http://www.engadget.com/2009/09/24/entelligence-have-we-demonized-drm/ Engadget Comments for Entelligence: Have we demonized DRM? http://www.engadget.com/media/feedlogo.gif http://www.engadget.com en-us Copyright 2012 Weblogs, Inc. The contents of this feed are available for non-commercial use only. Blogsmith http://www.blogsmith.com/http://www.engadget.com/2009/09/24/entelligence-have-we-demonized-drm/http://www.engadget.com/2009/09/24/entelligence-have-we-demonized-drm/Sep 24th 2009 6:39PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/09/24/entelligence-have-we-demonized-drm/http://www.engadget.com/2009/09/24/entelligence-have-we-demonized-drm/Sep 24th 2009 7:29PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/09/24/entelligence-have-we-demonized-drm/http://www.engadget.com/2009/09/24/entelligence-have-we-demonized-drm/Sep 24th 2009 6:45PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/09/24/entelligence-have-we-demonized-drm/http://www.engadget.com/2009/09/24/entelligence-have-we-demonized-drm/Sep 24th 2009 6:47PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/09/24/entelligence-have-we-demonized-drm/http://www.engadget.com/2009/09/24/entelligence-have-we-demonized-drm/
i think maybe the same analogy could be used here?]]>Sep 24th 2009 6:49PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/09/24/entelligence-have-we-demonized-drm/http://www.engadget.com/2009/09/24/entelligence-have-we-demonized-drm/Sep 24th 2009 6:56PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/09/24/entelligence-have-we-demonized-drm/http://www.engadget.com/2009/09/24/entelligence-have-we-demonized-drm/Sep 24th 2009 6:56PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/09/24/entelligence-have-we-demonized-drm/http://www.engadget.com/2009/09/24/entelligence-have-we-demonized-drm/DRM in songs that we buy (and hopefully own) = bad

I think we all agree

]]>Sep 24th 2009 6:59PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/09/24/entelligence-have-we-demonized-drm/http://www.engadget.com/2009/09/24/entelligence-have-we-demonized-drm/
Seriously, DRM is bad when I'm restricted to port my own contents into my new type of gadgets. DRM is only good within an extremely and well rounded ecosystem.]]>Sep 24th 2009 7:25PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/09/24/entelligence-have-we-demonized-drm/http://www.engadget.com/2009/09/24/entelligence-have-we-demonized-drm/
Then DRM would be protecting the value of my purchases NOT just the intellectual property of someone who wants to control who, when and on what I use MY purchases.

As it stands all DRM schemes and the DMCA is just the ultimate "rectal boning" for consumers while providing the ultimate heavy hand to protect media producers. ]]>Sep 24th 2009 7:32PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/09/24/entelligence-have-we-demonized-drm/http://www.engadget.com/2009/09/24/entelligence-have-we-demonized-drm/
not so fast homeboy. subscription music is good. drm purchases are bad.

NOW, here's my two cents

subscription music is a brilliant invention. i have napster and i gladly pay the 15 bucks a month to download EVERYTHING I want. what i love best is the charts and suggestions and what not. it's legit and it's awesome. I use a program called Tunebite which rerecords my wma files so they can be made into mp3s and then i can sync with my media player of choice (Cowon A5 and iPhone).

The problem is that subscription music was never released on a mp3 player that was truly the market leader aka iPod. if apple had done that, we'd all be singing it's praises because we'd all pay a set fee and download whatever we'd like and i'm sure no one would have an issue, because now they are being legal and they download whatever they want. when napster only supported windows drm and the playsforsure devices, they are not as popular and they do not catch on hence drm fails.

