The world is going digital at a rapid pace and everyone is racing to stay ahead. Video games, e-books, music, movies, and TV shows. You name it, there's probably a digital market for it. And while digital is amazing In many ways, it's definitely not perfect.
On the one hand, digital media have made it easier for independent artists and creators to enter their respective markets. Indie games through Steam, indie music through Soundcloud, indie ebooks through Amazon, etc. As an aspiring indie, this is a trend I can be 100 percent behind.
Also, digital media is generally more convenient. No one can argue with that. But is that reason enough to jump in and ditch your CDs and DVDs? Maybe, maybe not. Let's take a quick look at the pros and cons. You may find that it's actually better to wait.
The most serious flaw in digital media, at least according to the current structure of digital distribution, is that just because you buy it doesn't mean you have it . This may be a strange concept to wrap your head around, especially if you grew up during the reign of physical records and cassettes.
When you buy a CD, a DVD, a book or a board game, you literally own That physical medium and the specific content it contains. It's yours and you can do whatever you want with it (as long as you don't separate the content from the physical media).
This is not true when you make a digital purchase. Legally speaking, you're paying for the right to download and listen to (music), watch (movies), or read (e-books) whatever you've purchased. In other words, you are licensing the content . There is no physical medium to own.
For example, if you violate the license in any way or the terms of the license change at some point in the future, you could lose access to something you've already paid for. Your entire digital library could be revoked in the blink of an eye (what really happened on Steam before why I'm not buying games on Steam anymore [Opinion] Why I'm not buying games on Steam anymore [Opinion] Steam is now Se approached 10 years. Its impact has been undeniable. Millions of gamers enjoy seamless community services, low prices, and great selection. I've been one of them, so far... Read More). Are you comfortable paying for something you won't own?
The issue of digital property has other practical implications beyond the legal and hypothetical examples of license. For example, can you sell something you don't have? The obvious answer is "No", but when you apply that to your digital collection, it suddenly gets a bit confusing.
Think of the used media market. You buy a certain book, DVD or board game. You have fun with it for a while, but eventually it loses its shine and you don't want it anymore. List it on eBay (or a seller-friendly eBay alternative Fed up with eBay? Here are some worthwhile (and cheaper) alternatives for sellers Fed up with eBay? Here are some worthy (and cheaper) alternatives for sellers when you want to sell your excess junk online, where do you go? For most people, the only answer is eBay. With millions of daily users, it seems logical to use the… Read more) and sell it for a little money extra.
Seems pretty mundane, right? It is a win-win situation. You walk away with the recovered value of what you sold. The buyer leaves with what he wants but at a reduced price. Everyone happy.
But you can't sell digital files due to license terms. That means every digital purchase you make is a 100 percent sunk cost. You cannot extract any value from it. It's worth nothing. You also can't buy used items from others at discounted prices. It's effectively “full price or nothing” now.
Likewise, if you're on your deathbed and want to bequeath your huge library of digital textbooks and fictional adventures, you can't . At the moment of your death, your access to all of that is legally revoked.
This digital property is turning out to be a real pain, isn't it? The bad news is that we're not done yet. There is another downside to digital ownership (or lack thereof) that affects us all:you can't share your files!
Think about physical media. If you want to lend your book, DVD, or board game to a friend or family member, you can. You just hand it to them and they'll give it back to you when they're done with it. That's how we've always done things, and it works. But digital switches that up.
How would you lend a digital file to a friend? The obvious method is Copy it and send it to them. . Unfortunately, this type of file sharing counts as Internet hacking, even if you don't use file sharing networks! We can argue whether piracy is a good thing or not. 4 ways Internet piracy can be a good thing. 4 ways Internet piracy can be a good thing. Let's open a can of worms and think about this for a minute:is it really that bad? Read more, but the law is the law..
Well, and if you give rather than copy the file? That is a valid option as long as the digital file is not locked with digital rights management. What is DRM and why does it exist if it is so bad? [MakeUseOf Explains] What is DRM and why does it exist if it's so bad? [MakeUseOf Explains] Digital Rights Management is the latest evolution of copy protection. It's the number one cause of user frustration today, but is it justified? Is DRM a necessary evil in this digital age, or is the model... Read More There are several DRM techniques, but they all aim at the same thing:Ensuring that only the person who buys it can use it. .
