[ILUG] John Gilmore on what's happening with copyright protection

[David Murphy]

Quoting <001301c08614$4e780410$d53007c3 at ISGTWOMEM>
by Mark Twomey <bauwolf at indigo.ie>:

> Because of capitalism the PC market is many orders of magnitude a greater
> revenue generator than whatever the entertainment industry could hope to pay
> these company's. They assume that no one is going to kick up a stink, but
> why risk angering your core customer base?

I guess they believe they'll get away with it. They did with minidisks
and DVDs...

> That's not a way to run a business, it makes poor economic sense. Risk
> angering a significantly larger revenue base for some short-term returns?
> Shareholder value is calculated by estimated future profitability not
> current profitability. A company can do a record quarter and have their
> stock shoot up by $1, or then can just miss a target and wall street will
> knock 40% market cap off them. Shareholder value is not a measure of a
> company's worth today, but in 2 or 5 years.

I'd estimate their profitability to be greatly improved by this
scheme. I presume they do too.

> There are three golden rules in business.
> 
> Set a standard.
> 
> Keep your customers happy.
> 
> Crush all your competitors in your market segment(s).

I suggest there is one: Make money. Sometimes the best way to do so is
to achieve your three goals, sometimes there are other ways.

> What they are trying to do is not capitalism, not in shape and not in form.

Well, the dictionary definition I have here is:
"an economic system characterized by private or corporate ownership of
capital goods, by investments that are determined by private decision,
and by prices, production, and the distribution of goods that are
determined mainly by competition in a free market"

I'd pretty much agree with that - it's traditionally represented as
meaning a free market, but raising barriers to entry, i.e. operating
counter to the free market principle, has long been a recognised
business strategy.

> IBM & Intel are not only backing, but also part owning the wrong
> horse, the entertainment industry, a baronial and oppressive
> industry, has as much right to decide the course of computing
> technology as Microsoft has to decide who gets Oscar's.

Well, I suppose the free market will sort them out then. Not to worry,
so.

-- 
"Where am I supposed to find coelacanths at this time of day?"
"Process doesn't concern me. I'm a high level thinker."
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