Virgin-Universal Deal Offers Unlimited Music, Goes After File Sharers 254
suraj.sun writes "The UK's Virgin Media could start suspending persistent file sharers on a temporary basis, using information provided to it by Universal Music. The ISP announced on Monday that it would, before Christmas, launch an all-you-can-eat music download service for its users, based on a monthly subscription fee. The tracks will all be DRM-free. 'In parallel, the two companies will be working together to protect Universal Music's intellectual property and drive a material reduction in the unauthorized distribution of its repertoire across Virgin Media's network,' a statement read. 'This will involve implementing a range of different strategies to educate file sharers about online piracy and to raise awareness of legal alternatives. They include, as a last resort for persistent offenders, a temporary suspension of internet access.' DTecNet has already been working with UK content companies for some time to do much the same thing, and is also working with RIAA in the United States."
Virgin? Pfft (Score:4, Funny)
Monthly fee (Score:5, Funny)
Re:Virgin? Pfft (Score:5, Funny)
Anal doesn't count.
Offtopic, but (Score:1, Funny)
I dislike use of the term "platform-agnostic" as "agnostic" would imply "doesn't know." Really, what you mean is perhaps "doesn't care" which would be better expressed as "platform-apathetic."
Or perhaps you mean is "does not depend on the features of any specific platform" which could be expressed as "platform-independent."
Or, even more accurately, maybe you mean "can run on any platform" which might be expressed as "omni-platform-compatible"
The only phrase out of all of these which really fails to express what you are getting it as "platform-agnostic."
Re:Interesting but... (Score:1, Funny)
For it to really work out, I would want at least CD quality lossless compression.
Nuts! I think they can do even better than CD-quality lossless. I want RAW format ripped directly from vinyl records!
Re:Monthly fee (Score:1, Funny)
Hurrah (Score:3, Funny)
I am totally stoked about Virgin Media's forthcoming music download system and fully believe that it won't be an overhyped sack of crap at all. The downloads will certainly be unlimited, fast, cheap, not watermarked and of at least cd quality from an enormous library of popular, familiar tunes the exact same recordings of which will be currently or formerly available in record shops on cd.
Re:Net Neutrality implications? (Score:1, Funny)
or the appaling number of people that don't read books.
Yea, it is quite appalling how many people don't read books. Take the dictionary, for instance!