The In's and Out's of Media Piracy

Would you rob a bank if you had a great chance of escaping? Would you steal a car if you knew the cops wouldn’t find you? For the sake of morals, I would hope your answer is no. These social taboos are simple and are, for the most part easily understood but, why is this not the case in pirating copyrighted material? Illegal file-sharing over computers has existed for quite some time dating back to the start of personal computers, how ever the true epidemic began when this sharing of music, movies and software hit the mainstream public. Napster, the first peer-to-peer network that had gained an enormous following, led the charge on the distribution of all sorts of media. The program’s popularity grew larger day by day, which in effect caused the music and movie industry to take a hit on sales. The positives in downloading these files greatly outweighed the negatives to average computer users. Downloading was easy, quick, and not to forget, it was free! There have been many fights to end or at least contain piracy, most often led by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). The RIAA represents almost all of the media industry and is in charge of the profit it gains, so for obvious reasons piracy is a big deal to them. Through copyright infringement such as file-sharing, the software industry has lost an estimated 13 billion dollars per year, the music industry garnered a loss of 4.1 billion dollars, and the movie industry was out 2.5 billion dollars. These numbers are staggering and there was definitely a need to battle this crisis. The RIAA’s method of fighting back has been through issuing lawsuits to major offenders, some say it’s merely a scare tactic, while the RIAA is adamantly preaching that the steep reparations are for the losses that one offender has caused.

These court cases however, have not set into people’s minds enough to stop them from obtaining illegal material. File-sharing is still very large in the computer community and is showing no signs of slowing down. Technology always seems to be one step ahead of the law as well as the RIAA. When one hosting program gets shut down, two more sprout up to replace it. The RIAA often said piracy is like a bad case of acne, there seems to be no end. Ironically, teenagers are at the forefront of both problems, acne as well as piracy. The Washington Post reported “More than half of young Americans with Internet access continue to download free music even though they know that they are breaking the law.” They go on to add “Eighty-eight percent of the respondents know that most popular music is copyrighted, but 56 percent download it anyway, according to the survey of 1,183 children, ages eight to eighteen.” This in itself shows that downloading media just does not coincide with other crimes which there are direct interactions. Colin Hatcher, a journalist who is investigating piracy writes on how the pirates think of themselves as Robin Hood type figures, meaning they take from the rich and give to the poor. A very heroic outlook on the situation but I don’t think stealing the latest music is comparable to feeding the poor.

The programs that are allowing people to download music are the first to get attacked by enforcers such as the RIAA. The programs evolve as each predecessor is caught and as time goes on these peer-to-peer networks are getting stronger and more fool-proof. As mentioned before, the first widely used program was Napster, after a year of success it was forced to cease and desist from sharing any copyrighted materials. Following programs learned from Napster’s mistakes. Instead of hosting files, these programs were just used to transport a file from one person’s computer to another; they basically acted as a mediator. The programs are convenient and socially accepted so it has become a norm in today’s world. Why would anyone pay for something they can get for free? Personally, as a college student I don’t always have fifteen dollars to buy the newest music album by an artist, but I do have a computer. Programs such as I-tunes where people can buy individual songs for as cheap as a dollar is a good move on the industries part, but most Ipod’s can hold 7,500 songs. That means it would cost $7,500 dollars to fill up the mp3 player that you bought for only two hundred dollars. If given a choice to spend thousands of dollars on music, movies and software opposed to getting them for free, I’m sure most would lean towards the latter.

From floppy disks to mp3s, sharing has always had a large part in the computer world. However, the problem is the legal nature in what we are sharing. Too many people, downloading pirated material is an act of rebellion against the stingy media kingdom, and to some downloading files is not even a thought. Groups such as the RIAA are fighting for what in reality is the right thing, but their controversial methods have them coming off as the villain. Downloading illegal files is a crime, meaning I am a criminal and I wouldn’t be surprised if every person reading this is one as well, but none the less we all have our reasons. Music and movie prices seem to be constantly growing and it has come to a level where people resort to secondary means, which more often then not is pirating.

