Could the cloud eradicate piracy?

[jfez]

After reading Kacey Weinberg article about cloud eradicating software piracy, could cloud computing be the answer to all media piracy? Imagine a world where you can watch or listen to anything at all for one flat fee. That has to be the future and the only way forward for entertainment companies. Right? Are the likes of lovefilm, spotiy and netflix are on to the winning formula?

 

[stugster]

If there's one thing I hate, it's this bl**dy term "Cloud". If you're going to read that article, kindly replace the word Cloud with the phrase: "Software as a Service" instead.

 

[mit74]

After reading Kacey Weinberg article about cloud eradicating software piracy, could cloud computing be the answer to all media piracy? Imagine a world where you can watch or listen to anything at all for one flat fee. That has to be the future and the only way forward for entertainment companies. Right? Are the likes of lovefilm, spotiy and netflix are on to the winning formula?

How will it eradicate piracy? The technology only improves the distribution channels, possibly lowering piracy initally because it's easier to obtain but the prices are actually more than traditional channels such as dvd shops. People still have a limited disposable income and once that's spent people (especially teens) will download stuff they don't want to miss out on. With thousands of films, music and games being relased every month there are very few people who can afford everything especailly in poor countries.

 

[stugster]

The article's correct in that it's likely to reduce piracy of titles such as Adobe Photoshop - you'll access the software via your browser rather than having a copy stored locally on your computer, therefore you've never got access to the source code or any of the program code to reverse engineer it.

In terms of LoveFilm, Spotify, and NetFlix, it might reduce piracy because it makes accessing unlimited content cheaper than it would do should you have to purchase individual titles.

Having said that, there's always going to be ways around it; grabbing streams from Spotify and saving them onto your computer is possible for example. The real relief comes when you cut down those barriers to content and allow people to access the content for a fair price.

I'm an avid user of Netflix and Spotify, and have the full premium accounts for both. Getting access to such a vast music collection and video collection means that I'm less likely to have to resort to accessing other sites to get what I want. Conversely though, I do get quite annoyed that as a result of the technology, I can't dump my Spotify playlist onto an old fashioned iPod to listen to it in the car.

 

[Rudi]

Eradicate Piracy and Privacy, yes

Slightly more on topic, the piracy is of course reduced from the fact that you own absolutely nothing when you use SaaS/Cloud Offerings. You don't get to keep any portion of the data, and you don't own it in the first place, so you have absolutely zero way to pass it onto somebody else.

What you can do however is share your login details for certain services which is sortof the same, if not worse, I guess.

 

[DotNetWebs]

If there's one thing I hate, it's this bl**dy term "Cloud". If you're going to read that article, kindly replace the word Cloud with the phrase: "Software as a Service" instead.

Not trying to be funny but this illustrates how language develops.

e.g I can imagine people old-school programmers at the beginning of the 60s saying:

If there's one thing I hate, it's this bl**dy term "Software". If you're going to read that article, kindly replace the word Software with the phrase: "Computer Program" instead.

I know people today tend to band about the phrase "The Cloud" without thinking of its true meaning but 'cloud' diagrams have been around for years and the phrase has also been used by some people for a long time before it became 'mainstream'.

Regards

Dotty

 

[mit74]

Not trying to be funny but this illustrates how language develops.

e.g I can imagine people old-school programmers at the beginning of the 60s saying:

If there's one thing I hate, it's this bl**dy term "Software". If you're going to read that article, kindly replace the word Software with the phrase: "Computer Program" instead.

I know people today tend to band about the phrase "The Cloud" without thinking of its true meaning but 'cloud' diagrams have been around for years and the phrase has also been used by some people for a long time before it became 'mainstream'.

Regards

Dotty

I always get asked 'are you on the cloud?'. I don't really understand the question.

 

[Rudi]

I always get asked 'are you on the cloud?'. I don't really understand the question.

It's generally said by idiots that don't really understand what the term implies. I'm not even joking, 'the cloud' gets thrown around like no mans business, I think you'll find the anyone that doesn't have an in-depth technical background will not have the slightest idea of what 'the cloud' is.

They always assume that it's some magical 'new internet' and certainly don't think that 90% of the time 'on the cloud' synonymous for 'on the internet'.

 

[stugster]

Grid Computing used to mean Cloud when it was used before.

Now, cloud means anything that isn't physically in front of your face.

 

[DotNetWebs]

Grid Computing used to mean Cloud when it was used before.

Now, cloud means anything that isn't physically in front of your face.

When I remember first using the term "The Cloud" in the early nineties it basically represented that part of the Internet that could not be specifically defined.

e.g a network diagrams had the concept of [and could physically show] a 'client' and a 'server' but the [variable] network in between that includes all the switches and routers etc. was [literally] represented by a cloud symbol.

The modern usage has derived from this but the difference is that some servers [and the software services they provide] have now moved into the 'cloud'. i.e you cannot exactly specify their location by a network diagram.

Regards

Dotty

 

[giffgore]

The cloud is basically the internet. It's use of a server. The term itself is really quite meaningless but it's a good piece of marketing.

