Previous Politech message: "Hollywood wants to plug 'analog hole,' regulate A-D converters" http://www.politechbot.com/p-03578.html Cypress CEO TJ Rodgers' do-not-normalize-relations view: http://www.cato.org/cgi-bin/Web_store/web_store.cgi?page=silvalley.html&cart_id= --- Date: Fri, 24 May 2002 11:51:14 -0400 To: declanat_private, politechat_private From: Marc Rotenberg <rotenbergat_private> Subject: Re: FC: Hollywood wants to plug "analog hole," regulate A-D converters The rejoinder (and timely) . . . http://www.nytimes.com/2002/05/24/opinion/24TRIS.html May 24, 2002 NOTES FROM SAN JOSE Silicon Valley Grows Up By CLAIRE TRISTRAM * * * The same broken dialogue is now repeating itself between Silicon Valley and Hollywood. Hollywood went to Congress to block any sale of DVD's without legislatively mandated copy protection. It sued to block the sale of MP3 players and digital VCR's because these devices make it easy to make fast, durable, portable copies of music or movies. Silicon Valley responds - in that rational, superior way technologists sometimes have - that of course digital technology makes possible better reproductions that last longer than their analog counterparts. Hollywood, valley executives say, doesn't understand the upside potential and is stifling innovation. Besides, these guys said the same thing about the VCR, and in 2001 consumers spent more than twice as much on videos as they did at the box office. * * * Hollywood's latest bid for protection from digital theft is called the Consumer Broadband and Digital Television Promotion Act, sponsored by Ernest Hollings of South Carolina, chairman of the Senate Commerce Committee. At its heart, the legislation aims to force Silicon Valley and Hollywood to work together to come up with a way to protect copyrighted digital material; if they don't, the government will step in. Technologists see any "solution" as impossible, or at least fleeting, since no software has yet been written that can completely prevent piracy. But simply stating "you just don't understand, Senator" - even if it is a perfectly reasonable response - isn't going to work in this latest battle, as Silicon Valley is learning. Hollywood does a far better job than the valley of speaking in one voice on Capitol Hill. Painfully, if not surprisingly, Sen. Dianne Feinstein, former mayor of San Francisco, is a co-sponsor of the Hollings bill; Hollywood has contributed roughly twice as much money to her as Silicon Valley has. * * * In some ways, this populist activism is curious for an industry that has increasingly served the needs of business rather than those of consumers. But maybe that's the best thing about this fight. It has galvanized this place as nothing has for at least a couple of years. It reminds the industry of its relevance. And maybe, just maybe, by exposing its immaturity - after all, the technology industry can no longer act like a brilliant but misunderstood child - this debate will help Silicon Valley grow up. Claire Tristram writes frequently about technology and business in Silicon Valley. ------------------------------------------------------------------------- POLITECH -- Declan McCullagh's politics and technology mailing list You may redistribute this message freely if you include this notice. To subscribe to Politech: http://www.politechbot.com/info/subscribe.html This message is archived at http://www.politechbot.com/ Declan McCullagh's photographs are at http://www.mccullagh.org/ ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Like Politech? Make a donation here: http://www.politechbot.com/donate/ -------------------------------------------------------------------------
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