Usually, when Apple has events to present new products to the press, the video recording is available only after the event has finished. Over the years, that spawned a large second market of “live blogging” from journalists attending the events, taking notes and pictures for all to see. But today’s event was unusual: On the Apple TV and Macs, the event was available in real-time video streaming.
Why only Macs and Apple TV? I suspect it’s both to limit the number of clients to control costs and quality, and also because only on those platforms there is copy protection they can control. But what prevents users from sticking a camera in front of their screens and re-streaming that, using the so-called “analog hole”?
Today I listened to the event (not watched, since I had work to do) on TWiT, since they also provided commentary and insight on top of the original stream. In that case, is that legal? I mean, unlike just reporting the video stream without authorization, does providing journalistic insight on a live event covered by “fair use”? Even if indirectly one would be able to listen to a “copy” or the original stream, shouldn’t that be considered protected “remixing”? Kind of like RiffTrax, but with the original audio still there under that added audio track of jokes. I don’t know the answer, but I think it should be.
Oh, and as for the 4th-generation iPad? Well, I was lucky to wait for another month before upgrading my iPad. I’ll order one on Friday morning, though not in the middle of the night, so I suspect I might get it only mid-November. I’ll try to use the iPhone Apple Store App to buy it (with the one-click buy thing), since I suspect it uses a different access point to their backed that want be as clogged. Hopefully the iPad Mini might be more in demand, so delays won’t be as insane as they were for the iPhones. It’s still quite an expense, spending another $650 two years later, but then I’ll get a process at least 10 times faster and a far better screen, for something I use all the time (like right writing blog posts each day).
Published on October 23, 2012 at 19:48 EDT
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