Lawsuit

[<ankh>]

I totally agree with Xest on this one.

/Ankh

[Lairiodd]

DVDs are another pain in the butt issue, or more specifically, this nonsense centred around making different region DVDs, which cannot be played on the wrong region DVD players. Of course, there are ways to get around the problem, by reprogramming the DVD player to play any region etc, but it's still a stupid, idiotic policy to prevent anyone in the world from watching a DVD from another DVD region. I don't know why they do it, because people get around it so easily... they might as well create multi-region DVDs from the start.

First, "people" may be able to get around it, but a hell of alot of people couldn't be bothered.

Second, the reason they do it is called market segmentation or price discrimination (depending on what light you want to cast on the issue).

If I have a product that 90% of the population will pay $2 for and 10% of the population will pay $100 for, the optimal price point is $100. (as 90% * $2 is lower than 10% * $100)..

This means that the 90% don't get the product. If you can figure out how to charge the 90% $2 and the 10% $100, then you can a) maximise profit (yay) and b) result in 100% of the customers getting the product.

DVD region lockouts are designed to help with that.

As for the future and piracy issues, I believe a time is fast approaching where people will purchase the use of MP3s, computer programs, etc. etc., directly through the set-top box. PCs as we know them today won't exist, except for "dinosaurs" that people will keep running for as long as possible or for as long as spare parts are available to repair them.

This has been proposed for ages ... however, customers prefer to have 2 rooms. In one room, they have the TV (leisure) and in the other room they have the PC (work). It isn't a perfect split, but basically, people aren't going to browse the web on a TV unless they have no choice. Would you really sit 4-5 meters from the screen ?

<snip>
Music files will not be available for direct download, but you will pay maybe 5p per play directly from the set-top box. You wil save any personal data (e.g. word processor files directly on the network).

I can see the 2 "rooms"/areas being linked via an ethernet link, so something like that is possible.

But the below isn't. Nobody is going to buy something that reduces their choice. They just won't upgrade, or will keep their old PC ... and PC companies aren't going to provide them no upgrade path.

This way, piracy will be a thing of past, because the means to create pirated copies will have been totally removed. It will be the biggest shake-up you'll ever see. It will happen because it will offer great commercial incentives to cable/satellite companies to implement such a system. Of course, there will always be the "free-view, free-use" channels, but we've already seen the industry shape up over the years and make huge profits and where technology can be used to make even bigger profits, then these sort of things are inevitable.

there is no such thing as free view, you 'pay' for it by watching the ads.

[Gandelf]

But aren't people already paying for extra TV channels as an example? I mean, ten years ago people were happy to watch terrestial TV for free (well, there is the TV licence, but that still goes anyway). Now with companies such as Sky and ntl: folks are quite willing to pay for extra channels, so it's only one step further, I feel, for such companies to create a similar demand for other services, with the demand for broadband possibly proving my point already. You can already pay to view TV shows that are not currently being shown, so why not pay to listen to a song, or pay to use a computer program etc?

[<ankh>]

so why not pay to listen to a song, or pay to use a computer program etc?

Cos you can sit and watch most tv channels 24/7 and mostly find something new - while a program is perhaps something you just use 2-3 times every week (like virus killers). You usually pay a sum for several channels - but most people have specific programs they want and don't want to buy a "package" with programs but rather want to be able to pick from the billions (billions unlike the thousands of tv channels you can get). I know Im happy with paying 20-30 for the programs I want, and I dont wanna pay per minute I use them rather than a clump sum. It's like with mmorpgs, I know I felt forced to play the games ive paid monthly cost on cos I know I pay to be able to play it. If I buy a game I know it can just lay there and wait for me to play. If I want to play 100h or just 1h it will still be already paid rather than forcing me to find my credit card.

/Ankh

[Ovi]

Cos you can sit and watch most tv channels 24/7 and mostly find something new - while a program is perhaps something you just use 2-3 times every week (like virus killers). You usually pay a sum for several channels - but most people have specific programs they want and don't want to buy a "package" with programs but rather want to be able to pick from the billions (billions unlike the thousands of tv channels you can get). I know Im happy with paying 20-30 for the programs I want, and I dont wanna pay per minute I use them rather than a clump sum. It's like with mmorpgs, I know I felt forced to play the games ive paid monthly cost on cos I know I pay to be able to play it. If I buy a game I know it can just lay there and wait for me to play. If I want to play 100h or just 1h it will still be already paid rather than forcing me to find my credit card.

