Today Is International Day Against DRM 256
jrepin writes "Digital restrictions management (DRM) creates damaged goods that users cannot control or use freely. It requires users to give-up control of their computers and restricts access to digital data and media. Device manufacturers and corporate copyrights holders have already been massively infecting their products with user-hostile DRM. Tablets, mobile phones and other minicomputers are sold with numerous restrictions embedded that cripple users freedom. The proposal at table in W3C to put DRM into HTML goes even further. Fight it: use today's today is international Day Against DRM, so spread the word and make yourself heard!"
The EFF suggests making every day a day against DRM.
EA retaliates (Score:5, Insightful)
EA retaliates with International "Fuck You, You're Going To Buy Our Games Anyway" Day.
Re: (Score:2, Troll)
Not anymore. Stick to your guns.
Is it legal to even SAY guns anymore? Pointed sticks perhaps?
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
Only if they're cooked over an open flame and basted in BBQ-teriyaki sauce...
Re:EA retaliates (Score:5, Insightful)
Re: (Score:2)
Yeah, probably, [gog.com]
Re: (Score:3)
EA makes every day "Fuck You, You're Going To Buy Our Games Anyway" Day.
Exhibit A:
Best Sellers in PC-compatible Games [amazon.com]
We begin with the Slashdot tradition of promoting an event on the day of the event.
There are four events scheduled, one in Bangladesh.
The FOSS Bangladesh are suspending their website (www.fossbd.org) with an image banner, focusing the Day Against DRM-2013 and its cruel effects on IT world, activated from today, 30 April, 2013. Join us on a roadside stands as a Human ties with banners, plackerds and festoons in front of the TSC area at "Raju Circle". As it to exposes the Day Aganists DRM and why we are against DRM and DRM on HTML5.
Day Against DRM - May 3rd, 2013 [libreplanet.org]
You cannot make this stuff up.
There will be the inevitable petitions to the W3C and handouts outside the Microsoft Store in Seattle and that is pretty much it.
I was pleased to discover that the EFF page for the International Day Against DRM links to 2009's Windows7 Sins. [windows7sins.org] campaign.
Who can forg
Re: (Score:2)
Ah but for me, every day is "Don't buy an EA game day" already. Likewise anything from SOE :P
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
if DRM stops the freeloaders
Please, can you name one bigger game from the last years that was not available cracked few days after the release?
Ooh! Ooh! I love Q&A games.... hold on..... This one's tough..... well I give up, I can't think of any games that aren't cracked in a day or two... Wait does this mean that DRM only hurts the people who pay for the game and might actually drive people to download illegally?
(NOTE: Don't answer. It's a rhetorical question. The answer is yes)
Re: (Score:2)
Even if DRM did stop copyright infringers, it would still likely harm actual customers.
Re: (Score:2)
I'm the same way but I've gone even further. I no longer buy anything at all due since I'm one of those FLOSS Neck Beards - Yep I don't even buy shaving cream/soap/blades anymore and the main reason, I can't afford them due to health reasons. God Damn Health care in the states. If you aint rich or covered by some type of health plan, you damn well better not get sick because it'll cost you over $100k for anything serious (requires ambulance/paramedics)
Re: (Score:3)
Why do you make an exception for Steam? It's just another DRM scheme. Stop making this exception, it's funding a company that uses DRM like any other. In fact it is funding the inventor of always-online DRM lest you forget.
Every day's been DRM-free day for me for...probably over a decade now.
No exceptions.
Re: (Score:2)
I don't like being tracked and having your games progress shared. I don't like to see the amount of time wasted when I log in. Single player only.
HOWEVER, I used to spend a fortune on games and now I've only bought a few. and as consoles have held back the PC games minimum spec, I've not bought new hardw
Re: (Score:2)
Guess what the publishers have decided on as one of the costs for their games?
Again, if you dont like it, dont buy it. But you dont get to set the rules on games that someone else writes and publishes.
