Speaking of slot manufacturers and operators, I recall reading somewhere that the “imminent” roll-out of server-based slots is still in the future. I think that speaks to the conservatism of the industry. Look at where iTunes has gone in the last 5 years, and I think it’s clear that gaming is far more hesitant to embrace new technologies than other industries. Whether that’s by disposition or necessity, I can’t say.

Because it’s so hard to stop file sharing, some artists have chosen to shift their revenue stream to touring or offer super-fancy CD sets with extensive liner notes and art. Many of them seeing themselves making a living off of performing rather than selling units. It’s a tough situation, though, and there’s really no easy answer.

Me and a girl I used to work with used named Annette used to argue about this topic occasionally back when I worked with her from 2002 to 2004. She said music companies have been ripping off customers for years and her boyfriend (now husband) went on Napster between 1999 through 2001 and downloaded hundreds of songs for free while they were in college together.

I explained to Annette that what her boyfriend was doing at the time was illegal but she did not feel guilty at all. Considering thousands of other people were doing this at the same time there is no way the music companies could stop this. Lastly, the odds of the people actually getting caught were pretty high so the pilfering continued so the music companies sued Napster.