Maslow’s Hierarchy of Tools
Maslow – he of the Hierarchy of Needs 
fame – accurately describes the desire to make the problem fit the solution:
I suppose it is tempting, if the only tool you have is a hammer, to treat everything as if it were a nail.
Abraham Harold Maslow
The Psychology of Science: A Reconnaissance
Why is this relevant?
Well judging from this CNET report on the recent Digital Hollywood conference the film and music industries are still seeing nails:
“At a time when the top recording companies appear to be phasing out digital rights management (DRM), the RIAA is predicting that the highly controversial software will make a comeback.
“(Recently) I made a list of the 22 ways to sell music, and 20 of them still require DRM,” said David Hughes, who heads up the RIAA’s technology unit, during a panel discussion at the Digital Hollywood conference. “Any form of subscription service or limited play-per-view or advertising offer still requires DRM. So DRM is not dead.”
….Fritz Attaway, executive vice president at the Motion Picture Association of America said: “We need DRM to show our customers the limits of the license they have entered into with us.”"
Ever get the feeling it’s not just a coincidence?
What looked like an interesting story at the end of the year in The Washington Post about the RIAA claiming ripped CDs are “unauthorised copies” then got a twist with The Post issuing a correction, which some thought was worthy of a correction of it’s own.
At the same time, on the other side of the pond, the same issue, which had been extensively examined and clearly ruled upon by Andrew Gowers, became a topic for consultation for the new minister for Intellectual Property.
Wired revisited the RIAA stance and was very adament that the intention was very clear:
“So, to sum up, the RIAA does believe that a majority of American music buyers are thieving criminals, but it’s not going to sue anyone over ripping MP3s because) a) it’s not really a big deal to them anymore b) there’s no real way to find out and/or c) it would be terrible publicity to sue someone for using an iPod.“
And now has revisited the topic again:
“The RIAA doesn’t believe Americans have any right — or Fair Use legal defense — to play copyrighted material on the device and in the format of their choosing.
That belief has been and will continue to be a threat to innovation and new technology.
The failure to recognize that simple truth will blow back in the form of more draconian public policies and laws, as well as more crippled devices.“
This is not an industry looking for new business models, or using technology to ensure rights are respected, but looking to put all the evil back into Pandora’s Jar – which is hugely ironic given that Pandora has left the building!
Salient story getting legs for the end of 2007
This story – about the RIAA claiming ripped CDs are “unauthorized copies” – is getting legs just as the year ends.
First reported by Ars Technica on December 11th., it’s gotten renewed legs with an article in The Washington Post.
Kinda sums up the year for the music industry.
Ohio University bans P2P clients.
Ohio University has banned Peer-to-Peer clients from the campus network.
Their rationale:
“Although P2P file-sharing can sometimes be used for legitimate reasons, any use of P2P software on the campus network may result in Internet access being disabled under this new policy. Individuals who need to use P2P software for legitimate purposes can discuss their needs with the IT Service Desk.
In addition to consuming bandwidth and technological resources, P2P file-sharing also exposes the university network to viruses, spyware and other attacks. It also is frequently used for illegally distributing copyrighted works.
Today’s announcement follows the recent crackdown by the Recording Industry Association of America on illegal music downloading. The RIAA sent more than 1,200 prelitigation letters to colleges and universities, including 100 to Ohio University. It also initiated “John Doe” lawsuits against users of computers on Ohio University’s network. The university estimates staff members have spent nearly 120 hours dealing with the prelitigation letters from the RIAA.”
3 points:
1. “Although P2P file-sharing can sometimes be used for legitimate reasons…” – the same can be said for and against email/web browsing/ftp/newsgroups/etc.
2. “…exposes the university network to viruses, spyware and other attacks.” – surely the answer then is to disconnect from the Internet.
3. “It (the RIAA) also initiated “John Doe” lawsuits against users of computers on Ohio University’s network.” – by following this logic, the RIAA should just initiate a class-action lawsuit against the people of the United States and then declare victory in the war against file-sharing.
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