| Message 05005 | [Homepage] | [Navigation] | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Thread: oxenT04965 Message: 3/3 L1 | [In index] | ||
| [First in Thread] | [Last in Thread] | [Date Next] | [Date Prev] |
| [Next in Thread] | [Prev in Thread] | [Next Thread] | [Prev Thread] |
Stefan Merten wrote:
Hi! You might remember that recently I said that copying digital goods is similar - or even identical - to producing physical goods: * A digital good always has some physical representation * To be useful I need a physical representation of that digital good * The technology of digital copy makes production of a copy very simple - given there is an original to copy I now stumbled across the concept of rivalness again and merged it into that thought above. I could say: * The physical representation of a digital good is rival The physical representation of a digital good is in someone's possession. It is *not* magically in the possession of someone else. So this someone else can not use it. I think this is the definition of rivalness. Non-rivalness of digital goods comes into being only because of the technology of digital copy. But in the end it is a certain (re)production technology which makes this possible.
I agree completely. This is too often forgotten. It is forgotten i) by enthusiasts who think that the digital economy is completely "spectral", "malleable", "virtual", whatever. It isn't. The digital is physical (electro-opto-chemical), or it is not at all. It is also forgotten ii) by people who believe that illegal copying can be stopped. It can't. The point of digital computers is to make near-perfect copies. One definition of the digital is "the kind of analogue that makes near-perfect copying reliable enough". Stopping copying means stopping digitality.
If this makes sense this would shed a very interesting light on the concept of rivalness in the digital domain. Comments? Grüße Stefan _________________________________ Web-Site: http://www.oekonux.org/ Organization: http://www.oekonux.de/projekt/ Contact: projekt oekonux.de
_________________________________ Web-Site: http://www.oekonux.org/ Organization: http://www.oekonux.de/projekt/ Contact: projekt oekonux.de
| Thread: oxenT04965 Message: 3/3 L1 | [In index] | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Message 05005 | [Homepage] | [Navigation] | |