As much as i don't want it too, it brings the argument back to the iPod. people use the word iPod as interchangeably as they do "kleenex" it means mp3 player, it means tissues. when a mom wants to get her kid an mp3 player, she gets an iPod, kids like using their iPods. no one calls them PMPs or mp3 players or anything of the like because 95% of the market is iPod. apple won the portable media boat, so much so that they have failed to innovate in 3 years and everyone still buys all their stuff. i own an iPhone (which i'm getting tired of) and i have a nano and 4G, I got the nano for free (the bank. see my point?) and the 4G is the one i actually like, monochrome, 40gb, simple amazing. this is when apple was truly innovating, when the iPod wasn't so much a gimme as it was a luxury device, it'll be looked back upon and people will say that the 5G was the last great iPod, when the nano was released (hell, i'll even say the mini) it was the bastardization of the iPod brand. my 4G cost 500 bucks, you can get a nano for 150; hence everyone has one. and hence DRM fails for this reason. while apple had aac drm, it was fine because when 95% of a market uses something, they typically get their voice heard (personal computing aside) when the other 5% innovate, they generally tend to loose irregardless.

so to sum it up, the iPod was the reason why DRM failed and why we demonize it as such. the iPod stood for everything (in our minds and hearts only btw) free and open while DRM was the closed system that everyone was inclined to hate. if apple had picked up the subscription music plan, then we'd all be singing a much different tune.


/done, shit, i really should write for a blog or something, i put too much effort in not to get paid]]>Sep 24th 2009 8:06PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/09/24/entelligence-have-we-demonized-drm/http://www.engadget.com/2009/09/24/entelligence-have-we-demonized-drm/Sep 24th 2009 8:13PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/09/24/entelligence-have-we-demonized-drm/http://www.engadget.com/2009/09/24/entelligence-have-we-demonized-drm/Sep 27th 2009 7:00AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/09/24/entelligence-have-we-demonized-drm/http://www.engadget.com/2009/09/24/entelligence-have-we-demonized-drm/Sep 24th 2009 6:39PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/09/24/entelligence-have-we-demonized-drm/http://www.engadget.com/2009/09/24/entelligence-have-we-demonized-drm/Sep 24th 2009 7:06PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/09/24/entelligence-have-we-demonized-drm/http://www.engadget.com/2009/09/24/entelligence-have-we-demonized-drm/Sep 24th 2009 7:10PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/09/24/entelligence-have-we-demonized-drm/http://www.engadget.com/2009/09/24/entelligence-have-we-demonized-drm/Sep 24th 2009 7:30PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/09/24/entelligence-have-we-demonized-drm/http://www.engadget.com/2009/09/24/entelligence-have-we-demonized-drm/Sep 24th 2009 7:58PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/09/24/entelligence-have-we-demonized-drm/http://www.engadget.com/2009/09/24/entelligence-have-we-demonized-drm/Sep 24th 2009 10:14PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/09/24/entelligence-have-we-demonized-drm/http://www.engadget.com/2009/09/24/entelligence-have-we-demonized-drm/Sep 24th 2009 6:40PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/09/24/entelligence-have-we-demonized-drm/http://www.engadget.com/2009/09/24/entelligence-have-we-demonized-drm/
Stave Jobs' letter was mere posturing.
Any pretence that Apple didn't love DRM is bull.]]>Sep 24th 2009 7:30PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/09/24/entelligence-have-we-demonized-drm/http://www.engadget.com/2009/09/24/entelligence-have-we-demonized-drm/Sep 24th 2009 8:44PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/09/24/entelligence-have-we-demonized-drm/http://www.engadget.com/2009/09/24/entelligence-have-we-demonized-drm/Given the choice of all you can eat buffet... I will always go for the 3 slices. The quality will be so much better.
I am talking literally here. I work in Soho in London there is a buffet chinese over the road, I will never eat there because I know the food will be terrible.

So... I would rather pay for quality than feast on rubbish]]>Sep 24th 2009 6:44PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/09/24/entelligence-have-we-demonized-drm/http://www.engadget.com/2009/09/24/entelligence-have-we-demonized-drm/Sep 24th 2009 6:50PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/09/24/entelligence-have-we-demonized-drm/http://www.engadget.com/2009/09/24/entelligence-have-we-demonized-drm/Sep 24th 2009 6:44PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/09/24/entelligence-have-we-demonized-drm/http://www.engadget.com/2009/09/24/entelligence-have-we-demonized-drm/Sep 24th 2009 6:45PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/09/24/entelligence-have-we-demonized-drm/http://www.engadget.com/2009/09/24/entelligence-have-we-demonized-drm/
For instance - I'm one of those guys that downloads a lot of music. I want to be legal about it because - well, that's just me.