Just About Done

My paper is coming to a close, and its time to put some of the finishing touches. I dint get to do everything I wanted for it, but I think it's come out very well. I feel Media Piracy was a good subject because it i s"meaty" and has a lot of different information that could be used.

btw Kinkoes is damn expensive.

Only 2 more classes!

Wow, I cant believe the year is almost over. I thought my fall semester was quick, this spring went by 10x faster. Right now, it's time to finish up my paper for English class, and get ready for my finals in my other classes. Just thinking that in less than 2 weeks I will be free of everything. During the break Ill probably find a job and try to save up for a car. Also, I wish to get into the summer course as I mentioned in a previous post a couple days ago. Academically I have done much better this semester than last. I like to think that I have gotten more comfortable with the college environment and not having teachers on your back. The freedom is like a double edged sword if you are irresponsible but once you have a hang of it, it is the greatest thing. I hope to continue to raise my grades, but who doesn't want to? It takes work and hopefully my determination for a bright future stays in tact, which I have little doubt that it would not.

Back to studying.

Another Review!! The Departed

Time for another review for a movie I just recently watched.

The Departed is absolutely one of the better films in recent years. After months of hype, I decided it would be a perfect film to watch. Here is a brief overview of the movie, Billy Costigan, played by Leonardo DiCaprio is a new police recruit offered a risky undercover job by his superiors (Martin Sheen and Mark Wahlberg). His mission is to infiltrate the intricate world of Boston mob boss Frank Costello (Jack Nicholson) from an inside perspective, posing as a low-class criminal. Colin Sullivan (Matt Damon) is one of Costello's men who has joined the police force as a mole to keep tabs on the cops and always remain one step ahead. As both men sink deeper and deeper into their phony undercover roles, they learn more about each other, leading to an exciting hunt where they both scramble to reveal the other's true identity without breaking their own cover.

There's a very good reason why director Martin Scorsese is regarded as one of the greatest directors of modern films; he's one of the few classic filmmakers working today, calculated with his visual ideas and always on top of his game in keeping an upbeat rhythm throughout his movies. From his classics such as Goodfellas, to Casino he has remained consistent. The Departed returns Scorsese to the criminal underworld, which is his greatest area in filming. He just has an eye on the streets and portrays it very well. This sure classic is undoubtedly one of the great’s best films. He practically has every star wanting to play a role in his movies, and that just adds another knife to his drawer in being able to create a true work of art.

The Departed is a remake of the 2002 Hong Kong action flick, Internal Affairs. The star of the show here isn't the unbelievably great cast, but the gritty, dangerous streets of Boston. This film just reminds you of the true feeling you feel when in north eastern America; Scorsese treats the viewer into the Irish-infested waters of Beantown where outsiders aren't given a welcome and the suspicious are killed in an instant. It goes above and beyond the heavy accents and smoky, alcoholic bars; Scorsese captures The Departed with a tremendous amount of street authenticity, placing action in specially selected locations where they most fit. He shows how these different neighborhoods have rivalries just like you would find any place else, but with added emotions. Pride definitely plays a large role in these characters. The Departed is a violent and realistic crime saga that continuously takes the viewer on a roller coaster which the plot gradually is revealed and it delivers.

This film would definitely receive two thumbs up by me, and I am still in awe about how Martin Scorcese can always portray a story so vividly and not bore the viewers to death with details. If you ever find yourself bored in the next couple of days, or just want to see a great story, head out to the local theatres and watch this movie. From the star-studded lineup to the realism of the streets, there is something for everyone in The Departed.

R.I.P to those killed at Virginia Tech

On Monday morning before heading over to school, I was watching the news to see what the weather was going to be for the day. How ever there was a story on how 2 people were killed in Virginia Tech University. I didn't think much of it, knowing the crazy world we live in. Later on in the day, after my theology class I went to the library and got on to my laptop. My browser's homepage is on google.com where I have "widgets" that show you the latest news. At the top of the list, I read 23 people dead. I was simply shocked, the count went from 2-23. From a murder to a massacre. I kept reading articles, going from news site to news site, each time the number getting larger, and eventually capped off at 33. All I could think to myself is "another Columbine?" I was hoping they had the school under control, and I was obviously curious as to why and who did these killings.

