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Torvalds Describes DRM and GPLv3 as 'Hot Air'
An anonymous reader writes "In Sydney this week for the annual Linux conference, Linus Torvalds has described DRM and the GPL as 'hot air' and 'no big deal'. From the interview: 'I suspect — and I may not be right — but when it comes to things like DRM or licensing, people get really very excited about them. People have very strong opinions. I have very strong opinions and they happen to be for different reasons than many other people. It ends up in a situation where people really like to argue — and that very much includes me... I expect this to raise a lot of bad blood but at the same time, at the end of the day, I don't think it really matters that much.'"
Don't forget that States are not the whole world. There's also Europe. There's Asia with South Korea, Japan and CHINA. Guess which of those countries are in favour of DRM? I think that RIAA/MPIA will try to enforce DRM as widely as possible but they are already failing. Take a look at South Korea. It's DRM free. You can download as many songs as you like for flat fee starting $5 per month.
Another one is China: they don't even care about DRM. But who produces most of electronics? Who sets the prices?
IMHO there are more factors that US Congress. It's an important factor, but not everything. Canada still didn't ratify anti-piracy laws. And they're just over the border.
Plus there's a Linux that is gaining very strong foothold especially in Europe.
"an experienced, industrious, ambitious, and often, quite often, picturesque liar" - Mark Twain
I think that the AD&D analogy is warranted here. Torvalds admits that he dislikes DRM, but doesn't want anyone else to be stopped from using it. He likes the idea of the GPL, but he thinks that all of the broo-haha over v3 is a sideshow and that its just a load of hot air. Torvalds is on the side of Linux, and Linux only. Sort of how druids love nature. They hate fire, but they must also embrace it so that the forest can grow. Torvalds likes opensource, but will be satisfied with any license that protects Linux. Druids hate orcs, but they are also forest creatures...Torvalds dislikes huge businesses, but he needs them for linux to expand. Its a delicate balancing act that he's trying to pull off here.