The Obvious Reason for Piracy

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Before I begin, I’d like to point out that I have absolutely no data whatsoever that might justify anything I’m saying. I’ve not done any research, nor have I undertaken any surveys to determine whether anything written below is justified. What I do have though is common sense, which seems to be lacking from a great many people (though especially those with all the money).

I’d like to talk about the price of digital downloads. I’d especially like to talk about the price of digital downloads on iTunes and how a change in the price would, I reckon, make a much better alternative to illegally downloading whatever you want.

Although this is something I’ve been considering for some time, a recent TED talk I saw on the subject of “Copyright Math” made me consider again just how insanely priced the media we consume is.

Let’s, for a second, take a look at the price of Buffy the Vampire Slayer on iTunes. Perhaps a random choice, but it was a show I used to enjoy and I fancied watching it again. So I popped on over to iTunes to see if the price matched my expectations. It did. But, not in a good way. Each series of this fifteen year-old show was priced at £24.99 (excluding the short first season, which was £19.99). This meant that if I’d wanted to buy all of the shows, it was going to cost me £169.93. That figure is absolutely ludicrous, when you consider that the DVD boxset can be purchased for just £37.97 on Amazon.

This is a show that, unlike new releases, cannot possibly be generating the kinds of revenue which would justify keeping it at such a high price. The draw of a show which is clearly outdated by modern standards cannot be so high that large numbers of people are downloading from iTunes at such wildly inflated prices.

So what possible reason can the distributors have for charging so much? Apple obviously take their cut, but that’s a percentage and not a fixed fee which the distributor would need to meet. And they’re saving huge amounts of cash on the manufacture and distribution of physical discs. All they have to do is simply upload their shows on to iTunes and leave it at that. They no longer have to touch them or even think about having to stop reproduction due to manufacturing limitations. These are shows which can sit permanently on Apple’s servers without anyone worrying about them, and constantly generating funds from sales when the next person moves into the digital world.

As I said earlier, I have no figures. But to my mind, there’s a case for charge the least amount possible for these shows. I would be more than willing to pay £20 to download every season, for example. And I’m quite sure there would be a great many more people willing to pay the same price to download every single episode.

Just as copyright lawyers seemingly do, I’m going to pluck a figure out of the air now. I’m going to suggest that for every one person willing to pay £170 for all of these seasons, there are going to be at least twenty more people willing to pay £20 for them all. I reckon I’m underestimating that too. And given that there is absolutely no effort involved in changing the price to something more reasonable, nor any extra manufacturing costs to consider, I don’t quite understand why it’s not something they’ve introduced.

Perhaps this is distributors trying to save their own skin before it’s too late. After all, who will need to use a distributor when a moviemaker could simply add their own productions straight to iTunes (or their own online presence) and cut out the middle man? Once cinemas go 100% digital, what’s to stop them downloading the movies straight from the producers too? Distributors are now facing a losing battle. Although there is a current market for physical items, this cannot possibly last forever. Especially if the prices of digital downloads were sorted out to make them more reasonable. Eventually, owning a physical item will be something for hardcore devotes only, which is something distributors clearly must be aware of.

So, distributors have to face up to the facts. It is their outdated business models which are leading to an increase in piracy. For every one person willing to pay £170 for all of these seasons, there are twenty more willing to download them illegally. Twenty people who could be persuaded to pay a small fee to own a show which is otherwise sat on Apple’s servers, only generating a profit whenever someone with more money than sense comes along.

Perhaps I am underestimating the business. Perhaps there are hidden issues which I’ve not considered because I’m not aware of them. But from my limited understanding, looking at this issue with what little common sense I have, there are surely better ways for money to be made by the movie industry, which (as a rather fortunate byproduct) would also lead to a rise in consumer satisfaction?

Baja, Bedford

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Bedford has always been missing something when it comes to restaurant choice. Foregoing the obvious omissions of chains such as Ask or Cafe Rouge, there has been one giant missing piece which my taste buds have not thanks me for since moving to the town; the lack of a Mexican restaurant.

Whilst many may not agree with me that Mexican food is some of the tastiest, loveliest, most homely cuisine you can honour your tongue with, I happen to absolutely love it. So as soon as I saw the sign, I was in like a shot to make a reservation (definitely something to consider if you want to go at peak times).

My calamari starter.

Let’s be honest with ourselves for a moment though. When you’ve been waiting for and wanting something for a long time, in the end it’s more than likely to disappoint. So it was with a certain amount of trepidation that I entered Baja yesterday evening ready, as ever an Englishman tends to be, for disappointment. What I got was an explosion of spice, flavour and a sense that I’d been returning to this place again and again. I’d just found the best food in Bedford by quite some way.

The restaurant itself is clean and modern, with just the right amount of colour to set the scene. A combination of tables and booths overlook, well not too much to be honest. The view outside wasn’t spectacular (just some empty shops), but the view on my table turned out to be more than adequate. (As an aside, the bar at the back of the restaurant does have a better outlook, with the Castle Mound and river just in sight).

