ears broken :( copyright ! and robots at the end (on top of the skantily clad lady)

angry 365 days a year rants about hippies today.
hippies suck!
thought i should link to him since i've begun to read his blog since moonflake told me about it. he does a good (and funny) rant.
his site is very pink though. it is a little disturbing.

my headphones broke yesterday :(
they were cool sony headphones that came with my discman many years ago.
the left channel started going wonky and then cut out.
further examination (pushing the little boot back) resulted in the discovery of a sealed jack with tiny holes where the wires go in... or at least where a wire goes in and a wire doesn't anymore.
*sigh*
i like sony products.
they may have made some mistakes in the past... (like that whole root kit copy protection thing that happened a while back, and barbra streisand)
they may be more expensive than other alternatives...
but they also do some things right... (like system of a down, vaio laptops, playstation, and walkmans)
and but they really do bring out a quality product.
(and sometimes they bring out something kinda odd...)
anyway... if i could afford it most of my consumer electronics would be sony!

i was going to do a piece on copyright law today... i even started to read up on it all and everything. it was going to be a cogent and well organised essay looking at copyright law and the implications in our lives...
the problem is that its an ultra boring subject once you get started.
so here a a few quick points:
important: copyright differs from country to country! the following points seem to be fairly consistent, but that doesn't mean they apply in your area!

• copyright law differs from country to country although some sort of international control is attempted.
• copyright lasts for ages and ages.
• you may sell copyrighted materials on (eg: secondhand cds and software) as long as you do not keep a copy.
• you may back up (archive) software as long as you are the legal owner and you destroy / delete the backups when you get rid of the software.
• to have a backup you must be in possesion of the original. ie: if the cd breaks, put it in a plastic bag and keep it in the box!
  
• the backup clause does not extend to music.
• you may not mp3 a cd for your own personal use even if you own said cd.
• the previous point seems to be in contention as there is normally a "fair use" clause in a country's copyright laws and people, especially in the USA, claim that this is fair use. it seems that (in the USA at least) the practice of "format-shifting" is being seen as fair use.
  
• similarly you may not copy a cd to a tape so that you can listen to it in your car.
  
• copyrights need to be explicitly given away and don't get lost if a company doesn't try to actively enforce them.
• copyright infringement is normally a civil case, but some places have a felony limit that turns the crime into a criminal case if its over a certain monetary value of infringement.
• copyrights are different to trademarks and patents and should not have their laws confused. (they can be similar but the laws are sometimes completely different).
• do not go to finland! they have some ultra-nasty laws about copyrights.

if you're really interested in finding out more do a google search.
i found a little info at Brad Templeton's page titled 10 myths about copyright explained.
i found a little more on a new zealand page about the subject.
there is another page dealing with digital music (in the states).

of course there could be a whole discussion (as i've mentioned before) about the legal vs moral / ethical issues on the subject.
a company could be ethical and still hold copyrights since infringement is a civil case thing... but it gets tricksy and the areas tend to be grey...
if you really want to get into that you'll need to bring me a box of cigarettes and a couple of 2l coke cokes, find me in the right mood, and be prepared to discuss for a (possibly looooong) while.

and now everyone's favourite: fighting robots!!!!
i found a site called robot dreams that has some writeup about a japanese (i think) show that had a section on fighting robots. it looks awesome. kinda like the ones that the uk seem fond of, except it seems to be kids and the robots are bipedal and don't look lie a nipple-pierced, silver breast on wheels.
they have some WMVs of the fight to download...
looks very cool.


and now for the promised scantily clad lady...