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DRM Advocate Violates DRM
Alsee writes "A year and a day after arguing DRM was good for business, acceptable to consumers, and necessary in today's world, JupiterMedia VP and Research Director Michael Gartenberg comes face to face with DRM reality, downloads a circumvention tool, violates DRM, and blogs about his MS Reader DRM issues being solved ... permanently. Perhaps now he would be interested in the EFF Action Center where Americans can quickly and easily ask your Representative to co-sponsor the Digital Media Consumers' Rights Act."
To the agencies and get him arrested for violation of the DMCA?
Finally, a GOOD use for the DMCA... putting people behind bars that support the DMCA.
Mod me flamebait, if you want... but DON'T mod this funny! I'm being serious...
-=Lothsahn=-
Did he just break the DMCA, in a very public way? Or is this not the case.
It sure looks like the did the sort of thing that folks do, that can get them in huge trouble -- he attempted to circumvent a technological device there to protect Copyright.
Is he really so dumb as to blog about it?
http://www.thebricktestament.com/the_law/when_to_
If the DRM was improved so that it would get out of his way, he would still have no issue with it.
Except that the whole *point* of DRM is to be in the way. What would a DRM system that did not get in the way look like?
When I was a kid, we only had one Darth.
As far as I read this, he read content that he legally owned. He did use a different piece of software than the "correct" s/w, but that required him to own a copy of the correct software. He did not redistribute it.
Is this really a violation?
It's certainly a poor advertisement for MicroSoft. Apparently security isn't their only weakness. ;-)
.. paranoid crackpot leftover from the days of Amiga.
Oh ho ho ho, it's about time he got a taste of his own medicine. Now he knows what it's like to be on the recieving end of DRM that restricts the legitimate use of media, media that customers paid for.
Notice how fast it the DRM was defeated as well. From TFA, it took Michael only a few minutes to convert the DRM-ed eBooks over to PDF. Compared to the tech support nightmare that he went through, it's obvious why DRM is and always will be, a doomed technology.
DRM does nothing except hinder the legit and paid-for use of media by honest customers, and mildly thwarts those who are determined to break it. Hopefully (but don't count on it), this will be a wake-up call to anyone seeking to implement a DRM system. When one of DRM's great apologists breaks out the "illegal" tools, you know there's a problem.
unable to resolve function slashdot.sig(), aborting...
Of course, I think the law is stupid, and getting people thrown in jail (or at least fined) for what is apparently a perfectly reasonable behaviour, is the only way to make people realize that the law needs to be changed.
-paul
Pistol caliber is like religion: everyone has their favourite, and theirs is the only right choice.
I broke itunes DRM once, the downside to that was itunes knew that I had broken it and refused to play the tracks. It would play in other apps, but I like itunes so I live with the DRM; though I don't really care for it.
Until such time as the above is delivered, I'll stick with DRM free music. I still buy CDs and rip them to MP3 to play for myself (not distribute) but I've returned two CDs because they had DRM on them, even though I wanted the CDs.
This begs the question. How does this technology know who you are, and how does it know that you're you. How does a computer differenciate between you loaning something to somebody (a DVD) and making a copy for that person (your ideal DRM would provent you not from making the copy, which would get in the way of people looking to back things up, but prevent your friend from playing your DVD).
Perhaps your solution is biometrics. But what if you got into a horrible accident and lost that particular part of your body? Your eyes? Your face was disfigured? You lost your fingerprints, fingers, or even the whole arm?
So what about a unique PGP key? What if you lose or forget it? Do you stop being you? Do you now have no right to any of your stuff because you cannot be identified?
Any way you cut it, DRM will be intrusive to somebody. And if you justify its existence by saying that person isn't likely to be you, then I think that's a very selfish way of looking at things, and completely inappropriate for application to the rest of the world.
"If a nation expects to be ignorant and free in a state of civilization, it expects what never was and never will be."
I sincerely hope that someone, somewhere, takes him to court over this. It would publically shed light on how ridiculous the DMCA really is, and we'd have a better chance at fighting it. Or we'd at least have a precedent set that allows us to crack things we legally own.
He is right up there with the anti-handgun advocates who own guns for their own protection -- he wants everybody else to follow rules that he feels he is personaly above. I say we contact the appropriate copyright protection organisation and have him audited, since he has already publicly admitted to breaking the law (DMCA)!
I've abandoned my search for truth; now I'm just looking for some useful delusions.
