DRM's power grab gets more naked - I think this week may be when the supposed middle ground of DRM vanishes. Walt Mossberg and Chris...
Sad, but true. I do think it is a good thing that the DRM middle ground vanishes, from our eyes, since it never really existed. At least now the lines are drawn.
Although it is just one battle, the DRM, or making sure DRM gets into the big bucket in the sky is important. And here is why:
- it breaks stuff - your computer, your equipment, your entertainment
- it enslaves - ok, softer - it controls you and your viewing and using habits. Your computer knows more than you. While it may be true for a limited part of the gray suited humanity, it is not for the rest od us.
- it is humiliating, to wake up one morning and find out that you are not trusted.
- it stops wonderful things to be created - your son's movie, your music, ______, please fill in the blanks
- it is simply wrong to force people to behave the "right" way - if a huge minority doesn't want to obey a law, the law is simply wrong
- it is technicaly unenforceable - the history of DRM attempts is full of failures, copy protected CDs, intentionally defective CDs, remmeber the "weak bits" floppy protection - how long did it take to find a (relatively) low-fi way to counter them? Should I mention that we can emulate everything these days. Ok, nearly everything.
