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Look up at the sky. Assuming there isn't a complete absence of light, chances are you can see clouds. Clouds of moisture in gaseous form waiting to fall back to the Earth to be used as water to drink, to be home for aquatic creatures, or just to be a nuicance as you're waiting for the number 86 to take you to work in the morning. What you can't see are the vast amounts of data that are travelling through the air on radio waves from computer to computer, phone to phone, and a combination of a lot more devices. A lot of this data is considered to be stored on 'cloud' servers. Computers permanently connected to the internet that allow us to download what we need at the time we need it. This comes in many shapes or forms. Whether its storing documents or projects to use on another machine or to download a game to play on your games console. The cloud is set to be the next main storage medium but are we ready to give up our discs and hard drives yet?
I have always preferred to have a hard copy of anything I spend my hard earned cash on. I like to have something tangiable to call my own. Whether its a music CD, movie disc, book or videogame, I've liked to have the permanancy of knowing that I don't have to rely on someone else to access something I have paid good money for. If I choose not to look after that book, or that CD, then it is entirely my fault if I can no longer use it.
However, in the 21st century, resources are becomming rarer, electronic data is getting cheaper than paper and plastic, and as such it is rapidly becomming cheaper and more convienient to get your media online than it is via your local retailer. This has become more apparent to me via my Nintendo 3DS. I used to enjoy the old black and white games on the not so black and white green-screen of the Game Boy. Through wear and tear my brother's original Game Boy, which still works, has the unfortunate side effect of having a sticky > button on the D-pad. As such, the system is virtually rendered useless but the game cartridges are perfectly fine. To my delight, Nintendo's virtual console has so far been a great idea to cheaply recycle old games and make them available on current systems. Just like watching a classic Disney movie via DVD or Blu-Ray, the choice of being able to download games to play on the system as they originally were but on a system that has a bit more flexibility. Nintendo are apparently looking to implement a new "Nintendo Network" that will hopefully allow us, as gamers, to transfer our games from one system to another with a Nintendo account, like Xbox Live.
But this doesn't just apply to gaming. Right now there are services that allow full books to be downloaded and read on your phone. An entire music collection can be downloaded to your computer or phone at the click of a button. TV episodes or movies can be streamed to virtually any modern device with a screen at your convienience, and even rentals can take place over these services.
Some plans are in place to allow your computer to become a hub. Use your computer as a screen and controller for a game that is played on a cloud system. Not having to worry about making sure you've got the latest hardware, the best graphics card or enough hard disc space. Surely a brilliant way to ensure the future of PC gaming?
Game Over?
But what happens if the plug is suddenly pulled? What if a large company who you have given your hard earned cash to suddenly loses the ability to stream the data to you? In some cases we'll just have to cut our losses. Especially in the cases of software which has some sort of DRM protection.
This is something that Valve seem to have gotten around with Steam. You download the games to your machine but also have the ability to activate them for offline play and to back them up on any storage device so that you may use them should your main installation on your computer fail. Itunes offer the same service for your games and media. But these still rely on DRM activation to a certain degree.
So is the answer to the consumer's concerns of permancy a removal of DRM systems? I have recently been made aware of gaming website 'Good Old Games' which legally sells classic games that have been altered to work on modern computer systems. These files can be backed up to be played again and again without having to worry about any DRM restrictions. Whilst this does give dishonest gamers the opportunity to share the games, the profits aren't likely to be hit hard. As the website name indicates, these are old games that have already had their day. But are given a new lease of life for those who don't have working DOS based systems, or if they did, are not lumbered with checking if their systems are compatible. Chances are if you have an operating system Windows XP or above, you're likely to be ok.
The permanancy of discs gives us a sense of something we can hold. Something we can say we own, even if, despite the ignorance of some, we only actually own the licence to play the media that we hold. The slips of paper inside the plastic casing can, if only a little, improve our sense of pleasure that a pdf document attached to the media can not. And with HD visuals creating large file sizes, and some parts of the UK suffering sub-standard internet speeds, the convienience of discs still holds its place in today's world.
So where does this leave new games, music and movies? Well, for me I'm going to stick to disc-based media for my games and movies, and certainly for the most part for my music. Small downloads of classic software are likely to become a part of my modern life, but I still feel a little old fashioned when it comes to buying new games and movies.
What do you think?
