Comments on: Never Trust a DRM Vendor http://etbe.coker.com.au/2008/09/29/never-trust-a-drm-vendor/ Linux, politics, and other interesting things Thu, 09 Feb 2012 01:09:24 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: etbe http://etbe.coker.com.au/2008/09/29/never-trust-a-drm-vendor/comment-page-1/#comment-16041 etbe Tue, 30 Sep 2008 10:07:56 +0000 http://etbe.coker.com.au/?p=813#comment-16041 Don: That's an interesting point, I hadn't thought of DRM vendors that way before. I think that your point makes the main point of my article even stronger. Some people believe that a software vendor can make things better for the users by adding DRM to allow more of the content that they desire. I don't accept that argument, but it can be used to claim that DRM vendors are not acting against the best interests of the users. But if the DRM vendors are not helping the copyright holders to provide great content for the end-users then they are doing no good for anyone but themselves, and thus it seems clear that they are the enemy. I try to restrain myself from using terms such as "enemy" when describing Microsoft's aggressive actions against free software. But when they attack their own customers it seems that no other term is appropriate. Don: That’s an interesting point, I hadn’t thought of DRM vendors that way before.

I think that your point makes the main point of my article even stronger. Some people believe that a software vendor can make things better for the users by adding DRM to allow more of the content that they desire. I don’t accept that argument, but it can be used to claim that DRM vendors are not acting against the best interests of the users.

But if the DRM vendors are not helping the copyright holders to provide great content for the end-users then they are doing no good for anyone but themselves, and thus it seems clear that they are the enemy.

I try to restrain myself from using terms such as “enemy” when describing Microsoft’s aggressive actions against free software. But when they attack their own customers it seems that no other term is appropriate.

]]> By: Don Marti http://etbe.coker.com.au/2008/09/29/never-trust-a-drm-vendor/comment-page-1/#comment-16036 Don Marti Mon, 29 Sep 2008 12:56:18 +0000 http://etbe.coker.com.au/?p=813#comment-16036 Most of the advocates for DRM are just as confused about it as the users are. The interests of a DRM vendor, which include long-term lock-in, are very different from the interests of a copyright holder. (In a DRM music market, the only "record company" is the company that controls the DRM.) Fortunately, that "Most Powerful Man in Music" thing got the record company executives mad enough to try some alternatives. Most of the advocates for DRM are just as confused about it as the users are. The interests of a DRM vendor, which include long-term lock-in, are very different from the interests of a copyright holder. (In a DRM music market, the only “record company” is the company that controls the DRM.) Fortunately, that “Most Powerful Man in Music” thing got the record company executives mad enough to try some alternatives.

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