RIAA and Fair Use; CompUSA Closing; BitTorrent's New Site

Our news story on how the RIAA is opposing the "Fair Use" Act sparked quite a debate on copyright and the fair use of content.

CompUSA has announced that it will be closing many of its stores, and many of you don't seem surprised. You shared your stories about horrible service and lack of knowledgeable salespeople. Read PC World Editor in Chief Harry McCracken's blog for more on the closures.

BitTorrent has recently launched a new site where users can buy downloadable movies and TV shows. So, should you buy, rent, or steal content? Read Harry McCracken's blog for more on BitTorrent.

Our Community Poll this week is a quick "love it or hate it." What do you think of IrfanView, a free image editor? Let us know.

We end with product reviews from users like yourself. Which program convinced someone to upgrade to the Pro version in less than a minute? Which product has been recalled? Check out the reviews and see for yourself! Don't forget you can add your own review by looking up a product in PC World Shopping and clicking the "Add Your Review" tab.

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RIAA Opposes "Fair Use" Bill

kj1975 says: Why should I not be able to use the media that I purchase for my own use the way I see fit? Someone must stop the RIAA and repeal this silly law. The RIAA said it all, "The difference between hacking done for non-infringing purposes and hacking done to steal is impossible to determine and enforce." They intend on treating each and every customer as a criminal. What will they try next?

swvaboy says: While this bill is just a start, I hope that the fair use of works that we buy and pay for continues to be pushed. I think we all should contact our congressman/woman and urge them to support this bill.

gigajohn says: The RIAA had better enjoy the lawsuits while they last, because more and more consumers are discovering encrypted file sharing, which means that soon they won't be able to track anyone's file sharing anymore.

ImaPhake says: This thing was introduced in the past (twice) and failed. It is likely to fail again. Politicians aren't going to support this Fair Use Bill as long as they receive money from those interests which the DMCA purports to "protect." Sure, you can threaten to not reelect them, but that is just aiming at the wrong target, anyway. Who is the correct target? The RIAA.

Read all the posts in this thread and contribute your own opinion.
CompUSA Implodes

Golferone says: Best Buy should be next. I was just taken by them again. They have very poor customer service. One person makes a promise and another says they can't deliver. The people who deal with you really don't have any business sense.

walt526 says: This has been a long time coming, IMHO. CompUSA simply offered inferior service at noncompetitive prices. They were basically the AOL of computer superstores: Their only customers were people who knew very little about technology and didn't have a tech-savvy friend to tell them otherwise.

Toulinwoek says: My local CompUSA store used to be Computer City, which was great. When CompUSA bought it, they got rid of all the mature, knowledgeable staff and populated the place with a bunch of pimply faced computer tech wannabees, probably fresh out of high school, who didn't know a memory chip from a potato chip.

sin91 says: Just recently I called CompUSA to see if they carried CPU heat sinks that fit my processor. The person on the phone told me they didn't carry them. I knew this couldn't be right, so I went there and found a whole big shelf of them.

Read Harry McCracken's blog, then add your comments.
BitTorrent: Buy, Rent, or Steal?

Raizen says: It won't turn users away like what happened in Kazaa or Morpheus because they were run by an organization and the entire network was controlled by their servers. BitTorrent creates a new network for each file. You download a torrent file that tells where this server is that is controlling the network.

venkat2cool says: I don't understand how these companies will keep the torrent active. Currently a good torrent is seeded by users because it's free and it's for mutual benefit. If I'm paying for something, why should I seed its torrent?

alienzen says: I didn't buy a 52-inch HDTV only to be told I can only watch these files on a 19-inch PC monitor. And I am not spending hundreds of my hard-earned dollars buying another PC dedicated to TV.

RyanA says: This will never work. People have gotten used to not paying for stuff, and it's hard to beat "free."

Read Harry McCracken's blog, then add your comments.
Community Poll

In "Great Graphics for Free," Preston Gralla highlighted some free graphics editors. One commenter was outraged that IrfanView was not among the tools discussed.