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DRM Reduces Battery Life

Posted by ryuzaki0 on from the sucks-in-multiple-ways dept.

gr8_phk writes "An interesting article over at C|Net claims that playing DRMed music can reduce battery life up to 25 percent. Yet another reason to stick with plain old MP3 files." From the article: "Those who belong to subscription services such as Napster or Rhapsody have it worse. Music rented from these services arrive in the WMA DRM 10 format, and it takes extra processing power to ensure that the licenses making the tracks work are still valid and match up to the device itself. Heavy DRM not only slows down an MP3 player but also sucks the very life out of them."

5 of 296 comments (clear)

  1. More reasons DRM sucks.. by GillBates0 · · Score: 5, Funny
    In addition to sucking the life out of batteries, DRM has been recently found to cause cancer, kill puppies and make Baby Jesus cry.

    More on these exciting discoveries at 11 (TM).

    --
    An Indian-American Hindu committed to non-violent thought/speech/action alarmed by the global explosion of radical Islam
  2. DRM suxx0rs by tedgyz · · Score: 5, Funny

    WTF? Do they do a license check after reading each bit?

    --
    "No matter where you go, there you are." -- Buckaroo Banzai
  3. Re:You don't say! by ackthpt · · Score: 5, Funny
    Adding CPU-intensive tasks such as encryption/DRM parsing requires more CPU, therefore more power, which therefore drains batteries at an increased rate.

    This is why I play NetHack rather than World of Warcraft.

    oh, and because it's free as in beer, too

    --

    A feeling of having made the same mistake before: Deja Foobar
  4. Re:Wrong! by Kohath · · Score: 5, Funny

    You people with your facts and scientific methods.

    You must be a DRM supporter. We don't cotton ta that 'round these parts. Are you on the payroll of a record company?

    I also suspect you may weigh the same as a duck.

  5. Re:Nobody mentioned OGG by bloodmusic · · Score: 5, Funny

    As everyone on Slashdot knows, playing Ogg Vorbis files actually charges your battery.