It never ceases to amaze me how some antiquated business models employ extreme protectionism over the control they have over long-established industries and consumer goods segments of the economy.

Resistance to change rums rampant, but in the age of the Internet where information and data -- all kinds of data -- can be freely interchanged in an instant, the days are numbered for some industries unless change occurs, even if it means being dragged into a "new digital world."

The struggles of satellite radio companies like XM Satellite Radio (NASDAQ:XMSR) and Sirius Satellite Radio Inc. (NASDAQ:SIRI) are overshadowed a bit when these companies attempt to give their customers innovative products. Alas, XM Radio just can't seem to get a break for introducing innovative features for its consumers like portable radio receivers that can -- gasp with me -- store content for later viewing. Think of it as a TiVo for radio in a sense as you view this product.

As Michael Fowlkes wrote about earlier, the Recording Industry Cartel Association of America -- the RIAA -- has again flipped its lid and wants to sue XM Radio for allowing customers to "time shift" XM satellite radio programming on certain recording devices. We can argue analog versus digital forever, but since fair-use analog VCRs haven't been illegal for over 20 years, nor should these devices.

Just read the comments over at this blog post on TechDirt -- some of them are so well-written and convincing that you'd bet there is some partial truth to them. Is there?