.....To some extent, anyways.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122966038836021137.html
(Props to "The Dude" @ Radio-Info's forums for this link)

So, the RIAA has reportedly decided to stop pursuing litigation against pre-school students and dead guys for allegedly distributing recordings over the Internet. Great! I kinda' wonder how long this golden moment will last? But now, the new system they propose is to start working at the ISP level, attempting to bar access to RIAA-sanctioned audio files.

Well, so much for network neutrality.

So now the way things are turning up I apparently no longer have to worry about getting slapped by the Rekord Industry's own little pig patrol (Hi, Abbie!) for at least $1,000,000,000,000--adjusted slightly for inflation--because I happened to find the full version of Sheila E's "The Glamourous Life" on the world-renowned file-sharing network Foobarzaa because it's been out of print for years on CD. Nope. Now I have to worry about getting my network access cut.

And finally, may this serve as a reminder to us that there *is* always the great Nike network........

Lots of people saw this coming. They pushed it until some ugly precident was about to be set, then stopped.

The ISP level threat has been around a long time. Sadly, we are seeing the same kinds of things happen to ISP's as we have seen with radio. They get bigger and bigger and more hungry, and less inclined to compete.

***Support your local ISP!!***

We are gonna have to deal with this, during this election cycle. Have your activist hat on, as I think it's gonna be an ugly ride!

BTW: The filtering scheme is already doomed. If that's the worst we get, BFD. That escalation of forces has already played out, and the geeks win fairly easily.

I still hold out hope for some Internet wide tax of sorts. Take a small cut, shovel it to the greedy bastards and leave IP infringement the civil crime it is supposed to be.

(Bush administration criminalized it)

Heh... I showed my kids how to scoop audio right off the better streaming sites. Just listen, edit and write it to the pod. Done!

Just like I used to do as a kid with the radio.

And if you think I'm a bastard for that? Well, I'm a bastard then. Don't feel bad about it at all. Before it's over, they will know how to rip, mix burn the media they live with too.

(just like I used to do as a kid)

The whole affair has really turned me off too.

I generally don't subscribe to much, don't download much (from the US), and buy used media more often than not, or buy direct from artists publishing to their fans.

These guys need to go huge. They just don't add a lot of value anymore and it's really starting to show.

On the games front, they are working double over time to tie games to silly ass online features to prevent used sales, and or archives.

It all really kind of sucks.

If more of it is made available, I'll do retro gaming, where everything is still open enough to enjoy, build, hack and share, enjoy live music or buy direct, and avoid new formats not yet open.

Dealing with the crap has made a whole lot of this just not worth it.