A DailyTech article by Marcus Yam includes:
Jon Lech Johansen, or better known as DVD Jon for cracking CSS encryption, posted a response to Steve Jobs’ open letter about DRM. As one who clearly stands against the restrictions placed upon media by corporations, it may be surprising for some to learn that Johansen isn’t buying Jobs' preach.
Let's Dump on our Newest Supporter
OK, I can see why people such as DVD Jon might be skeptical when Steve Jobs releases a letter supporting the elimination of DRM. After all, DVD Jon would be out of a job (or at least much what's given him so much notoriety) if these DRM schemes were done away with. But why dump all over Jobs with weak arguments? Instead of maximising the industry effects of such an announcement - and thereby increasing pressure for what Jobs is "ostensibly" calling for - DVD Jon attempts to undermine the statement.
DVD Jon states the a few artists (such as most of Nettwerk's musicians: we bow before thee) no longer require DRM so why not release them on iTunes DRM-free? Knowing Apple's hobgoblin of consistency (look at their $0.99 song mantra), is it possible it's just not worth the effort for them to make exceptions for only a small group of artists? Isn't it possible that they fear what the big labels would infer when they saw Apple was now starting to release songs with no DRM? No-one is saying Apple can't make exceptions here and there if they don't want to, but in a company that has historically been both unresponsive to no-brainer user-requested changes in their software and has a fixation on the consitency of their user experience, I think it's a bit rich to jump to conspiracy theories while overlooking the obvious.
Further, DVD Jon says Jobs uses misleading statistics and that what they really want is to "insists on attaching FairPlay copy protection that limits [customers] use to only one portable player, the iPod." He conveniently forgets that this whole copy protection scheme has deliberately been left with the easiest bypass imaginable: burn your iTunes songs to CD or DVD, then re-rip them as DRM-free songs. Sure, it takes a few minutes but that just might be the easiest hole the company can get away with and still be able to do business with the Big 4 Labels as I previously stated in my blog. Would a company that is really interested in "lock-in" leave such a gaping hole for so many years, a hole they've self-publicised?
He also dumps on Jobs' assertion that they are nervous about licensing FairPlay widely because they would lose some control, and possibly be subject to more FairPlay security breaches. This would put their license agreements with the labels in jeopardy. He says "Microsoft's Windows Media DRM 10 (marketing name PlaysForSure) has not had more security breaches than FairPlay despite the fact that it has been licensed to dozens of companies." Interestingly he neither states that Windows Media DRM 10 has been around for less time than FairPlay (thus leaving less time to find exploits) nor that his statement is true only because he himself is responsible for most of the FairPlay breaches! DVD-Jon appears to have it out for big bad Apple.
In the end, the Open Letter by Jobs can only be seen as supporting the cause for less DRM, whatever the motivation behind it. We should use it as another tool in our campaign. Unfortunately, sometimes people don't just look a gift horse in the mouth, they try kicking it in the teeth.
Got my toilet paper !
I Know that was bad.
But Steve Jobs also cowtoed to the music biz.
When he said he would not use any form of DRM.
I do remember that.... But what is realy going on.
We will not realy know..... I my self are sick of the back room deals that are made that are not a benafit for the end user..
Look at the DRM madness in hd dvd and blue ray.
HDMI ports HDCP ... Crap thats on Vista.
and ask for apple there's stories of TPM chips installed on there mother boards but nothing on there web site... whats up with that.
Apple will embrace DRM again if it will benfit them this is just a repreve that is all.
I am building a new computer and what is sweet the TPM chip is a add on module for the mother board that I will use.
Apple is a nice system but still expensive but at least for the moment the owner is in control not sure whats install for the new OS there going to put out.
All I know is M$ drop a big stinker with Vista I will only stick with XP Pro for the moment.
But if the Mac Pro came down to a better price I would buy it in a heart beat if I was assured that the TPM module was not there.
Minor edit ::: you should check out Apple tv It has the dreaded HDMI vidio/audio interface so he is still following DRM to some extent. for the MPAA and there ilk But on the flip side at least it does have component vidio out and optical. but wonder how long the media companies will allow those outputs to be active.
till they flip the switch
and why a very silly tiny hard disk in it must have cost more to put a less the 100 gig in it as well.
Food for thought on apple tv
My 2 Watts
Interesting logic..
If legalization and legal protection for DRM (as I have defined my usage elsewhere) did not exist, then I would never have joined the copyright debate back in 2001, and this site would not exist.
I guess it is because I've become rich and famous from this BLOG that I am critical of Mr. Jobs, and that really in my heart I want DRM to continue so that I can pretend to fight it.
Sorry to sound sarchastic, but I think the premise of the claim that one can only be skeptical of Jobs is because someone is actually a DRM-supporter makes no sense. The greatest beneficiaries of DRM are not the content industry (who don't understand how the technology works, but were mis-informed by someone), but the DRM manufacturers who gain a platform monopoly.
Someone in the hardware/software vending community is the root cause of the DRM problem. As I wrote in my longer essay, there is no way that the largely technologically illiterate content industry could have come up with such a bad idea on their own.
Since Apple seems to be innocent in many peoples minds of anything, I wonder who in the hardware/software vending community they blame? If they want to offer blame only outside the tech community, then we'll have to strongly agree to disagree.
I also believe that Microsoft has set the stage to win the DRM wars. Microsoft has adopted a DRM platform with Vista which many hardware/software vendors can participate in, while Apple remains virtically integrated. If Microsoft moves to a similarly multi-key based system (Like AACS is) for the Zune, then I believe that this will spell the end of the Apple domination in that market as the majors in the content industry will license things for the multi-key systems, but not the single-vendor systems. Apple will eithor have to join this multi-vendor system, or be as locked out of the content industry as FLOSS platforms will be.
Free/Libre and Open Source Software (FLOSS) consultant.
I won't comment on who will
I won't comment on who will win the "DRM wars" since I think speculation is futile, but to add one comment: if will have to live with widespread DRM in the future as we do now, it is better not to live under one monopolistic DRM scheme controlled by any one vendor; it would be preferable for consumers to have competition amongst vendors, including DRM vendors.
Talking about the music industry - they decided to use DRM schemes for their CDs all on their own, starting with Bertelsmann in 2002. Or at least, IT people working within the music industry did, so I guess if you consider everyone that makes and implements DRM schemes part of the software community then your statement becomes both correct and banal. And never underestimate the depths of "bad ideas" to which the music industry can delve. I don't think anyone put them up to it; they looked at P2P networks, got scared, and decided to go DRM without being forced by the hardware/software vending community.
I don't like painting any group with a single broad brush, but I would think that they would place the majority of the blame in the iTunes case at least on the big labels - after all, it's they who called for the DRM schemes in order to license their music. But don't get defensive: Apple is just another company with profit motive like any other, and is definitely not "innocent of anything." It's just that their lite version of DRM is one of the least restrictive in the industry, and it seems that they see a business reason for less DRM on music and should be encouraged in their efforts to convince the larger industry to go in this direction.
I guess Steve Jobs should just shut up - when he calls for an end to DRM, DRM opponents attack him for his use of it; I wonder if they would have applauded if he had instead called for more DRM? Would our cause have been better off had he not written Thoughts on Music at all?