HP and RIAA sitting in a tree... :D
HP this week took the unusual move of using a consumer electronics conference as the venue for an unprecedented attack on consumers and their ability to enjoy American technology and culture.
HP's CEO Carly Fiorina filled her keynote speech at CES with media piracy rhetoric, saying that consumers are undermining the economy and the morals of this nation by exchanging music. With this platform established, Fiorina went on to say HP will be the media industry's first rate lackey and do all it can to equip files with DRM (digital rights management) controls. The move by a technology company like HP to so wholly support a dying, old world empire shows how fragile the idea of an open PC has become. (ed. Hp - invent.....?!??!?!)
"Just because we can steal music doesn't mean we should," Fiorina said. "It is illegal. It is wrong, and there are things we can do as a technology company to help. "
"Starting this year, we'll strive to build every one of our consumer devices to respect digital rights."
News source: The Register
HP this week took the unusual move of using a consumer electronics conference as the venue for an unprecedented attack on consumers and their ability to enjoy American technology and culture.
HP's CEO Carly Fiorina filled her keynote speech at CES with media piracy rhetoric, saying that consumers are undermining the economy and the morals of this nation by exchanging music. With this platform established, Fiorina went on to say HP will be the media industry's first rate lackey and do all it can to equip files with DRM (digital rights management) controls. The move by a technology company like HP to so wholly support a dying, old world empire shows how fragile the idea of an open PC has become. (ed. Hp - invent.....?!??!?!)
"Just because we can steal music doesn't mean we should," Fiorina said. "It is illegal. It is wrong, and there are things we can do as a technology company to help. "
"Starting this year, we'll strive to build every one of our consumer devices to respect digital rights."
Fiorina went on to say the company is working to have the industry's best DRM technology whether developed in-house or purchased through partners. HP has a rich heritage of research and product development into portable computer devices - CoolTown, and from Digital, the StrongARM processor and iPaq. So it ignored it all, and chose to rebadge Apple's iPod.
It's not unreasonable for companies in all relevant industries to try and make sure artists are rewarded for their creative efforts. But as the playing field now stands with current DRM technology, consumers are giving up freedoms as to how they can play and share their content. And now technology leaders such as HP are going out of their way to "help" the media industry instead of helping their own customers.
Sharing is a sham
HP made this position quite clear by inviting Jimmy Iovine, the chairman of Universal's Interscope music label, on stage to push their shared agenda. Iovine, a scrawny, middle-aged man dressed like a teenager, attacked the CES crowd for being an immoral collective of music industry killers.
"(Piracy) is hurting kids because kids are learning a disrespect for the basic relationship between creativity and ownership. It's hurting parents because they are in on the sham."
Iovine delivered this message in a stilted fashion, as he read the teleprompter with the skill of a backwoods newsman. At no time in his speech, however, did Iovine remind the audience of the record labels' long history of price-fixing their products, costing consumers hundreds of millions, according to the US government. As he worked to tell us how to raise our children, one would have hoped Iovine could bring this checkered past up, if only to provide more light on the sham.
Iovine went on to talk about a recent heart-to-heart conversation about piracy he had with rapper 50 Cent. The two were discussing a particular case in which a college student made money by selling pirated songs.
"50 Cent said "let them know who this kid is because I am going to take his lunch and take away his car,'" Iovine said.
Iovine could not have picked a better example, as 50 Cent is one of the artists who has suffered most from file-trading. Last year, his album Get Rich or Die Tryin was purchased 6.5 million times, making it the top-selling album of the year. Our heart goes out to 50 Cent.
"Why aren't politicians jumping up and down at this," asked Iovine.
It so happens politicians are keeping a close eye on the record labels' actions. They, along with the courts, are calling for the music industry to sue its customers in a more reasonable fashion.
Mute support
"This may sound personal," Iovine said. "It is personal."
How personal is it? Well, Iovine called in some favors to have Sheryl Crow, Bono's lapdog The Edge and Dr. Dre appear with Fiorina on stage to express their outrage at file-trading. Only the singers didn't say anything. They simply stood on the CES stage for five minutes and then left. It was a powerful showing.
While Iovine would have you believe he has assessed the market with objectivity, other media moguls have a different take on piracy.
