Ensign Technologies Blog

Dustin Wax has made an excellent post over at LifeHack.org on nine tips to get the most our of Social Media.  Short and to the point, check it out at:

http://www.lifehack.org/articles/communication/9-tips-to-get-the-most-out-of-social-media.html

Contact us if you would like more information about Social Media and how Ensign Technologies can help you achieve your business goals!

Recent news has served to highlight a very important fact- If you have to work for your money, don’t throw it away buying digitally restricted media from online stores!  This especially includes Apple’s iTunes music store. 

Why?  Because this media includes software called Digital Restrictions Management.  The media companies like to call it Digital Rights Management- unfortunately, it manages no ones rights.  In fact, it tramples upon consumer rights.

The media companies DO NOT have the right to:

• Regulate which devices can play back their copyrighted works.
• They do not have the right to regulate how many devices you can use your legally purchased media on.
• They do not have the right to prevent you from reselling your legally purchased media.

You DO HAVE the right to:

• Transfer your media from one computer to another.
• Upgrade your operating system or change operating systems without losing your media.
• Play your media on whatever innovative devices tomorrow might bring.
• Resell your media if you no longer want it.

These are all rights that media companies try to restrict when they implement DRM technology.  And that isn’t the half of the story!  If these violations of consumer rights weren’t enough, consider this-

If the company you bought your media from simply decided that they want to, they can shut down their computers and you could lose your media forever!

That’s right, at any time, the company that you bought your music from (Apple iTunes, Napster, Wal-Mart Music, Amazon, etc.) can shut down their "authentication servers" essentially leaving your media useless.  And guess what- the law prevents you from circumventing these digital locks!

Think this is unlikely to happen?  Think again! In recent months, there have been several companies that have shut down, or planned to shut down, their servers.

• Google Video- in the beginning, they sold videos from a variety of media companies.  Now those videos are useless. (Google actually did the rightish thing here and paid compensation to the whole 5ish customers that they actually had).
• MSN Music- Even Microsoft has announced that they will shut off their "Plays For Sure" authentication servers.  They initially planned a much earlier shut down, but have since backtracked and decided to leave the servers on a little longer.
• And now, add to the mix Yahoo! Music.

Bottom line- don’t buy products that are "Defective by design"! (Such as online music and videos from services like iTunes and Napster.)

See also:

 http://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2008/07/here-we-go-again-yahoo-music-throws-away-drm-keys

http://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2008/07/library-congress-dmca-copyright-law-troubles

- Michael Arrington, Founder of TechCrunch and just happens to be a lawyer.  In a comment on a story about a patent covering “…creating lists.  In a database.”  http://www.techcrunch.com/2008/07/17/channel-intelligence-sues-just-about-everyone-who-offers-wishlists/#

"I am apt to believe that it will be celebrated by succeeding generations as the great anniversary festival. It ought to be commemorated as the day of deliverance, by solemn acts of devotion to God Almighty. It ought to be solemnized with pomp and parade, with shows, games, sports, guns, bells, bonfires, and illuminations from one end of this continent to the other, from this time forward forever more."
-John Adams, 1776