So, years ago I had joined Napster with my Dell DJ 30. Then later when I got my Phillips GoGear 4gb - I downloaded from Rhapsody. I then had to delete all my content from Napster - because Rhapsody didn't use the same type of DRM and wouldn't read it.

Then I decided to get a Zune 30 - the Brownie as I (and others I found) called it. Now I got the Zune marketplace. Now I have a Red Zune 8 and the good thing is - I can use the same songs I had on the Zune - but I'm locked into using a Zune for that music.

I think it'd be great if I could buy a subscription from Microsoft and download whatever I want - and put it on my iPhone.

But, of course Apple/Microsoft/music industry won't allow that.

]]>Sep 24th 2009 6:47PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/09/24/entelligence-have-we-demonized-drm/http://www.engadget.com/2009/09/24/entelligence-have-we-demonized-drm/
I do appreciate the music being DRM free, but what about Videos? I really don't want to be locked up using the same type or same brand of device FOREVER! NEVER IN MY CASE!

Support DRM FREE or unless they open up a Standard DRM system for ALL consumer electronics. Otherwise, I'll BREAK YOUR DRM for sure!!!!]]>Sep 24th 2009 7:28PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/09/24/entelligence-have-we-demonized-drm/http://www.engadget.com/2009/09/24/entelligence-have-we-demonized-drm/Sep 24th 2009 6:49PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/09/24/entelligence-have-we-demonized-drm/http://www.engadget.com/2009/09/24/entelligence-have-we-demonized-drm/
http://seekingalpha.com/article/113510-itunes-breaks-6-billion-drm-is-dead]]>Sep 24th 2009 6:52PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/09/24/entelligence-have-we-demonized-drm/http://www.engadget.com/2009/09/24/entelligence-have-we-demonized-drm/Sep 24th 2009 6:52PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/09/24/entelligence-have-we-demonized-drm/http://www.engadget.com/2009/09/24/entelligence-have-we-demonized-drm/
In fact, even the term DRM is false - "Digital Rights Management" rarely grants any rights to the user, it only preserves the rights of the creator/controller.

Gartenberg misses the overall point about DRM - it will all fail eventually. Authentication servers will be shut down. Artificial limits programmed into the DRM will be reached. Eventually, all content you buy crippled with DRM will eventually lose accessability, which is equivalent to it not being there in the first place. If I have to buy another copy of a musical track because the DRM on my original copy can no longer authenticate or has run out of transfer rights, I never really owned the music, I just borrowed it from the server for a temporary period of time.

Thus, DRM is great for content owners, because it eventually requires you to buy it again. It's horrible for content purchasers, because it eventually requires you to buy it again.]]>Sep 24th 2009 6:58PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/09/24/entelligence-have-we-demonized-drm/http://www.engadget.com/2009/09/24/entelligence-have-we-demonized-drm/Sep 24th 2009 7:14PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/09/24/entelligence-have-we-demonized-drm/http://www.engadget.com/2009/09/24/entelligence-have-we-demonized-drm/
If I own a CD I will always be able to play that CD so long as there is hardware around to support it. Think about records. People are still using records they bought 50 years ago.

Now, when you introduce DRM, music I buy today that is protected may not be available to me next month, next year, or in the next 10 years. If the authentication process is replaced or completely shut down I am totally out of luck. However, if I can manipulate the file electronically, I can continue to convert the file into new formats which should prevent me from ever being without my content.

Using the record analogy, DRM is like passing a law that people can no longer use records. We have CD's now or digital tunes. Anyone caught using a record will be punished. Doesn't matter that you legally bought thousands of LP's or that they work just fine. We are taking away your ownership rights just because we want to.]]>Sep 24th 2009 7:24PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/09/24/entelligence-have-we-demonized-drm/http://www.engadget.com/2009/09/24/entelligence-have-we-demonized-drm/
All the thousands of songs and movies that you have purchased immediately are voided and can't be played once the authentication servers are offline and when you have upgraded your computers and willing to transfer the contents. Just like what bjsguess analogy, DRM is equivalent to eliminate all previous supported technology to play your content immediately once you have used up the transfer rights. In my case, simply clean installing my computer is already considered as using up the transfer quota without me actually buying a new computer system. I, therefore cannot play the content at all! This is outrages!

