Power to the People ! The union of Google and Youtube has been described as a triumph of the consumer’s interests over corporate control. The big media entities, as evidenced by all the deals cut with Google and Youtube, CBS, WMG, Universal, et al, really gets it this time. That Mark Cuban is moronic, and this time its different.
Let me be the first to get in the moron line if this means the end of DRM on content.. I have no financial interest in Google or YouTube, but their union and their combined avoidance of DRM certainly saved me money this morning and will for a long time to come.
I decided to go “shopping” for music. Pre GooTube I would have gone to Itunes and skipped around looking for new music. Sample it and if i like it , buy it. I usually start at the top of the Top Songs List and if I like it , I buy it. So for this shopping trip, as I write this, I have ITunes Store open, I have Youtube.com open, Video.Google.com open, all in tabs in my firefox brower. I also have the unplug extension installed. I could just have easily used Keepvid.com or any number of others that work as easily. A simple search on google finds a ton of options for Google Video or Youtube
Oops. That video is converted and in my ipod already. Total Video Converter is a kick ass program. It can combine files, it can extract just the audio into an MP3. That is coming in handy right now because I just got to have Sexy Back from Justin, and I dont really want the video, and you can get kick ass quality audio from the videos. Boom. Its in my Ipod.
But wait there’s more. This quicklist feature is kickass from Youtube ! From the YouTube Homepage i got to Scarface Crunk, Which has the Say Hello to my Little Friend scene. Cool, perfect for my Ipod. But wait, whats this ? The beauty of Youtube !
In related videos , here is scarface sliced into 17 nice little pieces. Not Al Pacino, the movie itself. Just quicklist them into 2 lists, grab em, and then use Total Video Converter to combine them into 1 Movie File for my Ipod. The quality is good enough for my Ipod, no sweat. Then it dawns on me. With this quicklist feature. I dont have to download these songs 1 at a time. I can quicklist them and batch load them to my Ipod…It doesnt take much if any time longer than buying from Itunes. Am I a smart consumer or what.
DAMN, something just occured to me. I can move the money I spend from the Ipod Music budget over to the Dairy Queen Blizzard budget i had previous decimated to fill my Ipod. ! I really miss Heath and Reese Cup Blizzards, thank you Gootube !!!…
Wait a minute, whats that ? Is that my conscience ???
The little angel on my left shoulder says “Dont you remember all those RIAA and MPAA commercials you saw ?? Downloading this music and movie is a crime. Dont do it.”
The Devil on my right says..”Go for it . You know they want you to just take it. Thats why its there. Thats why its free. Thats why Google bought YouTube. Thats why none of these sites are getting sued. Bbecause its all different now . Repeat after me, music is free from now on !”
Wait a minute, who is the little guy hovering in front of me ? Dang, it looks like a Google lawyer ! Is he using a juet propulsion pack to fly ? No, its a floating Segway. Wow ! He is saying “No problem mark. You didnt crack any DRM, we dont use any !. You just downloaded a file from one of the most popular sites in the world and converted it to a format that works for your Ipod. We put it up there for you to take, so take it ! If copyright owners didnt want it there, they would have sent us a Take Down Notice !. I must be right because millions of people do it every day ! You wonder how I can fly with this Segway ? Its the DMCA Safe Harbor laws keeping me safe and floating. Take all the music, movies and videos you want, our users will upload more ! Enjoy , enjoy, enjoy !”
Thank goodness for hallucinations, they make things so clear sometimes.