So loans are out of the question unless you also lend your account or device. Unfortunately, companies tend to ban account and device sharing for this very reason. Again, companies like Amazon have found ways to incorporate digital lending into their service (which you can get with Amazon Prime) 10 Amazing Amazon Prime Benefits You May Have Missed 10 Amazing Amazon Prime Benefits You May Have Missed. , we present some of the notable benefits of Amazon Prime that you may have forgotten or never realized.
Well, that's enough about digital property. There are other downsides to be aware of, such as the very nature of digital storage.
When you buy a board game or a book, you only need physical space. When you buy a CD or DVD, the physical media itself comes with enough storage space to hold the digital content. But when we move into full digital territory, something strange happens..
You have to pay for data storage.! Purchasing a digital file entitles you to download that file, but it's up to you whether or not you have enough space to download it once. And since digital files are getting bigger (4K ultra HD videos are huge ), you will have to buy bigger hard drives 7 things to consider before buying a hard drive 7 things to consider before buying a hard drive Buying a hard drive is easy if you know a few basic tips. Here is a guide to understand the most important features of the hard drive. Read More
In other words, when you buy physical material, you get the content. and the storage for that content all in one convenient package. When you buy digital, you end up paying twice:once for the content and once for your own storage space.
What about internet bandwidth? For those of us who have bandwidth limits on Internet usage How to Measure and Manage Computer Bandwidth Usage How to Measure and Manage Computer Bandwidth Usage Unlimited bandwidth is the dream of all geeks, but unfortunately, it's not always available. Caps are a way for service providers to extract extra money from existing services, so there have been many attempts... Read More times . You buy access to the file, dedicate some of your valuable storage to saving that file, and waste some of your limited internet to download that file. Yikes!
The nature of digital media comes with another drawback, which is lack of longevity . Although physical objects can break, they are inherently more stable than something as fickle as a digital file on your computer.
For example, consider malware. It can be surprisingly easy to detect a malicious virus Viruses, spyware, malware, etc. Explained:Understanding Online Threats Viruses, spyware, malware, etc. Explained:Understanding Online Threats When you start thinking about all the things that could go wrong when surfing the Internet, the web starts to seem like a pretty scary place. Read More When that happens, you can say "Goodbye" to your digital library.
Even if malware is not a threat to you, you still have to worry about the fact that hard drives don't last forever How to Take Care of Your Hard Drives and Make Them Last How to Take Care of Your Hard Drives and Make Them Last Longer Sometimes a Death premature failure is the fault of the manufacturer, but most of the time, hard drives fail before they are due because we do not take care of them. Read more . Are you prepared to lose everything when you wake up one morning to a dead hard drive? Sure, you can download those files again, but it will be at the expense of your time and bandwidth.
And that's assuming the content provider's servers are still up and running.. What happens if Amazon, iTunes or Steam close the store? All that content you paid for suddenly becomes unavailable and you're left high and dry.
And if you want to keep digital backups 6 Safest Ways to Backup and Restore Your Files in Windows 7 and 8 6 Safest Ways to Backup and Restore Your Files in Windows 7 and 8 So far, we're sure you've read the tips and more:everyone needs to back up their files. But deciding to back up your files is only part of the process. There are so many... Read More space you need to pay.
I'm not saying that physical drives are impervious to damage. Yes, discs can break in half. Yes, your house could burn down and consume all of your physical media. But my point is that all things being equal, a physical disk is surely more secure than a digital file. Esto puede o no ser un gran problema para usted, pero es un punto que vale la pena considerar.
A pesar de todas estas desventajas, creo que la mayoría de nosotros probablemente preferimos lo digital a lo físico. Los problemas de propiedad probablemente pasarán a un segundo plano en los próximos años y la seguridad digital mejorará. Cambie sus malos hábitos y sus datos estarán más seguros Cambie sus malos hábitos y sus datos estarán más seguros Lea más a medida que las personas aprendan los pasos correctos para tomar.
Pero estas razones son la prueba de que ser digital no siempre es lo más inteligente, así que no te sientas mal si quieres quedarte con tus colecciones de CD, DVD y libros de árboles muertos Libros Suck:Why I Love My Kindle More Than Dead Trees Books Suck:Why I Love My Kindle Más que Dead Trees Los lectores electrónicos modernos sostienen miles de novelas, pesan casi nada, tienen luces incorporadas y no le causan una conmoción cerebral cuando le tocan la nariz. Read more.
¿Te has vuelto completamente digital? ¿O prefieres la estabilidad de los medios físicos? ¿Qué te hizo balancearte de una manera u otra? Comparte tus opiniones con nosotros en los comentarios a continuación.!