This may appear on a google search, but it is 100% my own work and will have originated from my own personal blog-site
I have always preferred to have a hard copy of anything I spend my hard earned cash on. I like to have something tangiable to call my own. Whether its a music CD, movie disc, book or videogame, I've liked to have the permanancy of knowing that I don't have to rely on someone else to access something I have paid good money for. If I choose not to look after that book, or that CD, then it is entirely my fault if I can no longer use it.
However, in the 21st century, resources are becomming rarer, electronic data is getting cheaper than paper and plastic, and as such it is rapidly becomming cheaper and more convienient to get your media online than it is via your local retailer. This has become more apparent to me via my Nintendo 3DS. I used to enjoy the old black and white games on the not so black and white green-screen of the Game Boy. Through wear and tear my brother's original Game Boy, which still works, has the unfortunate side effect of having a sticky > button on the D-pad. As such, the system is virtually rendered useless but the game cartridges are perfectly fine. To my delight, Nintendo's virtual console has so far been a great idea to cheaply recycle old games and make them available on current systems. Just like watching a classic Disney movie via DVD or Blu-Ray, the choice of being able to download games to play on the system as they originally were but on a system that has a bit more flexibility. Nintendo are apparently looking to implement a new "Nintendo Network" that will hopefully allow us, as gamers, to transfer our games from one system to another with a Nintendo account, like Xbox Live.
But this doesn't just apply to gaming. Right now there are services that allow full books to be downloaded and read on your phone. An entire music collection can be downloaded to your computer or phone at the click of a button. TV episodes or movies can be streamed to virtually any modern device with a screen at your convienience, and even rentals can take place over these services.
Some plans are in place to allow your computer to become a hub. Use your computer as a screen and controller for a game that is played on a cloud system. Not having to worry about making sure you've got the latest hardware, the best graphics card or enough hard disc space. Surely a brilliant way to ensure the future of PC gaming?
Game Over?
But what happens if the plug is suddenly pulled? What if a large company who you have given your hard earned cash to suddenly loses the ability to stream the data to you? In some cases we'll just have to cut our losses. Especially in the cases of software which has some sort of DRM protection.
This is something that Valve seem to have gotten around with Steam. You download the games to your machine but also have the ability to activate them for offline play and to back them up on any storage device so that you may use them should your main installation on your computer fail. Itunes offer the same service for your games and media. But these still rely on DRM activation to a certain degree.
So is the answer to the consumer's concerns of permancy a removal of DRM systems? I have recently been made aware of gaming website 'Good Old Games' which legally sells classic games that have been altered to work on modern computer systems. These files can be backed up to be played again and again without having to worry about any DRM restrictions. Whilst this does give dishonest gamers the opportunity to share the games, the profits aren't likely to be hit hard. As the website name indicates, these are old games that have already had their day. But are given a new lease of life for those who don't have working DOS based systems, or if they did, are not lumbered with checking if their systems are compatible. Chances are if you have an operating system Windows XP or above, you're likely to be ok.
The permanancy of discs gives us a sense of something we can hold. Something we can say we own, even if, despite the ignorance of some, we only actually own the licence to play the media that we hold. The slips of paper inside the plastic casing can, if only a little, improve our sense of pleasure that a pdf document attached to the media can not. And with HD visuals creating large file sizes, and some parts of the UK suffering sub-standard internet speeds, the convienience of discs still holds its place in today's world.
So where does this leave new games, music and movies? Well, for me I'm going to stick to disc-based media for my games and movies, and certainly for the most part for my music. Small downloads of classic software are likely to become a part of my modern life, but I still feel a little old fashioned when it comes to buying new games and movies.
What do you think?
This may appear on a google search, but it is 100% my own work and will have originated from my own personal blog-site
Had a few bands sign CD's for me in the past, how would they sign my downloads?
On the other hand I have just been looking for a CD I have misplaced and can't find it anywhere. If this was bought as a download presume I could simply download it again? (most digital accounts seem to allow this). Or I suppose I could just make more of an effort not to lose my CD's?
On the other hand I have just been looking for a CD I have misplaced and can't find it anywhere. If this was bought as a download presume I could simply download it again? (most digital accounts seem to allow this). Or I suppose I could just make more of an effort not to lose my CD's?
I would not be suprised if new release albums on CD become a rarity within the next 5 years.
However, with most music being DRM free when downloaded now, it has the versatility of being playable on almost any audio-visual device. A CD copied to your PC has the same effect mind.
But music files are tiny in comparison to the file-sizes of games and movies. And this is why I am a bit more reluctant to convert with to digital downloads with those formats, and is also why I've stuck with just the one PC game download service...
