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Microsoft Can't DRM Docs Fast Enough

Posted by timothy on from the lock-in-now-to-avoid-lock-in dept.

grcumb writes "As part of the DoJ Anti-trust settlement, Microsoft was ordered to provide freely available documentation for its communications protocols. InfoWorld is reporting that not only are they late in delivering the required APIs, but it's because they want to convert everything to the read-only Web Archive (MHT) format, which can only be viewed in MSIE. InfoWorld reports that, "In July, Microsoft said it would complete revisions of the documentation required by the court in the autumn, a season generally reckoned to include the months of September, October and November in North America, but may now have to extend work on a beta or test version of the new documentation into December...." So we have to wait longer for a format that makes the content harder for developers (developers! developers!) to use. Maybe they didn't read the documentation ..."

4 of 353 comments (clear)

  1. MHTML is RFC 2557 by RupW · · Score: 5, Informative

    RFC 2557: MIME Encapsulation of Aggregate Documents, such as HTML (MHTML)

    There's a Mozilla KB entry about MHTML support and open bugs for load and save (IDs 18764 and 40873; bugzilla won't accept links from Slashdot). Plus the maf extension to support MHTML.

  2. The reason is simple... by reynaert · · Score: 5, Informative

    Microsoft's policy is that all downloadable documents and specifications etc. should be signed, so you can verify that the document hasn't been tampered with. Usually they implement that by embedding a word document in an (signed) Windows executable. MHT seems to be an improvement.

  3. Re:DRM, What?! by acvh · · Score: 5, Informative

    " I'm not sure what the article is talking about" - then READ it. You would find the following:

    from Microsoft: "The Web application puts both the encrypted .mht file and the signed publishing license into a file called a compound file. This file, which has an .rmh file extension, is used by the Rights Management Add-on for Internet Explorer to permit viewing of RMS-protected content in Internet Explorer. For more information, see Compound Files. You can use your own format if you are not using the add-on."

  4. Re:Didnt RTFA, but by antiMStroll · · Score: 5, Informative
    Typical pro-Microsoft troll moderation. From the article you didn't bother to RTF:

    "The plaintiffs have three main areas of concern about the documentation.

    First among these is that Microsoft, asked to open up and document the interfaces to its communication protocols for licensees, has chosen to issue the documentation in a rights-protected file format called MHT, readable only with its own Web browser, Internet Explorer. This means licensees can neither annotate nor effectively search the information, according to the plaintiffs. "