Tell that to Activision and Ubisoft, both have recently released games at 59.99 for the PC. I'm not saying that Blizzard will as well, but I wouldn't be totally shocked if they did.

Actually, the latest reference in that document is basing stuff on data from 1996 (most of the references are from the 80s or early 90s) and well... LCDs (and monitors in general) have certainly changed a lot since then. Basically... that information is no longer to be taken as gospel and is not about current technology.

Doctors now say that really, LCD displays are not bad for the eyes at all, and what is bad is the setup of the screen (not an issue with a portable LCD like a phone) and the lack of blinking you do when reading for long periods of time (which isn't related to LCDs at all and is a problem for eInk too).

Here is a timely blog post on the NY Times for slightly more info...

http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/02/12/do-e-readers-cause-eye-strain/?ref=books

Basically... eInk isn't really any better, lacks in contrast, and is not good for reading in low light situations.

I think the eInk industry has done a really good job at making people believe something that isn't true. People's eyes go bad as they get older, your LCD monitor probably isn't the cause though.

Yeah, and that is becoming very close to being true. As phones advance they will have ereaders in them. Right now iPhones do. I would be extremely surprised if there wasn't already multiple ebook reading software out for android. I used to read ebooks on my palm pilot (which if you recall eventually made phones). I know there are ereaders for blackberrys. Now, regular cellphones don't currently have the resolution to make reading enjoyable (though some do have ereaders), but "smart phones" do, and more and more smart phones are out each year.

All netbooks are "e readers" now that is correct. My girlfriend reads books (mostly checked out from the seattle public library) on her computer. She could just as easily do so on a netbook. She actually prefers the laptop to her phone, though reads on both.

That is one of my points actually, that ebook readers will be more popular if they aren't just ebook readers. The defining factor of an ebook reader, as was suggested, is NOT eink.

Hint: if they equate eink to ebooks they probably are new to ebooks.

Seriously... while I think the iPad is a poor choice in ebook readers it sure as hell isn't because it has a color screen that doesnt require an external light source to make it readable. In fact, my choice currently is an iPhone. Why? Because I have it with me ALL the time. I can read at night while my girlfriend is sleeping without having a light on and finally, it can do lots of other things besides being a book. Oh, and turning pages doesnt take an insanely long amount of time like e-ink does.

Also, the iPhone offers you many options in terms of ebook readers. Stanza is the one I use, but if you have a kindle, you can use the Kindle reader and read the books you have already "purchased" there. Built in web browser for online repositories.

I don't think it worked out so well for Michael Jackson... may he R.I.P.

Assuming you did nothing wrong while using last.fm, i.e you legally own the music you listen to. You could just represent yourself, since basically, it is obvious they have no proof of you doing something illegal if in fact you didn't do anything illegal. Like you said, if it looks like you might win they will drop the case. They do this enough times and it costs them a bunch of money to start the process. This is only useful for them to catch actual criminals, i.e. people who listen to music they downloaded illegally (oh the horror!!!), though I suspect (for the most part) they are really only concerned with people uploading music illegally.

And that gets back to the original comment's question, how will this work as proof of anything? If they already know you were sharing a copy of an album, say before it was released and could also prove that you listened to the song from your computer before the album was released... I could see that helping their case, though they would probably need more evidence.

I think you are describing cable television, and the answer is yes, they now make more money.