![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
piracy and digitised art
*groan*
I can't believe that New Scientist gives precious page space to such idiotic ravings as appear on page 8 of their 9th August issue. The National Gallery of London should be applauded for a project they've undertaken to digitise all its 2300 paintings. They are not bothering with methods of encryption and other arcane methods of "protection". And why should they, I wonder -- these pictures are held by the gallery on behalf of the people who pay the taxes that fund the gallery!
The weirdness in this news item is that the twits in the music industry who have been trying so hard to backpedal technology and screaming out against use of mp3 files by consumers have been urging the gallery to implement security to stop people copying the pictures. These fools actually seem to believe their own propaganda! They bandy around such stupid statistics as one in every three CDs is a pirate copy, and that piracy is now an industry worth $4.6 billion a year. What total imbeciles! Do they ever get out into the real world at all?
Geez, this makes me angry!
Some people have great wealth, and seek to use that accidental advantage to ensure that nobody may have access to the things that they do... even if such access hurts or deprives nobody! This sickens me. Money can be used for good, but used like this it simply ensures that we will generate more dissatisfied folk who hate those of us in the wealthy nations all the more.
I can't believe that New Scientist gives precious page space to such idiotic ravings as appear on page 8 of their 9th August issue. The National Gallery of London should be applauded for a project they've undertaken to digitise all its 2300 paintings. They are not bothering with methods of encryption and other arcane methods of "protection". And why should they, I wonder -- these pictures are held by the gallery on behalf of the people who pay the taxes that fund the gallery!
The weirdness in this news item is that the twits in the music industry who have been trying so hard to backpedal technology and screaming out against use of mp3 files by consumers have been urging the gallery to implement security to stop people copying the pictures. These fools actually seem to believe their own propaganda! They bandy around such stupid statistics as one in every three CDs is a pirate copy, and that piracy is now an industry worth $4.6 billion a year. What total imbeciles! Do they ever get out into the real world at all?
Geez, this makes me angry!
Some people have great wealth, and seek to use that accidental advantage to ensure that nobody may have access to the things that they do... even if such access hurts or deprives nobody! This sickens me. Money can be used for good, but used like this it simply ensures that we will generate more dissatisfied folk who hate those of us in the wealthy nations all the more.
no subject
no subject
I meant "accidental" in that they happened to inherit the starting money; their position in a wealthy, western country; the talent for accruing money; even that killer attitude. Those are all accidents. I don't condemn them for having those things -- this is just the luck of the draw. I have some artistic ability through pure blind luck. Part of my luck is the time I had alone, and the environment I grew up in that valued art and let me practise, practise, practise it.
What annoys me is when they use those things to block other people from doing well. It hurts nobody to let others distribute the artistic history of humanity. Yet these scum are urging the gallery to do just that! If they would just look at the reality of file-sharing they might see how they are actually benefitting from it, and further might perceive ways to help themselves and their customer even further. But of course they won't. These dinosaur simpletons are so invested in last century's dog-in-the-manger model of business that they won't be finished till they put themselves out of business, and many other innocent people in jail along the way.
Grrrrr!