Inside the new church

Who needs TV copy protection?

They say that film companies won't allow their material to be shown on Digital and High Definition TV unless the system is so locked-down and controlled that copies can't be made (or you can't skip the trailers and the ads, or your films expire automatically, or your cheap imported films won't play, or whatever anti-customer scam they dream up next).

Therefore, so they tell us, we need to build in controls over what we can do with the TVs and films we buy! Studios delayed the release of movies on DVD until they got what they wanted - so we have to give in over digital and high-definition content too!

But it's rubbish, and here's why!

DVD offered only small improvements over video. There was little real incentive at the time for consumers to move.

But the move to Digital TV will happen whether consumers like it or not -- because the analogue signal will be turned off in a couple of years. There will be no "video option" where the studios can stick with the safe, old system till they get what they want from the new one. If they don't move to digital they'll start losing money right away. Their whole TV revenue stream will dry up overnight!

Similarly, when consumers have HDTVs and broadcasters like the BBC are broadcasting sports, and their own news and drama (and celebrity house makeovers, I suppose) in stunning detail, viewers won't want low definition movies to buy or rent. There will be a huge market for the real, high-definition thing, which content suppliers won't want to ignore.

So in both cases, the studios are bluffing. Economics will force them to move to the new formats, whether they get their anti-consumer restrictions or not!It's just a matter of who blinks first - consumer advocates and legislators, or the content providers.

In the end, broadcast flags and the like only make it more difficult to copy video - not impossible. There WILL be copies, whatever technology is used. The "we have to stop piracy" argument is mostly bogus - an excuse to demand more control.

Studios won't long be able to resist the lure of selling their content to digital broadcasters when the analogue broadcasts have stopped.

And they can't afford to miss out on selling or renting their films ALL OVER AGAIN to broadcasters and consumers when HDTV finally arrives and people lose interest in low-resolution, indistinct, small-screen stuff, and demand crystal-clear, high-definition, surround-sound TV.

Any loss of revenue from limited copying by consumers is a cost of doing business, and large scale copying by pirates will continue to be a law enforcement matter. The sky will not collapse! We just need to call the studios' bluff!

Stand up for yourself! Disney won't!

But it's sunny outside!

It's way too sunny for an AGM... but there's nothing else for it. I'm off to the Welly Park for tea, biscuits, and talk. Lots of talk - and probably more work to do, if I know anything about the way committees work... and I know way too much about the way committees work, believe me :-(

Just as long as nobody tries to save time with a 15 minute summary of a 5 minute report, like happened at one committee I seem to remember!

It could get like a friend's wedding, where there were speeches "from the floor". After a while (quite a long while, in fact) they requested that people keep their speeches down to two minutes. The only effect this seemed to have was that everyone included a three minute explanation of how quick they were going to be at the start of their rambling reminiscences. Except for the funny guy, of course, who spoke for 120 seconds exactly!

But that's life. And I've rambled on for long enough already, today. I think I'll pretend it's supposed to be ironic or something...

Technical support is closed

I've been talking to my mother by phone about her email and stuff. It's tough, describing windows and buttons in words, but doing technical support is one of the perils of being a techie.

But now I'm about to stop for the night... If you're reading this, "Hi Mum!"

Nobody expects the Spanish Inquisition

It seems there is a new Pope. Benedict XVI, he'll be called.

"Presumably it's not going to be Cardinal Ratzinger," I said at the start of the process.
"Who?"
"The head of the Inquisition!"

I got that one wrong. Just as well I'm not a pundit ;-)

He seems a bit of a hardliner who, as head of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (the new name for the Inquisition), silenced dissenting theologians. It will be interesting to see how he deals with challenges from those who question traditional (if peripheral) dogmas like priestly celibacy, the ban on birth control, the exclusively male priesthood, or papal infallibility, as well as more clearly moral issues like abortion.

I wonder if he'll want to comment on issues like the "christianisation" of Europe and the proposed constitution, or on the admission to the EU of its first moslem country, Turkey, or on globalisation, or the War On Terror.

Finally, I'm wondering how Northern Ireland's political and religious figures (Ian Paisley, for instance) will react to the head of the Inquisition running the Catholic church. It has become fashionable to apologise for the past - will there be calls for apologies for the crimes of the Inquisition?

There's no Door!

Even as I speak, my front door is being replaced. The joyriders damaged the frame on Good Friday while they were bashing the glass with their rock, so I need a whole new frame. Right now I'm working from home (OK, technically I seem to be taking a short break) while the repairs happen.

It may be sunny out there, but with no front door the house is freezing! A nice hot mug of coffee, perhaps? And maybe some more layers of winter clothes...

Out with the old

Rhapsody in metallic mustard

This is the courtesy car, but I don't have it any more. My car has been fixed, and is back on the road. They even sprayed it with that new car smell spray that garages have!

Apparently a true blogger would feel compelled to mention a "w00t" now, whatever one of those is ;-)

Up to the North Coast

Atmosphere

Amazing shapes

At the Giant's Causeway

The Giant's Causeway is down there somewhere

You have to go - it's in the rules!

New toys, or not

I got a new toy today :) I am now the proud owner of a shiny new wireless router. I'm typing this on a cabled connection into the back of it... I really must configure the wireless link soon!

I nearly ended up with a 1G memory card for my camera as well, but when it came to the checkout they wanted £17 for delivery to Northern Ireland. For something that could be posted for less than 50p, I think that's a bit excessive - so no memory card for me, and no money for the website. There's not a lot of point in moaning here, so I moaned to them as well. Maybe they'll reply... hey, it could happen!

Is it just laziness that makes companies think it's somehow OK to charge crazy money to deliver here?

But I've an early start, so I need to sleep. I'll only be able to get so much sleep during tomorrow's meetings, after all!

Are they colour blind at Renault?

After a few days of will we - won't we write off the car, the repairers decided to fix it. That's bad, because I don't get to use my special insurance against getting ripped off by the insurance company to claim the whole purchase price of the car. But it's good, because I can get a courtesy car and be mobile right away. Or so I thought...

Apparently they didn't have any cars. It must be accident and theft season or something out there, but all their cars were being used. I rang them back the next day, and the story wasn't much better. But wait...

"Can you drive an automatic?"
"Yes"
"Well we do have a car then"

Good, I thought. Maybe I'll get a nice one.

I managed to scrounge a lift to the garage (thanks, Phu!) and collected my car. Let me say right away that it's great to be mobile again. And the folks at the garage were wonderfully helpful and efficient. But it's an interesting car - I didn't know you could get automatics that small. And a couple of scrapes and a radio that doesn't quite work are a small price to pay for being mobile - I wouldn't have wanted to wait for another day or two while they tidied everything up.

Driving an automatic again is odd - I keep stamping on the floor where the clutch should be, and reaching for the gears as I pull out of junctions. It's going to be an interesting week...

So if you see a small and slightly battered-looking Clio in the next week or so, with writing on the side, and a body colour that can best be described as metallic mustard (are they colour blind at Renault?) look out -- it's likely to be me!

And if the wipers come on as I approach a junction, I'm probably about to turn. You have been warned.

Think of the Children

Support the IETF initiative on morality in internet standards!


Far superior to the previous flawed proposal for a warning evil bit.


;-)