DSE

Apparently you don't know the Cleanflix story; let me enlighten you. Cleanflix bought DVDs by the truckload, and called those "licensed copies." And they were. They also ripped those DVDs and edited out "objectionable" content. Scenes like the nude scenes from Titanic, blood and gore from Braveheart, Saving Private Ryan, Pulp Fiction, Spiderman (wet Tshirt kissing scene), IceAge(Sexual references), etc were removed. Swear words were removed. Many edits of all these films removed, using Apple Final Cut Pro (a party to the lawsuit) and Adobe Premiere (Another party to the lawsuit). They then sold these cleaned up, DRM-free movies to the public both over the web and in their stores. Their predominant market is the LDS market. The owner of the chain himself is/was an LDS leader in his community. They marketed themselves as an LDS business, and had well-known LDS Senator Orrin Hatch endorsing their business. They were sued for: ~Violation of the DCMA for bypassing DRM ~Copyright violation in editing the original picture without license ~Copyright violation in replication of protected content ~Altering copyrighted works for reasons not related to Fair Use The Moral Majority helped CleanFlicks fight the DGA both financially and with moral support. The DGA vs CleanFlix lawsuit was a short-lived one. The court court ruled in favor of the DGA. CleanFlix/Cleanflicks appealed to the District court and lost. It started to go to the Supreme Court, but then NYC court issued their decision, also in favor of DGA. Cleanflicks website now says that as of 2005 they can no longer offer edited movies. They were busted for doing it again about a year ago. The owner has been repeatedly on television saying "I don't want my kids watching these sorts of movies, it's wrong to subject my children to sex scenes," etc. He even bought a half-hour of late-night television time with Dell Schanze, a psychopathic paraglider pilot (constantly in trouble with the FAA) to do a show on Parenting and keeping kids away from drugs, sex, and booze. Today he was arrested for paying a 14 year old for oral sex. Allegedly, it's just the tip of the iceberg. Coincidentally, This guy's illegal products were once distributed by Brad Gale, who owned a chain of Mormon/LDS bookstores. Gale was recently busted for having sex with a 12 year old boy (25 counts). It's almost tragic that these self-proclaimed warriors of moral might are being arrested right and left for sexual abuse of children. Evidently there is something to the localized joke of " "Run for your lives! Joseph Smith has risen from the grave, and he's asking for some teenagers." Personally, I hope they're cell-mated with Sluggo, a well-endowed Greek man in need of rough sex twice a day to keep his temper in check.

OF COURSE they are involved with legislation involving DMCA. Duh. Just as the USPA is involved with legislation about the FAA. Have you ever made a commercially available, national or internationally distributed CD? "no, but I buy a lot of records, so I understand the process." Have you ever made a skydive? "No, but I've seen it in books and so I understand the process." Yeah, maybe I look like a jerk. But I'm a jerk that you know is never reaching my hand into your pocket to steal what's there, so at least I'm an honest jerk. The RIAA and similar organizations have continued to exist since the very early days. Recording is recording whether it's a voice screaming into a gramophone or a microphone, in a studio or in a bedroom closet. The industry doesn't make exceptions to members based on the quality or viability of their recordings. If you're a 6 year old savvy enough to make a record in your basement and want to market it, you're eligible to become a member of the RIAA. If you're a guy with 10 musically-inclined cats or monkeys that yowl and you make a CD, you can become a member of the RIAA. It's a RECORDING INDUSTRY. There will _always_ be recording artists. Some that yowl into a microphone, some that are more artistic. But there will always be recording artists. The association of those artists isn't remotely dependent on whether they do it with a gramophone, with a Mitsubishi SX, with a Teac 888, with a computer, or a POS microtrack that fits in their pocket. Maybe they'll record to an organic source. Doesn't matter. There will _always_ be an association there to represent those that choose to commercialize their recordings. There will always be an attempt of some sort, to protect the copyrights of those recordings at a collective level. Artists CHOOSE to have those protections. Just as you choose to have locks on your doors, or not. Just as you might choose to live in a gated community, or not. Or choose to be a vegan. Or not. Either way, the RIAA is a trade group made up of labels both independent and corporate. The RIAA is growing, not shrinking. They are going no where for a long, long while, as some of the standards they've established are very long-term standards world-wide. Their legal model may/likely will change, copyright enforcement may/likely will change, the faces of the organization absolutely will change, but they'll continue to exist as long as humans continue to make sound and desire to record and distribute those sounds for commercial gain. [edit] to add to the pointlessness of your last post, Bill.... You are talking about the art of music. RIAA isn't involved in the "art" of music whatsoever. They were borne out of, and exist entirely for, the technology of recording and delivering music. Debating union vs non-union, canned music vs live music, etc isn't relevant. Even back then, Edison had a goal of removing musicians from silent films as soon as possible, and developed very unique and elaborate schemes for syncing cylinders to celluloid so that he could do away with musicians. He hated the unions. But all that bears no relationship to the discussion we're having in this thread.