Re: (Score:3)
Re: (Score:2)
Steam offline mode (Score:2)
[Some game] logs into Steam prior to launch no matter what I do. Again, I bought retail rather than via Steam. I haven't tested trying to run either in a disconnected state
After you log in to Steam, it downloads the receipts for the games that you've "licensed" and caches them for at least a few weeks. Then whenever you run Steam in offline mode, Steam uses the cached receipts to validate games' licenses. There were some pretty nasty defects in offline mode when Half-Life 2 introduced Steam in 2004, but those have been mostly worked out over the better part of a decade. The ServerManagedPolicy in the Google Play Licensing service [android.com] works similarly.
US-centric (Score:4, Interesting)
But if one wants to have a specific day to agitate for something, maybe give some advance warning? Also, a better though-out plan than "spread the word and make yourself heard" might also be useful.
Let's get meta (Score:5, Funny)
Re: (Score:2, Redundant)
Obviously, we need to create an awareness day for awareness days.
Re: (Score:2)
Need DRM Labeling Law (Score:5, Insightful)
Re: (Score:3)
Simple solution that politicians would have a hard time saying no to. All products that have DRM should be forced to display a DRM warning message on the outside of the packaging in print, TV and on line advertising. The message should explain in simple terms what the DRM does. IE - requires on line connection all the times, Requires Disk in drive all the time, prevents back up copies...etc. There should be stiff fines for selling products with DRM and no warning label. Then let the market decide. DRM is toxic to computers and users. So the proper warning is the right thing to do.
So it will end up like those 'this product contains substances known to cause cancer by the state of California' warning labels that are ignored because they are on everything.
Re: (Score:2)
Those labels ended up useless because the law was only enacted *after* virtually every product in some categories was made with carcinogens. But DRM is not yet ubiquitous --- there are still plenty of music, videos, and books sold without DRM. If people went to the grocery store and saw one variety of cheese marked "may cause cancer!" next to three varieties not marked "may cause cancer!", which do you think they'd prefer?
Re: (Score:2)
... grab a random DVD off the shelf behind you. Look at the back of the box.
So, the market has spoken?
Re: (Score:2)
Seems that for all the "gung ho capitalism is awesome" types, they'd rather all the customers be kept in the dark about what they're buying.
Which is really a shame, as the only way capitalism actually works as intended is when the individual customer is sufficiently intelligent and informed to act as the regulating force in the market, and only take actions that are in their long term best interest.
Re: (Score:2)
Which is one of the reasons capitalism *doesn't* work. Information and disinformation are both products with value to different parties. Information helps the consumer and working class. Disinformation helps the wealthy and powerful. Guess which one gets produced the most, when production levels are set by the wealthy and powerful?
ERROR! (Score:5, Funny)
A required security module can not be activated. Your comment can not be posted.
SecuROM has determined a debugging or an emulation tool is running. Please refer to the following procedure to remedy:
Re: (Score:3)
Re: (Score:2)
This witty riposte is not currently available in your region.
Sorry about that.
Kept that one quiet didn't you. (Score:3)
At least IPv6 day was mentioned before hand.
It was in the terms of use (Score:3)
Rights restrictions on recognition of the day limited dissemination of the announcement until the day of the event.
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:3)
May I borrow that video?
Re: (Score:2)
Were you able to copy that movie to your tablet to watch it on an airplane?
Re: (Score:2)
When you're purchasing or renting a product, its important to make sure you know what youre purchasing or renting, and what it can / cant do.
I rather imagine that what parent paid for was the right to watch a video on his XBox, one or more times.
Im not sure if people are being obtuse when they make these kind of arguments. I think everyone gets the whole "DRM is dangerous" argument, and the arguments that it corrodes freedom. Stick to that and cut the stupid arguments.
Re: (Score:2)
Now load that video onto your kid's ipad so he can watch it on your next long road trip.
Ever try to play your instant queue videos from Netflix on a road trip? Sorry, must stick to simple copy protection instead and take DVD's.
Tethering (Score:2)
Now load that video onto your kid's ipad so he can watch it on your next long road trip.
PROTIP: You can use online-only iPad applications on a road trip if you have a mobile hotspot or a smartphone with a tethering plan.
Re: (Score:2)
Ever tried to use a Music CD to file your taxes?
Thats the logic you're employing. Parent never paid for the right to do any of those things, he paid for the right to watch a video on his xbox.