The stories we all heard on the event have been bone chilling. Listening to how one girl acted like she was dead so the gunman wouldn't kill her was amazing. I have no clue if I wouldve been able to do that if I was in her situation. Later on, we all found out who the killer was. At first I heard he was an exchange student from Korea, but that would soon be dismissed when it was confirmed that he live in America since 1992. What would make a person do such a thing? It was simply mind-numbing. My heart goes out to all the people who were killed or wounded in these shootings. I only can wonder how frightening it might have been for them. The shootings at the Engineering hall were very sad, those kids must have been very smart to be in an engineering class, and their lives have been ended by one deranged killer.

Jesus in Islam

In Theology class, my professor asked us what seemed to be a simple question, but in fact it held a lot of meaning to people of all religions. This was my paper:

Who Do You Say That I Am?

The home which I was born into was of Islam, and my lessons from birth to now have had the message of Allah but that does not exclude me from learning about the great love Jesus held in his heart. In today’s world many people think Muslims and Christians have nothing in common, but that is far from the truth. Many of the great values on how one should live co-exist in both the Bible and the Quran. One of the most meaningful relations is the core story of Jesus, who is known as Isa in Arabic. Both Muslims like me and Christians like many of my fellow people of the world understand the miracles and the great teachings he has dealt to people in grave need. The difference between the views of Jesus between the two religions is that in Islam he is a human prophet sent by God, and in Christianity he is a part of God himself. Another point of separation is that in Islam we do not believe Jesus was resurrected; rather we believe he ascended into the heavens.

In the Quran it states “…and surely they slew him not. But Allah (God) raised him unto Himself.” Allah viewed Jesus as a loyal prophet who was a fair judge and just ruler. On a personal level I certainly have great admiration for Jesus and the work he has done for humanity with both spiritual and physical methods. He made the lives of people in hardships a great one. He gave them reasons to move forward and not stand still and do nothing to advance their knowledge. To me, I understand why Allah sent him to earth. His prophecy was needed during this time because of the extensive amounts of injustice. I am also grateful of Jesus because he will return in the future to end all wars so there will be world peace. With the amount of trouble in the world today, many wish his return would be sooner rather than later.

I love Moses, I love Noah, I love Mary, and I certainly love Jesus. The great people of our pasts should be loved by all people disregarding the fact that I am Muslim or that you are Christian. The prophets and the noble people in our sacred history have paved us a path where we can live together, but it is our duty to make the interaction peaceful. The pious mother of Jesus, Mary is a great figure in Islam and is known for her helpful and understanding nature. Her son Jesus helped the sick and taught the illiterate with the help of Allah and the world will forever be thankful.

Research: P2P programs

Reasearch: Why Everyone Should Care About Piracy

Why You Should Care About Downloading Pirate Software, Movies and Music

The Internet is digital. So are all the movies, audio files and images on it. One of the features of digital music, movies and digital software is that it can be copied quickly, cheaply, and perfectly, and copies can whizz around the Internet to be traded by people anywhere in the world. There is so much of it out there in cyberspace, that sooner or later you are bound to be offered some, or will have the opportunity to download some. So why should you be concerned?

Worldwide financial losses from piracy are huge: $13 billion lost per year by the computer software industry; $2.5 billion lost per year by the movie industry, and $4.1 billion per year lost by the music industry. Piracy on this scale has certainly been helped by the advent of the Internet. Now anyone anywhere in the world can connect up to a foreign or domestic Website and download free software, movies or music which has been stolen by someone else. Piracy is fast, cheap and often anonymous. The net result of these huge losses of $20 billion a year is twofold. Firstly, software, movies and music all cost more to the people who pay for it, because the industry tries to recoup its losses by raising prices. So we, that is you and me, the law abiding people pay the price for the activities of pirates.

http://www.safetyed.org/help/pirate.html

Research: Teen fights Piracy lawsuit

WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. — A 16-year-old boy being sued by five record companies accusing him of online music piracy accused the recording industry on Tuesday of violating antitrust laws, conspiring to defraud the courts and making extortionate threats.

