What Happens to Your Digital Goods When You Die?

[Rob Williams]

Here's an eye-opening question: what happens to your digital goods when you die? If you have a closet-full of CDs, baseball cards, computer equipment or whatever else one might put in a will, it can be successfully transferred over to someone else after you die. Your digital goods? Well as you might imagine, it's pretty difficult to hand over raw data - and that's if the licenses allow you to.

Read the rest of our post and then discuss it here!

 

[Kayden]

Sadly I have thought of this. I really hope this changes soon cause I would like it for my kids to take ownership of said items if they are interested, after I pass of course. Until then, I guess I don't have to worry about being offed for them. (c;

 

[RainMotorsports]

I only find this an after thought to the real problem. Sure the licenses might now allow you to sell or transfer. But even being alive the eventual problem at its core is still present.

Older software when it goes unsupported thanks to the DRM and Activation routines can be turned useless. Dead or alive at some point no one is using it.

I was thinking about this a little bit as I upgraded some sony software yesterday and had to go through the activation process.

 

[Rob Williams]

The only reason I'm not overly concerned at the moment is that my family would have no use for the digital content I own - tastes just differ greatly. But on the other hand, if all of the digital games and music I owned were -real-, they could be sold to help pay for a funeral or something like that. It's pretty hard to sell a used digital game (plus they're usually in rough condition).

 

[madmat]

All my digital data is pr0n anyway and since tastes differ I doubt anyone but me would be interested in it.