I keep mine in my helmet, otherwise I keep losing them. I also keep a spare CF card in the top of my helmet, as there was one time when I was showing pix to a student, and had to run for the load. I'd left my CF card in the card reader, and had no spare. Since the 1GB cards are practically free, I now carry one taped inside my FTP.

I can tell you that the editor of the magazine reads in here regularly. He's very much an on-the-ball guy. But I wish he'd publish more of my photos.

Well then...get with the program.

And your analogy relates ?how? The methods used to record music have changed, but artists have not. Artists are artists. The RIAA has zero to do with freely exchanged information. Either labels collectively decide to go after pirates, or they don't. If they do, then they sic their representative organization on them (RIAA). That is but one VERY small facet of what the RIAA does. Christ, I feel like I'm an apologist for the RIAA, which is far from my intent. But the level of ignorance about what the RIAA actually is, is ridiculously high. I'm surprised that so many folks have an opinion on something about which they are ENTIRELY, utterly clueless. It's like reading the rants of illiterate fourth-graders arguing Einstein's theory of relativity and it's implications on the color of green found in bottleflies.

You mean like the ones discussed in this thread a couple weeks ago?

It's the second link.

If every problem within the USPA becomes somehow related to Skyride, then we're not looking at the problem correctly. Like the old aphorism goes, "if your only tool is a hammer, then every solution looks like a nail." Oh sh**...now I'm gonna be accused of saying someone nailed a hammer. Sure, the ASC mess brought a lot of attention to the BOD and EC. But to suggest that Skyride is the only problem is as much BS as suggesting Jan is solely responsible for the Skyride settlement. The issues run much deeper than this episode, IMO. Our DZ is affected by the non-DZ websites too, probably far moreso than many areas. But to make that the primary focus seems irresponsible. I find much of this entire subject to be irresponsible with specious claims of "The entire board is in bed with Skyride" when it's only one person. Or "The entire EC is corrupt" when it's not demonstrable as to how or why. Claims of rampant conspiracy with no evidence of who is putting what in their pocket makes me wonder about little tin-foil hats and who's wearing them. I've asked some very specific questions, and haven't gotten a single specific answer, which only furthers my curiosity about tin-foil hats. Stepping back and looking at the whole simply seems to be more productive, IMO.

Again....you clearly don't know what you're talking about. RIAA isn't responsible for DRM. AT ALL. The labels who are members of RIAA are responsible. USPA is responsible for skydivers hooking in every week, and that's stupid. The USPA must die, because skydivers will flock to a new paradigm that won't support hook turns. Neither of those sentences take DZ's into account at all. The RIAA never has, and cannot mandate, control, remove, inspire, recommend, offer, develop, destroy DRM. Period. What they can do, is as an organization of labels, sue to recover damages that spread across labels. Much like how the USPA lobbies and complains to the FAA about how government affects skydiving. There is no "secret change" going on inside. Become a member, get the magazine and newsletter. Sign a record deal, you'll know everything there is to know. Attend a conference (you don't need to be a member) and you'll get most of what you want to know. It's a lot more open than the USPA, that's for sure.