OT: I don't think the cloud can kill piracy, no. I have Spotify but I still like to have music I listen to often on my iPod and stored as MP3s too. Same with movies: if there's a film I really like, I want to actually have a copy rather than access to a copy via some sort of online service.

 

[DotNetWebs]

The cloud is basically the internet....

As I implied in my previous post the true definition of the 'cloud' is a bit stricter than that.

e.g if you run a dedicated server in a data centre that is NOT running in the cloud because you can physically pinpoint the server and it will always be the same hardware and location (unless you physically move it of course!).

But if you are running an Amazon EC2 instance then you are "in the cloud" becuase you cannot physically pinpoint the server.

Unfortunately though, the mainstream media has taken it mean "on the internet" and as you say it has become a marketing buzzword...

Regards

Dotty

 

[giffgore]

As I implied in my previous post the true definition of the 'cloud' is a bit stricter than that.

e.g if you run a dedicated server in a data centre that is NOT running in the cloud because you can physically pinpoint the server and it will always be the same hardware and location (unless you physically move it of course!).

But if you are running an Amazon EC2 instance then you are "in the cloud" becuase you cannot physically pinpoint the server.

Unfortunately though, the mainstream media has taken it mean "on the internet" and as you say it has become a marketing buzzword...

Regards

Dotty

That's sadly always the way, when a word becomes popular it loses its true meaning.

 

[Rudi]

"hacker", anyone?

 

[stugster]

"bodge" the job together. Actually a reference to a skilled craftsman

 

[giffgore]

"hacker", anyone?

A very good example, yes. It's a shame the media has made it so most people only associate the term with crackers. Technically it's correct - a cracker is a type of hacker, but they're certainly not the only type. Then again, the increasing popularity of jailbreaking and the like is perhaps fixing this.

"bodge" the job together. Actually a reference to a skilled craftsman

Never knew that! Very interesting.

 

[MartCactus]

As I implied in my previous post the true definition of the 'cloud' is a bit stricter than that.

e.g if you run a dedicated server in a data centre that is NOT running in the cloud because you can physically pinpoint the server and it will always be the same hardware and location (unless you physically move it of course!).

But if you are running an Amazon EC2 instance then you are "in the cloud" becuase you cannot physically pinpoint the server.

Unfortunately though, the mainstream media has taken it mean "on the internet" and as you say it has become a marketing buzzword...

Regards

Dotty

I think this is a good explanation.

We host a fair amount on virtual servers, I don't consider those "the Cloud" though I guess to many of our customers thats what it is. So what might correctly be thought of as the Cloud to them, isn't the Cloud to me, because I do know where its hosted, and have remote desktop access to those servers etc!

When I use dropbox I tend to think of that as the Cloud. I can access the folders from my PC whether I'm in the UK or UAE, from my laptop and even from my ipad and itouch... but I don't have any idea where its hosted, or on what platform.

 

[fisicx]

Good old wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cloud_computing

Back in the days when you had thin clients and mainframe computers everything could be considered to be 'in the cloud' It was SAAS in it's truest form.

CD A:\ to access 1.44Mb of awsomeness.

 

[giffgore]

Back in the days when you had thin clients and mainframe computers everything could be considered to be 'in the cloud' It was SAAS in it's truest form.

That's an interesting point: with the cloud gaining popularity, technological development is going around in a circle and coming back to where it was originally.

 

[Subbynet]

That's an interesting point: with the cloud gaining popularity, technological development is going around in a circle and coming back to where it was originally.

It's done that a few times with Thin Client/SAAS/Cloud systems.

If you ever want to reinvent the wheel, use a marketing department.

 

[astutiumRob]

e.g a network diagrams had the concept of [and could physically show] a 'client' and a 'server' but the [variable] network in between that includes all the switches and routers etc. was [literally] represented by a cloud symbol.

It still means "stuff out there that you dont control"

But if you are running an Amazon EC2 instance then you are "in the cloud" becuase you cannot physically pinpoint the server.

In panto voice ... Oh yes you can

 

[DotNetWebs]

...In panto voice ... Oh yes you can

Well yes I know you can have dedicated instances etc. But I am sure you get my point that *generally* the end user of extreme virtualized computing like EC2 does not really know, or care, what and where the specific hardware is...

Except of course that you might wish to specify a European Data Center etc..

Regards

Dotty

 

[DotNetWebs]

...It still means "stuff out there that you dont control" ...

Exactly....

That was the point of the orignal 'cloud diagrams'. It was stuff that you couldn't control, and didn't need to worry about (provided it was working of course!).

Regards

Dotty

 

[accounting-help]

The article's correct in that it's likely to reduce piracy of titles such as Adobe Photoshop - you'll access the software via your browser rather than having a copy stored locally on your computer, therefore you've never got access to the source code or any of the program code to reverse engineer it.

In terms of LoveFilm, Spotify, and NetFlix, it might reduce piracy because it makes accessing unlimited content cheaper than it would do should you have to purchase individual titles.

Having said that, there's always going to be ways around it; grabbing streams from Spotify and saving them onto your computer is possible for example. The real relief comes when you cut down those barriers to content and allow people to access the content for a fair price.

