Personal DRM story

In light of my last post about DRM, I thought I'd relate a personal story about something similar to DRM to illustrate how silly it is:

I was home for a while and was trying to help my parents set up their entertainment center such that all of their inputs, like Digital Cable, could work harmoniously and without a switchbox. I was trying to run the DVD player through the RCA input of the Digital Cable box. After I got it plugged in, though, it didn't matter what button on the cable box's remote I pushed, or what option I selected in the digital GUI (graphic user interface... AKA the menu), I couldn't get the DVD player to run through!!!

I finally, after almost an hour, did a live chat with Comcast's technical support. It did not take long in the conversation for him to relate to me that I could not do what I was trying to do. I asked why, and his response shocked me. He told me that because the inputs were not crucial to the cable box's performance (i.e. watching Comcast Digital Cable), it was simply not set up to work. So, essentially, all of the cable boxes they send out have an RCA input space, but the RCA input does not actually work. It's for show.

That is what DRM is like.

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.

RIAA can suck it.

I frequently complain about the Recording Industry of America Association... at least, I complain in my head and agree with the complaints on BoingBoing. Gizmodo has decided to organize an official boycott that I think deserves some recognition and participation.

The RIAA makes lots of money off of consumers and then pumps that money not into its artists, but into controlling the market... building DRM (Digital Rights Management... software that prevents you from playing iTunes Store downloads on another computer, or from connecting your TiVO to another device), for instance. They can suck it.