We're about to enter the second month of the year 2012. Year after year, the technology industry produces exciting products and gadgets that get better and smarter. This year, we're expected to see the release of the iPhone 5, more Android Ice Cream Sandwich smartphones, iPad 3 and ICS tablets, smart TVs, and ultrabooks. Even mundane home appliances like a fridge and thermostat are becoming smarter and are connected to the internet. There's one industry, however, that remains disconnected and refuses to catch up with reality — Hollywood. In the eyes of Hollywood's decision makers, 2012 is the year they hope they could finally wipe websites that have the slightest trace of piracy off the internet. 2012 is the year Warner Bros. aims to boost its DVD sales at the expense of the users of rental services, such as Netflix. In the second week of 2012, Warner Bros. imposed a 56-day cooling-off period after a new DVD is released, before rental services could offer the same DVD to their subscribers. That's double the waiting period from the previous 28 days. And just before January ends, Warner Bros. pulled another stunt: restricting Netflix users from adding new DVD releases into their queue for the first 28 days a new DVD is released. That would go into effect next month, according to VentureBeat. What exactly we're having here: A Hollywood studio trying to make it as inconvenient as possible for viewers to legally pay for their productions. And when viewers decide not to put up with its cow dung and pirate their movies instead, Hollywood spend millions of dollars to get destructive bills like SOPA and PIPA passed. Inconvenience doesn't stop piracy, nor will it boost the revenue of Hollywood studios. Instead, offer a better product, and make it a no-brainer process to pay for it. It's no longer funny forcing your viewers to follow your old ways. Photo credit: Vivian Eng 2012: The Year Hollywood Remained Out of Touch
We're about to enter the second month of the year 2012. Year after year, the technology industry produces exciting products and gadgets that get better and smarter. This year, we're expected to see the release of the iPhone 5, more Android Ice Cream Sandwich smartphones, iPad 3 and ICS tablets, smart TVs, and ultrabooks. Even mundane home appliances like a fridge and thermostat are becoming smarter and are connected to the internet. There's one industry, however, that remains disconnected and refuses to catch up with reality — Hollywood. In the eyes of Hollywood's decision makers, 2012 is the year they hope they could finally wipe websites that have the slightest trace of piracy off the internet. 2012 is the year Warner Bros. aims to boost its DVD sales at the expense of the users of rental services, such as Netflix. In the second week of 2012, Warner Bros. imposed a 56-day cooling-off period after a new DVD is released, before rental services could offer the same DVD to their subscribers. That's double the waiting period from the previous 28 days. And just before January ends, Warner Bros. pulled another stunt: restricting Netflix users from adding new DVD releases into their queue for the first 28 days a new DVD is released. That would go into effect next month, according to VentureBeat. What exactly we're having here: A Hollywood studio trying to make it as inconvenient as possible for viewers to legally pay for their productions. And when viewers decide not to put up with its cow dung and pirate their movies instead, Hollywood spend millions of dollars to get destructive bills like SOPA and PIPA passed. Inconvenience doesn't stop piracy, nor will it boost the revenue of Hollywood studios. Instead, offer a better product, and make it a no-brainer process to pay for it. It's no longer funny forcing your viewers to follow your old ways. Photo credit: Vivian Eng 