"Right now the record (companies are) trying to figure out how they are going to keep themselves in cocaine and limousines and starlets and whatever else those guys do for a living," said Los Angeles radio giant Phil Hendrie during a recent broadcast. "The recording business has, as they begin to finally fall apart, as they begin to deteriorate, as their business continues to go south, show(n) themselves for the slobs that they are."
The sum total of all this is that the issue of media piracy is still up for debate, but companies such as HP are trying to decide the matter for you and are doing so with major consequences.
Fiorina talked at length about technology finally living up to its promise and opening new ways for consumers to enjoy a world rich in culture. At the same time, however, she vowed to out do all technology companies in the restrictions HP will place on those consumers sharing their culture. The company whose slogan is "Invent" is doing all it can to stifle innovation, new business models and new markets.
To emphasize this point, we take you back to 2001 when Hale Landis warned of the death of the open PC.
"The old line hard disk vendors can not survive without bending to the desires of the entertainment industry." Landis wrote. "Basically your "general purpose personal computer", aka "home computer", is history."
"So have fun fighting the battle against CPRM and alike but please do not be surprised when you fail, after all the war has been lost, long live the new world order: proprietary devices, proprietary interfaces, copy protection, limited functionality, and prepare you credit card accounts for all those monthly rental and service charges you will be paying for every "computer controller consumer electronics device" you use."

Why would I buy technology from such a blind and behind company.
I've always found it quite ridiculous. It is a win-win situation for them..
Hmm, imagine if they add DRM to their printers
Darn this crud printer! I can't print my word document because it doesn't have DRM! *Shakes fist in air*
Starting this year, i'll strive to avoid every one of HP's consumer devices to respect personal privacy
Every DRM scheme does restrict the rights of a user no matter what the level. This gives enough reason for many to avoid it. So, the user right restricion is a fact, the privacy invasion is a possibility.
boycott hp...!!!
With jealousy, I assume?
No, with utter disbelief in how people can amass that much wealth for themselves meanwhile there are still starving people in the world. Try again asshole, before you assume something about someone you don't know the first thing about..
I build my PCs at home, why? Because it saves me money, commercial PCs are way too over priced
How are PC's way to overpriced? You can buy a decent HP PC for under $500 Direct from HP. That also comes with one year parts and labor warranty and one year 24 x 7 support, with the option to purchase longer warranty's. Most people building PC's cannot offer this kind of support.
I hate biased reporting like this tripe. That being said, I fail to see how this will benefit HP in any manner.
It'd be nice - but it's doubtful - considering that their home PC division is but a small part of a much, much bigger company.
For instance, HP's Medical Products group is one of the leading companies in... well... medical products - mostly monitoring and imaging related items.
Businesses and organizations would have to care about DRM first, before HP started hurting (which isn't going to happen anytime soon).
Please help me to understand your position.
Uh, your link merely argues against the RIAA's tactics in fighting file sharing, it doesn't justify file sharing at all. In fact, it argues that the recording industry should be paid for files traded over the internet.
I too would like someone to please explain the pro-sharing viewpoint.
*sigh*
There are only those few who oppose it so.
*sigh*
There are only those few who oppose it so.
Are you trying to suggest that I work for the RIAA?
What is at stake here is big corporations clamping down on fair use just because they have a separate piracy problem. and by the way - this piracy problem won't go away with DRM, it will only piss off the people like me that see their rights eroding. THAT is exactly the only reason why I have not purchased any CDs in the last 2 years. I am sick of the corporate greed.
DRM will go away with the piracy problem, however. I think you are being somewhat naive in believing the RIAA is really trying to stop you from making personal copies of media you own using DRM. They don't want you sharing, plain and simple.
Link
Sure, they claim their reasoning is because of illegal sharing of their copyrighted material, but I have a feeling this would have come around eventually despite sharing.
Is it really illegal to "share" music?
Where does "fair use" end, and the copyright violations start?
* Playing a CD in your car with people who didn't buy it, themselves?
* Borrowing a CD to a friend, so (s)he can listen to it?
* Making an MP3 of a song off of your CD, to use in your portable player?
* Borrowing that MP3 player to a friend, so (s)he can listen to it?
* Ripping a song from a friend's CD for his/her MP3 player?
* Listening to MP3s on a 'shared folder' on a different PC in your house?
* Letting a friend listen to a song on your 'shared folder'?
* Letting your friend borrow (download) a song?
Different people/organizations have different answers to the above. General consensus is that the last item is illegal, but is it really? Isn't the problem that it is not longer "fair use" if the friend does not delete it after listening? Who is violating the copyright?
Unfortunately, it is not very clear.
I thought my conclusion was that there is no conclusion! LOL
YOU BUY THAT?!?! SERIOUSLY! The RIAA has fought since it's inception to prevent you from using multiple copies of anything - if they could they would make it illegal to let your friend hear the music you have purchased on your car CD player when you give them a ride unless they pay a usage fee.
The entire purpose behind TCPA and DRM as a whole is to get rid of ownership, and make everything a pay as you play cash cow for corporations. The whole purpose behind DRM is to get it in place with cutesy LOOK THIS STOPS ALL THE WORLD EVIL DOERS... and then once in place, you honestly don't believe we will see microsoft/RIAA/MPAA/etc etc etc. go "Hey, it costs us a lot of money to maintain all these digital certificates and fight the evil terrorist commies that want to try to bypass this lovely protection... so we have to start charging now, not much mind you, but since now 95% of computer users use DRM and TCPA, we'll only charge you a penny everytime you need to access a word document, or an e-mail, or whatever it is that makes your computer useful.
OOOOH and you want to listen to that new CD you bought at the store for an outrageous amount (why is it as manufacturing costs have fallen through the floor the actual cost of CDs has gone sky high, while artists still tend to recieve roughly the same amount per album sold?) for on your computer AND a CD player... even though you own a $300 speaker system and your computer speakers rival most of your friends high-end stereos... well, that will cost you $.05 per play and god forbid if your internet connection goes down when you want to listen to it.. and we need to know everytime you listen, just anonymous usage stats - so we can continue to churn out crap that sounds JUST like what you already own since obviously that's what you like... do you get the point yet - this is a BAD thing people - sure it looks good on the surface but if we don't rail against it NOW, we will give these mega corps. the foundation to do all that and more to us.
&%^ HP - their products are shoddy, they outsource the vast majority of their labor force to countries where they can get away with paying their workers pennies on the dollar compared to civilized countries (By civilized, I mean without MILLIONS OF STARVING CHILDREN WORKING IN SWEAT SHOPS FOR $0.35 A DAY!) The hardware they use is MAINLY from fly by night companies that they slap their own brand on, and then turn around and complain that we are using this hardware to it's fullest potential!
SanGreal do you realize that by supporting this minor invasion of your rights, you are dooming all of us to a world where our actions and communications are governed and controlled, not by elected officials, but by the company with the most money and toys. You further make it harder for independant (read: actually artistic, and not willing to sell out to sound just like so and so that is hot today) artists to have their music heard....
How so you say - well, hmmm... HP comes out with a product that supports DRM and for the sake of arguement, since DRM is so great the rest of the industry jumps on the bandwagon. Joe Schmoe Muscian can't let anyone hear his music because he can't afford the thousands of dollars it will cost to keep his "YEAH I MADE THIS IT'S MINE" Digital Certificate available, and therefore, no one can listen to his NON-DRM possibly pirated DRM'd music - because the RIAA isn't getting a cut of his paycheck they finally get their ultimate blacklist function... I could go on for days. Yet, the only argument from the PRO-DRM camp is "But we lose about 1/99th of the money we COULD make due to piracy - let's take a bunch of Politicians on a ski retreat, buy them beer, hookers, and whatever else the heck we need to in order to have them in our pocket and destroy the first ammendment to the consitution, and the whole concept of fair use, so that we have more money to buy more ski trips, to get more laws passed, to pad our pockets more, so we can buy more ski trips, to get more laws passed, to pad our pockes more, so we can......)
The RIAA and a few other key organizations must have paid them a huge chunk of change to start this up.
This is yet another good reason everyone should be building their own computers. Buying pre-made computers makes you conform to the vendor you purchase from.
But this is just my opinion.
Even though I dislike Apple for their elitest and narrow-minded attitude, I like what they have been TRYING to do with their iTunes Music Download Service. If i didn't hate them so much, I might actually consider using their service (and even then, the files would have to be WMAs)
All the more reason not to support these ppl. They want to take every bit of money they possibly can from us and limit our freedom to use our systems. Everyone start building your own if u need help with it plenty of people on here and on other sites and books are there to help you. Support Artists not the greed of the record companies.
Ride Safe and don't smile.......you'll get bugs on your teeth.