Posts by Rob Stowell
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Hard News: Mega Strange, in reply to Dylan Reeve,
The example I used earlier was one of Louis CK’s specials – a DRM-free video file that I’d paid for and downloaded. I could store that on Mega (or Dropbox, or Google Drive) entirely legally – as far as I can tell.
Yeah? I’m not sure it is legal. Making a copy is making a copy. The latest (2009) law allows for some specific format shifting, but general copying, even for backup? Been a while since I actually read the legislation, but I wouldn't assume that's covered…
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Hard News: Movie Disaster, in reply to Russell Brown,
the net cost of maintaining a skill and technical base,
Hard to put this in cash terms, certainly. On some level it's 'cultural capital'.
But it's clearly far more 'cultural capital' than local production can support. That's the rub. There were skilled folk working on local production before the current wave of subsidies. While local producers do benefit from the surplus- the breadth of skills, and the gear- on occasion, it's wrong to imply local production wouldn't exist without it- or even that it'd be significantly impaired. -
Hard News: Movie Disaster, in reply to Rich of Observationz,
For employees permanently resident in NZ, that’s 25% or so of the labour cost *less* the amount those people would have earned in a different, unsubsidized industry.
Minus whatever they can deduct for 'legitimate expenses' ...
PAYE was already rare in the industry, even before Mr Jackson got the govt to change legislate that almost everyone working on such projects was a contractor, regardless of how they worked. -
Hard News: Mega Strange, in reply to Sacha,
hank goodness for that, since the whole interweb is a giant copying machine
legal in NZ since 2009 :)
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Hard News: Mega Strange, in reply to Rich of Observationz,
If you make books deliberately awkward to use with DRM that has side-effects ranging from not being able to copy and paste code snippets to Amazon deleting people's whole library then there's a strong temptation to try and grab an illicit copy - because that copy isn't just cheaper - it's *better*.
Indeed.
Adobe digital reader seems to have made it close to impossible to get legitimate titles onto our Sony e-reader. I've wasted a few afternoons, and then bought things on Amazon, despite not having a kindle, and grabbed an e-pub torrent, just to have a copy I could access (while feeling ok about having paid something).
When the free copy is substantially better than the paid-for version, there's a problem.
(That said: The Luminaries epub was the easiest, fastest and least painful ebook experience- was reading it within ten minutes of wanting it. Yay for VUP and meBooks) -
Sad to hear. He's left so many great songs.
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Hard News: Moving right along?, in reply to Keir Leslie,
Worth saying that even if Banks didn’t break the law, he certainly abused the law, and is certainly unfit to be a politician.
My understanding is Banks DID break the law, in (by his own account, he didn't read it) negligently signing the (false) document. But doing so negligently had a 6-month statute of limitations, and the KDC blow-out wasn't in that time-frame, so he couldn't be charged.
They keep playing his statement 'I didn't do anything wrong, I would NEVER do anything wrong..." on the radio, and I wish someone would door-stop him with : 'signing a document negligently IS wrong'.
And that's the MOST favourable interpretation.
IIRC he actually said something like "No, I didn't read it- why would you?'
From a minister, whose signature ends up on public documents, it's way beyond not good enough. If he did get back to ministerial status, the ragging would be incessant.
No credibility indeed. -
Speaker: Ed Kuepper: a legend interviewed, in reply to Grant McDougall,
It was one of the greatest pieces of frontsmanship I’ve ever seen.
Not the same without Kuepper, but Bailey's Saints (the 'Latter Day Saints) played a great gig at the Gladstone some time in the early/mid 80s. (Unlike most saints, I guess, they had horns.) Bailey seemed a tad ... defensive. Guess the Saints had a messy breakup. But still a fine front-man, and the sound was stonking.
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Electrical Storm was the soundtrack of my year in Sydney, and moving in with my partner. Love it still. Serene Machine is very strong too.
We saw a couple of great Keupper gigs at the Trade Union (and one stinker somewhere else). So wish I could get to this.
Television too of course. A feast of guitars :) -
Hard News: Moving right along?, in reply to Lilith __,
it’s been denied
It’s also been denied by the hotels concerned. So that accusation’s a dead duck.
Good to know :)