Required Reading
Monday, January 29th, 2007A Cost Analysis of Windows Vista Content Protection
It’s long and it is technical (though not unread-ably so, I don’t think). Mostly it’s about the cost (not entirely monetary, but more in what you give up) of Microsoft’s Windows Vista and the “content protection” technologies that it has chosen to implement. It strongly illuminates the galling greed of Hollywood and Microsoft and how they will - via technology - decide what you can and cannot do with things that you’ve purchased.
It’s just disgusting that you can purchase, say, an HD DVD movie but then not be able to watch it in HD even though you purchased a TV that will display HD, a player that will play HD and an HD movie and (here’s the kicker) it’s WORKING AS INTENDED. Why is that ‘working’? Because these huge businesses have decided that the customer is NOT always right. In fact, not only is the customer not right, the customer is (in their eyes) PROBABLY a thief.
Really, though, it’s all about making you into consumers and not customers. They want people to just sit back and consume. Want to play it in your car? Buy it again. Want to play it on 2 tvs? Buy it again. Want to watch it on a new tv? Buy your movie again (Windows Vista is already trying to do that with computers - you think the movie industry won’t want in on that racket?).
I can only hope that they screw over so many people that the public sits up, takes notice and says NO! That there are so many class action lawsuits that the MPAA and RIAA burst into flames and disintegrate. That people finally ask how these pro-business (rather than pro-public) laws were created and demand the heads of those in Congress who have been bought.
Unfortunately I rather expect that the people will instead belch and charge it to their credit card.
sigh Now I’m depressed.