Anti-DRM protests planned at Apple Stores this weekend

Iria · Jun 9, 2006, 09:23 PM

Source: PlayList
__________
An anti-Digital Rights Management (DRM) activist group plans this weekend to stage “flash mobs” to “warn Apple customers of the dangers of DRM in iTunes and Apple software” at Apple Store locations in six cities around the country.

DefectiveByDesign.org is a campaign spearheaded by the Free Software Foundation, a group that advoates the use of free software. DefectiveByDesign.com claims that by restricting how software or files can be used, DRM-equipped products are “defective by design.”

WaltC · Jun 10, 2006, 12:27 AM

I feel somewhat sorry for Apple in this situation. I think the reason that iPods are as popular as they are is because Apple has managed to come up with a DRM scheme which satisfies obscenely obsessed entities like the RIAA, but also satifies the vast bulk of iPod customers at the same time. From what I understand, the iPod DRM is extremely flexible from the end-user's point of view and is nearly transparent in terms of allowing the fair use of copyrighted material by its purchasers. It seems to me that these so-called protest groups are just playing into the hands of the RIAA, which undoubtedly is not so happy with the happy medium Apple has been able to strike, and would prefer far more draconian DRM measures.

When will people understand that proprietary formats are not "social" in nature? Companies adopt proprietary technologies in order to both innovate and to distinguish their products from the products made by their competitors. If enough people like Apple's DRM-iPod format to catapult Apple to a runaway first place in the iPod device markets, then I think that's great. It just proves to me that Apple has a hit product on its hands, and nothing more nefarious than that. I think that people who believe that one size is supposed to fit all just don't have a clue about the kinds of market forces that made the iPod possible in the first place. All notable inventions stem from market competition, and indeed, competition is the catalyst for all technological progress. If I was Apple and faced with a country or government that would not allow me to compete, but who would seek to force me into mediocrity over some misguided and ethereal social dynamic--I think I'd just pick up my marbles and go home. Life is too short to waste on people who don't appreciate what you're doing.

Hopefully, Apple will never have to make that kind of choice, and sanity will in the end prevail. After all, if people don't like what Apple's doing they aren't forced to buy into it, are they? I think that companies having the right to make whatever proprietary technologies they see fit to make is more than balanced by consumers having the right to buy or reject whatever proprietary technologies they choose. Seems a perfect "social" harmony to me.

Jun 9, 2006, 09:23 PM	#1
Iria DriverHeaven Extreme Member Join Date: Apr 2004 Posts: 7,275 Rep Power: 89	Anti-DRM protests planned at Apple Stores this weekend Source: PlayList __________ An anti-Digital Rights Management (DRM) activist group plans this weekend to stage “flash mobs” to “warn Apple customers of the dangers of DRM in iTunes and Apple software” at Apple Store locations in six cities around the country. DefectiveByDesign.org is a campaign spearheaded by the Free Software Foundation, a group that advoates the use of free software. DefectiveByDesign.com claims that by restricting how software or files can be used, DRM-equipped products are “defective by design.”

Jun 10, 2006, 12:27 AM	#2
WaltC DriverHeaven Addict Join Date: May 2003 Location: Deep in Martian soil where it's warm and the air is good Posts: 245 Rep Power: 0	I feel somewhat sorry for Apple in this situation. I think the reason that iPods are as popular as they are is because Apple has managed to come up with a DRM scheme which satisfies obscenely obsessed entities like the RIAA, but also satifies the vast bulk of iPod customers at the same time. From what I understand, the iPod DRM is extremely flexible from the end-user's point of view and is nearly transparent in terms of allowing the fair use of copyrighted material by its purchasers. It seems to me that these so-called protest groups are just playing into the hands of the RIAA, which undoubtedly is not so happy with the happy medium Apple has been able to strike, and would prefer far more draconian DRM measures. When will people understand that proprietary formats are not "social" in nature? Companies adopt proprietary technologies in order to both innovate and to distinguish their products from the products made by their competitors. If enough people like Apple's DRM-iPod format to catapult Apple to a runaway first place in the iPod device markets, then I think that's great. It just proves to me that Apple has a hit product on its hands, and nothing more nefarious than that. I think that people who believe that one size is supposed to fit all just don't have a clue about the kinds of market forces that made the iPod possible in the first place. All notable inventions stem from market competition, and indeed, competition is the catalyst for all technological progress. If I was Apple and faced with a country or government that would not allow me to compete, but who would seek to force me into mediocrity over some misguided and ethereal social dynamic--I think I'd just pick up my marbles and go home. Life is too short to waste on people who don't appreciate what you're doing. Hopefully, Apple will never have to make that kind of choice, and sanity will in the end prevail. After all, if people don't like what Apple's doing they aren't forced to buy into it, are they? I think that companies having the right to make whatever proprietary technologies they see fit to make is more than balanced by consumers having the right to buy or reject whatever proprietary technologies they choose. Seems a perfect "social" harmony to me.