The Null Device

Ironic juxtaposition of the day: Australian avant-garde electronica act B(if)tek are holding a contest based on subversive uses of technology against mainstream cultural products. Bravo to them for that; then again, the bulk of the profits from their album do go to Sony Music, who have vowed to crush file sharing on the Internet; in the words of Sony senior vice president Steve Heckler:
"We will develop technology that transcends the individual user. We will firewall Napster at source -- we will block it at your cable company, we will block it at your phone company, we will block it at your [Internet-service provider]. We will firewall it at your PC. These strategies are being aggressively pursued because there is simply too much at stake."

While I applaud B(if)tek's subversive goals (not to mention their music), I cannot recommend buying their recordings, as more of the proceeds go to Sony and its Orwellian plans than to the band.

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