/Ankh

But don't a lot of music services already do what Gandelf is suggesting?

Napster for example, £9.99 a month and listen to any of their music you like, either streamed to your PC, or iirc you can even get them put onto your MP3 player (DRM enabled ofc).

MMORPGs are already a step in that direction for games too, we all pay ~£10 per month to play our favourite MMORPG, often even downloading the whole game rather than actually buy it. SoE station access goes a stage further and allows the use of all their MMORPGs as well as a few other games, just another step in that direction.

MicroSoft are also known to be interested in the subscription model both for Windows and Office, mainly pushed into it by what others are doing, so buying everything on "monthlies" may not be far away.

[<ankh>]

It's one thing to download music, its another thing to download programs. Sure there will always be a market for it, but I just don't belive that it will ever become the best/only way to get programs. Would you wanna pay money per month for every program you install? A mmorpg you usually sit and play for hours per day...and music is something you bring with you on your mp3 or listen to when ever you are bored at home (or what ever). But how often do you actually use every program you got on your pc? I've got programs I use just 1-2 times/month. Hell, I even got programs I just use every second month - but I still need/want the program.

/Ankh

[Lairiodd]

It's one thing to download music, its another thing to download programs. Sure there will always be a market for it, but I just don't belive that it will ever become the best/only way to get programs. Would you wanna pay money per month for every program you install? A mmorpg you usually sit and play for hours per day...and music is something you bring with you on your mp3 or listen to when ever you are bored at home (or what ever). But how often do you actually use every program you got on your pc? I've got programs I use just 1-2 times/month. Hell, I even got programs I just use every second month - but I still need/want the program.

/Ankh

They could do market segmentation then .

For example:

$10/month

or

$1/day

This allows the customer to pick if they are a heavy user or a light user.

A light user would just buy 1 day every time they want to use it.

Obviously, it would depend on how the program works. For some, you could charge per file opening. An mp3 player might charge $0.01 to open a song. Obviously, it would have to be pretty good if it was to displace free mp3 players (or perhaps, it would be DRM enabled ... so it charges $0.05 per play and only gives $0.04 to the song vendor).

[Gandelf]

If you're like me, you'll probably have drawers and shelves full of old PC games that you no longer play. You don't want to throw them in the bin and if you're going to give them away or sell them at a car boot sale they will more than likely be a bit out of date by then. They just create clutter. If you could pay to play a game through your set-top box, then when you have had enough of it, you just stop playing it and you won't have the game sitting on a shelf gathering dust.

X-Boxes and Playstations plug directly into your TV. Why not simply pay to use the latest games directly through the set-top box, rather than having to own an X-Box?

Casual PC users may prefer to pay just for a one-off use, rather than have to buy an expensive computer.

When the technology is at the right stage it will happen I believe. Look at TVs... many people thought that they would never catch on, or replace the need to go to see a play at a theatre, or a film at the cinema, but TVs have taken over and are seen as an essential household appliance. It's difficult to imagine the way things will be, because we are still very much into judging things by the way technology is at this moment. Who knows what future technologies will have the same impact as TV did, or as the internal combustion engine did? Only time will tell.

[<ankh>]

They could do market segmentation then .

For example:

$10/month

or

$1/day

This allows the customer to pick if they are a heavy user or a light user.

A light user would just buy 1 day every time they want to use it.

Obviously, it would depend on how the program works. For some, you could charge per file opening. An mp3 player might charge $0.01 to open a song. Obviously, it would have to be pretty good if it was to displace free mp3 players (or perhaps, it would be DRM enabled ... so it charges $0.05 per play and only gives $0.04 to the song vendor).

I doubt the majority would like to pay this, I thought this was what Gandelf ment in the first place btw. Also, there are way too many programs/software companies for this to work good imo.

/Ankh

[Quinlan]

Actually for professional software (SAP for example) what Lair said is commenly used. You pay the license fee per user based on his estimated activity. You can pay less for a license for a simple user then compared to the sys admin