Re: (Score:2)
Alternatively... (Score:5, Informative)
You could go to O'Reilly [oreilly.com] and celebrate by buying any of their 50% ebooks. It jumps to 60% if you're like me and load up your shopping cart like a madman whenever their stuff goes on sale...
Re: (Score:2)
How to recoup development costs? (Score:2)
today you might want to check out the open source app store for android (https://www.F-Droid.org)
What's the best way to recoup the expenses of developing a video game or other application that is distributed under a free software license? F-Droid considers the usual revenue sources for free software in home environments, namely advertisements and non-free add-ons, to be anti-features [f-droid.org].
Lastly, maybe try linux if you havent?
Provided your Internet connection isn't capped to single-digit GB per month, you can download and try a live USB image. Just make sure to try all your peripherals and a suspend/resume cycle before committing to using GNU/L
Digitl Rights Management (Score:2)
How has nobody pointed out yet that DRM stands for Digital Rights Management? Or did I just woosh it?
Restrictions explained (Score:2)
How has nobody pointed out yet that DRM stands for Digital Rights Management?
As you correctly guessed, whoosh. To understand why you whooshed, ask yourself whose "rights" DRM protects. Then see Words to Avoid [gnu.org] to see why DRM opponents expand the R to "restrictions".
Re: (Score:2)
Then see Words to Avoid [gnu.org]
RMS lost his credibility in trying to define anybody else's lexicon with his irritating, self-aggrandizing "GNU/Linux" campaign. You can use his approved NewSpeak if you'd like, but I think the arrogance of anyone trying to tell me "Words to Avoid" is more likely to make me reject their suggestions out of hand.
GNU/Linux means Linux that isn't Android (Score:2)
his irritating, self-aggrandizing "GNU/Linux" campaign
I don't see how "GNU/Linux" is irritating. It distinguishes the operating systems commonly seen on desktops and servers, which use the Linux kernel and GNU components, from Android and embedded Linux systems, which use the Linux kernel without GNU components.
Re: (Score:2)
It's actually more like Linux/GNU.
The GNU components of Linux are valuable, but relatively few of the applications or system components these days are GNU. Or, I should say, probably as many as used to be, but there are so many more additions to Linux that aren't GNU and never were.
Re: (Score:2)
How has nobody pointed out yet that DRM stands for Digital Rights Management?
As you correctly guessed, whoosh. To understand why you whooshed, ask yourself whose "rights" DRM protects. Then see Words to Avoid [gnu.org] to see why DRM opponents expand the R to "restrictions".
Ask yourself whose digital rights are being Managed!
I will probably never buy another Nook. Quite a few Barnes & Noble books I've purchased were supplied DRM-free by the publishers (thank YOU O'Reilly, Baen and Tor!) Nevertheless, I cannot keep backup copies of them in the event that B&N shuts down their servers, because all of the later Nook models hide their book storage in a private space that is apparently inaccessible even when rooted.
In other words, the publisher granted me certain rights, the
The Right to Read (Score:3)
Always the visionary:
http://www.gnu.org/philosophy/right-to-read.html [gnu.org]
a rose by any other name (Score:2)
calling it 'restrictions' is petulent and confusing. without a verbose disclaimer about what you mean and why youve corrupted the name it becomes confusing.
arguments against DRM are just as valid whilst avoiding cheap shots.
Re: (Score:2)
calling it 'restrictions' is petulent and confusing.
Why? It doesn't actually manage rights it manages restrictions.
Rights are things you are allowed to do legally. A software program cannot affect what you are legally allowed to do.
Restrictions are things which you are prevented from doing: precisely what DRM does.
It is a far more informitive name.
Re: (Score:3)
calling it 'restrictions' is petulent and confusing. without a verbose disclaimer about what you mean and why youve corrupted the name it becomes confusing.
arguments against DRM are just as valid whilst avoiding cheap shots.
What an ignorant Pirate!
Seriously, "When. In. Rome."
Really, we're showing a massive amount of restraint here, instead of just calling out anyone using DRM. For example: If you use DRM, then you're actively raping our childrens' and grandchildrens' and great-grandchildrens' minds. DRM is a Disgusting Racist Movement that aims to set Greedy Corporate Publishers apart as an artificial race of self entitled elitists to the detriment of all the real humans who create content: DRM permanently steals the p
Re: (Score:2)
But without a big explanation, it doesn't look like you're attemping to point out that the actual name is a deceptive ploy to obfuscate what DRM does. It looks like you've made an embarrassing mistake.
