Dum dum da-dum…

alternateorg on August 22, 2001

According to WiredNews, Napster is going to return later this year!

Did I get your hopes up yet? Sorry, that was a cruel joke. What is going to happen, it seems, is that Napster will go live later this year, but as a subscription-based service and you still won’t find any copyrighted material on there. So Napster has essentially been reduced to an utterly impotent service, capable of delivering and providing absolutely nothing. I’ve had high hopes for what Napster could become, and I’ve not agreed with people in the past who said that Napster was dead. At this point though, Napster is worse than dead. It’s walking around okay, but the flesh is rotting off its body left and right like some sort of super-leper. So Limewire and Aimster await.

Shhh, its called Aimster now….

alternateorg on June 27, 2001

Ok, so Aimster has been finally released for Macintosh. This brings Napster ease of use to the large peer to peer Applications. Kinda cool that it uses the same network protocols of AOL’s Instant Messenger.

Did you know that the pieces fit?

alternateorg on April 30, 2001

For those that don’t know yet: “Schism” from the new Tool album (Lateralus) has hit the web. It’s all over Napster, but of course there are quite a few imposter songs out there. In fact, the first version I stumbled upon was bass only. The song length is about 6:45, if that helps.

Of course, it’s amazing. Completely prog rock in the way that only Tool can pull off. Hell, King Crimson is opening for them at some shows. And since you asked, I just love hearing new stuff from good bands, because it always casts their older work in a completely different light. For instance, Kid A is such a warm, comforting album in light of the dryer, more desolate Amnesiac (not dissing on Amnesiac though). To me, Aenema already feels a little different. Anyways, find “Schism” and see what you think.

Some thoughts on the 'criminal' act of software piracy

alternateorg on April 23, 2001

Something I posted earlier as a comment on SVN

I am 22 years old. When I was around 14, computers became more than something we used in school to do book reports and HyperCard presentations… they became a source of entertainment, a way of connecting to my friends and the world.

Now, when you’re 14 years old, you don’t have much money, and even less morals as far as ‘free’ items go. I was the at the right (or wrong) age at precicely the same moment in time when applications and software and games could be copied and traded with relative ease… If one of my friends’ parents bought them ‘X-Wing,’ for example… what was the harm in simply making a copy of all (17) installation disks for me? Theft? We were just 14-year olds with no money trading some software, we weren’t criminals.

We strived to belong to the ‘3l33t3’ (elite) BBSs, so that we could get software (over a blazing fast 14.4 connection) that no one we knew in person had purchased. Again, we didn’t see ourselves as pirates, we saw the act of acquiring bootlegged software as just as much fun (if not more) than actually using the software itself… Using arcane keyboard commands… knowing passwords… getting the right number to dial.

So, all the way up through high school and college, I simply continued this practice, again due to the lack of money. I didn’t use software for ‘commercial’ purposes… I just wanted some decent software experience before I got to college, so I took Photoshop 3 from my high school. When I got to college, I still wasn’t making money, and having software at home was more convenient than always using (virus-infected and slow) school computers. So I went from not spending $50 for games to not spending $600 for professional software packages; from scanning WWIV BBSs to scanning Hotline. Music? Hell yeah, once that came around as downloadable, instead of copying CDs to tape, I just Napstered up a few tunes.

Victimless crime? Not exactly, but as victimless as you can get, perhaps… Oh, poor multi-billion dollar Adobe didn’t get the $600 for the version of Photoshop I’m running at home. Aw, too bad. Now, I did buy MacOS X 10.0, because I happen to feel that the mass success of that software will determine Apple’s future and longevity, a company I probably care a little too much about… The only companies hurt by software piracy are companies like Panic, who independently create useful, wonderful software that no one else has the balls to make. After using a ‘distributed’ Audion serial number for a while, when version 2.0 came out, I bought my own copy of it. Did I ‘distribute’ that serial number to a few friends of mine? Sure I did. Did I feel bad about it? Not really. It was mine to give, at that point, or at least that’s the way it felt.

Maybe I’m wrong. I probably am. But to someone like me who’s been doing this for a long time and seen no consequences, it’s hard to prove to me that piracy and Napster are all that big a deal.

I will see you in the next life

alternateorg on April 11, 2001

I feel it is my civic duty to inform those who are unaware that Radiohead’s Amnesiac has hit the web. Fire up Napster, or try here (scroll down). It’s just the beginning of what should be a wonderful year for music. The idea of new albums by Radiohead, Bjork, and Tool has kept me warm throughout the winter. Then of course there are new ones from smaller bands like Burning Airlines, Stereolab, Sigur Ros, Boards of Canada, Mos Def, Sunny Day Real Estate, and on and on. I guess this is karma for how much last year sucked for music.

As far as Radiohead’s latest goes, a few things spring to mind: producer Nigel Godrich is reminding me more and more of Brian Eno. Radiohead is in that experimental stride that David Bowie, Talking Heads, and U2 all hit with Eno. Also, I find it amusing that Godspeed You Black Emperor! hates Radiohead so much, since the track “Like Spinning Plates” sounds like it would fit right in with their catalog. Oh well, listen for yourself and use the comment feature so that Kevin doesn’t feel unloved.

Of course, if you’re feeling inspired, or feel the urge to mix your geek life with your musical life, remember that anyone can play guitar.

Not dead yet… Getting better…

alternateorg on April 4, 2001

Let me say a little prayer before I start this post: Oh, Lord, please forgive my poor soul for using a Monty Python reference as a post title. Amen.

From WiredNews:


Long-time foes of the recording industry, the Consumer Electronics Association and the National Association of Recording Merchandisers, are preparing to clash with the music labels over consumer rights issues and unfair business practices.

Good news for Napster? I dunno, but it will certainly be interesting to see what the outcome brings.

Gnu-impossible-a

alternateorg on March 30, 2001


 “[The RIAA is] really looking to understand and monitor the Gnutella network so they don’t find themselves in the same position as [they did with] Napster,”

Riiiiiiight. THAT’s going to happen.

LATimes registration required.

No one likes them

alternateorg on March 29, 2001

I had the wierdest dream last night: I went to see Metallica at a mysterious unknown venue… Only everyone wasn’t there to see them, but to ridicule them about Napster with verbal assualts and huge hand-made signs. I don’t remember much about their performace, only they were timid, and only playing the acoustic songs they have (all I remember is the intro to ‘…And Justice For All’). They had a flute player (possibly to illustrate my view of them being pussies, I dunno), and the performance kept getting fumbled up. Funny. Feel free to interpret.

Apster-nay oesn't-day ike-lay igpay atinlay

alternateorg on March 18, 2001

from WiredNews:

“At the request of Napster, Aimster has removed the Pig Encoder Software from public distribution through its website,” said Aimster Chief Executive Officer Johnny Deep, adding that the encoder was removed as of Tuesday morning.

Does anyone else see how retarded that is? Telling a peer-to-peer filesharing service to remove files it’s distributing from its website? If it’s a filesharing service, the Pig Latin Encoder is most certainly available FROM ANYONE WHO HAS IT using Aimster. Duh. You’d think of anyone on the planet, Napster would get that. Not to mention the CEO of Aimster is one letter away from being Johnny Depp.