Hacker News Reader

> the generation now values owning digital media I think you've missed the point, it isn't about ownership at all, or even that the media is digital. Its that what we value is access to the media. We're willing to pay a nominal fee for access to it, but that's really all we care about: Having the media play when we want it to. Ownership of the media is irrelevant to our experience of the media...unless not owning it means we cannot experience it.

View on HN

Yes, this was what I was getting at. I don't want or need to have some physical object that tells me "this is my media". We've been through enough format changes to understand that "this is my media for ten years, then I'll need to convert it or buy it again." Access is the key, not ownership.

That being said, I am deeply concerned about central media control allowing companies and governments to become revisionist; editing out controversial portions of various works as they see fit. I would like to see legislation that would prevent that.

>We've been through enough format changes to understand that "this is my media for ten years, then I'll need to convert it or buy it again." Access is the key, not ownership.

I guess this is what the RIAA/MPAA doesn't like with the streaming business, they can't resell the same material every time a new standard comes out.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com