Thinking about the future

The things you hear...

Overheard in a hotel restaurant...

“In England it's totally legal to take a copy of your own music CD.”

This was spoken with total conviction by 3 IT types. At least, I'm assuming their roles, given their earlier (authoritative) discussion of Microsoft Exchange's capabilities.

Pity they were so wrong about the cd thing, but at least (as an earlier post I have no easy access to from this mobile device reports) the music organizations' leeches are unlikely to prosecute.

If this is a view held by the tech-literate, what hope do we have for instilling responsible media skills in the rest of the population?

Make laws and policies that make sense, then we might stand a chance...

And now, pudding.

Update: back in front of a proper computer, I can of course confirm that my earlier post was this one.

UK music fans to be allowed to copy their own music

The BBC reports;

“UK music fans no longer face the threat of prosecution for copying their own CDs on to PCs or MP3 players, as long as the songs are only for personal use. 

Peter Jamieson, chairman of the British Phonographic Industry, said consumers would only be penalised if they made duplicates of songs for other people. 

Currently anyone transferring music to portable devices breaks copyright laws.”

Isn't that so nice of the BPI? They have the generosity of spirit to magnanimously permit me to copy my own music from my own CD which I have paid (a lot, usually) for, so that I can listen to it on my own iPod.

About **** time!

Dinosaurs.

Don't they understand that most people want to do the right thing, and that their idiocy comes pretty close to actively driving the majority toward unwilling illegality?