IWe might see in the near future that there maybe a centralized system like federal reserve to keep the DRM server operating in case of the content provider is out of business and not able to operate the DRM authentication services.

For me DRM is just too much work and only create burdens. I'll just move along to DRM free society either legally or illegally.]]>Sep 24th 2009 7:47PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/09/24/entelligence-have-we-demonized-drm/http://www.engadget.com/2009/09/24/entelligence-have-we-demonized-drm/
In some ways that can be a good thing, though. That distinction, in theory, means that your license should be replaceable should it somehow become unusable... in practice, however, well, we know that it doesn't work like that.]]>Sep 24th 2009 9:40PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/09/24/entelligence-have-we-demonized-drm/http://www.engadget.com/2009/09/24/entelligence-have-we-demonized-drm/
Sony Corporation of America vs. Universal City Studios, Inc. (464 U.S. 417), 1984. Still a huge matter for contention to this day for many copyright holders, but I interpret this court case to mean it is not a violation of copyright law to produce copies of a work which you have procured licensure to use provided you use them within the scope of that license.]]>Sep 24th 2009 11:13PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/09/24/entelligence-have-we-demonized-drm/http://www.engadget.com/2009/09/24/entelligence-have-we-demonized-drm/
Digital Rights Management is named correctly. It helps manage the 'rights' of content owners.

You don't have to buy any content over again. A LP record plays just as well today as it did in the 80s. If you want the extra convenience of carrying your music in your pocket, be prepared to pay again. That is part of the strength of iTunes. Every new iPod can carry the same music to a new device.

I think content providers are missing a huge opportunity by limiting device playback but that is their choice.]]>Sep 25th 2009 1:56PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/09/24/entelligence-have-we-demonized-drm/http://www.engadget.com/2009/09/24/entelligence-have-we-demonized-drm/
Just copy the songs to a Music CD and import them back as an mp3. People have made a big deal out of DRm when there are ton's of ways to get around it.

DRM on iTunes is nothing more than a nuisance.]]>Sep 24th 2009 6:56PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/09/24/entelligence-have-we-demonized-drm/http://www.engadget.com/2009/09/24/entelligence-have-we-demonized-drm/
Steam.

The reason a lot of people don't mind using Steam is that it doesn't sacrifice accessibility for security. Sure, you can't sell the games that you buy on Steam, but you can install them on as many machines as you want, willing you're logged into Steam one computer at a time (unless, of course, there's a secondary DRM "solution", like SecuROM on some EA-published Steam titles). And often times, there are a lot of financial initiatives to buying digitally through Steam, like their package deals for games from a certain publisher or developer or their weekly/holiday sales that can take a huge chunk out of the price of a game.

The thing is, most DRM-schemes come at the expense of the consumer. Or possibly worse, they're realistically zero-sum but apparently non-zero sum situations, where there really is no huge expense to the consumer and yet the lack of "more than enough" positive factors makes someone just dread the idea of having a somewhat inconvenient product.]]>Sep 24th 2009 6:57PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/09/24/entelligence-have-we-demonized-drm/http://www.engadget.com/2009/09/24/entelligence-have-we-demonized-drm/
Its all good & well, when you have only a few off whatever product. Being Games, Music, Movies.

But the moment that you start to own a lot off money's worth off product, on that single platform, then those horror stories off bussiness that stop, and people losing access to -> there ]]>Sep 24th 2009 7:31PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/09/24/entelligence-have-we-demonized-drm/http://www.engadget.com/2009/09/24/entelligence-have-we-demonized-drm/
And for the record, while I'm not gullible or arrogant enough to assert that I represent all consumers, I can safely say that I've purchased over 90 titles from Steam with no notable complaints. I've enjoyed the fact that I can install all of the Popcap games I bought on there on not only my machine, but the family machine and my netbook. I've saved hundreds of dollars on games that I was planning on buying and saw on sale in Steam's marketplace. I'm not proof positive, but I certainly am satisfied.]]>Sep 24th 2009 7:48PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/09/24/entelligence-have-we-demonized-drm/http://www.engadget.com/2009/09/24/entelligence-have-we-demonized-drm/
If Valve collapsed tomorrow, I'd lose about five games I cared about, but I wouldn't really shed a tear for the other fifty that I'd already sucked all the goodness out of anyway.

