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Vista a Threat to Internet Freedom?

BBC columnist Bill Thompson warns readers that new DRM technology, especially that found in Vista, is damaging the freedoms that the internet was based on. "The freedom of expression that was once available to users of the Internet Protocol is being stripped away. Our freedom to play, experiment, share and seek inspiration from the creative works of others is increasingly restricted so that large companies can lock our culture down for their own profit. [...] governments and corporations around the world are making a concerted effort to dismantle the open internet and replace it with a regulated and regulable one that will allow them to impose an 'architecture of control.'"

9 of 479 comments (clear)

  1. Duh by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0, Troll

    Freedom and profit don't mix.

  2. Typical slashdot bullshit by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Troll

    you are all incredibly worthless nerds

  3. Re:Get to the Root of the Problem by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Troll

    Why is it laden with DRM? Because they feel pressure to use DRM so users can't spread media. Why do they feel this pressure? Because huge organizations full of lawyers threaten people everyday with lawsuits, they don't want to be a target of those lawsuits. No, the reason Vista is loaded with DRM is to restrict the content to their platform.

    Microsoft isn't being bullied around here, they are one of the major players..
  4. Vista SP1 Will Fix Problems by phalse+phace · · Score: 0, Troll

    SP1 for Vista will correct the problem and the Internets will be free again....

  5. Re:Culture is a commodity by antifoidulus · · Score: 0, Troll

    You speak of arrogance and yet didn't even bother to read all my argument before responding. Note I mentioned the word "public domain" I don't believe a corporation should own a copyright forever. Read before responding with pseudo intellectual babble next time, k?

  6. Re:But You Can't Totally Blame M$ For This..... by I'm+Don+Giovanni · · Score: -1, Troll

    First, what's it matter where the DRM is implemented, either app-level or OS-level? It's still DRM. You're splitting hairs in order to be able to trash MS while defending your beloved Steve Jobs.

    When OSX Leopard comes out, with the exact same DRM that Vista uses to play next-gen movie discs, *then* will you come to slashdot and trash them. I think not; you'll find some other lame excuse to avoide criticizing Jobs.

    Oh, and every hardware player that plays next-gen DVDs, also implements this exact same DRM. How many times have you trashed Panasonic, Samsung, JVC, Philips, etc, for implementing that DRM in their players? Zero? Those dedicated hardware players are orders of magnitude more prevelant when it comes to playing movie discs than computers are, yet you let them get off scott free, while trasing MS for implementing that same DRM in an OS that will not nearly be used as much for movie disc playback in the first place.

    You, sir, have ZERO consistencoy and therefore ZERO credibility on this issue.

    --
    -- "I never gave these stories much credence." - HAL 9000
  7. Re:Get to the Root of the Problem by 7of7 · · Score: 1, Troll

    So all you people saying that producers whose products are "copied for free" should just stop making them are willing to lose the entirety of the music, movie, and software industries? You may say to yourself "but the FOSS community will back me up." You'd be wrong. Without the for profit software industry very few people would pursue careers in software and universities would be forced to cut their CS and likely their CE programs down to the core. Without universities the FOSS community would be nothing. Without for profit companies like Google funding the FOSS movement it would be nothing. It's not a good idea to destroy several industries simply because a majority of people are completely unscrupulous when they think no one is watching.

    --
    *The most erroneous stories are those we think we know best - and therefore never scrutinize or question.*
  8. Oh. by Dissectional · · Score: 0, Troll

    Vista is about as big a threat to Internet Freedom as Slashdot is a threat to the Oprah Winfrey Show.

  9. get over it slashdot! by tnhtnh · · Score: 0, Troll

    Oh god.. Unleash the anti-MS spam...