Helluva nice article on Salon about file sharing and the real potential of mp3 swapping and CD burning and its ability to bring down the record industry. Stan Liebowitz, argues that it’s possible that people will continue to buy CD’s just because it’s the most honest thing to do and people are generally pretty honest.

My experience suggests the same. I love music and love FREE music but musicians need to get paid or else there ain’t going to be any good music to listen to. Downloading music serves two purposes for me: filtering out garbage (I buy a lot less one-hit wonder CD’s) and expanding my tastes by allowing me to find and listen to all kinds of new music (and genres) I wouldn’t necessarily take a $16 chance with at the local record store. Internet radio offers the same filter/research potenltials. But the end result is always the same; I’m at the Record store plopping down my $16 for a shinny piece of plastic or engourged double-vinyl set, and at the end of the month I have many new CD’s and no money for groceries. Q.E.D.

I finally REALLY found the ultimate flip flop, just in time to sit around and watch world cup action and pirate music.

Designers: a call for new Open Source OSX icons. Submit your own and customize what you got with what other people did and so forth.