QotW3: Does what belong to you belong to me too?

“I don’t know if I should buy the album. I just like that one song. It would such a waste of money to buy the album for that particular song.”

Many of us have come across this scenario, whether we are the ones who face the dilemma or have a friend who fits the shoes. Movies, music and TV shows are a part of our lives that most of us cannot live without. However, if we were to attempt to catch every movie ever released and buy every album that ever sold, we would most probably have to be one of the richest people in the world. And since most of us do not fit in that category, we seek other solutions that will fulfill our desires.

The laws of copyright, and the ideas of copyright infringement, are significant in our society. Copyright revolves around the idea that the creative creator of a particular concept receives exclusive rights for that concept. (Copyright, 2007) Copyright credits the artist for the originality and creativity of his work. Without the laws of copyright, artist would not feel motivated to share their innovations. This is mainly because the creators would not receive their due recognition. Original work will not be credited and copies will be not only easily attainable, but almost worthless.

The situation in Today’s society is that people have fallen into the habit of not crediting the artists/creators who have worked hard to produce quality work. Whether it is duplicating movies or pirating songs or photocopying books, it has become a situation of ‘no big deal’ to these people. I do believe that the reason for this is not because people do not want to show their appreciation, but mainly because they are able to do so. There are peer-to-peer (P2P) sites that allow people to share music easily. There are MP3 players and CD- burners that allow us to rip music without a second’s thought. It is not like people have to search very hard to get a certain song or watch movies online for free. The sources are already there. People are just making use of them. The current market of technology suits copyright infringement. It makes it easy for people to pirate things and make illegal copies of them. How can the consumers be blamed for making use of what is available to them?

In the Information Age that we live in, almost everything is possible. We have access to all sorts of technology and innovations, and that makes it easy for us to take advantage of it. Peer-to-peer technology have “lowered the threshold of knowledge needed to acquire massive amounts of information”. (Copyright Infringement, 2007) Although these P2P file sharing technology have allowed people to share information, people have also misused the networks to distribute infringed materials.

There are copyright laws in effect right now. The problem is the ambiguous nature of the laws. The laws cover certain aspects of the rights of both the creators and the consumers. However, people are not extensively aware of the dire consequences of pirating information. People do not feel a twinge of guilt about ripping music or downloading movies from the internet. Some people have the notion that since the material is found on the internet, it is available for all to use. According to Kevin Brady, unless the owner has given up the rights for the material, it is still illegal to make a copy of the material. (2004) People have still harbor many misconceptions regarding copyright laws. In that sense, it is necessary for consumers to be educated about the rights they have for purchasing a product.

This task is not going to be easy. It might be impossible to satisfy everybody. Consumers do not want to have to pay enormous amounts of money to purchase a movie or a song. As of 2004, music label records have brought more than 4000 lawsuits against music fans. And the number is still rising. (von Lohmann, 2004) Creators are fighting for their rights. Consumers are fighting for theirs. So who is right?

There is something that we have to realize. There is a distinct possibility that each one of us have the chance of innovating something unique. When that time comes, we would want to be credited and appreciated for it. Would we want others to ‘steal’ what belongs to us? How can we have double standards?

Does what belong to me belong to everybody else?


Resources

Brady, K. (2007). Copyright FAQ: 25 Common Myths and Misconceptions. Retrieved January 31, 2007, from http://users.goldengate.net/~kbrady/copyright.html

Copyright. (2007, February 2). In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved 09:04, February 3, 2007, from http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Copyright&oldid=105127757

Copyright infringement of software. (2007, February 2). In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved 09:05, February 3, 2007, from http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Copyright_infringement_of_software&oldid=105189076

von Lohmann, F. (2004) Is Suing Your Customers a Good Idea? Retrieved February 1, 2007, from http://www.law.com/jsp/article.jsp?id=1095434496352

COM 125 WEEK 2: NO MORE SNAIL MAIL

Surfing the World Wide Web has almost become second nature to us. People of the current generation have been surrounded with the marvels of the Internet Age almost all their lives. Humans have become incredibly reliant on the services that the Internet provides that it is practically impossible to imagine life without the Net.

Internet users come across the various services that it provides. Whether a person is doing research, or signing up for a service, or downloading information, the Net has become a tool in life that is difficult to live without. Similarly, every surfer certainly has a way to communicate with others via the Net.