People love writing off people who make silly mistakes as nuts.
Look at my post above - typed it on a phone, full of typos and grammar errors. If I was trying to argue something important there, anything that could be interpretted as error on my part invites ad hominem attacks which are always good for swaying
Re: (Score:2)
So the straightforward, descriptive name "Digital Restrictions Management" confuses you, but the sugared-up Orwellian name "Digital Rights Management" doesn't? o_O
On a side note (Score:4, Informative)
I'm old enough to remember when the term "minicomputer" was used to describe a computer that fit in a single room. Our desktops were "microcomputers" and our phones and tablets were "science fiction". :-)
In response (Score:3)
Whether you use their products or not is immaterial. By God EVERYBODY steals! Everybody is a pirate and must be punished with extreme prejudice! Them dirty Hobbits are stealing our preciousss!!!!
The bill is expected to pass with 100% support and be signed into law since these groups were "nice" enough to pay for their run for office.
minicomputers (Score:2)
I, for one, was outraged that DEC crippled my PDP-11/34a like that!
..
Everyone, sometimes a word is taken away from us, by hostile forces, totally uncaring about the damage they cause by their disregard for truth and honor. Hacker was one of those words. The ruthless murder of a word taints the grief with excess anger. I don't know what to do about that, except that you must learn how to
A great way to celebrate... (Score:3)
...buy a monthly book bundle [baenebooks.com] from Baen! :o)
Support alternatives (Score:3)
I am a game developer. My game [blockstory.net] is available for ios, android, mac, and pc. So I am giving my perspective on DRM from the other side of the fence.
I do not add DRM to the game.
Piracy, especially in android, is rampant. I die a little inside every time I see someone stealing my work. Meanwhile DRM whispers to me "come and play".
Laws are useless. I could spend my day sending take down notices all over the web. 5 minutes after I take one down, 10 pirates post it in some other place. So I don't do this either.
So what alternatives do we have? lets see...
In app purchase? Hated by a lot of people. Maybe even more than DRM.
Subscription?: Hated
Bundling (humble bundle)?: You can do that once or twice, not a long term solution
Advertising? No revenue.
So yes, go on, oppose DRM if you like. As I said before I don't do it. But don't stop there, think which one of these other business models you do support.
Don't just say "I won't buy this game because of DRM", instead say "I will buy game X instead of Y because of DRM", as that speaks much more loudly.
Re:If we can put an end to DRM (Score:4, Insightful)
If you don't like a product with DRM, don't buy it.
Re: (Score:2)
And become Ted Kaczynski v2.0 in the process. Pretty much every electronic device will have some sort of DRM in it soon if it doesn't already.
Re: (Score:2, Interesting)
Re:If we can put an end to DRM (Score:4, Informative)
Don't buy Televisions from Westinghouse. They're using DRM to restrict over-the-air broadcast reception - the primary purpose of a TV! You have to get a special code from them just to use your TV.
This is one of the very few cases where DRM benefits the consumer, as it keeps the price of the TV lower. Westinghouse does this so that they only have to pay patent royalties for the tuner technology if the tuner is actually used.
Once the tuner is activated, it is permanent until a complete reset of the TV. Even with a reset, the same code will re-activate the tuner, as it is only tied to the serial number. So, yeah, it's a very weak form of DRM, but it's not much of a problem as far as real world use is concerned.
Re: (Score:3)
Including cars! (Your car's ECU is encrypted to try to prevent non-dealer mechanics from working on it.)
Re: (Score:2)
Only true for some cars made in the last few years.
Good thing new cars are heavy and ugly as hell or I'd be really upset about it.
Re: (Score:2)
What!? No, the DRM-free lifestyle is great, you become the millionaire playboy of the digital world!
Arr matey, grab yer torrent client and come aboard!
Products with DRM have become necessities of life (Score:3)
Re: (Score:2)
For example, some countries require citizens to file income tax returns using software that runs only on Windows, an operating system that ships with media players supporting MPAA-approved video DRM.
