No subject

I got something in the mail today from my online subscription to NASA TechBriefs and just about shot the monitor is disgust.  If anyone out there listens to and thoroughly enjoys music as much as I do should take heed and read the rest of this note.  By the way, if you're listening to music as you read this (as I am), be wary.  Someone may be spying on you right now.

Yet again, the RIAA is trying to control how I use and listen to my music, in spite of any justification I have regarding what I do with a product that I legally purchase, after I carry it away from the retail location.  

What next?  Are they going to sue someone for losing, throwing their CD's away or donating them to a charitable organization because the initial purchaser offended the musician or the production company by not getting buried with his or her music collection when they toss off their mortal coil?

It just about guarantees that I won't go around admitting that I MAY listen to any portion of my music collection on a digital storage medium that differs from the circular, flat, aluminized polycarbonate disk that I initially purchased.

Act accordingly, and of course, your mileage may vary . . . 

QUESTION OF THE WEEK

This week's question concerns a lawsuit recently filed in Arizona by the RIAA (Recording Industry Association of America) against Jeffrey and Pamela Howell, a pair of ordinary consumers who recently converted their CD collection to MP3s for their own personal use. What makes this latest copyright case of interest is that it apparently contradicts arguments made by the RIAA's lawyers in a 2005 case in which they stated that making digital copies of one's music collection for personal use was a protected right for consumers. What do you think? Should converting CDs to MP3s be legal? Submit your answer and post your comments at: http://link.abpi.net/l.php?20071217A9

Copyright (c) 2007 Associated Business Publications Intl.