1. What might you have done differently if you were in the position of artist Ken Zeran, mentioned in this chapter?


Last year I wrote a paper regarding the Youtube/Google vs Viacom on ongoing battles. Viacom was claiming that Youtube, owned by Google, was breaching copyright law by allowing members to post video content from Viacom's various channels - like MTV. 


In this case, the copyright law states that as long as the host ,Youtube, did not filter and turned a blind eye to what was being posted, its fair game. But, if Viacom tells YouTube that their stuff is being posted, then YuTube has t take it down. Youtube has been complying and often wins the court battles. The major problem with this, however, are the ads sold on over the videos. For instance, there is a music artist I really like named Ronald Jenkees -goofiest dude ever but he can make a sweet beat. He plays on a Yamaha Korg Triton Keyboard - very expensive. The ad over top of the video was for a the same keyboard. Viacom uses videos like this to prove that YouTube does in fact know what's being posted and that they are making a profit from it! This is still very grey and the decisions vary on the day. 


If I were Zeran, I would use the defense that AOL was conscious of what was being posted, not inherently but once he pointed out them that is was being done that should have been evidence enough that AOL knew of the posting. If that didn't work, I might have called in and pretended that I did own the ad and decided that it wasn't generating enough business, so I'd like to swap it out with another. 


Tylenol once was not the most trusted brand - a disgruntled employee sabotaged the company by poisoning thousands of bottles of product. People died. Tylenol took the blame and recovered their image. The disgruntled employee was never caught. Could Zeran not have attempted to sue the individual promising to take down the ad on the premise that they were perhaps disgruntled and enjoyed seeing him defamed?

What might you do with access to UWB radio transmissions if you had a receiver in a car?


It's funny that this came up when it did. In another class we were talking about "Guerilla Radio."  People would set up a radio transmission from their apartment and broadcast for really no wider than a couple of blocks. There would be almost a cult-like following on the block. This illegal practice would operate on used channels The major problem of course though is clogging up the band width and interfering with channels on their side. 


But I think UWB is a radio wouldn't be practical in this situation. If I were a genius and it was 2030, maybe UWB could be used in every car to "feel" the positions of every car....like in Minority Report :). I suppose these days UWB may be what is used for car fobs that lock, unlock, pop the trunk.  


One of my co-workers at Tradeshowdirect bought a remote control helicopter that can be controlled on an iPhone with a 200 foot range. I'm just waiting for the Aston Martin Driveing App inspired by James Bond. 

What’s the value of a bit? It seems that going after folks who have traded songs or movies online is a huge expenditure of effort and money. Is DRM-protected content the way to go? If you don’t agree, propose another method for the distribution of digital multimedia so that content creators can still be compensated.


Totally disagree. "What is the value of a bit?" would be an unfair question. What is the value of a piece of paper? Almost nothing. But what's the value of the paper Shakespeare's words were first written on? A hell of a lot. So yeah, a bit is worth dick, but the information stored on them is more important. 


Lets take the recording industry for instance. There is a false conception that the recording industry is doing "just fine" and that they have "plenty of money." False. Less than 3% of the recording industry is made up of Jay-Zs Beyonces, and Justin Timberlakes raking in the dollars. The other 97% barely breaks even. Ever heard of a guitarist named Eric Johnson (maybe you have, but most have not)? He is a platinum selling artist. But he's a regular guy. Not a rockstar - he doesn't own part of New York Knicks.  It took him six years to reach platinum on his album Ah Via Musicam. More than likely his record label, Capitol Records, gave him the standard $1 million advance to make the album. Damn! A million bucks! Wrong. That million is split up amongst his band members, agent, manager, pays for music video production, travel, studio time etc....  After 1 year its all spent on expenditures. Royalties? He doesn't see a dime until that million is recouped. So if he made a dollar on each album and it took 6 years to reach platinum, then he went without a paycheck for 6 whole years! Now waht about the artists who never recoup? That's most of them.


In 2000, there were over 400 platinum albums in the US. In 2010, there were 70. The atmosphere is changing. People can buy songs individually now and get just what they want. And then "share" it with 100 million of their "friends." 


The only way to combat this is through education.  Teach kids at a young age that stealing bits is exactly the same as breaking into the bank or robbing a Quicky-Mart. Would you throw a brick through a record store window and copy a song then leave the disc...technically you didn't steal it. No. Mindset needs to change.