Which countries are these?
it's becoming more and more of a necessity to own a cellphone, and the vast majority of cellphones ship with bootloader DRM or MPAA-approved video DRM or both.
The vast majority of cellphones have neither of those things and are not smartphones.
Re: (Score:2)
Which countries are these?
I apologize for not having the information handy. I know it's not the United States, but Google keeps showing US results because I live in the US.
The vast majority of cellphones have neither of those things and are not smartphones.
Phones that run BREW [wikipedia.org] use code signing and don't allow the end user to install his own root certificate. Or are BREW phones "smartphones" to you?
Re: (Score:2)
"Not allowed to install root certificate and use signal coding" are completely different than "uses DRM".
They may be trust issues, but thats not the same thing.
Re: (Score:3)
Re: (Score:3)
Re: (Score:2)
No mod points - this should be +5 insightful.
The only DRM'd item I own, is a dumb phone. It's almost a necessity that I carry a phone, but I'll be damned before I pay anyone $500 or more for a DRM'd piece of hardware. If I EVER buy a smart phone, it will be cyanogen modded pretty damned quick.
Re:If we can put an end to DRM (Score:5, Interesting)
There is nothing wrong with DRM. Personally, I think it is not a good idea for music or games. Those are things that should exist perpetually and for your own personal use.
However, it is short sighted to say that DRM should not exist. I brought this up in the previous DRM related thread, but people don't think of its best possible uses.
- When a doctor is sharing your medical information to another doctor, wouldn't you want control over when/where that medical information can be viewed? Wouldn't you want it to self destruct?
- When you work under SEC rules and have to provide your financial statements to management for compliance, wouldn't you want control over where/when those can be viewed?
Yes, it is a bad idea to treat your customers like thieves. But it isn't a bad idea when 3rd parties are distributing your private information to other 3rd parties.
Re: (Score:2)
There are legitimate uses of similar technologies for some of the above purposes, INSIDE of a company/government/or similar.
When you get to 3rd parties using DRM it completely breaks down. DRM is not the right tactic there. I don't want an intricate mess of 3rd parties restricting other 3rd parties in what they can do. That is a security nightmare.
> Wouldn't you want it to self destruct?
No. How would you do that? Embed executable code in my medical records? Once someone has my medical records I w
Re:If we can put an end to DRM (Score:5, Insightful)
Except, in your examples, existing regulatory/enforcement methods seem to work reasonably well already (like HIPAA regulations). Unlike mass media content being sold to (and potentially copied by) zillions of people, it's pretty trivial to determine who is responsible when your medical records show up on the Pirate Bay. Medical and financial professionals might want to build automated compliance safeguards into their own computer systems to, e.g., automatically delete expired "borrowed" files --- but, unlike DRM, such systems can be *entirely under the control of the computer user* (not forced on them by third parties).
Re: (Score:3)
(a) if the existing enforcement regime is already blocking these events (so leaks are rare or unheard of), then "don't fix what ain't broke"
(b) by adding restrictions, I may be hindering my doctors from doing things I'd want them to --- "sorry, the radiologist couldn't read your scans; can you re-send the file with permissions for the radiology department, and $400 for our lost hour of troubleshooting?"
(c) by encouraging DRM to protect "my" data, I'm also encouraging others to do the same against me --- the
Re:If we can put an end to DRM (Score:5, Insightful)
However, it is short sighted to say that DRM should not exist.
- When a doctor is sharing your medical information to another doctor, wouldn't you want control over when/where that medical information can be viewed?
I think you're confusing encryption (a Good Thing) with DRM (a Bad Thing). If encrypted, only authorized doctors would have the decryption key. They can access the data when needed. If DRM'd , the moment the controlling body -- think online gaming server -- dies or is obsoleted, no doctor will ever again be able to access your records. Not an ideal situation.
Re: (Score:3)
DRM, by definition, means that the owner [of the device] does not have control. This is always inherently a bad thing!
Re:If we can put an end to DRM (Score:4, Insightful)
When a doctor is sharing your medical information to another doctor, wouldn't you want control over when/where that medical information can be viewed? Wouldn't you want it to self destruct?