I started with a bowl of Breaded Calamari and Tentacles, which was not only delicious, but also came in a portion that could feed a family of four. I’m definitely not complaining though; the squid was a perfect texture and the breadcrumbs gave a satisfying crunch. Spot on.

Enchilada and frijoles.

There was the risk that after such a humongous starter, there wouldn’t be any room left for the main course. That was until it made its heavenly appearance on the table in front of me. My Enchilada was stuffed with chicken, Mexican rice and beans, and sat on a bed of passata. Topped off with melted Monterey Jack cheese, salsa and crema, it practically melted in the mouth. There was a hint of coriander running through the dish, which set the whole thing off for me.

As my Mexican-loving eyes are probably too big for my belly, I also chose Frijoles as a side. Black, pinto and kidney beans, refried and topped with crema and melted cheese. They were truly stunning. I could have happily sat and had a couple of those as a meal on their own.

The Big Baja Salad

My dining companions’ food was also very well received. In particular, the Big Baja Salad was a definite hit, coming in its own huge edible tortilla bowl and with more lamb than any one person would dare to eat in one sitting (again, not a complaint).

Desert was a big no as we were all completely stuffed from the wonderful food, though next time I’ll try and save enough room to sample a Sweet Chimichanga.

The only real disappointment was with our cocktail. Our mojitos tasted of not much other than rum and definitely needed more than the single leaf of mint that had been put in the glass.

But that’s not really much of a complaint, when the meal itself was so well prepared. I made a point of saying before the meal arrived that I hoped I would finally find a restaurant in Bedford that I would want to return to frequently. I found it.

Without a shadow of a doubt, this is a five star review. *****

Take a look at their menu over at www.bajabedford.co.uk.

Triple Town

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It’s a good long while since I wrote anything on the blog, let alone an app. But Triple Town by Spry Fox has got me hooked.

On the face of it, the game doesn’t look much. In fact, its cartoon graphics and cutesy imagery put off at least two people I introduced the game to. Thankfully, after much persuasion they did have a quick go and now they’re just as hooked as I am.

Triple Town in action.

Looking at the graphics alone, one suspects you’re letting yourself in for the sort of game that Zynga are poisoning the web with. The bears which jump about the screen are indicative of a title which would encourage intermittent gameplay and the emptying of your wallet. Once you dive in though, you soon discover how wrong you’ve been. It’s a puzzler in the best traditions of Tetris; simple at heart, but with enough depth and originality to keep you glued to your phone and your battery running on empty.

The idea is so simple, a reality TV star could figure it out. You place pieces on a board, one at a time. Once you put three similar pieces next to each other, they “level-up” into a different piece. Match three of these pieces and they also level-up, and so it goes on with increasing difficulty. Add a couple of special pieces to speed up the levelling process or remove unwanted pieces from the board and the game becomes an instant winner with me.

It doesn’t soon like much, but for the cost of giving it a go (absolutely nothing), you have nothing to lose. Unfortunately the number of turns you can make in the free game is limited and it’ll cost you £1.99 to enable unlimited play, but that’s a small price to pay for the amount of enjoyment you’re going to get from this. Download it now from the App Store for the iPhone and iPad, and give it a whirl.

What’s Your Address?

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We’re currently in the process of switching from BT to Virgin Media at home. Our reasons are numerous and I won’t go into them here*. What has struck me as odd during the sign-up process to Virgin though, is that broadband suppliers are still dishing out branded email addresses to their customers.

Don’t get me wrong; I can completely understand the reasons from a supplier’s perspective. Primarily, whenever their customers send out an email, an advert for Virgin is sent out along with it in the form of @virginmedia.com address. A few free email addresses also helps to bulk out the list of features when advertising broadband packages. That’s absolutely fine. I get it.

What I don’t understand is why customers continue to use them. For one, you’re choosing an email address which is potentially going to disappear at some point in the future, should you switch to another supplier. At that point you’re going to have to change the address on all of the websites you’ve signed up to, as well as having to inform everyone else you know that you’ve had to switch your emails to another company.

Of course, there are always going to be people who don’t realise they could get an email address with someone else, but in this day and age these people should be few and far between. This is especially true when using Virgin Media, as you’re informed when you log in that your emails are going to be handled by Google and Gmail anyway. And if you’d have signed up directly with Google, your email address would end with the much shorter @gmail.com.

There are a couple of people in my office who have told me they use these addresses. One has even mentioned that when she switches back to BT from Virgin in the near future, she’ll be switching from her Virgin account to one of BT’s email addresses and letting everyone know of the change. She even complained that the process of switching is a complete pain.

My question is, why? There are a myriad of free email hosts, including the ever-decent Gmail, who will give them access to the same address no matter who their broadband supplier is. What genuine reason might there be for someone who is perfectly able to sign up to any free email provider, to instead keep using the address their broadband supplier gives them?

*BT are diabolical