Currently, the most popular means of communicating would be Instant Messaging (IM). However, before the eruption of the IM mania, people used to, and still do, communicate through Electronic mails (better known as E-Mails). E-mail is basically a “store and forward” way of creating, sending and receiving messages over an electronic medium. (Wikipedia, 2007) There are many Mail Servers available online that allow a person to create a free email account that allows a person to communicate with people in the same region, and overseas. Examples of popular E-mail services include Hotmail, Yahoo! and Gmail.

According to Marcus Kazmierczak, a scientist from Massachusetts, Ray Tomlinson, sent the first Email between two computers in his office in 1971. Those were the first Email messages ever sent. Imagine that! More than thirty five years ago, the makings of an actual Email was discovered. (1997) Tomlinson is also responsible for using the ‘@’ sign to differentiate the user from the machine. (Wikipedia, 2007)

Contrary to the common belief that the email was created after the internet , the fact is that the email aided in the discovery of the Internet. Before the Internet, there was the ARPANET (Advanced Research Projects Agency Network), which was the first ever packer-switching network. (Wikipedia, 2007) Internet was created after that, and is considered to be more like the successor of the APRANET. (Rheingold, 1993)

There is no doubt how life would be if there were no e-mails. Snail mail is almost a thing of a past, and international calls are not a necessity at a time when emails can be used. Emails are convenient, fast and cheap. People are not required to be available all the time, and they have the opportunity to communicate at a time that is comfortable to them.

However emails are not always user-friendly. There are many chances for Spam, chain mail, viruses, and email overloads that can occur unexpectedly. However, beyond the mishaps that can happen, emails prove to be a sure-fire way to share information between anyone in the world, albeit family, friends or colleagues.

According to Email Labs, the most popular day to send emails are Tuesday, and the most popular day to receive emails are Wednesday. 25.4% of emails are sent out on Tuesday, while a total of 48.7% of emails are sent out on Tuesday and Wednesday. Therefore, Wednesday turns out to be 'hangover' day, as people tend to open both Tuesdays and Wednesdays mails on Wednesday.

The truth is that people have become reliant on emails. Many people have cultivated the habit of checking their E-mails daily. Some people have even more than one email address to suit their lifestyles. No matter what the future brings, emails will still be a huge part of our lives.



Even younger children will get in on the action. Soon there will be a time when children will send their 'Dear Santa' Letters to Santa Claus via email instead of snail mail. There will be a time when Santa's inbox, instead of his mailbox, will be flooded with mail during Christmas.

Resources:

Advanced Research Projects Agency Network. (2007, January 23). In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved 08:34, January 27, 2007, from http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Advanced_Research_Projects_Agency_Network&oldid=102658527

E-mail. (2007, January 24). In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved 08:35, January 27, 2007, from http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=E-mail&oldid=103009009

Rheingold, H. (1993). Visionaries and Convergences: The Accidental History of the Net. The Virtual Community. New York: Perseus Books. Retrieved from http://www.rheingold.com/vc/book/3.html

History of the Internet. (2006, August 20). In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved 08:07, January 27, 2007, from http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=History_of_the_Internet&oldid=70771572

The basics about Me!

Hello!

Technical stuff is so not my forte, but finally I managed to get this blog up and going. A blog for class. Who would have thought that?

I'm Sangheetha. Most people call me Sang( although it sounds more like 'sung'). My name in Sanskrit means music. However, the closest I come to playing music would be the songs that I play on my mp3 player. I have been described many things. Hopeless romantic, sweet and crazy (just to name a few). I am all these. You cannot fight what you are, can you? I also have the habit of talking too fast and not taking risks. I'm trying to change these two but it's really hard.

I am a typical person in many ways. I love my family. I'm crazy about my nephew, Ashwin, and my niece, Keerthana. I love to hang with my friends. (That would be their picture above) Who doesn't? I am fortunate to be blessed with lifelong friends. I also love the movies and music. English, Tamil and Hindi( a language that I would like to learn). I love to read too, but not the serious stuff. ( I have enough of that with school.) I read for pleasure and my favorite authors include Nicholas Sparks and Judith MacNaught. I love watching TV too. I have so many favourite shows that I cannot name all. However, there is one that takes the cake. I love F.R.I.E.N.D.S.
I'm crazy enough about them to put a video of them up here. Basically, it's a trailer for the last season of the show but it highlights some of the great moments of the show. Oh yah, I love work, too. I'm working at a branch in Kumon as a teacher assistant. Okay, so it's a part-time job. I love it.

I also love Disney. Hence, that would explain the blog skin. 'Beauty and the Beast' and 'Aladdin' are my favourites. I love soft toys too. The bigger, the better. Hee...

So this is me basically. Family, friends, movies, music work, school. That pretty much sums up my life right now.