In papers responding to the record companies' lawsuit, Robert Santangelo, who was as young as 11 when the alleged piracy occurred, denied ever disseminating music and said it's impossible to prove that he did.

...The industry dropped its case against her in December, but sued Robert and his sister Michelle, now 20, in federal court in White Plains. Michelle has since been ordered to pay $30,750 in a default judgment because she did not respond to the lawsuit.

• SPEAKOUT! Should those who download music illegally be punished by the courts?

Robert Santangelo and his lawyer, Jordan Glass, responded at length Tuesday, raising 32 defenses, demanding a jury trial and filing a counterclaim against the companies that accuses them of damaging the boy's reputation, distracting him from school and costing him legal fees.

The Whole story can be found here: http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,248843,00.html

My trip to the Statue of Liberty

On Wednesday April 4th, two cousins and I were a part of a Circle Line trip to Liberty Island to visit the mammoth and truly great Statue of Liberty, as well as Ellis Island to learn about the epic journey that many immigrants took in the early 20^th Century. Just thinking about the struggle the immigrants of old faced in their home countries and their fight to come to America will give just about anyone goose bumps. Many Americans, especially New Yorkers have seen the Statue of Liberty on numerous occasions in either pictures, film, or first hand experience and merely see it as a physical structure and nothing more. That thought was also my view until I finally learned the true history of the statue and what it represented, so as we entered Battery Park we were ready to relive the history.

The Statue of Liberty was architected by the United States, but was built by the French, in which they sent as a gift to America for their help in the war. It arrived in 1885, and was copper, which glistened with the sunlight. However, over the years the statue took on a green shade due to the fading of the copper. The Statue of Liberty which stood more that 300 feet tall was the first sign of freedom the immigrants saw as they arrived, and it exemplified the meaning of freedom and the pursuit of happiness. The icon rests on Liberty Island located on the mouth of the Hudson River. On the trip we were able to walk along the observation deck, which gave us a 360 degree view of all the scenery, from a breath taking shot of downtown Manhattan, the harbor and also New Jersey. With Park Rangers narrating as we explored it bought a sense of us actually being in the area during the time of major immigration. The statue has many symbols such as the tablet in Lady Liberty’s arm which states July 4, 1776 in Roman Numerals signifying the date of the Declaration of Independence. The land on which the statue stands on is very interesting also, it was nicknamed Liberty Island even though the official name was Bedloe Island, but that was fixed in 1956 when it officially became Liberty Island. The attacks on September 11^th, 2001 have made it impossible to enter the statue without reservation, but that was not too bad since the major part of the visit was more sentimental than physical.

If anyone has not seen it upclose, make sure to do so. It a truly remarkable memory.

Summer Courses

I was planning on taking a summer course this break to stay ahead of the "game" but I found out it costs roughly 700 dollars per credit which would bring a total for a class to about 2100 dollars. That is crazy! I asked if I can take a class at Nassau Community College but was told that is to close to St. Johns and wouldn't be accepted. I was hoping taking my required speech class would be the most beneficial to me because I will be doing a lot of presentations next semester and would like to gain some skills in talking and expressing my thought in front of a lot of people. Hopefully I can find another way to get into a summer class, maybe through loans or If the school has a payment system which spreads throughout months, I would definitely take advantage of that opportunity.

The cost for the semester is also rising about 1,000 dollars next semester. When will they have enough money?!

Malcolm X

"Without education, you're not going anywhere in this world."
Malcolm X.

My Future

I sometimes find me asking myself, where will be in 20...30 year? I honestly dont know but I always imagine I'll be in good shape and have a lot of money. For some reason I don't see myself married even though I hope in reality I will be. If becoming an advertising major works out for the best, Ill be in good shape financially and I would most likely be doing something that I truly enjoy and have a strong passion for...Creativity. Unlike my parents, I dont need to be the brightest star int he sky and I dont NEED to have the most money, sure it would be nice, but it is not a priority that I will solely strive for. I have to love what I do, I have to want to get up in the morning everyday for 30 years and continue to do it. The last thing I want is to become that person that hates their job and is always cranky because they know their future is nothing but mundane. I dont want to be the guy that needs to have the newest or flashiest things to be seen or to be respected. Im going to allow my work and my attitude fashion my persona and to tell people I am as good as any doctor or Lawyer.