However, with most music being DRM free when downloaded now, it has the versatility of being playable on almost any audio-visual device. A CD copied to your PC has the same effect mind.
But music files are tiny in comparison to the file-sizes of games and movies. And this is why I am a bit more reluctant to convert with to digital downloads with those formats, and is also why I've stuck with just the one PC game download service...
I was thinking about this the other day. I wanted to buy an album and it was exactly the same price on Amazon for the CD or the MP3 download. Although I could have had the download there and then I still went for the physical product. Still think there is something about owning the actual physical product TBH plus you can sell it on eBay when you're done with it or if you didn't care for it, can't do that with a download.
Gaming-wise I've been spoilt by the App Store and just how easy it is to walk around with one small device that plays all my music, videos and Apps and has them available to me as soon as I'm in range of WIFI (which is all the time thanks to my MIFI unit).
Consoles present the option for both physical media and download, though and the physical element has one great advantage; trade-in. Once you've finished a linear game, what else will you do with it? Trading it seems like the best and fairest option. Until someone comes up with a radical idea to trade digital copies, this is the one advantage the physical media has.
The idea of safely keeping digital data is certainly a big one and can be split in to two seperate issues;
1) Losing media on a hard drive.
This isn't so bad if the service supports re-downloading. While they've always kept a record of your App purchases for redownload, Apple have only recently done this for Music and TV customers and it's pretty amazing that it's taken this long for them to allow re-downloading music and TV programmes. Films are still not available to re-download without purchasing again, which I assume is a rights issue.
For games MS and Sony have a decent system for re-downloading purchases, but Nintendo don't exactly see the advantage and they are trailing behind in the same way their whole online system trails behind. Hopefully things are changing judging by recent announcements and the imminent release of the Wii U (whatever they eventually call it).
2) Service disruption or complete dismemberment.
This is more of an issue that scares me. If a company goes bust and takes the downloads with it then you only have the copy you are storing available and if this is encoded in some way, even that might not be useful.
However, we're talking about big companies here who are far from likely to just stop their service any time soon. For collectors, though, it's certainly an issue. Who can say that your digital files will still work in 50 years time after dusting off your old Xbox 360 or iPad?
Consoles present the option for both physical media and download, though and the physical element has one great advantage; trade-in. Once you've finished a linear game, what else will you do with it? Trading it seems like the best and fairest option. Until someone comes up with a radical idea to trade digital copies, this is the one advantage the physical media has.
The idea of safely keeping digital data is certainly a big one and can be split in to two seperate issues;
1) Losing media on a hard drive.
This isn't so bad if the service supports re-downloading. While they've always kept a record of your App purchases for redownload, Apple have only recently done this for Music and TV customers and it's pretty amazing that it's taken this long for them to allow re-downloading music and TV programmes. Films are still not available to re-download without purchasing again, which I assume is a rights issue.
For games MS and Sony have a decent system for re-downloading purchases, but Nintendo don't exactly see the advantage and they are trailing behind in the same way their whole online system trails behind. Hopefully things are changing judging by recent announcements and the imminent release of the Wii U (whatever they eventually call it).
2) Service disruption or complete dismemberment.
This is more of an issue that scares me. If a company goes bust and takes the downloads with it then you only have the copy you are storing available and if this is encoded in some way, even that might not be useful.
However, we're talking about big companies here who are far from likely to just stop their service any time soon. For collectors, though, it's certainly an issue. Who can say that your digital files will still work in 50 years time after dusting off your old Xbox 360 or iPad?
It's obviously personal choice. I'm starting to be converted but Part of me is rather old fashioned at this point.
I think what will be a big issue in the near future is the whole 'ownership' malarckey. At the moment you own the licence to play the game. Which is daft as far as I'm concerned. I feel that if you purchase a game, you purchase the right to do whatever you like with it. I can understand copyright laws, etc, but if you own it, you own it.
I think what will be a big issue in the near future is the whole 'ownership' malarckey. At the moment you own the licence to play the game. Which is daft as far as I'm concerned. I feel that if you purchase a game, you purchase the right to do whatever you like with it. I can understand copyright laws, etc, but if you own it, you own it.
Physical discs and books etc that I can hold or feel don't really serve a purpose for me anymore and just take up an unnecessary amount of space. If I want to read a book, I'll go to the library. I download 100% of the PC games I buy now, films I'll either watch at the cinema or I'll check something out on TV or any time service. There are like 20 movie channels to choose from.
I don't feel like I need to physically own any of this stuff. If Steam pulls the plug on their services, I'll just pirate the games I bought. I own games for consoles but I would rather just have a big hard drive with the option of downloading them legally.
I'm looking round my room right now and it's just clothes, cosmetics, and simple décor. If people want to know what I'm into then they can just ask, I'd rather not have a massive collection taking up space I want to exercise in.
EDIT: Oh, and for music I just use youtube and or spotify. I go to gigs so I feel that's enough in terms of financial support for artists
I don't feel like I need to physically own any of this stuff. If Steam pulls the plug on their services, I'll just pirate the games I bought. I own games for consoles but I would rather just have a big hard drive with the option of downloading them legally.
I'm looking round my room right now and it's just clothes, cosmetics, and simple décor. If people want to know what I'm into then they can just ask, I'd rather not have a massive collection taking up space I want to exercise in.
EDIT: Oh, and for music I just use youtube and or spotify. I go to gigs so I feel that's enough in terms of financial support for artists
Look up at the sky. Assuming there isn't a complete absence of light, chances are you can see clouds. Clouds of moisture in gaseous form waiting to fall back to the Earth to be used as water to drink, to be home for aquatic creatures, or just to be a nuicance as you're waiting for the number 86 to take you to work in the morning. What you can't see are the vast amounts of data that are travelling through the air on radio waves from computer to computer, phone to phone, and a combination of a lot more devices. A lot of this data is considered to be stored on 'cloud' servers. Computers permanently connected to the internet that allow us to download what we need at the time we need it. This comes in many shapes or forms. Whether its storing documents or projects to use on another machine or to download a game to play on your games console. The cloud is set to be the next main storage medium but are we ready to give up our discs and hard drives yet?
I have always preferred to have a hard copy of anything I spend my hard earned cash on. I like to have something tangiable to call my own. Whether its a music CD, movie disc, book or videogame, I've liked to have the permanancy of knowing that I don't have to rely on someone else to access something I have paid good money for. If I choose not to look after that book, or that CD, then it is entirely my fault if I can no longer use it.
However, in the 21st century, resources are becomming rarer, electronic data is getting cheaper than paper and plastic, and as such it is rapidly becomming cheaper and more convienient to get your media online than it is via your local retailer. This has become more apparent to me via my Nintendo 3DS. I used to enjoy the old black and white games on the not so black and white green-screen of the Game Boy. Through wear and tear my brother's original Game Boy, which still works, has the unfortunate side effect of having a sticky > button on the D-pad. As such, the system is virtually rendered useless but the game cartridges are perfectly fine. To my delight, Nintendo's virtual console has so far been a great idea to cheaply recycle old games and make them available on current systems. Just like watching a classic Disney movie via DVD or Blu-Ray, the choice of being able to download games to play on the system as they originally were but on a system that has a bit more flexibility. Nintendo are apparently looking to implement a new "Nintendo Network" that will hopefully allow us, as gamers, to transfer our games from one system to another with a Nintendo account, like Xbox Live.
But this doesn't just apply to gaming. Right now there are services that allow full books to be downloaded and read on your phone. An entire music collection can be downloaded to your computer or phone at the click of a button. TV episodes or movies can be streamed to virtually any modern device with a screen at your convienience, and even rentals can take place over these services.
Some plans are in place to allow your computer to become a hub. Use your computer as a screen and controller for a game that is played on a cloud system. Not having to worry about making sure you've got the latest hardware, the best graphics card or enough hard disc space. Surely a brilliant way to ensure the future of PC gaming?
Game Over?
But what happens if the plug is suddenly pulled? What if a large company who you have given your hard earned cash to suddenly loses the ability to stream the data to you? In some cases we'll just have to cut our losses. Especially in the cases of software which has some sort of DRM protection.
This is something that Valve seem to have gotten around with Steam. You download the games to your machine but also have the ability to activate them for offline play and to back them up on any storage device so that you may use them should your main installation on your computer fail. Itunes offer the same service for your games and media. But these still rely on DRM activation to a certain degree.
So is the answer to the consumer's concerns of permancy a removal of DRM systems? I have recently been made aware of gaming website 'Good Old Games' which legally sells classic games that have been altered to work on modern computer systems. These files can be backed up to be played again and again without having to worry about any DRM restrictions. Whilst this does give dishonest gamers the opportunity to share the games, the profits aren't likely to be hit hard. As the website name indicates, these are old games that have already had their day. But are given a new lease of life for those who don't have working DOS based systems, or if they did, are not lumbered with checking if their systems are compatible. Chances are if you have an operating system Windows XP or above, you're likely to be ok.
The permanancy of discs gives us a sense of something we can hold. Something we can say we own, even if, despite the ignorance of some, we only actually own the licence to play the media that we hold. The slips of paper inside the plastic casing can, if only a little, improve our sense of pleasure that a pdf document attached to the media can not. And with HD visuals creating large file sizes, and some parts of the UK suffering sub-standard internet speeds, the convienience of discs still holds its place in today's world.
So where does this leave new games, music and movies? Well, for me I'm going to stick to disc-based media for my games and movies, and certainly for the most part for my music. Small downloads of classic software are likely to become a part of my modern life, but I still feel a little old fashioned when it comes to buying new games and movies.
What do you think?
This may appear on a google search, but it is 100% my own work and will have originated from my own personal blog-site
I have always preferred to have a hard copy of anything I spend my hard earned cash on. I like to have something tangiable to call my own. Whether its a music CD, movie disc, book or videogame, I've liked to have the permanancy of knowing that I don't have to rely on someone else to access something I have paid good money for. If I choose not to look after that book, or that CD, then it is entirely my fault if I can no longer use it.
However, in the 21st century, resources are becomming rarer, electronic data is getting cheaper than paper and plastic, and as such it is rapidly becomming cheaper and more convienient to get your media online than it is via your local retailer. This has become more apparent to me via my Nintendo 3DS. I used to enjoy the old black and white games on the not so black and white green-screen of the Game Boy. Through wear and tear my brother's original Game Boy, which still works, has the unfortunate side effect of having a sticky > button on the D-pad. As such, the system is virtually rendered useless but the game cartridges are perfectly fine. To my delight, Nintendo's virtual console has so far been a great idea to cheaply recycle old games and make them available on current systems. Just like watching a classic Disney movie via DVD or Blu-Ray, the choice of being able to download games to play on the system as they originally were but on a system that has a bit more flexibility. Nintendo are apparently looking to implement a new "Nintendo Network" that will hopefully allow us, as gamers, to transfer our games from one system to another with a Nintendo account, like Xbox Live.
But this doesn't just apply to gaming. Right now there are services that allow full books to be downloaded and read on your phone. An entire music collection can be downloaded to your computer or phone at the click of a button. TV episodes or movies can be streamed to virtually any modern device with a screen at your convienience, and even rentals can take place over these services.
Some plans are in place to allow your computer to become a hub. Use your computer as a screen and controller for a game that is played on a cloud system. Not having to worry about making sure you've got the latest hardware, the best graphics card or enough hard disc space. Surely a brilliant way to ensure the future of PC gaming?
Game Over?
But what happens if the plug is suddenly pulled? What if a large company who you have given your hard earned cash to suddenly loses the ability to stream the data to you? In some cases we'll just have to cut our losses. Especially in the cases of software which has some sort of DRM protection.
This is something that Valve seem to have gotten around with Steam. You download the games to your machine but also have the ability to activate them for offline play and to back them up on any storage device so that you may use them should your main installation on your computer fail. Itunes offer the same service for your games and media. But these still rely on DRM activation to a certain degree.
So is the answer to the consumer's concerns of permancy a removal of DRM systems? I have recently been made aware of gaming website 'Good Old Games' which legally sells classic games that have been altered to work on modern computer systems. These files can be backed up to be played again and again without having to worry about any DRM restrictions. Whilst this does give dishonest gamers the opportunity to share the games, the profits aren't likely to be hit hard. As the website name indicates, these are old games that have already had their day. But are given a new lease of life for those who don't have working DOS based systems, or if they did, are not lumbered with checking if their systems are compatible. Chances are if you have an operating system Windows XP or above, you're likely to be ok.
The permanancy of discs gives us a sense of something we can hold. Something we can say we own, even if, despite the ignorance of some, we only actually own the licence to play the media that we hold. The slips of paper inside the plastic casing can, if only a little, improve our sense of pleasure that a pdf document attached to the media can not. And with HD visuals creating large file sizes, and some parts of the UK suffering sub-standard internet speeds, the convienience of discs still holds its place in today's world.
So where does this leave new games, music and movies? Well, for me I'm going to stick to disc-based media for my games and movies, and certainly for the most part for my music. Small downloads of classic software are likely to become a part of my modern life, but I still feel a little old fashioned when it comes to buying new games and movies.
What do you think?
This may appear on a google search, but it is 100% my own work and will have originated from my own personal blog-site