Hell no, imagine all the medical staff who are kept in the dark because time is of essence and the DRM key is not there. Imagine your data leaked in DRM'ed format, so every hacker can have a go at it. Leaking sensitive information is a completely separate problem. DRM is just an envelope. A problematic one for whoever means good, and a laughable one for whoever means bad. Sensitive information should not be leaked PERIOD. Not DRM'ed, not auto-destructing (if you believe that is possible). DRM is no answer to leaks or security issues.
When you work under SEC rules and have to provide your financial statements to management for compliance, wouldn't you want control over where/when those can be viewed?
Off course not. Management is usually digitally challenged, so you can trust management to treat keys in the worst possible fashion imaginable. So they probably cannot read it anyway AND have published the key in a random social network site before you even know there is a key. If you cannot trust management to deal with sensitive information, you have a completely different problem. DRM will not help you there either. The only thing DRM does is break and annoy by design.
Re: (Score:2)
- When a doctor is sharing your medical information to another doctor, wouldn't you want control over when/where that medical information can be viewed? Wouldn't you want it to self destruct?
- When you work under SEC rules and have to provide your financial statements to management for compliance, wouldn't you want control over where/when those can be viewed?
I would absolutely not want DRM on either of these things, it's the wrong solution. What you're looking for here is encryption.
Re: (Score:2)
Re:If we can put an end to DRM (Score:4, Interesting)
You're describing some kind of science fiction fantasy, not DRM. DRM, as we currently know it today, means that neither your own doctor or the other doctor, is able to view the medical information at all, unless they pay some third party (not you) for some kind of tech license, and passes that cost on to you. And then the licensing body (not you) decides what can be done with the information.
If we had DRMed medical records, every patient would have to ask their doctor to store a second copy of all the records, outside of the broken DRM system, so that the information would actually be accessible when it's needed.
The DRM fantasy industry has had ample opportunity to come up with a non-stupid DRM scheme. They have a 100% failure rate: EVERY SINGLE TIME that DRM has been used, it has interfered with customers and providing incentive for them to cut off revenue, and there have been only a few (edge!) cases (DivX) where the DRM prevented misuses. It's all expense and never provides any benefit. Every time. If DRM failed only 99% of the time, maybe we could chalk it up to growing pains, but right now all evidence points to it being a complete scam.
Imagine an industry where, after a few decades and many many products, 100% of the time it turned out to be fraud. DRM is right up there with astrology. That's how seriously we should take it, and it is an outrage that our government is for it, rather than neutral toward it (the conservative, pre-DMCA approach) or outlawing it (the progressive approach).
Re: (Score:3)
No, it can't. If the doctor wishes to nefariously leak the information, then the DRM will not stop him. Worst case, he can take a photograph of the screen (not that it's likely to require anything so extreme). He can read it aloud while another person (or robot) in the room listens.
If DRM actually so
Re: (Score:3)
That's like saying that the OpenGL group is heavily supported by ATI and nVidia, and the suggestion to remove GPU's from computers in favour of a little man who draws the screen for you breaks their business model.
It doesn't mean that having the little man ISN'T a stupid idea, or that ATI/nVidia should be ignored for their opinion.
Assume for a second that Google *are* anti-DRM. Assume it has nothing to do with their business or (equally) is SOLELY because it affects their way to make money. Who are they g
Re: (Score:3)
The EFF is heavily supported by Google and DRM breaks Google's business model. Is it any surprise that the EFF is saying this.
Really, you're being silly. The EFF is older than google and has always been against this sort of thing. If you're going to make wild claims then you need to provide evidence to back it up.
Merely relying on an over developed sense of cynicism isn't actually evidence.
ut as Linus Torvalds says, DRM is just the same problem as cryptography and secure communication.
Linus Torvalds has s
Re:Of course the EFF hates DRM-- They're Google (Score:4, Interesting)
1) So what if it's older.
Well it means that they were provably against such things before google came on the scene. Therefore google appear to have not modified the EFF's behaviour.
And so they dance like any hired gun.
[citation needed]
i.e. put up or shut up.
Show one thing where the EFF have gone against their stated goals as a result of google's influence.
3) DRM is secure communication. The pirates are the eavesdroppers.
There's no notion of "pirate" in the cryptography world. Please make some attempt to stick to established terminology otherwise understanding you is quite difficult.
