Slashdot Mirror
Microsoft Offers A DRM Patch
Transcendent writes "Microsoft Windows Update is offering a download for their 1.0 version of the 'Microsoft Windows Rights Management client,' if you care to download it. Seems that you need Win98 SE and up (or at least that's the minimum 'supported'). Details are here. Although it's not required or a 'critical' update, this just paves the road for all of Microsoft's software to require DRM technology on your computer. Quote from the details page: 'Installing this client allows RM-aware applications to work with Windows Rights Management Services (RMS) to provide licenses for publishing and consuming RM-protected information.' This, dubbed 'Activation', entails that 'your computer will be automatically connected via the Internet ... in order to create and save on your computer a system component that is associated with your hardware.' Hmmm... me no like ..."
anyone else notice the irony in it being called RMS?
Quote from the details page: 'Installing this client allows RM-aware applications to work with Windows Rights Management Services (RMS)
Nice choice for an acronym. Seems MS *does* have a sense of humor after all!
No, you just don't realize how these people work. If they fail once, they will try again, only screwing you half as hard. Eventually, you won't notice the difference, so long as you get the media you want at a price you can accept with and few other hassles.
Case in point, DVD region encoding. There are people who are vocal about it, but you don't see the world slowing their consumption of DVDs. Yes, you see modded players, but going back to consumers being dolts, most of them just buy the DVD player and the DVDs and never notice a thing.
Or, what of the new iTunes Music Store? You have to jump through very few hoops, and most people are more than happy to jump through these hoops for any song they want.
Just wait. They take baby steps, making sure the public is used to it.
> But Grandad, didn't you try to fight them?
Yes. I posted on slashdot!