Am I justified in not believing/wanting to buy ebooks, movies, and music ect. online?

Question

I'm a college kid and a Computer Science major so I've been using computers since I was 4 basically. And one thing I know about using computers, and fixing them too... is that computers/hard drives fail. Although they are better than they were years ago and are getting more fail safe, it's not there yet.

Yes I back up my data but theoretically my back up hard drive can easily fail too just as well. And if that happens then any digital files are gone/ don't exist anymore if I don't want to pay a high price/service for hard drive recovery ect.

Therefore all my life when it comes to software, music, movies ect. I've always been willing to buy things that were on either a DVD or a CD since they don't "fail" and they aren't as easy to "loose" since it's physical and not "logical"

Therefore I've never really had a knack for buying things that I can loose easily or can easily be "deleted" like computer files. If those files were "physical" or can somehow not disappear without being destroyed, then yes I might buy them.

For example of my point, Microsoft Windows is software but I often buy the "disc" so it's a physical thing and can't be "deleted" or not "recovered" like computer files.

My issue with digital copyright and stuff and paying the same money for a digital book, movie, music ect. is that it's less secure since it's non-tangible and what happens when it ceases to exist due to a failure or deletion or something? You have to buy it again.

Maybe in the near future there will be non-corruptible hard drives that are almost as robust as CD's / DVD's as in you can't loose what's on there unless you loose it or destroy it like anything else that's physical.

Till then I listen to music on youtube, rent movies via netflix, watch my episodes/shows on their websites, use free software alternatives if there isn't a DVD/CD one I can buy, and in rare instances pirate a copy if I need it (as a student) and it's too expensive to buy the "file" and not a CD or DVD.

I suppose I can burn/back up those files to blank CD's/DVD's but legally I can't because of copyright.

Also even if I do, sometimes I use different operating systems on different computers and the files aren't compatible ect so in a sense I lose functionality of them which is the same as losing them.

See my point?

Anyone agree or not agree? I want to hear other opinions too.

Answer 1

I have to disagree with you on many points



CDs and DVDs are not as robust as you suggest and are prone to failure. Linux based file systems are more reliable than windows ones so a Linux OS is the way forward for serious stuff. Most file types are supported across the main Linux/windows/mac platforms. Anything valuable (like digital photos) can be uploaded to an on-line storage facility like Sky-Drive for protection. There is nothing wrong with burning your music to CD. If you own the licence to listen to the track, then copyright reasonable use applies and you can copy it to MP3 player, CD, HD, Media server etc. As long as you are not copying it to sell on either the copy or the original then it is not a problem. No harm no foul.



I have e books, music and videos on my Samsung ypt10 because my YPT10 is small and fits into my pocket a lot easier than a book-case, a DVD player and hi-fi.



You may have been using computers since you were 4 but things have changed radically in the last 29 years

Answer 2

I completely agree. I'd never want e-books. Ever. That doesn't excite me, and like you said, they can be gone in seconds. I also buy CDs instead of downloading songs/albums from iTunes. I just find it more appealing to have a shelf full of CDs/vinyls rather than a huge iTunes library. I don't have to worry about my computer having issues and me losing all my music, and it just looks cooler, haha. I'm also not an expert on computers/tech-y stuff, so it's just all around easier and more enjoyable for me.

Answer 3

Watch Free Movies Online

Answer 4

if they are jerks they might. im sure they are used to under age people buying tickets online. another option is to buy the tickets inside at that ticket machine most theaters have. you just use a credit/debit card. of course the easiest route is to just buy a ticket to a different movie and go to the R movie instead.