Many moons ago I looked at the wee rotating world that was on Microsnot's site - to see how it worked, I didn't know about gif89a or whatever it was - and it had a little para in it saying 'built with shareware tool xxx, please pay $10 to yyy if you find this useful. This image unregistered'. Cheapskates.
Down with categorical imperatives
Another possibility would be that companies were required to provide circumvention and service if they use DRM. Something like:
1) They have to have an 800#
2) They have to have a good database
3) They have to provide you with a new key or your money back
4) They have to do all the above within 10 minutes of the time you call (no forever hold)
Put the burdon on them.
DRM needs to become commonplace so that companies can see it doesn't work. Once cracks and cracking tools become widespread enough that one Joe Average can say to another "oh you just need to download this program and it will work ok" it will become apparent that DRM in any usable form is able to be circumvented.
Once DRM becomes nearly useless, the incentive to include it with products declines, and we begin to see more and more DRM-free software. Even though we can see it's useless, the computer world needs to make these mistakes so it can learn from them and hopefully, not repeat them.
Many (most? all?) DRM advocates also advocate criminal penalties for violating DRM (DMCA, etc).
If he's a believer in the DMCA and similar laws, he should explain whether or not he believes that he should be jailed for his actions, and why. If he's not a DMCA advocate, he should explain how DRM could work without the force of law backing it.
But I can't be bothered to read through a years worth of blog to find out if he discusses that issue.
Who's he to say that this is a "Good case study for firms on HOW NOT TO IMPLEMENT DRM solutions."?
.lit files. Is there a governing body that overseas any potential abuse by corporations by use of DRM?
This is what Microsoft intended when they put DRM on his
You can't say that DRM is a great solution and continue to say so after you had to (illegally if you don't believe in the fair use act which seems to be getting stomped nowadays) free up what you paid for with a hack.
Companies will shove DRM down your throats so that you will have not be able to use what you paid for on a competitors product. It's just good business nowadays
"Tread softly because you tread on my dreams"
(4) Literary works distributed in ebook format when all existing ebook editions of the work (including digital text editions made available by authorized entities) contain access controls that prevent the enabling of the ebook's read-aloud function and that prevent the enabling of screen readers to render the text into a specialized format.
errrrr..... so... why the HELL was Dimitry held in jail?
And even though I could, I haven't.
I love my mac, but don't use the iTunes Store because there is DRM involved. It's that simple.
Say hello to my little sig.
I'm a fan of a lot of the products Microsoft produces, and I was even a Microsoft MVP (Most Valued Professional) for several years.
I was also employed as a Windows Media DRM expert for several years.
I have to say, Microsoft's eBook DRM is probably the worst DRM I have ever encountered. I frequently buy eBooks, but now I have books I can't use. There is no way to de-activate an old piece of hardware from their hardware list, so after 5 equipment changes (and as geeks we update our PCs and PDAs reguarly) you're screwed.
They promise another activation every 180 days or something on their. But that's a total lie. A complete falsehood. It says you can mail support and ask for more activations, but you just get denied every time.
The reason their technical support knows nothing about the DRM is because the whole MS LIT/MS Reader project appears to be abandonware. The reader app hasn't had any non-critical updates in years.
MICROSOFT! PLEASE! We just want to read the books we bought! *sob*
I've had some bad experience with Adobe's DRM too - it won't let you re-flow DRM'd books so I can't read them on my PDA. I have to remote desktop into my PC from my Pocket PC to read them in bed.. and that's just a total scroll-fest then.
Don't make me have to go back to using tree-based books...
Now, this could possibly mean that a DNA-DRM'ed material that you bought when you were 15 would reject you when you are 50. Well, if you really still wanted whatever was DRM'ed and still had something that could be used to access it.
So, how do I "copy" my DRM'ed MP3 file that I bought to the newest technology? If the RIAA has its way, you'd be forced to buy the new DRM'ed material.
Remember you are a CONSUMER. A consumer who stops buying things (consuming) becomes NOTHING! In fact, you might be declared DEAD!
You apple fans have quite a reality distorsion field, it's amazing.
Apple's DRM sucks - maybe a bit less than others, but it still does. Still enough to make their service worthless to me.
So you're saying either:
-You can use some tools to UN-DRM your files. I suppose you're gonna say that's not unethical. Can you imagine all the ITMS users making use of this? This isn't a solution, it's a proof that their DRM sucks and truly gets in the way if anything!
or
-Take your shitty low quality low bitrate lossy music, convert it to CD, and re-rip it. Why not make a copy on an old cassette after that, and listen to it over some cheap FM transmitter while you're at it? If I want that quality I can already rip my CDs to 16kbps mp3s! The sound very much sucks, and it's not a solution in any way.
