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Federal Trade Commission To Scrutinize DRM
Ars Technica reports that the FTC is getting ready to take a hard look at gaming DRM, setting up a town hall meeting to be held on March 25th. They're currently recruiting panelists, and they say the meeting will, in part, "address the need to improve disclosures to consumers about DRM limitations." The controversy over DRM came to a head in 2008 with the release of Spore and the multiple subsequent class-action lawsuits focusing on the SecuROM software that came with the game. Ars Technica says the town hall meeting will also look at "legal issues surrounding DRM" and "the potential need for government involvement to protect consumers."
These kind of stories swing both ways, and we've had literally dozens of "Finally the pendulum swings the other way moments" that have amounted to nothing more than blips across the radar... But I can't help but optimistically wonder if this is the start of a trend fighting back against corporate abuse of us, the customer? For several years now, I (and probably you) have been inured to new stories about corporation X doing new thing Y to screw customer z, and the news story hasn't even batted an eyelash because we're not surprised. Now the RIAA is backpedaling, and DRM is getting an appropriate scrutinizing. =) Its a good start to 2009!
Video games are by far the worst candidate for this discussion imho.
There is very little case law protecting consumer fair use with video games, as compared with audio and video.
This is a heavy bet on weak prospects.
Assuming the FTC does determine a need is required for video games, this will provide definitive and hefty leverage to expand it to music and video media.
If it does not, and it's a high likelihood the FTC determines it does not, it will be MUCH harder to press the issue on, for instance, the fact that blu-ray media will black peoples' screens at random due to undocumented HDCP issues.
VLC FOR MAC IS DYING! IF YOU DEVELOP, PLEASE SAVE IT!!
Truly a case of Uncle Sam's left hand not knowing what the right hand is doing, considering the recent creation of a Copyright Czar.
At least Apple is moving in the right direction, announcing yesterday that it will drop DRM from it's tracks.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/4811674a28.html (and elsewhere)
The problem with socialism is that they always run out of other people's money. - Margaret Thatcher
I'm sure the government knows exactly what its doing. They will have a bunch of town hall meetings, do a lot of research and studies, collect a lot of money from large corporations and then come up with a centralized DRM server that everyone will be required by law to use.
It was my impression that any legal ambiguity surrounding viruses had been cleared long ago.
http://games.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=08/12/20/178259
Go read it. Seriously. The author has many good point, and this panel only highlights the points he makes.
The /. comments on this article are spot on, in the sense that most of them are knee-jerk reactions predicted all along the article. Sad.
At the very least, the FTC should make it illegal to advertise any product infected with DRM as a "sale" as opposed to a "rental" or "lease". As it's impossible to own them, that's false advertising.
Yes, that means that everyone from Wal-Mart to the local mom-and-pop would have to change their advertising, in-store displays, and receipt printouts. That's a problem for them to work out with their suppliers, though.
Dewey, what part of this looks like authorities should be involved?
When I hear that the Government wants to look into something to protect the Consumer I know it's going to be bend over time for the Consumer as the Government gets together with Business to screw us all over. DRM and all of that crap needs to go away but it won't, it'll get the government gloss over to mollify those of us who are angry, they'll give it a better Orwellian name and call it a day.
Enjoy your Karma, after all you earned it. Feel your Karma Joe, feel it burn.
I can't help but think that given previous actions to "protect consumers" or "offer consumers choices" that this will mean greater penalties for circumventing DRM, more restrictive schemes, or limitations on online boycotts or protests, like the Amazon reviews for Spore.
Zero tolerance equals zero intelligence
The Government is getting ready to "Take a hard look at DRM". Hey, you never know. If they look hard enough they might find that EA started a 50 billion dollar ponzi scheme! Oh man, wouldn't that be great.
"The difference between genius and stupidity is that genius has it's limits" - Albert Einstein
looks like the prospective inmates are training the 'first time' offenders. better days ahead.
"setting up a town hall meeting"
Is anyone else really sick of these things being called "town hall meetings"? If I wasn't from the US, I'd think we were all tobacco chewing cowboys who transform into angry, torch bearing mobs at night.
So, they're setting up a town hall meeting? Shall we start a pool to see which company/*IAA-organization will bus in the most people to occupy seats so that nobody with an honest clue about the subject can show up and be involved in the discussion?
I think you could make the argument that a recession makes for extreme competition, and its quite likely that it could turn out that DRM simply has to be dropped because a) it requires more money to actually DRM enable a product, particularly in testing, and b) there might be enough of a critical mass of consumers shopping for content based on the absence of DRM.
We won't really have a complete victory, though, until we see Microsoft drop entering those silly license key numbers for its products.
This is my sig.
I'm a Republican and I'm pretty cynical about Dems, obviously, but I think in this case you can expect them to improve things like consumer labelling and consumer rights. Usually where Dems screw up is to give consumers and workers so many rights that it is pointless to invest in a business in that sector because it is difficult and ultimately unprofitable. However, the IT sector has become so anti-consumer that it is hurting the business as a whole, it seems rather unlikely that a few years of some modest consumer protections by the government would improve the public's faith in IT and the business as a whole.
