Now this is getting interesting.
Yesterday a advice committee for our government gave the advice to put an extra tax on every Internet connection in our country, and use that money to save the newspaper companies that are on the verge of bankruptcy. This because the Internet gives the more up-to-date information for a much lower price.
Naturally everybody with half a brain saw what this meant and I have not heard a single comment even from people subscribed to newspapers that this was a good idea. It got rejected flat out by everyone including the vast majority of the government. If a company can't keep afloat in this information era, it is time to go. We did not put a charge on cell phones to keep the Telex business afloat. We do not charge mileage to bicycles to save the car industry.
The same is true for books and music. As long as there are people willing to buy paper books and buy music on CD's for a price the consumer can live with, these companies will not go out of business. This will last until the prices get so high just to make a small profit margin that it is no longer a viable option anymore and people start downloading pdf's for their ebook reader or multimedia from online vendors.
What I disagree with is the notion that no-one gets harmed by downloading illegally. A performer and recording studio only make money from the material that is actually sold by whatever means through legal channels, not the stuff that is gotten from somewhere else. Now you might say that your downloads are just a drop in the bucket, but with a million drops a day that bucket fills up quite fast.
Yesterday a advice committee for our government gave the advice to put an extra tax on every Internet connection in our country, and use that money to save the newspaper companies that are on the verge of bankruptcy. This because the Internet gives the more up-to-date information for a much lower price.
Naturally everybody with half a brain saw what this meant and I have not heard a single comment even from people subscribed to newspapers that this was a good idea. It got rejected flat out by everyone including the vast majority of the government. If a company can't keep afloat in this information era, it is time to go. We did not put a charge on cell phones to keep the Telex business afloat. We do not charge mileage to bicycles to save the car industry.
The same is true for books and music. As long as there are people willing to buy paper books and buy music on CD's for a price the consumer can live with, these companies will not go out of business. This will last until the prices get so high just to make a small profit margin that it is no longer a viable option anymore and people start downloading pdf's for their ebook reader or multimedia from online vendors.
What I disagree with is the notion that no-one gets harmed by downloading illegally. A performer and recording studio only make money from the material that is actually sold by whatever means through legal channels, not the stuff that is gotten from somewhere else. Now you might say that your downloads are just a drop in the bucket, but with a million drops a day that bucket fills up quite fast.
Best regards,
Leo van Miert
Horsepower is how hard you hit the wall --Torque is how far you take the wall with you
Leo van Miert
Horsepower is how hard you hit the wall --Torque is how far you take the wall with you
