Copy-protection

[blufive]

Robert Scoble has a weblog entry explaining that he reckons there's a battle coming between Microsoft's DRM and Apple's DRM, and how Microsoft is going to win it. (Scroll down, it's a long entry, which starts by discussing Howard Dean and weblogs, before shooting off at a tangent into DRM territory)

In response, Cory Doctorow has written an excellent piece explaining that, actually, they're both going to lose to the third option...

We have a world today where we can buy CDs, we can download DRM-music, we can download non-DRM music from legit services, we can download "pirate" music from various services, and we can sometimes defeat DRM [...]

In this world where we have consumer choices to make, Scoble argues that our best buy is to pick the lock-in company that will have the largest number of licensees.

That's just about the worst choice you can make.

If I'm going to protect my investment in digital music, my best choice is clearly to invest in buying music in a format that anyone can make a player for. I should buy films, not kinetoscopes. I should buy VHS, not Betamax. I should buy analog tape, not DAT.

Because Scoble's right. If you buy Apple Music or if you buy Microsoft Music, you're screwed if you want to do something with that music that Apple or Microsoft doesn't like.

(in case you hadn't guessed, I'm with Cory on this one)

Comments

[stsquad.livejournal.com]

However they won't lose if they make it illeagle to use reverse engineer (DMCA) or unable to run non-DRM enabled code (SSSCA). So while now I wouldn't touch AAC or WMA with a barge pole someday I may never have option 3.

The price of freedom is eternal vigalance etc....

[blufive.livejournal.com]

While they're working on spreading those laws around, it's turning into an uphill struggle. Not to mention, they're under a fair bit of attack already, even in the US. The legislation is too little, too late. Too many people have already got the idea - it's like trying to eliminate alcohol or cannabis use through legislation.

Secondly, we'll lose option 3 when they pry Ogg and MP3 from our cold, dead fingers. The hardware manufacturers are (albeit discretely) on our side - just look at all those "region encoded" DVD players with accidentally-public backdoors. (Barring foot-in-both-camps merchants like Sony, anyhow)

As soon as people discover just how much grief the DRM systems entail, like getting their expensive music collection nuked when their hard drive crashes, they'll catch on.

[stsquad.livejournal.com]

Oh I genrally agree with what your saying. But to quote an old favorite "just don't get cocky". While you and I are well aware of the issues involved in DRM the general public at large isn't so education of the public of why they should care is important. If we don't keep up the fight then "they" may win through the apathy of the general public.