Download Movies Legally, But Let the Buyers Beware

Because of the success of Apple's iTunes music store, companies are now focusing on the next great frontier in the world of digital media, which is the market for legal movie downloads. But companies entering that space are faced with a dilemma: In order to gain access to the most marketable content, they need to implement services that large movie owners will find acceptable. That typically means imposing severe restrictions on what consumers can do with the content after they download movies. The need to impose restrictions, however, conflicts directly with another critical requirement, which is to create something that paying consumers will want to use. Most of the time, the developers of movie download services have opted to create implementations that satisfy movie owners. Unfortunately, these implementations are best described as consumer-hostile. Not surprisingly, consumers have been slow to start using these restrictive movie download services, meaning movie owners get little return.

The ability to distribute large volumes of digital content on the Internet has created unprecedented opportunities for new offerings that can better enable consumers to enjoy movie downloads in more convenient ways. But at the same time, the Internet has also created opportunities for people to illegally distribute large quantities of content, preventing the rightful owners of that content from being compensated. The effort to prevent unauthorized use of content has led to the creation of download services that attempt to control what consumers can do with their purchases. Thus was born the concept of digital rights management (DRM), a technology that is intended to force consumers to only use purchased content in ways approved by the copyright owner.

In order to be at all effective, a DRM system must maintain control of content at all times. Consequently, consumers that download movies from legitimate sites are frequently not allowed to then burn those movies to recordable DVDs that will play on standard DVD players. Most DRM-based systems do not allow burning since recordable DVDs cannot currently be both encrypted and also playable in standard DVD players. Some companies have attempted to add copy protection to recordable DVDs. But all of these efforts only provide a temporary illusion of copy protection. That is because in order to be at all useful to the consumer, the recordable disc must be readable by a DVD player. Since most DVD players are not designed to work with DRM, any effort to make a recordable DVD not copyable is limited to inserting “errors” into the DVD structure or on the physical disc that will confuse a disc ripping program, but not a DVD player. Protection schemes that have attempted this approach are typically broken within hours.

Consumers are painfully aware of the use restrictions imposed by DRM; however, very few people are aware of the long-term implications. Most of the well-known services that allow consumers to download movies utilize Microsoft's DRM. It is not surprising, therefore, that these services invariably only support computers running Microsoft Windows. And while a few sites allow consumers to copy downloads to a limited number of Windows computers, some do not even allow that. What could you do then with all of your purchased content that is locked up in Windows DRM if you want to switch to a Mac or Linux? The dirty little secret not advertised by DRM-based movie download services is that your likely reward for buying DRM-encrypted movies is that someday you will either have to throw away all of the content you paid for along with an old PC, or you will have the privilege of needing to buy the same content all over again.

Faced with the prospect of losing content that you paid good money for, you may decide to try a hack in order to get your movies out of the DRM system that restricts them. Since just about every DRM technology is broken at one time or another, there is a good chance that you will find a utility that can circumvent the DRM system. What many people don't know is that in the United States, circumventing copy protection is illegal. That is due to the anti-circumvention clause in of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) of 1998. The DMCA makes breaking copy protection illegal, even for personal use. So, if you pay your hard-earned cash to download movies legally and then try to copy those movies from your old Windows PC to your new Mac, you may well have to commit a crime in order to do it.

The video industry has undergone two important transformations in the last few decades: the introduction of VHS and the transition to DVD. Both times, those who fought change profited least, and those who found new ways to deliver value to paying customers profited the most. The business models left standing after the Internet transition will surely be the services that find a way to make things better for paying customers. Consumers should try the new legal movie download services that are springing up nearly every day. People should know, however, that not all Web sites allowing consumers to download movies legally were designed with consumers' best interests at heart. So, before you take out your credit card to pay for a movie download, you should beware of the restrictions that the service provider may be trying to impose on you.

Jim Flynn is the CEO of EZTakes, Inc. (www.eztakes.com), a Web service that enables consumers to purchase and download movies that they can burn directly to DVD. EZTakes discourages piracy by personalizing DVDs with the identity of the purchasing consumer. By giving consumers the ability to easily to burn movie downloads that will play on virtually any DVD player, EZTakes has bridged the gap between the Internet and the living room.

Related Information of Interest:

A Review Of Cat Fancy Magazine
Occasionally, some of us get to do work that is totally fun and such is the case with my assignment to review Cat Fancy Magazine. My own two Bengal cats volunteered to assist with my research but in the end both of them were found sleeping on the job.

A recent issue of Cat Fancy Magazine estimated that, based on the latest surveys, there are approximately 90 million cats in the United States. Thus, it is indeed fortunate for those of us who own these ‘purrfect’ animals to have Cat Fancy Magazine available as our own resource. Every issue of Cat Fancy Magazine contains delightful sections such as: Purrs and Hisses (letters from readers), the Cat Calendar (who, what, when, where), In the Mews, What’s New Pussycat, and other zany sections that make reading each issue a pure pleasure. One of my favorite browse sections of Cat Fancy Magazine is the Breeder Directory. It contains about twenty pages of information organized by breed to help anyone quickly find additional resources of interest. The Cat Clinic – Ask the Vet section of Cat Fancy Magazine contains very important and helpful tips regarding the health of your pet.

Of course the absolute best part of Cat Fancy Magazine is the surprise that comes from their monthly feature stories. Everything about cats from their ancient Egyptian history to their downtown New York penthouse dwellings is covered. Naturally, Cat Fancy Magazine features photographs of the most stunning cats in the world but it also includes the everyday house cat on an equal pawing. Practical stories such as how to save on veterinary bills and an enjoyable monthly editor’s note from Susan Logan help round out the value of the magazine.