I pretty much agree with you comment. I do not think Cloud will eradicate piracy and even if it was to greatly reduce privacy I am doubtful that movies studios, music industry and the general entertainment sector will see the revenues that they were once used to.

 

[mit74]

I pretty much agree with you comment. I do not think Cloud will eradicate piracy and even if it was to greatly reduce privacy I am doubtful that movies studios, music industry and the general entertainment sector will see the revenues that they were once used to.

What revenues? There is little evidence to suggest they are losing revenue to pirating anymore than the 80's and 90's. Yes piracy has increased but so has legal downloads and purchases in proportion. The only thing that's changed is the popularity of gaming and consoles which has increased massively over the last 10 years and people (teens especially) tend to spend their pocket money on new games rather than DVD's and music like they used to. It's also very hard to pirate games these days. This is the real reason they are losing revenue not some half baked lie that piracy is once again killing the industry, it's just a certified effort to monopolise and attempt to control the channels of distribution.

 

[accounting-help]

Mit 74 Sorry I haven't quoted you last point before commenting. Well I think the industry portrays every pirated piece of material as lost or potentially lose revenue.

I would agree that I don't think the piracy is the only reason why the industry is dying. I am not a big fan of some of the models that some of these movie and music services are using. For example iTunes store having different pricing for singles in different countries (yes they have explained the reason why but I'm not sure what to make of it). I LoveFilm and don't see the point of paying to Watch some titles online considering the package I have lets me have streaminig. Of course these model worse for some consumers.

I like spotify but there are some restrictions and I don't think this model brings the sort of revenue that the music industry would like.

Also its a bit hard to find a business model that beats free.

 

[giffgore]

The industry isn't dying. People need to stop saying the industry is dying. It is experiencing increased profits every single year, don't be taken in by the propaganda.

 

[mit74]

Mit 74 Sorry I haven't quoted you last point before commenting. Well I think the industry portrays every pirated piece of material as lost or potentially lose revenue.

I would agree that I don't think the piracy is the only reason why the industry is dying. I am not a big fan of some of the models that some of these movie and music services are using. For example iTunes store having different pricing for singles in different countries (yes they have explained the reason why but I'm not sure what to make of it). I LoveFilm and don't see the point of paying to Watch some titles online considering the package I have lets me have streaminig. Of course these model worse for some consumers.

I like spotify but there are some restrictions and I don't think this model brings the sort of revenue that the music industry would like.

Also its a bit hard to find a business model that beats free.

The industry isn't dying, it's a believe they have and always will try and portray when a new technology comes out because it means they have to spend money to update their own business models. They will always try and say because someone downloaded 1000 songs they lost say £1 x 1000 which simply isn't true. It's unlikely the individual ever had £1000 to spend in the first place.

 

[accounting-help]

The industry isn't dying, it's a believe they have and always will try and portray when a new technology comes out because it means they have to spend money to update their own business models. They will always try and say because someone downloaded 1000 songs they lost say £1 x 1000 which simply isn't true. It's unlikely the individual ever had £1000 to spend in the first place.

Good point. Do you not think that some of these industries are a bit slow to react to new technology?

 

[giffgore]

The industry isn't dying, it's a believe they have and always will try and portray when a new technology comes out because it means they have to spend money to update their own business models. They will always try and say because someone downloaded 1000 songs they lost say £1 x 1000 which simply isn't true. It's unlikely the individual ever had £1000 to spend in the first place.

Indeed, remember home taping is killing music?

 

[mit74]

Good point. Do you not think that some of these industries are a bit slow to react to new technology?

Almost definately , they're too caught up in their own plans to see potential. Can you believe they actually tried to ban VHS, Tapes Recorders and MP3 players when they appeared? All 3 technologies made music and movies far more accessible to the public and eventually made the same people who tried to ban them billions.

 

[mit74]

RIAA vs Diamond

http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0FXG/is_1_12/ai_53578852/

 

[giffgore]

If anyone's interested in the history of the entertainment industry claiming everything will kill it and how true that actually is today, they should watch Steal This Film II. It's very eye opening.

 

[jfez]

The Dead Kennedys! I have this tape and Love the post, First band I was ever in we covered these guys, timeless tunes.

 

[TickledPink]

Well, in the gaming arena it's already starting to happen. The OnLive service has shown what can be done. Instead of downloading a large file to your PC, the system streams the video as you're playing.

A few months ago I had an automatic 3 month trial of the system with BT. I wasn't able to make full use of it due to time but what I saw showed promise. However, it was choppy and there were frequent lockups. This would have been down to my poorly located PC and its bog standard Wifi adapter. If I tried it now, with my PC wired up to the router, it would provide a better experience.

TBH when I first heard about OnLive a couple of years ago I was highly sceptical. But it really does work. So yes indeed ... it looks like this may be the way to go. The problem then, however, is what happens to some of the largest companies in the world if it goes this way wholesale. I daresay NVIDIA would move on to workstation graphics but most of their business would have been wiped out in one fell swoop as nobody would need high end graphics cards for gaming.

 

[stugster]

Steam too! http://store.steampowered.com/