And their DRM only works with their own players (iTunes sucks - I'm sorry but it truly does!), and their iPods. That's not restrictive? That's almost like if exchange server would require you to have windows & outlook to open emails sent by it! The files won't play in winamp nor my HP portable mp3 player (nor everything else I have/own/use). Right, it doesn't get in the way eh? (As long as you suck Jobs' cock and buy all his shit, perhaps it doesn't?)
You apple apologists piss me off. Apple's DRM doesn't work, heck, I had LESS problems with microsoft DRM! (And I'm not saying it's good in any way). It's just that you guys see the world in a very weird way (I'm still wondering of iMacs didn't come with a lifetime supply of LSD). At least one gets a good laugh at reading the idiocies you guys say.
DRM's more or less open goal is to prevent "casual theft" in the form of playground CD swapping, but it's much easier to sue someone who took deliberate, non-obvious steps to circumvent a protection than sueing someone who just copied something. For infringers, it takes away the "oops I didn't know it was forbidden" excuse.
Actually, I suspect that, for the content producers at least an equally important purpose for DRM is to inhibit people's ability to exercise their fair use rights for the content they supposedly purchased.
How many times as a Disney video been sold to the same family more than once because the kids (being kids) destroyed the first one? Most consumers don't have the knowledge or tools to copy a Macrovision "protected" video or CSS encrypted DVD. Sure, for the technically savvy this is a non issue, whenever I get a movie I can make a copy and lock the original away from my kids but I'd be surprised if anyone else on my block could do the same.
Or with DRM'ed music, You know that there are more than a few people who have bought the same song more than once after they reformatted their hard drive or got a new computer and found they could no longer open the music they previously "purchased"
Both Disney & Apple are well aware that even with no so-called "backyard piracy" (or any other copyright violations) going on that they will lose sales if their media can be easily copied.
One DRM scheme I would actually be OK with is one that doesn't restrict copying but imparts a digital "watermark" in the media that makes it traceable to the original purchaser. This is sorta-kinda how TiVo handles videos that you copy off if your TiVo DVR (using approved methods anyways). If I were an idiot and put my TiVo media files on BitTorrent or something it would be easily traceable back to me.
Of course the main flaw in the TiVo system is there is only one application that is "approved" for burning your TiVo files to DVD and it's as expensive as it is lousy. So the result is that I have to use unapproved of methods for converting the TiVo file to MPEG so I can burn it to DVD using the tool I want to. Honestly I'd love to skip that step because it more than doubles the time involved in putting a show on DVD.
Apple explicitly permits you to make non-DRMed backups of your music. In fact they encourage it.
But where you see DRM, I see nothing but a facade.
Maybe tinfoil hat material but did you ever wonder if iTunes DRM was intended to "manage" your rights to use a competing player more than to "manage" the copying of the files?
Now we can see why Jobs wants Apple in bed with Intel.
See, now, that's not a bug, that's a feature, if you're in the hardware market.
I've got to force feed you a pile of nonsense so that I can declare defeat, and sell you some more stuff, and declare victory.
See sine wave.
Get thee glass eyes, and, like a scurvy politician, seem to see things thou dost not.--King Lear
This is the worst tragedy--works disappearing entirely. It's a shame that it ever has to happen given the amout of data storage we have available and so cheaply.
Recently a friend asked if I could find a movie that was filmed in the 1970s in a town she just moved to.
Amazon tells me, "The manufacturer informs us that this is no longer in print." Ebay doesn't have it, nor does the movie rental place or TV or anywhere else (of course).
So I download it via BitTorrent, and behold! I get hits from law enforcement, MPAA, and all sorts of hostile IPs about every minute. Presumably, these people want to call me a thief for "stealing" something that isn't available at any price.
Who is the real thief? Me, who copies a movie that has all but disappeared, or those who would steal a piece of our culture?
(The movie was terrible, by the way. No wonder it wasn't available, but she did have fun pointing out all of the places she's been to.)
~Ben
This is great. There is now three kinds of DRM:
1) Crappy (Good) DRM
2) Strong (Bad) DRM
3) *new* Questionable DRM - the kind of DRM that confuses you when you futz with it. Hmmmm... did I just break the law? I wonder...