The eavesdropper is the same as the recipient. That's the difference. Eve and Bob are the same person.
Locking up my love letter so only my spouse can read it is the exact technological challenge as locking up my artistic creation so only the non-pirates can view it.Locking up my love letter so only my spouse can read it is the exact technological challenge as locking up my artistic creation so only the non-pirates can view it.
Not even slightly. Pirates aren't eavesdroppers. Your spouse is the pirate. DRM is an attempt to make it readable but not copyable by your spouse.
Quit being a sap for leeching business models
That's an odd allegation.
Quit being a sap for leeching business models. The EFF and Google just want to manipulate you into hating DRM so the money will keep flowing to them.
I disliked DRM before google even existed. It was called copy protection then.
Re: (Score:2)
I smell ad hominems of multiple varieties.
Re: (Score:2)
The EFF is older than google and has always been against this sort of thing
So what if it's older. They get huge bushels of cash from Google and the Brin foundation today. And so they dance like any hired gun.
If you they were going against their original charter, I would agree with you, but EFF is acting within character for the EFF. Google gave EFF money so that EFF could continue doing EFF-y things like oppose DRM on principle.
DRM is secure communication.
Only in the same way transporting gpg encrypted files zipped up with the keys and passphrases that can decrypt said files is secure communication. DRM is an attempt to restrict who has the keys while simultaneously spreading the keys.
Re: (Score:3)
Re: (Score:2)
I can't decide of you're being sarcastic, or are just a massive troll for big content aggregators/owners.
Cryptography for private communication is keeping private things private. Cryptography for DRM is artificially limiting a commercial product in an attempt to maximize profit. Very, very different applications
Google's desire to limit/oppose DRM is somewhat perpendicular to either of these - they want access so they can provide search services that are as comprehensive as possible, and offer content-releva
Re: (Score:3)
If we want to have privacy and cryptography, DRM is just an extension of it.
It isn't really the same thing, though.
Privacy and cryptography: Alice uses Alice's computer to securely communicate with Bob's computer (and presumably Bob on the other end), without Eve listening in on the conversation. For example, the goal of key-based cryptography is that only Bob can understand Alice's messages and be sure they're from Alice, while only Alice understands Bob's messages and is sure they're from Bob.
DRM: Bob uses Alice's computer to securely talk to Bob's computer, without Alice listeni
Re: (Score:3)
If you aren't buying crap with DRM why complain about it?
Because manufacturers make affordable products only for the majority of users, not the minority of users. If only a slim minority of users abstain from works and devices that use digital restrictions management, manufacturers of devices and publishers of works won't see DRM-free as a selling point. Eventually, it'll become impossible to publish a work to a wide audience without DRM, as has been the case for TV video games since the mid-1980s when Atari introduced code signing on the 7800 and Nintendo introd
Re: (Score:2)
A PC isn't (Score:2)
Isn't an Xbox a DRM system?
The idea as I see it is to use a PC instead of an Xbox 360. Like an Xbox 360, a PC can use Xbox 360 controllers and output video to an HDTV. But unlike an Xbox 360, a PC can run software that respects the user's freedom.
IP is a seductive mirage (Score:2)
Then DON'T BUY THEM. No one has forced you at gunpoint to use iTunes.
Countries do force their citizens at gunpoint to file income tax returns. Some of these countries require that tax returns be filed electronically using software that runs only on Windows.
Tablets, mobile phones and other minicomputers are sold with numerous restrictions embedded that cripple users freedom.
THEN DON'T BUY THEM. Buy a Linux laptop instead.
Good luck making a telephone call from a Linux laptop.
protect our IP
To protect your Internet Protocol address, use a firewall. For other meanings of "IP", see "Seductive Mirage" [gnu.org].
Re: (Score:2)
"Digital restrictions management (DRM) creates damaged goods that users cannot control or use freely."
Then DON'T BUY THEM. No one has forced you at gunpoint to use iTunes. Buy DRM free good.
What do you do when the following happens?
(a) DRM-free products become illegal (due to captured regulation)
or
(b) DRM-free products become unavailable (due to corporations realizing that 90% of the population are similar to the AC parent: either ignorant of the issue or are happy to give up their rights for a discount at the cash register)
i386 == mini (Score:2)