Why we should thank, and hate, Pirates

Mar 22, 2010 by Dan Taylor    2 Comments    Posted under: Music, News, Technology

The Crime

Matthew Chow, a member of the infamous “Rabid Neurosis”, or RNS as they were better known, has been found ‘not guilty’ by a jury of his peers. Chow was on trial for the charge of ‘conspiracy to commit criminal copyright infringement’. In other words…Digital Piracy Yarrrrrr!

According to the federal indictment, authorities claimed that RNS was the world’s largest music piracy ring. Between [at least]1999 and 2007, Chow and co-conspirators illegally uploaded thousands of copyright-protected music files, which were provided by music industry insiders. In 1996, RNS released their first file, Metallica’s Ride the Lightning (Yes, this WAS one of the bugs up Lars Ulrich’s ass), and finished their 11 year run with Fall Out Boy’s Infinity on High. The group’s most notable claim-to-piracy-fame was the early leak of Eminem’s Encore album.

Federal authorities charged Chow with one count of conspiracy to commit copyright infringement, which carries a maximum prison sentence of five years, and a $250,000 fine. Moreover, Chow could have been ordered to pay restitution to the RIAA, the only named victim in the crime.

“I am relieved by the jury’s verdict and I am grateful to my attorney for his hard work,” says Chow. Houston attorney Terry W. Yates, who represented Matthew Chow comments, “We encountered some extremely complex factual and legal issues in this case. The jury was very attentive during the trial. Their verdict was just.”

In total, six members of RNS were charged with offenses. Patrick L. Saunders was charged on Aug. 14th, 2009, and plead guilty. James A. Dockery was charged on Sept. 8th, 2009. Adil R. Cassim, Bennie Glover, Matthew D. Chow, and Edward L. Mohan were all charged on Sept. 9th, 2009. Only Chow and Cassim were found not guilty. The remaining four pled guilty to copyright infringement charges, three of which turned state’s evidence and testified for the government in the Houston trial.

Lessons learned

Sooooo…what can we learn from this? There’s a number of things (both right and wrong) going on in this mess. I often wonder Karlheinz Brandenburg had any idea how his work might effect the lives, carriers, criminal records, of thousands and thousands of individuals. My thoughts on piracy are this: Find me a computer in this world that doesn’t have at least one pirated line of code on it, and I’ll find you a box to ship it in, because it’s gotta be factory fresh.

I’m not saying that I support music or software piracy, but rather – accept that they are here, and rapidly becoming, if not already, ingrained in our daily lives. I think we all know by now that Musicians aren’t making any money from record sales. The upside to this new economy is that Musicians are making money the old fashioned way, by going out on the road, playing shows, and earning it.  In fact, there are a number of bands that have already embraced this philosophy, and have given away their music (think Coldplay, Radiohead, NIN), and let’s not forget about The Grateful Dead and Phish, who for years, have allowed legal taping and trading of their live performances.

Likewise, the video game industry has been (and will perhaps always be) fraught with disc pirates. The solution? One small company in Korea decided to start giving games away, and charging one small piece at a time. The result? Microtransactions and social gaming as we know them today.

The positive way to look at the entire RIAA and copyright laws, etc. is that yes, it’s going to happen. However, that doesn’t mean that innovation and competition can not drive a better mousetrap. In a way, we all owe pirates a debt of gratitude. In another way, I blame them for the $75 ticket price, and $0.99 for a digital sword.

Pirates. Yarrrrrrr!

South Carolinians use Social Media to March on State Capital

Mar 22, 2010 by Dan Taylor    1 Comment     Posted under: Social Media

Thousands of South Carolinians are expected to capitalize on and use the power of social networking tools to stage an online rally aimed at voicing their opinions to state legislators, particularly in regards to the importance of sex education and access to publically funded counseling and clinical services.

Organized by the 6,000 advocacy group ‘Tell Them’, South Carolinians will use social networking sites such as Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube to tell politicos what’s what, and what they want. This rally format will be the first of it’s kind in South Carolina.

“We were looking for a modern way to engage citizens in the political process. This virtual event gives voters a convenient way to demonstrate their shared beliefs on these issues and to ask their legislators to support and fund responsible public health policies,” said Emma Davidson, Tell Them program manager.

The rally stems from a growing health issue in the state. Teen pregnancy rates in South Carolina are up for the fourth year in a row. Add to this growing issue the Center for Disease Control and Prevention have listed South Carolina as one of the Top Ten HIV “hot spots” in the United States. And while being listed as a “hot spot” on the HIV chart, South Carolina also has a number of other notable statistics:

• #2 in cases of Gonorrhea
• #3 in cases of Chlamydia
• #8 in pregnancies among 15-to-19 year olds

“With lawmakers looking to reconcile budget shortfalls, it’s more important than ever that they understand the social and economic implications of the state’s health policies. For example, here in South Carolina one-third of publicly funded family planning clinics have been closed over the last few years due to budget cuts. This makes no sense when we have epidemic-level rates of unintended pregnancies and sexually transmitted infections, including HIV,” said Bonnie Adams Kapp, Executive Director of the New Morning Foundation.

And it’s not just South Carolina that’s hurting, literally. Research from the University of Iowa and the University of Northern Iowa found that family planning services to teenagers can save more than $17 for every tax dollar invested over a five-year period.

“So many of our state’s challenges, issues like poverty and poor education, are rooted in inadequate health policies that hinder our young people. We must move beyond abstinence-only programs and provide age-appropriate sexual education and access to clinical services for our youth,” said Tell Them member Deborah Billings, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Health Promotion, Education and Behavior at the Arnold School of Public Health; Women’s and Gender Studies at the University of South Carolina.

