3 ms·

I've spent a lot of money on iTunes content (Nearing 1,000 purchased movies on AppleTV), and my assumption was the same. As long as Apple/iTunes doesn't go unde

I've spent a lot of money on iTunes content (Nearing 1,000 purchased movies on AppleTV), and my assumption was the same. As long as Apple/iTunes doesn't go under, and given I don't do anything to violate Apple's terms, I will have access to this content. I understand I can lose access, I'm not paying for the content in the idea that I own it forever even if Apple goes under or I get terminated, but I have perpetual access to it given the circumstances don't change, and I pay for the convenience of this. If I had expected to own it forever, I'd probably have bought DVD's, not digital.

interestica 6y ago
> If I had expected to own it forever, I'd probably have bought DVD's, not digital. This is the opposite of what it should be. DVDs degrade over time, and can last for as little as 10 years. Digital should be mean transportable and convertible indefinitely.
- joshmanders 6y ago
  Sure but who's gonna pay to keep those servers up in perpetuity? I would never buy digital thinking I'll have access indefinitely. At least with DVD's I can rip them and burn them on new DVD's if I wanted them to be "forever"
  - scatters 6y ago
    The company can use part of your purchase price to buy a long term debt instrument (e.g. a 30-year T-bond) and use the yield to keep the server running. Or, more realistically and prosaically, they can and should debit the net present liability of keeping the server running in perpetuity from their corporate accounts at the time of purchase. Accountancy knows how to value such things and finance delights in monetizing them.
  - interestica 6y ago
    Make DRM free versions available for download? Music has had to go that route so that people can 'own' their downloads. Maybe a self-hosted auth server of some kind is possible? Adobe recently stopped letting you install CS3 even if you have the CDs because they took the auth server down. Do you think there was a reasonable expectation that when someone paid thousands of dollars for those discs, that they 'owned' them and had the right to install them repeatedly on their own computers? >https://helpx.adobe.com/creative-suite.html https://helpx.adobe.com/creative-suite.html >You can no longer reinstall Creative Suite 2, 3 or 4 even if you have the original installation disks. The aging activation servers for those apps had to be retired. Looks like they just added CS4 to the list...which is still usable software (and in fact offers features that are currently unavailable!)
- noisem4ker 6y ago
  Do printed DVDs last that little? That sounds more like the lifespan of burned discs.
  - heavyset_go 6y ago
    From experience, yes, they can. Make backups of the DVDs, CDs and Blu-ray discs you care about.
  - interestica 6y ago
    It's mostly dependent on heat, humidity, and light. And then of course handling. And the actual player and how much it might contact the disc (eg inserting in certain slot drives repeatedly can brush dust/dirt on the surface).

interestica 6y ago

> If I had expected to own it forever, I'd probably have bought DVD's, not digital. This is the opposite of what it should be. DVDs degrade over time, and can last for as little as 10 years. Digital should be mean transportable and convertible indefinitely.

joshmanders 6y ago
Sure but who's gonna pay to keep those servers up in perpetuity? I would never buy digital thinking I'll have access indefinitely. At least with DVD's I can rip them and burn them on new DVD's if I wanted them to be "forever"
- scatters 6y ago
  The company can use part of your purchase price to buy a long term debt instrument (e.g. a 30-year T-bond) and use the yield to keep the server running. Or, more realistically and prosaically, they can and should debit the net present liability of keeping the server running in perpetuity from their corporate accounts at the time of purchase. Accountancy knows how to value such things and finance delights in monetizing them.
- interestica 6y ago
  Make DRM free versions available for download? Music has had to go that route so that people can 'own' their downloads. Maybe a self-hosted auth server of some kind is possible? Adobe recently stopped letting you install CS3 even if you have the CDs because they took the auth server down. Do you think there was a reasonable expectation that when someone paid thousands of dollars for those discs, that they 'owned' them and had the right to install them repeatedly on their own computers? >https://helpx.adobe.com/creative-suite.html https://helpx.adobe.com/creative-suite.html >You can no longer reinstall Creative Suite 2, 3 or 4 even if you have the original installation disks. The aging activation servers for those apps had to be retired. Looks like they just added CS4 to the list...which is still usable software (and in fact offers features that are currently unavailable!)
noisem4ker 6y ago
Do printed DVDs last that little? That sounds more like the lifespan of burned discs.
- heavyset_go 6y ago
  From experience, yes, they can. Make backups of the DVDs, CDs and Blu-ray discs you care about.
- interestica 6y ago
  It's mostly dependent on heat, humidity, and light. And then of course handling. And the actual player and how much it might contact the disc (eg inserting in certain slot drives repeatedly can brush dust/dirt on the surface).