‘Twas 88 days before Christmas, and all through the house, the only thing stirring was my computer and mouse.
Then up on my browser there arose a slight clicking, I sprang to my toolbar to see what was ticking.
When what to my wondering eyes I should see, but those friendly geeks from Google.com had given me something for free.
There ready for installation was a nifty “pop-up” killer designed to eliminate those pesky advertisements that play havoc with serious Web browsing. It was enough to get me whistling Doris Day’s old ditty, “The Best Things in Life Are Free.”
Google, which has become synonymous with “search engine,” had no idea of how much I’ve yearned for such a useful utility. Like millions of Internet denizens, I was sick, tired and hopelessly defeated by those annoying flash ads pitching the same worthless junk as the e-mail spammers that continuously clog my AOL mail box.
So as I “unwrapped” this little gem (installing it on my Google toolbar that rests on Internet Explorer, also free), I pondered how two major Internet players responded so differently to basically the same consumer problem along with the larger issue of the “free” World Wide Web.
After three years of e-mailing complaints, and hearing nothing but empty promises about fixing the spam problem, perhaps AOL thought its best move was removing its name from its merged partner Time Warner. (Remember, spam was so bad on AOL that Time magazine reporters won special dispensation to move their e-mail away from AOL servers last year.)
As for pop-ups, every bit as annoying as spam, I had tried a few other blockers that either turned out to be overwhelmed or that overachieved, denying me access to legitimate Web sites it deemed as potential pop-ups.
Never in my wildest dreams did I envision the solution would come from those nice Google geeks. The purveyors of this free, but ever-so-useful search engine (have you “Googled” yourself today?) not only anticipated the need by offering the potential fix to users of their toolbar, the darn little thing actually works – blasting an estimated nine of 10 pop ups that try making it to the screen.
It was a gracious gesture in maintaining the traditional “free” nature of the burgeoning Internet that continues under assault by exploiters and their “get rich quick” schemes.
After five years of popular use, the Internet remains free of sales tax charges from out-of-state sites, supports generous “free” shipping from savvy retailers, Web-based discounts that are actually worth using (10 percent or more) and hundreds of useful free sites as dictionaries, encyclopedias, foreign language translations, quotation sites, health care advice – no need to go on and on.
Which, of course, leads us to the latest conflict between exploitative commercial interests and the free Internet tradition – the music industry vs. the free music downloaders. The industry, from Motion Picture Association President Jack Valenti to rapper LL Cool J, appealed to Congress last week essentially “to help us – we’re being bled to death by downloaders.”
Oh, puleeze.
This exasperation does not mean the condoning of wholesale free music downloading and its attendant copyright violations and loss of revenue to that hurts not only corporate profits but the true innocents in this dog fight – the store owners, clerks and artists.
It’s wrong, but given the anti-consumer stance of the music industry perfectly understandable. Listen in on any group chat among music-loving teenagers and college students – the vast majority of music swappers – and the message is clear: lower compact disc and even pre-paid download prices to a reasonable level and watch your revenues, and profits, climb.
Young people are comfortable with free downloading because their only alternative is paying $18.95 a disk that most likely may have no more than three quality tracks on it. Though old enough to be their grandfather, I relate. I haven’t purchased a CD for three years.
Universal Music Group, the world’s largest record company, lowered prices 30 percent last week, but none of its competitors has followed suit, putting the lower prices in jeopardy.
Apparently, the music industry is content following an industrial age business model of punishing customers (with lawsuits and subpoenas) rather than figuring out a way to “Google” them into becoming loyal, satisfied consumers.
Write Eric Zoeckler at The Herald, P.O. Box 930, Everett, WA 98206 or e-mail mrscribe@aol.com.
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