The complete Cat Fancy Magazine review and associated graphics are online at: magazines.canon.org.

© 2005 Peach ePublishing, LLC

About the Author

Jason Canon has authored numerous technical research papers including: photonic switching, gigabit networking, VoIP E9-1-1 and others. He is an expert author for EzineArticles.com. E-mail: Jason Canon at jmc@canon.org

Adult Acne
Acne is bad enough when it strikes with puberty. But when it continues or strikes again in adulthood, it can be a real nuisance. Acne is a skin condition that usually begins around the time of puberty. More than eighty percent of teenagers and preteens will develop acne to some extent. But it can affect people of every age, gender, and race. It affects both males and females, but boys are more likely to have severe acne and to have acne that continues into adult acne.

The scientific name for the condition is acne vulgaris because acne usually strikes in plainly visible locations such as the face, neck, chest and back. Acne is an age old problem that has likely been plaguing people of all ages for centuries.

What Causes Adult Acne?

Acne is an inflammation of the skin that can form in adulthood just as easily as it forms in pubescence. Acne is caused by a number of factors. Contact with an oily substance such as mineral oil, vegetable oil, or petroleum is a common cause of acne, as is the use of certain medications and steroids. However, acne is most often cause by the secretion of androgens. Acne occurs most often to teens and preteens because these androgens are initially secreted at the onset of puberty. But these sex hormones are secreted into adulthood as well and can continue to cause problems with acne. Poor dietary habits and lack of exercise also contribute to adult acne.

Androgens are male sex hormones but they are secreted by females as well. Androgens stimulate the production of oil from the skin's oil glands. Acne occurs when these oil glands become overactive and the exit from the gland is blocked, causing the oil to build up in the gland and swell. A bacteria called Propionibacterium acnes normally colonizes this swollen gland causing the development of inflammation and pus. In particularly severe cases, the glands may burst into the skin and produce cysts.

How Do I Treat Adult Acne?

Over ninety percent of acne patients, both teens and adults, respond to treatment, although the treatment may need to be
continued for months or even years. Here are a few of the most common herbal, homeopathic, and traditional methods that can be used to treat adult acne.

Keith Londrie II is experienced with adult acne of all kinds. He has put up an informative web site at acne-solution-treatments.info/ Please feel free to drop by the web site to learn more about acne. Keith E. Londrie II infoserve @ mchsi.com

Symbolism and Presence
The following article is my opinion about the nature of Reality. It is just my understanding and it is not definitive. This article is rather abstract though.

Our reality or environment seems 'solid', when we 'externalise' experiences as something separate from Mind. That is, when we have yet to realise/recognise the root/cause/source of any particular feeling and experience, we will continue to feel in a certain habitual manner. We will continue to do so subconsciously, as long as the experience is viewed 'externally'.

The moment the feeling/experience is recognised squarely as the 'thought it is', experience transforms and expand/stilled on its tracks. During these moments, Presence is strong, as if a motion has completed its cycle.

Symbolism appears to overlay on the Presence. Presence simply is, without the meaning-overlay of symbolism. All this happens in an astract manner.

We have numerous amount of this unconscious externalisation of experiences. So vast is this outward projection that our reality appears 'solid'. Each individual unrecognised externalisation weave with one another to form a very 'solid' and concrete reality.

Since the world is a projection, so... do we simply do nothing at all?

Perhaps, our doing of something is itself a symbol of the transformation... so perhaps the event of doing something is also a symbol itself, ... that is... a symbol of progression?

For your neccesary discernment. Thank you for reading. I must apologise for not being able to express the 'mystical' experience in a manner that can accurately capture the essence in its entirety.

The author runs a selfgrowth website.

Backup Schedule: Learn How Often To Backup
If you backup, you are one step away from a disaster. If you backup often, make it several steps. Learn how often to backup and how to make your own backup schedule.

Surely, one can backup to whatever backup medium he wants, but if one does not stick to a backup schedule, most of the efforts, aimed at storing or securing the important information will be spent in vain.

First, we need to figure out what we are backing up, as the backup schedule largely depends on the size of the backup data:

- small amounts of data (important work documents) can be backed up often, hourly, daily and at least weekly

- medium amounts of files (e-mail messages, project documents and work documents) can be backed up daily, weekly or monthly (at least)

- large amounts of data (e-mail messages, project documents, data files, settings files, etc) can be backed up weekly or monthly

- huge amounts of data (all of the above plus images, audios - mp3s and videos - mpegs) can be backed up monthly or yearly

- total backup (a backup of all the data on the computer) can be backed up weekly, monthly or yearly.

Which backup schedule to choose is up to you, but you will also need to choose a backup software to do that and set up the time when to perform a scheduled backup.

First of all, the backup software needs to support the backup medium you want to backup (CD, DVD, FTP, LAN, external USB or flash drive, etc). Next, you select the files you want to backup, choose the time you want to backup and leave it there. Some programs can run as a service and don't need to be launched, but some need to be running when you want the backup to be run. At any case, the computer has to be on at the time of your backup schedule.

Think the time of a backup schedule doesn't matter? What if it runs during your work day and slows down your work computer for an hour or two? To keep working _and_ to stick to the backup schedule, simply set the backup to run a couple of hours before or after your working time. This way you won't be interrupted with a scheduled backup.

Read more backup articles and guidelines about backup (how to choose a backup medium or about different media - CD, DVD, external or flash USB drives, for instance).