First things first, get good grades and graduate...now Im off to go study.

Learning to Drive

I'm 18 now, and many would think I have a car or at least I know how to drive, but unfortunately that isnt true. I never had the opportunity to get behind a wheel and practice up until about 2 weeks ago. While in the empty parking lot with no one but my friend it did seemed like it would be a piece of cake but it was pretty tough. Just getting the hands of the physics or motions takes some time and Im still not able to say I got it down pat. My little session lasted for about a half hour of just doing basic driving such as turning, parallel parking and u-turns.

I plan on getting my license in about a month and hopefully I will get my own car by the end of summer after working A LOT to get something decent that wont break down on me on my way to school. Driving gives a person a lot of freedom, they are not limited to a place that they can walk to or a place that is reachable by mass transit. I can now visit places that aren't in my general locations. Another huge plus for me is that the time to get to school will be shortened by a lot. I would realistically be able to leave my house 20 minutes before class and make it on time with a couple minutes to spare. Hopefully I continue improving my driving skills and become one of those people that never get any tickets which would be a great plus.

My N.Y

some freshman may have gotten the Pete Hamill book last summer, I just took some time to write a short synopsis and my reflection on it.

Pete Hamill’s parents fled the Northern Ireland because of the hostile state that it was in, which is similar to my father’s voyage to the United States. He arrived in America in 1977 because of the on-going tension between Bangladesh and Pakistan. New York is no doubt the capital of immigration as it the capital of about any other imaginable thing. New York supplies so many resources in which new comers are given a chance to succeed, and the sheer size of the city gives a lot of room to roam and find a perfect area to create their future. Throughout the whole cit of New York, and especially Manhattan, you can find areas fully resided by a certain ethnicity, China Town, and Little Italy are perfect examples. These communities allow immigrants to find a slice of home even though they are hundreds and hundreds of miles away from their true motherland. These groupings also allow people to find jobs and are sort of like the fraternities and sororities you can find in St. John’s.

As you walk around downtown Manhattan, you will see many landmarks, and these sights have a load of stories behind them. Pete Hamill delivers many great tales of everything, from Trinity Church to the local bagel shop. The early years of present day New York were ruled by the Dutch, they ran a great trading operation and were very successful, soon after England took over the city but did not necessarily overthrow the Dutch, they kept everything that worked and changed the things that needed to be fixed. This mutual relationship soon led to knickerbockers. Knickerbockers are children who have both English and Dutch blood. African Americans were also relatively equal, and all in all the city had an extremely positive atmosphere.

The Spirit Catches You

In Sociology class were reading a book by Anne Fadiman called "The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down"...a very long winded title, but a great book. It is about an immigrant Hmong family who go through many hardships in the American medical system. The youngest child named Lia is an epileptic and has frequent seizures which result from a number of different reasons. The language barrier between the doctors and the family are very evident and cause a rift in respect for one another. The book takes place in California after the Hmong family flees their home city of Laos because of war. Throughout the book you see that both sides are beginning to gain trust in one another and that the english barrier is still in tact but becoming weaker and weaker. This book really shows the trouble some newcomers feel when coming to this country or any country where everything is new and unusual to the way people lived prior to that moment. I suggest that everyone picks this book up, it is very interesting as well as informative.

Nehru and Gandhi

I thought I'd share some of the things I wrote in my history paper, I found the story between Jawaharlal Nehru and Mohandas Gandhi very interesting:

The early 20^th century was a time of revolution in the Indian subcontinent and leaders arose from every facet of its civilization. These freedom fighters all had one ultimate goal, liberty, but their views on how to reach them were vastly different. The two most notable names to come out of this era are Mohandas Gandhi and Jawaharlal Nehru. They held a unique relationship meaning they were great friends in one situation but strong opposition in another. One of their most prominent disagreements is about the future of the Indian people. Gandhi praised the peasant life; a life of ideals where the people should forget the years of British imperialism and have a new spiritual beginning. A perfect example is when Gandhi states “…in unlearning what she has learned during the last fifty years. The railways, the telegraphs, hospitals, lawyers, doctors and suchlike; and the so called upper-class have to learn consciously.”[1] Gandhi advocated against industrialization while on the other hand Nehru welcomed it with open arms.

