IMO IMO IMO IMO

Friday, June 01, 2007

DRM is like...

DRM is something I've talked about a little bit before on my site. It stands for "Digital Rights Management" and it is the hardware and software compatibility issues that are intentionally created by companies in order to make sure that you use the things you buy from them exactly the way they want. For instance, when you buy a song from iTunes, it is often (although now not necessarily) equipped with DRM software that makes it such that those files will ONLY play on your computer, or one of a few other computers that you authorize with a username and password. Now, if you'll recall, you can play a CD on any CD player, a record on any record player, a tape on any tape player. So now, the issue is, why is it that with digital technology (this doesn't just mean music), we can't use it as freely? Even though we've paid for it?



As a way to explain DRM simply to other people who may not be altogether aware of it, there is now a Flickr Pool of images people have submitted with the theme of "DRM is Like..." Some of them are funny/silly but don't really illustrate the point. Others, like this one of a car whose hood is bolted shut, are poignant and appropriate (especially if those bolts require a specific tool that is not sold to the public!).



Hopefully now people will start to understand that DRM IS BAD!!!!! And not just In My Opinion.

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