What if Kaliedescape, Inc. WAS the VAULT?

[brodricj]

Originally Posted by Transepoch

Requires internet connection to verify content... where have I heard of this as a bad thing before?

How about this. You buy the disc from K, then they OK your server to import it. When you receive the disc you can import it if you want. They could even set up a collaboration with Amazon or other e-retailers, so that once a sale has been completed then K is advised and in turn your server is given the OK to import the disc. Presumably this whole process could be automated so the on-going cost of maintaining it would be minimal. There could be a small premium applied to the sale of a "K importable" disc that goes to the monkey who's hanging off K's back, so then Mr Monkey gets his cut. There is no need for K to store the disc as proof of ownership, the disc is kept at the same premises as the server.

Where this approach falls down of course is if the owner of the disc later sells it to someone else, then in effect the disc has been turned into two copies. But the main aim of Mr Monkey is to prevent rental discs from being imported to a server and thus they've missed a royalty for a sale. This wouldn't apply here because the original "K importable" disc does not end up in a wide distribution like the rental disc does.

Taking the "premium on sale" approach a step further. What if the disc you bought from K was about double the normal price. You import the disc to your server and then when you're done you can either keep it or send it back to K (or whoever). If you send it back after import they give you a credit for about half of what you paid, so in effect you've paid about full price for the content, or perhaps less. Only draw back being you don't have physical possession of the disc any more. You always have the choice to keep the disc, but you've had to pay a premium for the ability to import it.

If you later choose to sell the disc, or give it away or whatever, you tell K and they give you a credit for the premium you paid for it. K then sends the order to your server to delete that content. A bit like recycling schemes where you take your empty coke cans down to the recycling depot and get 5c for them.

[Transepoch]

That all sounds fairly complicated. If those are the alternatives, just offer to charge me $6 for the download, send Mr. Monkey a check for $5, and call it a day.

[brodricj]

Originally Posted by Transepoch

... just offer to charge me $6 for the download...

In that scenario all that remains for many International K owners (like me) is to convince their respective Governments to install the $billion+ broadband infrastructure so that we can do those $6 downloads

[Transepoch]

Originally Posted by brodricj

In that scenario all that remains for many [s]International[/s] K owners (like me) is to convince their respective Governments to install the $billion+ broadband infrastructure so that we can do those $6 downloads

Don't forget to have them start with ours, so that K can have a big enough upstream pipe to feed your spiffy new infrastructure. Or maybe the new USB ports are for the optional satellite relays. Besides, doesn't throwing international commerce requirements into the "buy from K" plans just make all of them even more complicated still?

Anyway, just because they would be welcome to offer it doesn't mean that I would be any more interested in downloaded content then I already aren't.