I do read it as-is. I'd like more articles about freeflying, wingsuiting, camera flying technique. I'd like to see a spotlight on new jumpers. I love the historical articles "from back in the day." I enjoy seeing time-capsules from very old articles found in the magazine." I'd like to see more rigging articles, etc. I loved the two-part series from Laszlo on flash in photography. The new "Camera Corner" articles are useful too. Articles on "who is doing what" are cool. For example, an interview on how Norman Kent recently shot the skydiving sequences in "Get Smart" or the 100 way CRW record. Maybe a tour of a factory like PD or Rigging Innovations, to show what our tools go through before coming to our home in plastic bags. How about some stories on skydiving exercises for the off-seasonal months? That said, I've noticed quite a change in what's happening in the magazine lately, and it seems to be much better in the past few months. Anyone else feel that way?

Well, geez, saying there will always be something out there isn't a big leap. But the RIAA - very unlikely to survive that long. I'd be surprised if it is still relevent in 20 years. Why is it "unlikely" that they'll be there that long? I've provided fairly specific reasons as to why they will be, it's easy to glibly say "they won't be." Demonstrate why, please?

4 minutes plus credits?

Dean Thompson and I held a few public debates on the legality and morality of his company "CleanFlix" editing out nude and violent scenes. He, amongst others, was being sued for violating copy protection schemes and violating copyright of major studios. The Moral Majority was a major financial supporter of the CleanFlix movement in the predominantly LDS business. Ironically, Dean Thompson and a buddy were arrested today for having sex with a 14 year old girl. So, could it be argued that editing out all those nude, sexual, and violent scenes from movies like "Titanic," "Braveheart," "Forrest Gump" clouded their minds and judgement, causing them to seek out the very experiences they were shielding others from?

Hoping for the Riv. Already trying. it's a busy weekend. Plus, NAB is coming up and we often stay at the MonteCarlo, so we're already scrambling for the 40 rooms we need for NAB. News says fire is under control and only top floors (how many is that?) are affected, so maybe they'll have limited space avail for NAB.

No one called you a pig. Anywhere. "I'd be better off teaching a pig to read a wristwatch" is called an "aphorism." We even learnt about those on the rez. We agree; when an aphorism is personalized, it's a lack of ability to objectively hold a discussion, which was my original point. Which does point to "ridiculous." An inspection program, properly monitored and funded, could be a good thing. Having the "good housekeeping stamp of approval" however, is meaningless. No one could be prevented from closely copying it or using it as-is on their website or at their DZ. It could also fall down very easily. For example, Joe doesn't like Steve, and Joe is responsible for inspecting Steve's DZ. Joe doesn't give Steve his "Good Housekeeping Stamp of Approval." Steve appeals, USPA says "Screw you, Steve, we trust Joe." Steve has a non-official inspection by David, who is also a USPA inspector, and David says "Steve's DZ is fine." Where do you go from there? Didn't we see some of this favoritism in the early days of AFF evaluation? Maybe we have RD's inspect other RD's areas. That's sure to lead to contention. An RD situatated in the West is surely going to be looking at an Eastern DZ with a jaundiced eye based on topographic or environmental differences if nothing else. The concept is really, really good. The implementation of the concept needs to be thoroughly fleshed out. It's probably easier to teach a pig to read a wristwatch than to figure out the program here, however.

