This isn't a new theme in this space--indeed, I think I've covered all the available themes a few times over. But when you purchase "digital goods", you don't really "own" anything.
A recent Slashdot thread got me to thinking about it again. In it various geeks outline their methods of ensuring that their families and children will be able to access "digital content" they've purchased after they die. So A) it's depressing and B) it's depressing on a different level. If you have to set up a password protected SAN share on your home network, and develop and encryption system--what is it you "own" again?
I'm far more enamored with services like Pandora which do not make any pretense of you're "buying" anything. But everywhere else it's all "buy this, own it today!" which is quite simply a damn lie.
Any money spent to "purchase" digital "goods" is wasted.
Again, I'll pay a few pennies for the service of providing me with an mp3 or movie file. But that's it.
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