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DMCA bad for Apple Users

Posted by CmdrTaco on from the not-to-mention-everyone-else dept.

Aguazul writes "TidBITS has published a really strong article on the DMCA and on how this is bad for Apple users, with some good links and suggestions for action. The author, Adam Engst, is regularly voted the most influential person in the Mac world outside of Apple, so this is a serious wake-up call to Apple users everywhere."

3 of 235 comments (clear)

  1. Re:True story... by Nomad7674 · · Score: 5, Informative
    That's called "bending the truth". For your friend to have had a possession of iDVD without having purchased a mac with a DVD burner in built, he must have pirated the software.

    Actually, this is not necesarily true. My brother just bought one of the new 1 GHz TiBooks without a DVD-R drive and it came included with iDVD. It was apparently just cheaper to have one standard build of the software for the 1 GHz TiBooks. Legal copy, no DVD-R.

  2. The Real Story by Melantha_Bacchae · · Score: 5, Informative

    cacav wrote:

    > Actually, I read about some manufacturer of an
    > external Firewire DVD-RW drive that made a piece
    > of software for the Mac that would hack iDVD so
    > that it would work with their drive.
    >
    > It lasted until Apple found out and told them to
    > stop altering their software. I can't recall the
    > manufacturer, but I think I read about it in a
    > MacWorld article last month.

    The manufacturer was Other World Computing, and you have related the original version of the story (which broke around August 12th) accurately. In that version, Other World Computing claimed Apple had *requested* that they drop it because it violated the iDVD license, and OWC had complied to preserve their good relationship with Apple.

    There was *no* mention of the DMCA, and no need to invoke it as Apple's iDVD license is quite clear.

    The DMCA accusation came weeks later and was only based on a quote from Other World Computing's president. There was no quote from any document they received from Apple, no posting of any document as proof, and no confirmation from Apple.

    My personal impression was that the DMCA accusation was an afterthought on the part of OWC's president to make Apple look bad. If Apple really used the DMCA, I want to see more proof than the word of someone with an axe to grind.

    Chief Tsujimori: "I won't let you get away. I will never let you escape."
    Godzilla elegantly lifts his tail skyward to give her the "finger", crashes it down on the water, and submerges.
    "Godzilla X Megagiras", 2000

  3. Re:True story... by MoneyT · · Score: 5, Informative

    From the Apple wb page for getting the 2.1 upgrade:
    Check the minimum system requirements:
    iDVD 2.0 or later.
    Mac OS X, v10.1.3 or later.
    Any Power Macintosh G4, G4 iMac, or eMac equipped with a built-in Apple SuperDrive (DVD-R/CD-RW drive).
    Minimum of 256MB of RAM installed with 384MB recommended.


    From the FAQ:
    Can I use iDVD 2 with other CD-R or DVD-R drives?
    No. iDVD 2 is designed to work only with the Apple SuperDrive available on certain configurations of iMac and Power Mac G4 computers.


    It's not their fault you didn't read the information clearly presented before you bought it.

    --
    T Money
    World Domination with a plastic spoon since 1984