Can we agree there will *always* be recording artists? Can we agree that recording artists will *always* want an association? I mean hell, even garbage collectors have associations. Therefore, there will always be an RIAA/Recording Industry Association. next on the list; What the RIAA "controls." they "control" nothing. Artists have two options for recording, marketing, delivering music for/to the masses. ~through a record label, whether it's an indie or major ~Self-published, whether with a collective or self-managed. Am I missing one? I don't think so. RIAA "controls" neither of those two scenarios. Either an artist goes SEEKING a major or independent record deal, or they don't. Their choice. Just curious, who in this community has ever signed a recording deal with any record label that is a member of the RIAA and therefore understands the process? I'm not too close to it, I merely understand it. I understand it perfectly. I understand that as an artist, I have a choice as to how I fund my recordings, how I have my recordings manufactured on a mass scale, how my recordings are distributed, and where they are distributed geographically. I don't have much control over price of those recordings if they're made for the general consumer. I have tremendous control over the price of those recordings if they're made for television, big screen, corporate, or closed-distribution. Given that I'm both a self-distributed artist and a major label distributed artist, and given that I have commercial albums distributed to the consumer in addition to the television, theatrical, corporate, and closed distribution markets, which part don't I understand? Which part of MY industry in which I live, breathe, derive my income from am I "too close to" as opposed to anyone else? What "current approach?" RIAA will continue to sue individuals, people will continue to pirate, piracy will diminish in certain quarters, piracy will flourish in other quarters. RIAA will try to stop it where they can, musicians will try (on the whole) to stop it where they can, certain elements of society will attempt to thwart any efforts to stop it where they can. The RIAA is merely the wall of the castle representing the artists who have chosen to live inside the castle. There will *always* be someone trying to scale or knock over that wall. But the RIAA doesn't "control" those artists, nor their distribution, nor their listeners. It merely tries to protect those that have "asked" for protection by signing with an RIAA-member label. And that "asking" hasn't slowed down at all. The typical musician's dream is a major label deal, even if it's not in their best interests. Will the direction the RIAA change? Of course. It's dynamic. If it doesn't change, it'll die. They're already changing, but you're not on the inside seeing those changes. Does the average tandem student perceive changes in USPA BSRs or rating requirements? It's not terribly different than saying the USPA "controls" the world of skydiving. Dropzones and skydivers may choose to be members or not. Guarantees and expectations may or may not be different at various DZ's because of or lack of affiliation with the USPA. HERE is a band that should easily make it on their own via self-promotion and distribution, but they're vying for a major record deal. It's the dream. It's what the bulk of performing musicians are still looking for. On the other hand, I'd never expect a "whuffo" to understand it. (whuffo' they want a major record deal, I think they're pretty good?)

I have/had reservations there for a sports event in March.

Except that McDonalds is heavily invested in China/Macau... I'm all for the hookers, strippers, and booze, though. they keep police officers, social workers, jailers, towing companies, barley growers, tractor manufacturers, steel workers, carpet layers, and DJ's employed, to name but a few.

After all that, i borrowed a laptop from a guy here, and his is running Vista Home with WMM6. I don't have a PC5, but did connect an HC3 in DV mode, and WMM came right up. I then shut down the autoplay, opened "File | Import from Digital Video Camera (CTRL + R) and it picked up the camcorder right away. Don't know if that helps. I'm logged on to his machine as an administrator, with UAC disabled.

Did I mention Skyride? Did I mention not having an inspection program? Someone mentioned I'm wasting my breath trying to have a productive discussion on this subject, I'd be better off teaching a pig to read a wristwatch. I think he's right. The single-minded, one-track view demonstrates a lack of ability to creatively look at a situation. It always seems to come down to one subject, and if this community is this short-sighted, then they deserve whatever leadership they apathetically permit.

Sites that use copyrighted photos are VERY open to litigation. Who here has sued for illegal use of copyrighted material, other than myself? This particular argument is one that has me literally laughing my ass off each time I read it. "Those mofo's used my photos on their website!!!!!!!, pass me that Van Halen CD, I need it for this tandem video. I'd like to sue them." H-Y-P-O-C-R-I-S-Y? NASCAR has a *lot* of money, a *lot* of power, and a *lot* of branding, complete with a staff of attorneys (same law firm that represents the NBA) who do nothing but seek, protect, and litigate over trademark infringement (it's a trademark, not a copyright). Schnader Harrison Segal & Lewis have more Xerox people that the USPA has had as employees in the entire history of the organization, and it still takes years and $$ to make problems go away. Again, great in concept, short on reality.

what happens when you go into Device manager and see the camera? Can you scan for changes and see the camera? Turn camera off. Disconnect from computer. Plug camera in after 10 seconds. Turn camera on in CAMERA mode, not VCR mode. What happens?

Copyrighting a seal won't have any impact unless it's also trademarked. Trademark law is one of the most expensive defensibles in the legal universe. Who cares about a copyright infringement? Discounting the violation of copyright by tandem videos that take place every second of every day, discounting the millions of YouTube videos that violate copyright every day, what about the virtual DZ's that have illegally used copyrighted photos? No one has done anything there, either. Trademark, copyright....none of it prevents squat. Great in theory, short on reality.

Riiiigggghhhhhttttttt. That's why guys like Norm Kent continue to seek training from others as well. Maybe you meant "It's not that hard to learn to not flail around with a pair of wings under your arms"?