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I like this idea of owning tangible physical media in concept. But it occurs to me that in practice I'm choosing to go the other direction. I have floppy disc
by jasonkester 3y ago
I like this idea of owning tangible physical media in concept. But it occurs to me that in practice I'm choosing to go the other direction.
I have floppy disc copies of the original Civilization, Master of Orion and Alpha Centauri, presumably somewhere in storage, that I spent $60 each on back in the '90s. But I've also spent the $5 to buy digital copies from Steam, GoG, etc. so that I can actually play them today. I wouldn't have the first idea how to proceed in getting a 5 1/4" floppy up and running these days.
Same for music. I have a cassette tape of AC/DC's Back in Black. And a CD. And an iTunes download. No idea where, but I paid real money for each of them and thus, presumably, own them. In the car, I stream it from Apple Music. Just last night I was practicing guitar so I played it off Youtube, which appears to be the fastest way to get music to come out of a computer these days.
So yeah, when I pull out the old CD collection, I look back fondly to being able to rattle through them in the center console of the car and swap in a new one without ever taking my eyes off the road. (and having it actually play instead of invent some new form of bluetooth/cell communication error).
But in practice, I don't have a single cd in the car.
- bentley 3y agoIt takes intent. When it comes to DRM‐free digital copies (similar in spirit even if they’re missing many of the “benefits” described in the article), it took some practice at first for me to get used to copying books to my ebook reader over USB, periodically updating a USB stick with music for the car stereo, installing video games from GOG instead of Steam. Intellectually, I wanted the independence of DRM‐free media, but it needed a change in habits, and like any habit, the two hardest things are getting it started and keeping it going. But it all comes naturally to me now, and I do enjoy reaping the benefits of having media on all my devices, working when my internet connection is down, clipping and copying and editing all my files with no restrictions. Every now and then I see some new headline—swathes of music pulled from Spotify due to licensing changes, scenes cut from or ads inserted into movies, more strenuous Kindle DRM—and feel happier dealing with my inconveniences rather than those inconveniences. The one part that remains difficult for me is robust backups. I got a big 14TB external on Black Friday at Best Buy, but that won’t do me any good if my house burns down.
- SethMurphy 3y agoI have a single CD in the car. That would not be an endorsement of anything except the album (Paul's Boutique) and my lack of daily driving.