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Protesting Apple's DRM

Posted by ryuzaki0 on from the while-babies-starve dept.

tedet writes "On the heels of the recent DRM news from Bruce Perens, the UK Parliament, and the Norwegian Omsbudman, Defective By Design is planning a flash protest this coming Saturday targeting Apple Stores throughout the United States. Defective by Design is targeting Apple because '[a]s the largest distributor of DRM infected technology, Apple has set a new low in the mistreatment of our freedoms.' We can expect more hazmat suits, and they created some art specific to this action. Hopefully these direct actions by Defective by Design will get the U.S. up-to-speed with its continental counterparts." (Of course, some people are happy with Apple's DRM as a compromise which helped legitimize online music sales.)

9 of 148 comments (clear)

  1. Flash Protest? by necro81 · · Score: 3, Insightful

    It can hardly qualify as a flash protest if you announce it to the world days in advance.

  2. Yes it's DRM, but... by HRH+King+Lerxst · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Since Apple's implementation is the least obtrusive and most user friendly, does it make since to protest? Why not go after more draconian DRM?

    --
    No one got beat up more often than the mimes of the old west!
    1. Re:Yes it's DRM, but... by ElleyKitten · · Score: 4, Insightful
      Since Apple's implementation is the least obtrusive and most user friendly, does it make since to protest? Why not go after more draconian DRM?
      Because they believe that all DRM is bad. Maybe it doesn't seem so bad now, but once people are used to the "friendly" DRM, then the less and less friendly DRM will be more palatable, and pretty soon everything you do on a computer is controled by the "content providers", kinda like in this scenerio. I'm not sure if it'll get that bad, but a little DRM can go a long way.
      --
      "What is Internet Explorer 7? Are you saying we can't access the normal internet?" - I love tech support. Really.
    2. Re:Yes it's DRM, but... by Incongruity · · Score: 4, Insightful
      oh i see, DRM's fine so long as the software is easy to use... riiight..

      To a point, yes, actually. DRM is hated so much by many people because it makes software very difficult to use even when you're not doing anything that would violate anyone's rights. If someone could offer a mystical, magical DRM solution that never so much as made a peep unless the user was actually (and let's say blatantly) violating copyright and not protected by fair use exemptions, etc. etc. and it was 100% accurate, the only people who would care would be those who are breaking the copyright law (as to the validity/fairness of those laws, I'll leave that for another time...) because everyone else would not even know the DRM software was there... And that's almost what Apple's DRM software does. I've only been aware of it once and that was when I had made a few too many copies of one of my playlists that contained iTMS purchased songs (which I was, in fact, backing up (mmm hmm)).

      Now where Apple's DRM scheme fails the usability metric is in that music protected by it is unusable with other music players/systems -- that's a huge crimp in usability but at the moment it's mitigated by the fact that Apple makes the best (IMHO) portable players out there and they dominate the market so in practical terms, a minority of people are affected by this. Nevertheless, as I said, this does make Apple's DRM scheme fail my usability test and therefore it's short of that perfect ideal, of course.

  3. This is misdirected by therealking · · Score: 5, Insightful

    DRM exists because the RIAA wants it there. Apple is contractually bound to sell thier music with DRM on it. They can't just remove it at thier own discresion.

    Go protest the RIAA membership companies, oh wait then you'd have to deal with the real problem. Nevermind.

    --
    Gadget News at Gizmo.com
  4. Re:In the defense of Apple. by Mateusz+Misko · · Score: 3, Insightful
    You don't have to buy it from them if you don't agree to their terms.
    Now it seems like a valid argument. But I think many people are afraid that if the DRM technology spreads they won't have a choice anymore.
    --
    Polish Haiku
  5. Absolutely agree... by TheRealStyro · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Apple's Fairplay DRM scheme is one of the best I've used. Apple allows you to make audio CDs and doesn't have a problem with file/image backup applications.

    Do I wish Apple's DRM were better and less restrictive - you betcha! The price per song should be lower and with public disclosure of how much each party receives from each sale. The bitrate should also be higher to handle some more complex pieces of music. The number of CD burn times for each song should also be increased, not decreased. Video content should be able to be burned onto a standard and/or HD/BD DVD.

    Too bad emusic cannot charge on per song basis; non-DRMed content is great (subscriptions suck).

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  6. What is the point? by sakusha · · Score: 5, Insightful

    If you want to protest, the usual method is by "voting with your feet." That doesn't mean marching in the streets, it means walking out and choosing another vendor. If you don't like iTunes DRM, then don't use it. Buy something else, like an unprotected CD and rip it yourself.

  7. Re:It makes NO sense to target Apple... by TheGavster · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Ask someone to name an online music store, they'll name iTunes. Ask them to name an MP3 player, they'll name iPod. If you want to target the biggest guy in the business, Apple's it.

    --
    "Because Science" is one step from "Because old book". Try "Because of my experiment testing my falsifiable assertion".