Bonum Certa Men Certa

Microsoft's DRM May Get More Aggressive, Apple Bullies to Defend DRM

Broken CD
Defective. By design.



Shelved away in our DRM category we happen to have a lot of posts on the subject, some of which cover Novell's ambivalent take on this issue. Novell is, after all, a largely proprietary software company.



It seemed worthwhile to draw attention to the attitude towards DRM where proprietary operating systems are dominant (mostly desktops). Microsoft's attitude towards DRM we have already covered in [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]. Microsoft openly says that it likes DRM and according to this new report from The Register, things can get worse than Vista.

Microsoft is adopting technology from EMC's RSA security division for Windows to police data and prevent loss and theft of information.

[...]

Microsoft would not be drawn on whether the DLP engine will be built into Office or the forthcoming Windows 7. Office would be logical move given it features the Outlook client used by Exchange and is where potentially sensitive documents can be created in Word, Excel, and PowerPoint.


Why is RSA being adopted? Is it for whatever is says on the tin? Such things are often phased in using "security" as an excuse, but this turns out to be financial security to media monopolies. It's a two-edged sword. Are backup features more about forensics, for example?

"DRM is the future."

--Steve Ballmer, Microsoft CEO



Either way, as reiterated in this article, Microsoft refuses to consider practical examples and steer away from DRM, which is not effective. It harms honest people and fails to limit copying by those who are sufficiently determined.

Valve says DRM is stupid, but Microsoft still doesn't get it



Valve is a wonderfully open company—in many cases, direct questions sent to the publisher will be answered by a member of the creative team within hours. One gamer recently e-mailed Valve and asked why he saw EA's logo on a commercial for Left 4 Dead: he bought the game via Steam but didn't want to support EA after the Spore DRM debacle. He got a reply from a managing director at the company, Gabe Newell, that was to the point: EA only handles distribution for the physical product, and Valve thinks most DRM is "just dumb."


In order to defend its DRM and lock-in, Apple continues its appalling crusade and legally harasses a blogger for it.

Apple copies Microsoft tactics in Itunes row



[...]

Sam Odio, operator of bluwiki, did what Jobs' Mob demanded only because he said he lacked the money to take on the fruit-themed toymaker.

He told AP that, when a lawyer calls you up and implicitly threatens litigation that would bankrupt your little project, you obviously have no choice but to comply.


The next time Apple pretends that it only implements DRM [1, 2] because of the music industry, such examples are worth bearing in mind. Better options do exist [3].

It is almost amusing that Apple/Mac enthusiasts vilified Vista for DRM whilst the company they so loyally defended goes down the same route, only later. Free software is a safe haven; replacing one proprietary 'master' with another is no solution and Novell, by the way, is still predominantly proprietary (with exceptions.

_____ [1] Apple's new MacBooks have built-in copy protection measures

Apple's new MacBook lines include a form of digital copy protection that will prevent protected media, such as DRM-infused iTunes movies, from playing back on devices that aren't compliant with the new priority protection measures.


[2] EFF: Apple DisplayPort DRM Will Lead to More Piracy

When Apple released its new MacBook and MacBook Pro models, as well as updated MacBook Air models, one feature of those latest laptops touted by Apple was their Mini DisplayPort video connection. This new connector is part of an open standard and is smaller than the DVI, mini-DVI, and micro-DVI ports found on the previous generation of Apple laptops. But there's one feature of the Mini DisplayPort on Apple laptops that isn't sitting well with many users--High-bandwidth Digital Content Protection (HDCP).


[3] MP3 Store Guide: ‘Don’t buy DRM’ (like iTunes)



Yesterday korporate download sites HMV, Woolworths, 7digital, Digitalstores, Tescodigital, Tunetribe, and Play.co launched a new ‘100% MP3 compatible’ logo devised by the Entertainment Retailers Association.