Music and books are more durable, so it's more important to me that the formats they come in be durable too.]]>Sep 25th 2009 12:05AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/09/24/entelligence-have-we-demonized-drm/http://www.engadget.com/2009/09/24/entelligence-have-we-demonized-drm/Sep 24th 2009 7:00PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/09/24/entelligence-have-we-demonized-drm/http://www.engadget.com/2009/09/24/entelligence-have-we-demonized-drm/
The problem with DRM so far is that companies have focused on making pirating hard, but they neglect making their own product easy. In turn, they make their own product increasingly difficult to use, and so everyone pirates things.

I'd love to be able to pay for my music, but the music sites only have 30% of what I listen to, and no options to buy half of it.]]>Sep 24th 2009 7:01PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/09/24/entelligence-have-we-demonized-drm/http://www.engadget.com/2009/09/24/entelligence-have-we-demonized-drm/
If you want to "be legal" with video like you can with music then you need to skirt the law. I can see why a lot of people don't bother. They view themselves on the wrong side of the law regardless of whether they "pay" or not. Plus, piracy is much more convenient. There aren't any automated video rippers. The DVD equivalent of CDDB just isn't there. Dunno if it ever will be because of the DMCA. Any tool that would help you use your legitimate content would be demonized under the current laws.

If you buy content, there are plenty of people just itching to you that you are "breaking the law" for using it as you see fit.

No wonder many simply don't bother.]]>Sep 24th 2009 10:55PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/09/24/entelligence-have-we-demonized-drm/http://www.engadget.com/2009/09/24/entelligence-have-we-demonized-drm/
The best example is a book. When you buy a book, you are buying the physical materials that make up the book and a license for one use at a time of the intellectual content of the book for as long as you own the physical book.

You cannot read the book and at the same time loan it to a friend to read as well; it's only good for one use at a time.

Like any form of rights management, you can get around it. You could copy the book page by page in a copier. It is possible, but it's a hastle. Most forms of DRM are breakable.

Just because a digital file is easier to copy and distribute does not mean it shoud not be subject to the same forms of rights management we've had all along. Intellectual content that is published in a digital form is still the property of the creator, people forget that. Licenses to use it should be on thier terms.]]>Sep 24th 2009 7:02PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/09/24/entelligence-have-we-demonized-drm/http://www.engadget.com/2009/09/24/entelligence-have-we-demonized-drm/
This is where it gets screwy. I have a Home Theater PC in my living room. I can drop in a Blu-Ray and watch it without violating any laws. Yet, if I create a digital version of that file, and watch it on my SAME TV and SAME PC I am breaking the law. The copyright holder is not harmed in ANY way, the content is IDENTICAL, and I have not contributed in any way to piracy. Yet, despite those facts, the former method is smiled upon and encouraged by studios while the 2nd method can land you in jail and result in huge fines. That's a huge problem.

Copyright holders deserve compensation for their work. How about dropping fair use issues and focusing on illegal distribution. Do that and most people will be happy to support you. I firmly believe that people are fundamentally honest and will buy their content IF you allow for fair use.]]>Sep 24th 2009 7:37PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/09/24/entelligence-have-we-demonized-drm/http://www.engadget.com/2009/09/24/entelligence-have-we-demonized-drm/Sep 24th 2009 7:51PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/09/24/entelligence-have-we-demonized-drm/http://www.engadget.com/2009/09/24/entelligence-have-we-demonized-drm/
You had me up to this point. People will circumvent DRM not jsut because they want to get it for free. First they might need to circumvent DRM just to get it to work on thier system since some DRM makes content inoperable on some configurations. Secondly you may need to circumvent DRM to impliment fair use. Examples being copying a DVD to an iPod, using an iTunes MP3 in a slide show of your pictures (I had personal experience with this one and it was a nightmare)

Lastly people may want to circumvent DRM so that they can actually try the content before they decide to purchase it.

IMO DRM hurts the industry way more then it helps.]]>Sep 24th 2009 7:03PM