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[1] "Gandhi and Nehru 'Two Utterly Different Standpoints.'" Documents in World History. Upper Saddle

             River, New Jersey: Prentice Hall, 2004. 593-594. CD-ROM. 

AutoBio

In life we do millions of things that we don’t even really pay mind to, like brushing your teeth, reading a newspaper, buying coffee, and maybe even pirating music. That last example maybe only relevant to the young or technology literate but none the less it plays a role in a large portion of our society. I find it very interesting that even though it is illegal many people including me have no qualms about continuing to download unauthorized material; its much to easy and simple and the effect of our action is not being felt directly so we feel no guilt. Some of the more general reasons I have chosen to write about media piracy is that the RIAA is making a strong push to prevent or limit piracy, only to have it reach no ears. Most downloader’s do not take mind to the consequences they may face; they rather get the direct satisfaction that comes from the song or the movie they have downloaded.

The topic of media piracy is very broad, and in order to get a more meaningful conclusion I chose to take the angle of “Why we download” and what can happen if we get caught. A mountain of fines or even jail time is some of the things we face as modern day pirates. I’m sure we’ve all heard about stories of people getting caught for downloading music and how there was insane speculation on what the punishment would be. Is it all a scare tactic, or are they truthfully going to exact some “wrath” on the offender? Is it legal for them to invade the privacy of my hard drive? Many questions have been asked, and to me the many answers voice different opinions on what is right and wrong on these particular situations. Voicing my own opinions always gave me some thoughts such as “Will I ever get caught?”

I am a criminal, you heard right, I broke the law and therefore I am a criminal. I have songs on my computer which were downloaded illegally, and I never thought much of it before. About three weeks ago the Torch had an article on piracy and I reflected on it a bit and started to think about what would happen if I was caught. I don’t have much songs on my hard drive but certainly enough to be sought after and it now seems like this is a cyber car-chase. I tried doing things the legal way such as using programs such as I-Tunes where you purchase songs for about a dollar, but the selection was horrible and my wallet began to dwindle so I opted out after about a month, and went back to the old reliable p2p programs. Do I want to be imprisoned? Of course not, but something that seems so easy such as downloading subconsciously feels safe. However that safety zone is diminishing at an alarming rate.

Hopefully none of us get a subpoena in the mail from the RIAA, but if we do how will we justify it? I’m not hurting anyone or I have no cash? That wouldn’t fly right in court but it seems to be ok in society. Statistics and reasons why people opt to download music rather than buying it will give a solid foundation to my objective. The issue on piracy intrigues me, and a deep and gritty report on the inner workings would help me educate others as well as myself on the effect it has on everybody as a whole.

Adobe Photoshop

I've always thought of myself as a freelance artist. I love all kinds of drawing methods but my favorite has to be using Adobe Photoshop. It feels like a canvas right in front of you but instead of a pen or paintbrush you have a mouse and a cursor to guide your brush strokes. The thing about Adobe to me is that I was never formally taught on how to use it, instead I installed it and just experimented and I consider myself pretty handy with it nowadays since I started about 5 years ago. From drawing stick figures then to now making full artistic pieces that are montages or a customized picture alteration.

It is also much cheaper than the number of notebooks and pens and pencils need for drawing, I love the fact that whenever i feel like expressing myself in a artistic manner I can just open up Photoshop and create my own unique magic. Another good reason to having a laptop while being a St. John's students. I even used Photoshop to creat the background and tables on my myspace page, and now I am looking at making my own site, but I have limited html knowledge so now its time to get a better grasp of that and there are no limits to my creative abilities.

Advertsing Major

Today I handed in my internal transfer papers to the College of Professional Studies. I am hoping to be accepted so i can take on Advertising as my major. I hope int he future I will have a outlet for creativity and to do something I enjoy and truly love. Hope me luck that i get accepted.