Comments

Recent Techrights' Posts

Comparing U.E.F.I. to B.I.O.S. (Bloat and Insecurity to K.I.S.S.)
By Sami Tikkanen
New 'Slides' From Stallman Support (stallmansupport.org) Site
"In celebration of RMS's birthday, we've been playing a bit. We extracted some quotes from the various articles, comments, letters, writings, etc. and put them in the form of a slideshow in the home page."
Thailand: GNU/Linux Up to 6% of Desktops/Laptops, According to statCounter
Desktop Operating System Market Share Thailand
António Campinos is Still 'The Fucking President' (in His Own Words) After a Fake 'Election' in 2022 (He Bribed All the Voters to Keep His Seat)
António Campinos and the Administrative Council, whose delegates he clearly bribed with EPO budget in exchange for votes
Adrian von Bidder, homeworking & Debian unexplained deaths
Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
Sainsbury’s Epic Downtime Seems to be Microsoft's Fault and Might Even Constitute a Data Breach (Legal Liability)
one of Britain's largest groceries (and beyond) chains
 
People Don't Just Kill Themselves (Same for Other Animals)
And recent reports about Boeing whistleblower John Barnett
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Monday, March 18, 2024
IRC logs for Monday, March 18, 2024
Suicide Cluster Cover-up tactics & Debian exposed
Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
Gemini Links 19/03/2024: A Society That Lost Focus and Abandoning Social Control Media
Links for the day
Matthias Kirschner, FSFE: Plagiarism & Child labour in YH4F
Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
Linux Foundation Boasting About Being Connected to Bill Gates
Examples of boasting about the association
Alexandre Oliva's Article on Monstering Cults
"I'm told an earlier draft version of this post got published elsewhere. Please consider this IMHO improved version instead."
[Meme] 'Russian' Elections in Munich (Bavaria, Germany)
fake elections
Sainsbury's to Techrights: Yes, Our Web Site Broke Down, But We Cannot Say Which Part or Why
Windows TCO?
Plagiarism: Axel Beckert (ETH Zurich) & Debian Developer list hacking
Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
Links 18/03/2024: Putin Cements Power
Links for the day
Flashback 2003: Debian has always had a toxic culture
Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
[Meme] You Know You're Winning the Argument When...
EPO management starts cursing at everybody (which is what's happening)
Catspaw With Attitude
The posts "they" complain about merely point out the facts about this harassment and doxing
'Clown Computing' Businesses Are Waning and the Same Will Happen to 'G.A.I.' Businesses (the 'Hey Hi' Fame)
decrease in "HEY HI" (AI) hype
Free Software Needs Watchdogs, Too
Gentle lapdogs prevent self-regulation and transparency
Matthias Kirschner, FSFE analogous to identity fraud
Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
Gemini Links 18/03/2024: LLM Inference and Can We Survive Technology?
Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Sunday, March 17, 2024
IRC logs for Sunday, March 17, 2024
Links 17/03/2024: Microsoft Windows Shoves Ads Into Third-Party Software, More Countries Explore TikTok Ban
Links for the day
Molly Russell suicide & Debian Frans Pop, Lucy Wayland, social media deaths
Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
Our Plans for Spring
Later this year we turn 18 and a few months from now our IRC community turns 16
Open Invention Network (OIN) Fails to Explain If Linux is Safe From Microsoft's Software Patent Royalties (Charges)
Keith Bergelt has not replied to queries on this very important matter
RedHat.com, Brought to You by Microsoft Staff
This is totally normal, right?
USPTO Corruption: People Who Don't Use Microsoft Will Be Penalised ~$400 for Each Patent Filing
Not joking!
The Hobbyists of Mozilla, Where the CEO is a Bigger Liability Than All Liabilities Combined
the hobbyist in chief earns much more than colleagues, to say the least; the number quadrupled in a matter of years
Jim Zemlin Says Linux Foundation Should Combat Fraud Together With the Gates Foundation. Maybe They Should Start With Jim's Wife.
There's a class action lawsuit for securities fraud
Not About Linux at All!
nobody bothers with the site anymore; it's marketing, and now even Linux
Links 17/03/2024: Abuses Against Human Rights, Tesla Settlement (and Crash)
Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Saturday, March 16, 2024
IRC logs for Saturday, March 16, 2024
Under Taliban, GNU/Linux Share Nearly Doubled in Afghanistan, Windows Sank From About 90% to 68.5%
Suffice to say, we're not meaning to imply Taliban is "good"
Debian aggression: woman asked about her profession
Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
Gemini Links 17/03/2024: Winter Can't Hurt Us Anymore and Playstation Plus
Links for the day