator

Macho Men

Not long before they start censuring "Mad Max" Gibson then?

One month later, Google still censors China search

Raving
Heart

Sinusitis

Google has a ruddy complexion.

Bishop Hill: Gonzo science and the Hockey Stick

Raving
Linux

Climate change science, 'Tunnel Vision'

"A topic I've covered in depth on my blog. Fact is the earth is warming up. ..."

Climate changes. When and if the climate moves into a cooling phase, will you be a chilling alarmist and declare that human involvement is hastening the decline?

"It comes down to the ages-old question. If not now, when?"

Yes, it does. The 'ages-old question' is often that of tunnel vision. For trends in climate and CO2 involvement, the blind spot might be spelled out as *hysteresis*.

Raving
Dead Vulture

Nature does not listen.

People have a misconception about science. The presumption is that scientists are fair, unbiased and incorruptible.

Scientific research is the same as any other enterprise. That means that science is a grand old game of politics played out upon a substrate of 'natural phenomena'. What sets apart the politics of science from other types of gaming is that the game of science is based upon the reality of nature. Denying, corrupting, misconstruing and or distorting the 'natural facts' is fair game, if not at least it is human nature and fundamentally unavoidable when stumbling about in the dark discovering "truth".

The game of science has an essential feature which sooner or later ensures that the 'appropriate description' becomes the winner that takes all. The honest broker is nature, itself. Mother Nature is deaf, dumb, stupid and non-sentient. The scientific politico 'gamer' might just as well go try to convince a rock that the scientist's pet theory is the correct one.

Neither nature, nor rocks listen to scientists. The scientist who foolishly attempts to convince the 'rock' otherwise is wasting his time and effort.

Unlike other types of games, the winner of the science game cannot write the history. People can be convinced and swayed. Nature does not listen at all.

Tories: We will set up a permanent 'War Cabinet'

Raving
Thumb Up

As a great Canadian once said ... “There is No Whore, Like and Old Whore”

Perhaps it is most profitable to just design and redesign.

Field deployment risks embarrassment and loss of credibility. Worse than that, monies that might gainfully be directed towards more R & D spending become lost to manufacturing and support.

Climategate is great. The threat persists in an inconclusive and unresolvable state.

Needs more money.

IT workers told, 'Put down the biscuits, fat boy'

Raving
Thumb Up

That site isn't responding. It's under excessive load. ...

... and a core dump to follow.

Soot warming 'maybe bigger than greenhouse gases' - NASA

Raving
Thumb Up

Fuddle Duddle

FISHDO

Catholics slam PETA nude adopt-a-mutt poster

Raving
Happy

she appears “as a winged angel, covered by a carefully-placed crucifix.”

"she appears “as a winged angel, covered by a carefully-placed crucifix.” Once again, the target is pet stores. ...

Moreover, pet stores don’t rip off Christian iconography ..."

- Bill Donohue

Physicists assemble world's smallest snowman

Raving
Coat

Stop abusing snowmen

PeTA needs to protest this.

Copenhagen forest-saving plans to create 'carbon refugees'

Raving
Happy

Karma

Poor nations shaft rich nations with burgeoning populations and cheap labor that catalyzes their own hyperinflation of consumption.

LHC smashes Tevatron record: Humanity enters the unknown

Raving
Paris Hilton

968 more 'Collision Days' to go

That means only 968 more 'Collision Days' remaining until the start of the 2012 Summer Olympics.

Paris 'cos she wants a bigger gun.

El Reg receives message from planet 'Female Pigeon'

Raving
Thumb Up

Quoting the Wikipedia entry for Uranus

"Uranus (pronounced /ˈjʊərənəs, jʊˈreɪnəs/) is the Latinized form of Ouranos (Οὐρανός), the Greek word for sky."

Egyptians uptight about 'Artificial Virginity Hymen'

Raving
Troll

Manilla envelope

"This item will be shipped from China"

Twitter overrun by weekend of powerful worm attacks

Raving
Linux

Shredded Tweet

Tweetie Pie didn't get hacked to death?

Forget Google rationing: Only lighting farts can save the planet

Raving
Paris Hilton

Will that be one cream or two?

1 kg milk = 100 gm CH4 = 2.5 kg CO2 equivalent

Paris MilkMaidEquivalent icon 'cos the Google "blu dart" SearchEngineEquivalent icon is currently unavailable.

Sand storm menaces Scottish Highlands

Raving

Here is the boring weather (forecast)

http://www.wunderground.com/weatherstation/WXDailyHistory.asp?ID=KORBORIN2

US judge rejects lawsuit against God

Raving
Linux

Suing God? Oregon ducks fight back.

"a plaintiff must have access to the defendant for a case to proceed", the BBC reports.

Try contacting Dr. Daniel God Koller.

http://www.oregonlive.com/news/index.ssf/2008/10/state_board_suspends_license_o.html

Windfall taxing big oil: how to make the gas crisis worse

Raving
Linux

Gas will be even cheaper in China & India

Marvelously decent for Brits to pay $11 a gallon for gas, thereby reducing demand and lowering cost, overall.

This Canuck salutes the mother country for stimulating the developing economies, whilst simultaneously taking, a *most* impressive carbon tax 'hit', square on the chin.

Gov: UK biofuel probably made of starvation, rainforests

Raving
Linux

Soylent Green Biodiesel

The eco-friendly way of recycling penguins.

Reg hack insults the Parachute Regiment

Raving
Flame

Red Devils do ballistic re-entry

'At first I was scared', admits Yi So-Yeon ...

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2008/04/21/ballistic_soyuz_reentry/

Lesbos climax as lesbians lick Lesbians

Raving
Linux

Sapphic Sophistry

What are the philosophical implications?

HP shatters excessive packaging world record

Raving
Paris Hilton

"Photographs...Do Not Bend"

Notice the 'HP i n v e n t' branding. Recycling saves HP lots of money.

Also more discrete than French postcards delivered in a plain, unmarked Manila envelope.

Paris knows how to be creative. Oh la la!

NY street-cleaning truck swallows dog

Raving
Thumb Up

Related Articles

# Are eco-friendly cars the new date bait?

# Moroccan flavors spice up chicken

# Grilled chicken gets a makeover

BBC continues to milk great tits

Raving

@ "Is there no end to the silly titles?"

Nipples.

Raving
Paris Hilton

@ Lester, paying particular attention to the related Beeb link:

Were you referring to:

Seagull lays eggs on roof of car

17 May 07 | Highlands and Islands

... Or ...

"Great tits are distinguished from blue tits by their larger size and black cap." @RELATED BBC LINKS Great Tits

Paris 'cos ...

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