Alright now that I have a true topic that will make a decent paper, I need to define it properly. In order to do that I need to figure out my exact stance on the issue.

My thoughts on piracy have many different angles, but with the current day in age I think it is approiate to focus on multimedia because it is the most widely know and easily relatable.

So my stance is that piracy hurts all. Honestly when someone downloads a song, they hurt both the artist and the record company who lives of the sale of the music in question. During that illegal download they do not receive any royalties from that stolen copy nor do they truly gain anything.

It is hard to compare piracy to stealing because in the act of stealing there is only one object and someone is taking that object away. In the realm of computer it is easy to make a perfect copy of the object and take that copy. How can you put a price on something that can be duplicated? What exactly are you stealing online if there are infinite copies? What is gained or lost through this art?

I guess what I could focus in on how I believe that there should be an alternate way to support the shows or artists that you enjoy. An example of this would be music. I know that iTunes takes money off the top for hosting the files and providing the payment services etc, then the record companies take their cut for distributing the music and adverting the band. When the money reaches the artists bank account it is most likely a very small sum that they are actually able to spend.

It seems to me that there should be another way to support an artist or movie producer rather than buying the finished product. When it comes to shows or artists that I love, I would love to just put money directly in their pocket for what I enjoyed. I always buy T shirts, posters, toys, etc from my favorite things, but it is incredibly tempting to go online to listen to a song or movie that is really hard to buy or find.

With services like Spotify, Netflix, and Hulu it is much easier to get content for free that supports everyone involved, but there will always be those off the wall shows and artists that it is too expensive to purchase. When it comes to purchased copies from places like iTunes or Amazon, they always have some sort of DRM on them that requires a certain player and almost punishes the user for purchasing that content.

Such a complex issue...

Well so much for that...

Alright so after meeting with my English professor, it seems that I need to change my topic.

Such is my luck, go figure.

Although I must admit the way was Mrs. Palvetic explained the prompt, I immediately thought of a topic that almost everyone can relate to today:

piracy

Everyone from consumers to companies struggle with this issue. Consumers fight protection methods put forth by the companies in order to enjoy the product that they purchased and companies fight for the consumers business.

A great example of this today is Ubisoft. Ubisoft forces players of their popular game Assassin's Creed 2 to stay connected to the internet at all times. It is important to note that the game is completely single player and has no online game play.

Want to play it while on a flight? Better hope it has WiFi.
Internet went out and want to play Assassin's Creed? Sorry, out of luck.

An example that I have run into recently is TV series on iTunes. iTunes offers almost every current TV series and will deliver them to your computer within a day or two in pure HD quality. Now this works great (abet expensive), but there is one great problem for me.

I want to watch this series on my phone and not my iPod.

Well I'm out of luck. These files use iTunes FairPlay, which allows the files to run on only Apple approved hardware and software. So I cannot use my phone, with it's awesome Super AMOLED screen to watch my  files.

It frustrates me to no end because I would enjoy having my files whenever and wherever I want them. I do not want to be tied down to one product while people are out there downloading it for free.


Now I just have to figure out a way to turn this rant into a paper.

Leave a comment if you want to chime in on the issue :P

Sunday Afternoon and Rough Drafts...

Alright so it is Sunday afternoon and I have successfully not started my rough draft yet! Wait that's not good news...

Anyway I think I have got an idea of my topic that I want to run with. My belief that I want to do is that people should have an idea of how the things that they use work. Now this is very general, so I know I need to narrow it down significantly. Currently I've had a lot of experience with cars working on them and driving them.

What I'm thinking right now is ABS. Now you might not know what ABS is or how it works, but that's part of my paper. The idea that I am going to explain is by knowing how ABS worked I was able to avoid a wreck. Since my car does not have this magical technology, I was able to reproduce its effects manually and save some trouble.

I think I might be able to run with this... Wish me luck.

Busy Week...

I tell you what, each and every day of college I spend more and more time at the library, or is that because of the Engineering Physics II test this Thursday? Bleh...

Anyway I have not had much time to ponder my beliefs and select one that would fit better than one about free time. At this point I could write about my belief in sleep and how getting the right amount makes all of the difference, it would probably be about right.

I read another blog entry that mentioned test scores not being a reflection of true intellect. This idea stuck me as interesting, and I have plenty of personal experiences to write about concerning it, but I would find it difficult to make a manifesto about it...

Either way I need to spend some time figuring everything out, and studying for physics. Thank you RBD for being open 24/7!

Topic Change? Most Likely...

The time we spent in class made me start to question the topic that I chose. The topic that I ogrinally chose was something that I truely believe in, but starting to think about it more makes me question how I can write about it personally. Having time to myself is something that keeps me sane in many ways and I have examples that would support this, but I feel its too emotional for writing a manifesto.

So, this brings me back to square one with lost time. Ah well, I took off work to work on everything anyway...

So the question is again raised, what is a belief that I hold close to my heart? What is rule or idea that I follow from day to day?

Too tired for this...

First off I'd like to say that I am obnoxiously tired right now for some reason. Must have been a combination of Humans vs Zombies finishing up this afternoon and getting around six hours of sleep last night. Nah that can't be it. >.>

Anyway for our next assignment in ENGL-1100 is to write about how others would view our belief. I have yet to solidify the topic that I want to write about, but the more I think about it, the more I want to write about free time. Everywhere I look I have more and more to do, but honestly I don't have time to do it all.

So I guess that settles it, I will write about free time. My belief centers around the idea that everyone would be better off if we had more time to relax and ignore the to do list. I always feel I would be more sane if I didn't have to worry about work, school, where to live next semester, or a scholarship application to fill out.

Back to the assignment that is due tomorrow, how others view our belief. I have plenty of experience with this because every time I express this idea with my mother, she says that that is not the way life works. She says that sometimes an entire weeks worth of work does not constitute a day or two off. This is something that I have trouble comprehending and implementing into my life.

Just makes me want to flip tables...

Beliefs

Beliefs are something that makes up a lot of who you are. The decisions that you make are often based upon your past experiences and what they have taught you. A system of beliefs is something that is gained through a lifetime and can not be explained simply.

This is where this project comes in. For my ENGL-1100 class we are to write a manifesto centering around one belief. Let's think about that for a minute. ONE... Belief...

Who I am is made up of thousands of different beliefs acquired over my 18 years on planet Earth, how do I choose just one belief to focus on? Should I talk about my belief of always clearing the microwave if it has 3 seconds on the timer? Should I write about how everyone should understand how their car works? Should I explain that everyone needs time to enjoy life itself? 

Well I guess this is what precisely this assignment is about. Choosing and through writing finding out more about yourself and explaining to others your feelings about a certain belief. 

C'est la vie

Who am I?

Hello! I am TJ Lowry. I am majoring in Electrical and Computer Engineering at Auburn. This blog was setup for use in ENGL-1100, but it can be used for anything. For now here is some advice that anyone can use: