REMEMBER THE FANS
All 24 episodes of The Jetsons just came out on DVD. I considered picking up the set, mostly for illustrative purposes (what "the future" doesn't look like), but quickly decided to save my 50 bucks. After all, I can't quote the show by sticking a still or a short clip in a PowerPoint presentation. And the entertainment value alone isn't worth the price of admission. Count me another sale lost to Hollywood's obsession with blocking the fair use that writers take for granted, whether we're quoting or being quoted.
On a related note, blogger Fred von Lohmann of EFF's Deep Links calls attention to recent congressional testimony:
The most remarkable testimony at last week's DMCRA hearings was that of former Congressman Allan Swift.
Swift was testifying as a private citizen, as a "home recordist." Basically, he's been making "mix tapes" for 54 years:
In that time, I have given friends many tapes, cassettes and now CDs containing "programs" I have created from my own collection of LPs and CDs. In that time, I have never made a straight duplicate of a record for anyone. If they ask me to, I tell them politely how easy is it to buy it on the Internet. In that time I have never charged a person a penny - even for the cost of the raw cassette or CD blank. It is just my hobby.