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Windows do: they'll both pop up a thing saying 'You are trying to run a program downloaded from the Internet, do you really want to?', which isn't normally something that happens when people try to open a file
I beg to differ. Occasionally on Windows 8.1, I've opened a text file and still seen an alert to the effect "You are opening a text file downloaded from the Internet; are you sure?".
From your second link:
src/fsmagic.c - first set of tests the program runs, based on filesystem info
In other words, it still looks at the effing extension. And in any case, not every file type I've worked with is already registered with IANA.
The "first few bytes" of any Zip container are the same, no matter whether the insides are what you'd expect from SMZIP (StepMania package), WSZ (Winamp package), JAR (Java package), ODT (LibreOffice document), DOCX (Microsoft Word document), or whatever else.
Take away their local admin privileges already, and address the real issue (that users privilege should never exceed their knowledge.)
In principle, I agree with your "real issue". But in practice, a lot of PCs are in homes of less-than-competent people. If a machine's owner lacks knowledge, then who should have local admin privileges?
It's not clear if the music folder is for own composed music or purchased music.
I assume that Microsoft assumed that "own composed music" is such a small edge case that music industry professionals would be able to handle it with their own in-house best practices. Evidence is that Microsoft includes the "Xbox Music" (formerly Zune) app in Windows but doesn't include even the simplest sequencer. Or has Microsoft added one to Windows 10?
The filetype should be another piece of metadata.
With whom would values of the file type field be registered? IANA?
Let me guess why people don't change the executable permissions in Windows more often. One is that it's not as clearly visible as the "Allow this file to run as a program" checkbox in Nautilus or Thunar or other X11/Linux file managers. The other is that permissions other than "write" don't stick on most removable media, which is formatted FAT32 or exFAT.
But, what if everybody can qualify as a disc publisher just by handing over a disc?
That's what AACS is supposed to prevent. BD players are supposed to require BDMV discs to use AACS, and the AACS license imposes a fee per title plus other requirements that likely include not doing this very thing.
But unfortunately, "most sane countries" place onerous requirements on people born in not-sane countries who wish to live and work there.
NO. Sony v. Universal (and subsequent rulings) have made it clear, it does not matter where a backup comes from, as long as you dont share it.
Where do you get that? I see UMG v. MP3.com which decided exactly the opposite. The backup has to be made by you from a genuine copy, not transmitted by someone else through the Internet.
that are inserted by their owners
Not necessarily, because not everybody lives alone. Anybody in your household with the opportunity to insert a disc can attempt to exploit a vulnerability like this. I imagine that most people do not regularly disconnect their BD players and keep them under lock and key.
If you live too far from the nearest CMTS or DSLAM to get a cable or DSL connection, how much streaming are you going to do with the 10 GB per month that a wireless ISP allows you?
All those useless apps have vastly superior equivalents on other platforms.
Which is fine so long as you already own a device of one of these "other platforms" in your living room. "Smart" TVs and "smart" BD players are convenient for people who happen not to, such as households with one PC that is in another room.
if everyone [took a percent of gross] it would be unfeasible.
Everyone does take a percent of gross: Google on Google Play Store, Amazon on Amazon Appstore, Apple on App Store, Nintendo on eShop, Sony on PlayStation Store, and Microsoft as I mentioned above. The market for physical goods is little different: Amazon takes a commission of sellers' revenue on Amazon.com, and eBay and PayPal take final value fees.
People still use physical media? What is this 2005?
The Internet connections available in some geographic areas are effectively stuck in 2005.
The reason computer chips are so small is computers don't eat much.