The online-social-media rally will commence at 12:00 PM EST, March 23rd, and run for 24 hours. Naturally, all residents of the Great State of South Carolina are encouraged to voice their opinions, pro or con.

What could prove to be either a highly effective “Pro” rally, may however, be overshadowed by yesterday’s historic (like it, or hate it…it’s historic) passage of the Health Care Bill in the American Capitol yesterday. Those in favor of the may feel the sense of relief; a win, while those opposed may make the South Carolinian initiative as a platform to air their grievances.

Whatever the outcome, it’s interesting to see these types of grassroots organizations and movements using the power of social media to bring people together in an open and honest discussion, all the while, making sure that those that have the power to make the changes are listening.

Wiener Eistraum 2010

Mar 5, 2010 by Dan Taylor    2 Comments    Posted under: Video

Some of you might remember the time lapse footage video I made a while back featuring the Wiener Eistraum event.  A new camera and a whole lot of experience later…here’s my 2010 take on one of Vienna’s most beautiful winter events.

From the official Wiener Eistraum website:

The Vi­en­na Ice Dream awes its vis­i­tors by trans­form­ing an ice skat­ing rink into an ice land­scape. Since the Vi­en­na Ice Dream 2005, the dream path run­ning through the ro­man­ti­cal­ly lit Rathaus park has con­nect­ed the two large ice sur­faces. Since 1996, the size of the ice sur­faces has in­creased from 1,800 m2 to now over 5,600 m2. And that isn’t all that’s changed: the event pro­gramme, tech­nol­o­gy and the com­fort and ser­vice have been con­stant­ly ex­pand­ed and adapt­ed to newest stan­dards.

Over the years, more space has been al­lowed for ice stock shoot­ing, and there are now six ice stock lanes avail­able for fierce com­pe­ti­tions Mon­day through Fri­day.

This also marks my first entry with a full HD video at 1080p resolution.  Go ahead, full screen it….you know you want to.

AKG Perception 220 Microphone

Mar 4, 2010 by Dan Taylor    10 Comments    Posted under: Music, Technology, Video

As a follow-up to my previous review, let’s take a look at the AKG Perception 220 microphone. Priced around $50 more than the Audio Technica AT2020, the AKG packs a number of features into an agreeable (approximately) $200 microphone that are often found on much pricier microphones. Similar to the Audio Technica, the P220 is a cardioid condenser microphone, featuring AKG’s renowned 1-inch large-diaphragm true condenser transducer.

Both microphones feature a 20 – 20k hz response, with the AKG just edging out the AT2020 in the signal-to-noise ration department. The AKG clocks in at 78db while the Audio Technica scores only 4 db lower at 74 db. When it comes to miking up some amps or percussion, the AT2020 is capable of handling 144 dB SPL, 1 kHz at 1% T.H.D. while the AKG P220 will handle 155 dB SPL, at .5% T.H.D. One unique advantage that the AKG has over the Audio Technica is it’s -20db pad. What this means is that users can simply flip a switch on the P220 if they’re going to be miking big amplifier cabinets, and don’t want to run the risk of distortion.

Another one of the AKG’s fancy switches will apply a bass roll-off filter. This is meant to filter out any unwanted low bass tones in your recording. For example, if used in a home studio, as I suspect many owners of the P220 do, in quiet passages, someone walking seemingly silent across the room, can sometimes register with a highly sensitive microphone such as the P220. To combat this, flip the roll-off switch and record low-end-rumble-free.

Overall, as you can see in the video above, I decided to go with the AKG. The Audio Technica AT2020 in it’s own right is a very strong microphone, and I would have no problems using it again. However, if given the choice, I just found the vocals to have a bit more sparkle on the high end, as well as some nice warm tones in the middle and lower end of my voice.  Also noteworthy, the Audio Technica ships as mic only, whereas the AKG included a nice matte-black spider shock mount, as well as an aluminum padded carrying case.  Certainly not deal breakers, but a further sign of AKG’s commitment to quality.

Overall conclusion

If you’ve got the extra $50 or so to spend, have a serious look at the AKG Perception 220 over the Audio Technica AT2020. Again, both good in their own right – but in my humble opinion, the AKG is a better piece of equipment.  And as an added bonus, I also know that I’m supporting my local economy, as AKG has their headquarters not very far away from where I live.

AKG Perception 220 specifications:

• Type 1″ Large Diaphragm True Condenser
• Polar pattern cardioid
• Frequency range 20 to 20,000 Hz
• Sensitivity 18 mV/Pa (-35 dBV)
• Max. SPL 135 dB/155 dB (0/-20 dB) for 0.5% THD
• Equivalent noise level 16 dB-A (IEC 60268-4)
• Signal/noise ratio (A-weighted) 78 dB
• Preattenuation pad 0 dB, -20 dB
• Bass filter 12 dB/octave at 300 Hz
• Impedance <200 ohms Recommended load impedance >=1000 ohms
• Powering <2 mA
• Power requirement 48 V phantom power to DIN/IEC
• Connector 3-pin XLR
• Finish metallic blue/nickel grille
• Dimensions 53 dia. x 165 mm (2.1 dia. x 6.5 in.)
• Net weight 525 g (18.5 oz.)
• Shipping weight 1,970 g (4.3 lb.)

Update! Uncompressed .wav files:

Spoken Word:
AKG P220 Spoken Word Uncompressed

Singing:
AKG P220 Singing Uncompressed

Guitar:
AKG P220 Guitar Uncompressed

I make no claims about my singing voice and paltry guitar skills.