Quote:
Originally Posted by Steve Jordan
I actually don't know who used "Rip, mix, burn" as a slogan, though I have heard the phrase (somewhere... probably here). You notice, though, that the word "steal" is not included among them!
|
Steve Jobs used the phrase to market the iPod; I am still confused why it's ok to demand free mp'3 given that you have a cd, and it's not ok to demand a free e-book given that you have the print book - from a "theoretical", "moral", however you want to call it, point of view.
As it happens, I understand that in practice, it's easy to do "rip, mix, burn" with cd's, while it's hard to do "scan, ocr, burn" with books, so there is a difference. But that's
in practice and has nothing to do with morality.
Regarding the value of a book, I tend to ascribe the majority of it in its content rather than format, so of course a second copy has far less value to me than the first one.
However in the real world, a value of the book resides mostly in its format, considering the vast price differential between hardcovers and paperbacks, and this is one of the main reasons e-books are perceived of having very little value.
So when people claim that the value of the book resides mainly in content, the counterargument why this book costs 25$ and that book costs 6.99, both being first editions of books in the same genre, by similarly successful authors is very hard to refute. Personally I think that is just due to the way real world operates in complex ways having a lot to do with contingency and chance, but if you want to talk in "absolute morality" terms is hard to deal with these facts...