Tim Marman's Loosely Coupled

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• Sometimes piracy isn't about getting it for free

  The old maxim that "you can't compete with free" has been thrown around time and time again in the piracy argument. Sometimes, though, piracy is not just about price. People don't want DRM ( including Bill Gates ), and there are still no legal means to download DRM-free music. ( Ok, I should clarify - eMusic offers DRM-free downloads and is apparently now the second largest online retailer of music - but it doesn't include most mainstream music or most (any?) of the "major" labels.) People also don't want to wait for arbitrary release dates, and retail versions of albums are quite often available on the Internet well before the release. For example, Fred Wilson has an advance copy of the new Arcade Fire album many of us are anxiously awaiting. (That's one thing I definitely miss from my WHCL days). The album doesn't come out until March 6th, but it's already available for download on the filesharing networks. Thing about the choice that the record industry gave the rest of us - download... Posted Jan 30 2007, 06:28 AM by Tim with | with 7 comment(s) Filed under: Technology, Intellectual Property, Gadgets, Music, Law

• DRM can have a significant impact on battery life

  Tommy Perkins posts yet another reason to hate DRM . According to this CNET article , it can have a significant negative impact on your device's battery life - as much as 25% as you can see below. Creative Zen Vistion:M: 16 hours with MP3s, 12 hours with only WMA subscription tracks Archos Gmini 402 Camcorder: 11 hours with MP3s, 9 hours with DRM tracks iRiver U10: 32 hours with MP3s, 27 hours playing subscription tracks The iPod, playing back only FairPlay AAC tracks, "underperformed MP3s by about 8 percent." This isn't terribly surprising, of course, given the additional processing required to validate and decrypt, but it's surely off-putting. Oh, and if that wasn't enough, RIAA says future DRM might "threaten critical infrastructure and potentially endanger lives . Posted Mar 21 2006, 04:12 AM by Tim with | with no comments Filed under: Technology, Intellectual Property, Security, Gadgets, Music, Copyright, DRM

• Grokster Reversed in Unanimous Decision

  Some bad news from SCOTUS(Blog). The Supreme Court ruled unanimously that developers of software violate federal copyright law when they provide computer users with the means to share music and movie files downloaded from the internet. Read Justice Souter's opinion . Justice Ginsburg concurrence (joined by the Chief Justice and Justice Kennedy); and Justice Breyer's concurrence , joined by Justices Stevens and O'Connor. I haven't had a chance to give them a thorough review, but at first glance it looks like they are adopting something along the lines of the "Active Inducement" test suggested by Justice O'Connor at oral arguments. Ernest is participating in a Grokster Roundtable . Others, including Prof Felten, are participating in SCOTUSblog discussions . Marty has some commentary and Kevin has a good roundup . And don't forget, even though it's a unanimous decision, Fred says we've already won . Plenty of good coverage out there, as you might expect. An incomplete roundup of additional... Posted Jun 27 2005, 07:46 AM by Tim with | with 2 comment(s) Filed under: Technology, Intellectual Property, Law School, Gadgets, Music, Copyright