Not True, Actually
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| Author | Content |
|---|---|
| Tracer Apr 25, 2006 6:23 PM EDT |
I want to stop DRM in its tracks just like the next Linux advocate, but we need to be honest and fair here. To say that DRM is going to let crackers to access docs on central servers is not only a far-stretch, it is entirely inaccurate. Instead, DRM is a UID (unique ID) on content and this UID is what is stored on the server. We're talking a public key and a private key thing here. However, the author is correct to assume, although it is extremely minute possibility, that these servers could be manipulated so that it blocks distribution of ordinary docs. DRM will also not delete files, but will block their distribution. I invite you to consult Wikipedia to see what I mean: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digital_rights_management Meanwhile, on the political aspect of the discussion, big business does not always, consistently, have the power to swing laws in its favor. Also, party allegiance to a given business per donations is not always as predictable as is supposed. However, more often than not, this favoritism is a fair generalization of current reality in Western World politics. Still, elections are expensive operations and must be paid for. Everyone wants their candidate to win. It is true we need finance reform here, but every way one group of Americans want to change it, another group can and will change it another way. Therefore, let's just focus on DRM being bad because it could mean that un-DRM-signed material, which would include Linux material, could be blocked from being run on a DRM-capable player (like DVD player) or workstation OS (like Windows). And, the DRM signatures are stored with a central gatekeeper that many assume they can trust but most of us Linux advocates know we cannot. |
| hkwint Apr 25, 2006 9:51 PM EDT |
Quoting:To say that DRM is going to let crackers to access docs on central servers is not only a far-stretch, it is entirely inaccurate. I guess that's true. It may be more like a kind of fear about the way things may be heading to expressed here. If you reed the article "Microsoft helped write Oklahoma computer law" which is being linked to, you read (in the Oklahoma Gazette) it is perfectly legal for Microsoft to erase any pirated software on your computer, due to a new law. Since TP will also be a part of DRM, being the reason why people can't trust their own computers anymore. While DRM/TP and this Oklahoma Computer law are not interrelated at the moment, it is one of the fears I have, they will in future. |
| chenlevy Apr 26, 2006 12:39 AM EDT |
Ah, finally some sense. Thank you Tracer for that comment. I have recently actually read an automatically generated http://pdos.csail.mit.edu/scigen/ nonsensical article http://pdos.csail.mit.edu/scigen/rooter.pdf (PDF). The thing about that exercise was that, if I let my guard down, and assume that some really smart people wrote that article, I could have assumed that the reason I was not able to follow that article, was my own fault. After that I read Kwint's article. I am not saying that it was automatically generated nor nonsensical, but the fact that I share Kwint's opinion that DRM is evil, does not make the logical leaps or even the description of the technology credible. Sorry but no digg - err no lexr. Regards, -- Chen. |
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