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Big Brother Lifetime Award Goes To Microsoft

Posted by timothy on from the he-ain't-heavy dept.

D4C5CE writes "Microsoft's ceaseless "success" in bringing instability, insecurity and breaches of privacy as well as a deplorable lack of open standards to almost Every Desktop on Earth has now earned them an "Oscar" for Data Leeches, the Lifetime Award for "outstanding mis-achievement" from the BigBrotherAwards 2002 in Germany. Microsoft's Data Protection Officer actually attended the ceremony to collect the prize (probably delighted that unlike the "laureates" of last year's event in Austria, at least he would not receive live cockroaches), and this unlucky winner took the opportunity to make some critical remarks on the company's communications regarding the Windows Media Player and Digital Restrictions (or, euphemistically, in his words: Rights) Management technologies which he deemed crucial for modern business models, rather than acknowledging that it's in fact not just the advertising but the approach itself which is fundamentally flawed."

4 of 219 comments (clear)

  1. DRM is not "fundamentally flawed" by 91degrees · · Score: 0, Flamebait

    Microsoft wants people to be able to purchase movies online. The spread of Gnutella, Kazaa and the rest has ensured that anyone who attempts to start a busniess model doing this will be immediately undercut by a bunch of pirates who have never created anything in their lives.

    DRM is the solution to this problem. Not only that, but DRM solvees this problem without adding any extra problems. Even existing pirated media still works. It does not restrict you in any way that the user does not agree to. If the user totally objects to all the limitations, then he is free not to download a movie.

    The problem most definitely was the advertising, or lack thereof. By hiding it in this way, MS imply that there is something fundamentally underhand about their technology.

  2. Um by zapfie · · Score: 0, Flamebait

    Heh.

    Can you say (-1, Flamebait), kids?

    I knew you could.

    Funny how we never see stories like this about Linux.

    --
    slashdot!=valid HTML
  3. Re:what a balanced and fair summary by RobotRunAmok · · Score: 1, Flamebait

    Try this one: "The sound of one hand clapping." ...which is exactly what you'll hear here if the editors continue to pander to the juvenile knee-jerk dead-horse-pummeling which is its unthinking MS-bashing. Christ, the way it's done half the time, it's got to be a turn-off for even some of the real Linux-o-philes

    Try this:

    "OKAY, I *Get* it, you're EVIL!" -- Buffy Summers.

  4. rights by sHu_pAc · · Score: 0, Flamebait

    why do these companies keep forgeting that their business models will prosper if they promote creativity, not restrict it with with all this s**t..

    just my thoughts