Plus, if the recording wears out (like records and tapes used to), it was actually against the law to play a recording of such a recording. If it wore out, bad luck - you have the right to buy another copy, and that’s it. There are some loopholes with CDs and DVDs under the copyright acts, since they are viewed as ‘data recordings’, and we’re currently allowed to make one (and only one) ‘backup copy’ of the data for archive purposes. But I’m expecting this to change real soon now, since even archiving is a bit slippery (i.e. who archives it, who stores it, who retrieves it, ad infinitum).
Sorry. I’ll get off the soapbox now.

This does not, obviously, excuse the principal behind this kind of greedy, thieving, legalistic bullshit. Just a note for the practical.

And you raise the ugly point (and my favourite beef) regarding the Darkest Side of DRM - piracy.

I install and fix computers for friends, family, and neighbours, and I’ve lost track of the number of times I’ve begged them to stop their kids from peer-to-peering music. I mean, it’s good for me - every time they ask me to remove malware (courtesy of Kazaa, or Bearshare or whatever), I have to charge ‘em - and so far, they pay more for me to spend 5 hours every month cleaning their song lists than if they bought the albums in the first place! And I’m not even going to get started on malware, lost credit card numbers, virii, etc.

And the most common reason they give for this schemozzle? “Oh, the kids can’t afford music”. Gimme a Lobsterdamn break! Even in VDL, I can buy Nelly Furtado or Powderfinger or Jethro Tull for 30 cents!

I’m not quite sure what my point is right now, but by golly, it was a good one. Something about piracy and DRM??? (Sorry)

Jeanne played the check-in/weigh-in receptionist at the diet center. For whatever it’s worth, one of the Executive Producers told her they’d be using her fairly often if the show got picked up.

Fingers, toes, teeth crossed.

Though I’ll give downloading this much — if it’s good enough (like “Howl’s Moving Castle” which is coming out in the state in late June), I’ll buy it or go to the theaters anyway. It’s helped feed my interest in bands like The Decemberists, Ani DiFranco, and The Black Keys, and depending on a person’s psychology, I may buy it anyway because it’s a solid purchase.

And why am I trying to rationlize my habits?

Congrats Adam, You have the right idea. The wife has a successful career, (steady income) and you are free to do as you want. (The trick is making her feel good because she is doing so well, while distracting her from noticing you may not be).

Works for me.

It’s the principle of the thing that got my dander up. After getting the album home, I noted all the DRM small-print on the back cover (which was somewhat covered up by the price tag). I then went online, where I found out that I was fine with my Mac (I generally listen to my music in the car (through my iPod’s connection to my stereo, or when I’m walking. My car has no CD player, so the ability to transfer the music to my ‘Pod is… the whole point of buying it).

But going online made one thing clear - customers are annoyed, flummoxed, and bewildered by the DRM. Just go and check out the reviews at Amazon and you’ll get a taste of the annoyance. The confusion is on various message boards. No matter how you slice it, the pirates were unfazed while a lot of honest consumers found themselves locked out of music they thought they owned.

Grrrrrrrr.