VOI: April 2003 Archives

Dear Suresh,

I apologize if my response to your comment sounded harsh; it was not meant to be. I'm glad we've cleared this issue up between us. As far as i'm concerned, no hard feelings, and its all good, eh?

Thank you also for your advice concerning the broadcasting of copyrighted material - this is an issue that i've been grappling with lately and my concern for the copyright of artists' is reflected in the research i've conducted online and offline over the issue.

ACCESS THE VOLUME OF INTERACTIONS: AUDIO

The following email was sent to registered members of the VOI Blog Directory:

Dear Scott,

I've just downloaded and installed Andromeda on my webserver, and i'm happy to report that its working as advertised. People like you make dynamic web a no-brainer. Thanks and congratulations.

What i am concerned with are the copyright issues surrounding Andromeda. Have you done any research concerning the legality of streaming/broadcasting copyrighted work for non-commercial purposes? For example, i'm currently streaming a couple of Robin Williams CD tracks. I obtained the MP3s from original CDs that i purchased. Does my current action of streaming them in any way breach copyright law? If you have done some research into this, i would appreciate it greatly if you could share it with me.

I understand its quite a grey area: streaming audio could perhaps fall under "fair use" exceptions, and if the broadcast was coupled with some form of review or research attached to the act of streaming (e.g. a non-profit music review site), then the streaming should be legal. But reproduction/distribution through broadcasting? I'm unsure about what the law says about this and i was hoping you might be able to point me to some authoritative references.

Lastly, i'm sure you've thought about this and you may have posted the answer on the andromeda site, but forgive me for asking anyway. How do i make it impossible for users to download the whole MP3 directly off my server? For example, i've placed all my MP3s in a folder called "audio" and this is the same folder where andromeda.php resides. A person who knows the exact URL of the MP3 file could download it in its entirety, bypassing Andromeda. This would result in a copyright infringement. I hope you will be able to advise me on how to protect the files in the "audio" folder from improper download.

Thank you so much for your assistance. I look forward to your reply. Take care, God bless.

Current research findings are as below:

VOI Visuals
VOI Blog Directory
VOI Audio

There's a certain charm about buying and owning your first car. Not the one your parents bought for you, or the one you won through some fluke or contest, but the car that you bought with your own hard-earned cash.

No matter how old it is, it could be brand new, or second-hand, third-hand or fourth-hand, it will always be a beauty to behold. No matter how many bumps and bruises it sports, no matter what brand it sports, no matter how much you paid for it - you feel pride that its yours, you feel good that it belongs to you. Almost like a first love, you never forget your first car.

My first car: Proton Wira 1.5

My first car was a venerable second-hand Proton Wira 1.5 (auto). When i got it, it was sparkling white and the interior smelled of freshly blasted anti-rust. It was intoxicating to get behind the wheel, to put the pedal to the metal that first day as i drove it out the dealership in Jalan Kelang Lama. I didn't care that the power windows were buggy, or that the rear view heat screen wouldn't go up. It just felt so good to be behind the driving wheel, finally, a master of my own domain and responsible for my own on-the-road fate.

Had some good times in that jolly machine. Made out a few times in the back and front seat. Remember playing music so loud, the dashboard would vibrate. Sped up and down the North-South highway at speeds that Proton probably didn't design the Wira to achieve - 2.5 hours to Penang from KL. Never got a ticket in that car, for all my recklessnesses and illegal parkings. Scratched it against a parking lot wall, against a tree and against a speeding motorcyle.

What a joy it was. A car with personality it was - lovely, temperate and driven to please.

I remember the first time i watched him play on TV - it was the 1992/93 season and the Chicago Bulls were playing the Phoenix Suns (that was a strong team in those days with Charles Barkley as their star player). I remember watching in awe as he made his signature move - the turn-around fade away jumper. Again and again he hit the same move from different spots around the opposition basket.

The Suns just couldn't stop him. They doubled up on him - he dribbled through them or jumped over their despairing blocks. They tripled up on him - he passed the ball to an open team mate. They fouled him, they hacked him, and, once, Barkley, in a fit of frustration, just pushed him to the floor as he hung in the air over him. In a supreme act of sportsmanship, he just picked himself up, smiled, took the ball and jammed it home on his next possession.

His Airness, Michael Jordan

Last night, Michael Jordan played his last ever NBA game against the Philadephia 76ers. Unfortunately, his team, the Washington Wizards lost. But that in no way takes away the significance of the event. The greatest player to ever grace the hard courts is now finally retired. For all the years of wondrous amazement his talent has brought the sporting world, i thank him.

I've always been a very money minded person. When i was a kid, perhaps 4 or 5 years old, i remember raiding the coin jar (where my parents used to dump their lose change). I never took very much, just enough to buy ice cream. In kindergarden, i was the school bully; i used to make some of the other kids pay me 10 sen as "protection money", or to "take care of business" for them. When i was in primary school, i bought kuih from the canteen and resold them to teachers in the staff room for a profit. In secondary school, the other kids would pay me to help them with their homework.

Throughout my adult life, i've been sniffing for ways to make money. I've got my job, but i've never found that to be enough. So i've kept my ear close to the ground for any opportunity that i could take. Through the grace of God, and perhaps some good fortune and persistence, money hasn't been too hard to come by. Probably that's why when people tell me that they don't have enough money, or when they complain about how low-paying their jobs are, or if they tell me that they can't find jobs, i find it really hard to understand. I ask them in return whether they've really looked hard enough.