It really seems like they don’t want us owning anything anymore.
First it was the software, it because license agreements.
Now it’s becoming too expensive to own hardware and we’ll have to rent it from them.
This is why I stick with open source. Sadly, I don’t know what to do about hardware. For a GPU, go with AMD I guess?
The worst is that this isn’t even the lack of ownership I want! I’d love to not own a car and have reliable public transit, but can’t have that. Instead, I’m not allowed to own the computers and software I buy, or the music I like, or pretty much anything else that brings me joy. Heck, you don’t even own the posts you make in the large social media sites!
I think you’re asking why you can’t own music? It’s because the vast majority of it is streamed and it’s not trivial to keep it. Sure, if you know what Github is you can find all sorts of software to rip the streams, but that’s asking a lot from most people who have trouble installing an official client.
There is Bandcamp, which is reasonably priced and I think pays artists well? So some hope there. I haven’t really looked at the license agreement, so no idea if they can remove anything you’ve already purchased (keep backups of your downloads! 😀 )
There’s also vinyl records, but new pressings are quite expensive. I buy some old records, but the new stuff I reserve for albums I really like.
I like owning my music so that nobody can take away the stuff I paid for. I’ve moved streaming services before and there have been gaps in the library. Not to mention, most of the streaming clients are actually pretty terrible. If I just had a bunch of files, I could use whichever audio player I like and not be stuck with whatever crap the streaming provider lets me use.
There are exceptions to all of these things, with varying degrees of compromise, but the general trend is towards licensing everything and us having little to no ownership. And it’s entirely possible that places like Bandcamp won’t be able to sustain a business in the face of rising costs that the large streaming platforms can handle. Here’s hoping that doesn’t happen.
It really seems like they don’t want us owning anything anymore.
First it was the software, it because license agreements.
Now it’s becoming too expensive to own hardware and we’ll have to rent it from them.
This is why I stick with open source. Sadly, I don’t know what to do about hardware. For a GPU, go with AMD I guess?
The worst is that this isn’t even the lack of ownership I want! I’d love to not own a car and have reliable public transit, but can’t have that. Instead, I’m not allowed to own the computers and software I buy, or the music I like, or pretty much anything else that brings me joy. Heck, you don’t even own the posts you make in the large social media sites!
OSHW, e.g. https://www.crowdsupply.com/
Just curious: why music?
I think you’re asking why you can’t own music? It’s because the vast majority of it is streamed and it’s not trivial to keep it. Sure, if you know what Github is you can find all sorts of software to rip the streams, but that’s asking a lot from most people who have trouble installing an official client.
There is Bandcamp, which is reasonably priced and I think pays artists well? So some hope there. I haven’t really looked at the license agreement, so no idea if they can remove anything you’ve already purchased (keep backups of your downloads! 😀 )
There’s also vinyl records, but new pressings are quite expensive. I buy some old records, but the new stuff I reserve for albums I really like.
I like owning my music so that nobody can take away the stuff I paid for. I’ve moved streaming services before and there have been gaps in the library. Not to mention, most of the streaming clients are actually pretty terrible. If I just had a bunch of files, I could use whichever audio player I like and not be stuck with whatever crap the streaming provider lets me use.
There are exceptions to all of these things, with varying degrees of compromise, but the general trend is towards licensing everything and us having little to no ownership. And it’s entirely possible that places like Bandcamp won’t be able to sustain a business in the face of rising costs that the large streaming platforms can handle. Here’s hoping that doesn’t happen.
Have you considered buying MP3s on Amazon?
Well you’re in luck, you also will soon not own your own car either. No public transport though, that’s communist.