Re: CD of all Files on Asimov

[dastar@crl.com (Sam Ismail)]

Nathan Mates (nathan@visi.com) wrote:
:    I own a car. I _expect_ that it'll eventually break down and become
: unusuable. (Entropy, wear and tear, Acts of God, collisions, etc) What
: do I do? Break in to a Saturn dealership and steal another one,
: claiming that my original one doesn't work anymore? That's idiotic.
: Why? Because people have realistic expectations about the lifetime of
: cars, and when one dies, they get something comparable (rarely
: identical), and hopefully a good bit better. Same thing with most of
: the applicances I around my house. I hope that they last a darn long
: time, but if they don't, I'll get new things.

What if I can fix my car over and over again and keep it running forever?
I can buy after-market parts or manufacture my own if none are available
and keep it in working order indefinitely.  I can modify it so that it
can accept parts from other vehicles in case a particular original part
is no longer available.  In other words, I can realistically expect my
car to last indefinitely, so why should my software be any different?

:    Sounds perfectly reasonable, right? THEN WHY THE HELL DO PEOPLE
: EXPECT THAT THEIR COMPUTER DISKS ARE INDESTRUCTIBLE? Why the heck
: does a disk that goes bad surprise people, and require a replacement,
: free of charge? Things fall apart. People move on. You buy another,
: just like in the real world. What the heck is so hard with this
: line of reasoning, unless you're so blinded by the desire to pirate
: you can't see the truth.

This argument is wholly silly.  It simply does not apply to software.
Software does not wear out and break over time, the medium it is stored
on does.  You own the medium AS WELL AS A LICENSE TO USE THE SOFTWARE.
Once the disk wears out, your license does not simply expire!  You
still retain the license to use that program and are therefore entitled
to a replacement of the medium on which it is stored.

:    Or, for less pricey examples, what about books? Through reasonable
: wear and tear, some of my books are falling apart. Am I owed a new
: copy? Hell no. Do I try and take good care of them, and if they do
: totally fall apart do I throw it out and look for a copy in a used
: book store? Yes. Same thing with the original computer disks I have
: that I care about (unlike free AOL coasters or frisbees). I don't
: store them near excessive hear or cold, and don't put them near
: speakers. Guess what? Almost zero problems. 

Gee, we wish we could all be as careful as you, but the reality is that
software on magnetic diskettes is a highly volatile medium and along with
the purchase of such software comes some expectation that the manufacturer
will replace the defective medium upon its being damaged.  Barring that,
it is my opinion that the purchaser has the right to an archival copy.  I
also believe the same goes for books.

:    A comparable version of this is the movie industry. From the 1930s
: to the mid-70s, films were shown in theaters for their useful run,
: then were occasionally found at art houses, revivals, or the like.  If
: you couldn't find something, you were pretty much out of luck.  Then
: VCRs were produced in mass quantities. Guess what happened to all the
: old classics? They were suddenly made reavailable, and people could
: buy them AGAIN, and watch them whenever they wanted. There's a nice
: little friendly message from the FBI on each videotape telling you
: that you can't copy things.

Once people have bought a copy, they have a right to safeguard their
property by archiving it.  If I could replicate my washer and dryer,
I would do so in case they broke down.  But currently I can't.  However,
as with the car example, I CAN continue to repair my washer and dryer
any time they broke down and replace any worn parts, thereby extending
its life indefinitely.  Is the manufacturer entitled to having my
property break and become useless so that I would have to buy another
one from them?  Of course not!  As long as I can keep it in working
order, I can use it forever.  There is no law to the contrary.

:    In the 1980s, computer software was available in stores for its
: useful run, then occasionally found at garage sales, shrinkwrapped
: from Joe Kohn, or the like. Will something happen that they'll be sold
: again? Microsoft, Activision, and other companies are already doing
: that to some pieces of software. You'd be stupid to expect this not to
: happen to more. Guess what? Microsoft's got lots of lawyers. I'm going
: to stay on their good side. I will keep warning you folks, but when
: you get nailed by them, don't come crying to me.

But Nathan, what about the games that don't get re-released?  Should they
simply be forgotten?

: Nathan Mates

Your argument is obviously concerning piracy, and Deth's motives to
profit from his piracy by selling copies.  This is entirely wrong.  I
agree with you on that point.  However, your metaphors do not hold up
under scrutiny.  They suffer from paradigm non-sequiturs: you are
attempting to compare software against hardware, an intangible vs. a
tangible.  It simply does not compute.

-- 
Sam
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Computer Historian, Programmer, Musician, Philosopher, Athlete, Writer, Jackass