I just wanted to say a word on Peer to Peer (P2P) file sharing.
It itself is not illegal and evil! It is a great tool that users abuse for ill purpose.
Somebody like myself invented this ingenious method of transferring and sharing files over an internet connection; it wasn't designed to break any laws. It is the users that choose to share legally protected files that give this excellent tool a bad name.
During my educational years, my class and I were able to share common files through peer to peer without breaking any laws. It was quick, convenient, redundant (in a good way) and more versatile than many other mainstream options.
I think the internet would be a better place if we could curb the transferring of legally protected files, and leave P2P for legal file sharing. Not to mention how great a tool it could be for business, think about it; a companies content would not ultimately need to be self housed, it could be dispersed amongst the internet, made available for all with increased exposure and high levels of word of mouth advertising.
Now on to illegal shares:
There is no doubt that P2P is facilitating illegal behavior, and the only real attempts by the "industry" to stop it is by huge fines and/or jail time. I would like to throw current legislature to the wind, and rewrite it such that the "industry" can recover some profits. How about a shareware approach, give the user the opportunity to offer a reasonable dollar value to the appropriate vendors without fear of legal retribution.
It's basic math to me, if a user gives you $5, or even $2 for a music album, than you make something instead of nothing. It is my belief that the financial tipping point must be found; obviously $1.00 songs and $10.00 movies are expensive enough for users to risk illegal P2P. Maybe a lower price would tip the scale. Oh yeah, let them download said purchased, therefore legal, file through a P2P client!
Happy legal downloading.
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