Let's just hope they don't open the door for lawsuits based on bugs in software by making it illegal to have that little clause we ALL stick in our licenses, both open and closed, that lets us off the hook if our software fails. Preventing a regulation like that from coming into being is something you would hope that Republicans would be smart enough to do, although sadly there's not too much evidence of my beloved GOP being smart about anything these days. [tongue firmly planted in cheek]
This is my sig.
Sounds like an apt description of MY neighbors. Add edentate.
The cost of that cleanup, of course, will be borne by taxpayers, not industry.
I'd be fine if they'd just make retailers take returns. That's the problem right now is that you can't return games. So you buy a game, turns out the DRM doesn't work on your system, or maybe you simply don't approve of it. Well too bad, it's opened, so you can't take it back. That is bullshit. I'd be happy if the government just said "You are required to accept a return on any title that has DRM on it just as you would for any other merchandise." That way if the DRM screws you over, you can just take the game back.
Now of course they'd whine and bitch that people would use this to "rent" games. As in buy them, try them, then take them back. Possible, people are known to do that with things they want for just a little while. However that's why I'd require it only for DRM'd games. You want to release a game with no DRM, then it's fine to not take returns.
Should read. The IT sector has become so anti-consumer that it seems rather likely that some consumer protections by the federal government would restore public confidence in the sector and thus improve business as a whole. In other words, this could be a case where some prudent regulation by the Feds could make a playing field that the public trusts, and thus, buys stuff in.
This is my sig.
What's the bet they decide that the best way to protect consumers is to have a common, reliable DRM system, rather than ad-hoc unreliable DRM. Then they can legally enforce everyone has to use it.
I bet that most of the attendees of any "Town Hall" meeting are paid lobbyists, and not many of them will represent consumers.
Add that to the fact that the lobbyists will understand the problem better than our elected representatives, and their (biased) ideas will probably be the best ones to reach the ears of the real decision makers.
Australia has this great show called "The Hollowmen", which parodies this process. I've heard it isn't too far from the truth, in some cases.
So, they'll have free drinks, chit-chat for a while, and nothing will change.
Stop buying them. Last I checked, computer games aren't necessary for living. If it's gotten to the point where it is this painful to buy and play them, then stop. This isn't rocket science. If a retailer has a product that you don't want, then don't purchase it. If you're unsure, do yourself a favor and don't rush out and buy it- wait and see how others react to it.
If it hasn't gotten to that point, then stop complaining.
But for God's sake, stop relying on businesses and the government to protect you from bad purchases. Ultimately, that's your responsibility.
Government involvement is not needed. People must stop buying or keep circumventing.
True on the farr use but there is a ton of case history involving computer intrusion. That's not what this is about.
Installing software(securerom) on my computer without my permission is clearly a criminal act.
I find being offended by me offensive.
Lately that's meant that industry heavies are busy trying to stuff the panel with their own 'experts', doesn't it?
And then three months after this is all done with, we'll start seeing stories about how a quarter of the panelists have been discovered as previously employed by one of the RIAA's shadow groups, in addition to several other panelists receipt of airline tickets to hong kong (as well as an all-expenses paid week there for a meeting) as well as other weakly disguised "gifts" being scrutinized.
What amazes me is they continue to get away with this same old game, time and time again. This wouldn't be a problem if the followup had some teeth to it. What do you do when this all comes to light after the event? Remove them from the panel? Fat lot of good that does after they've "made their recommendations" etc.
I work for the Department of Redundancy Department.
Yeah, I read this article a long time ago and it really presented the whole DRM + Piracy debate in a new light. I don't pirate games but I also felt kind of uneasy about installing DRM which had a reputation for blowing up my system. Now I don't mind at all, because the problems are generally way overrated and being a software developer I can understand totally why they would go with DRM, to make sure that their precious day one sales don't get cannibalized.
There is very little case law protecting consumer fair use with video games, as compared with audio and video.
I'd have thought that was an argument in favour of starting with video games.
OK, so all DRM is bad, but the real horror stories (malware, limited installs, mandatory internet connections) have been with games.
The Spore case is a particularly clear example of DRM pissing off legitimate consumers while failing to deter (and possibly encouraging) large-scale illicit copying.
Also, whereas issues with Audio/Video DRM are normally to do with caselaw-based "fair use" rights such as format-shifting, the problems with video game DRM have been more fundamental "fitness for purpose" variety. I'm not defending audio/video DRM, but pragmatically speaking, audio DRM seems to be dying off by itself and "your lousy game broke my perfectly standard PC" is going to get more public sympathy than "why can't I watch HD content on Linux?".
In a survey of 100 programmers, 111111 thought that duck-typing was a good idea.
with all this DRM sh1t if these companies massively reduced their over inflated prices (which they have always claimed was because of piracy) but it still costs fortune to buy anything even when it's DRM'd to death.
Build a Man a Fire, and He'll Be Warm for a Day. Set a Man on Fire, and He'll Be Warm for the Rest of His Life.
The problem with most DRM implementations they are setup for products that are only entertainment related. It is tough to say that anyone who cannot use this product due to DRM restrictions is going to suffer from it.
Oh I am sorry you cannot play this game or play your music on Linux. But really with all the problems in the world this just seems really minor. It is akin to a wealthy man complaining about the economy and had to let go of one of his many maids.
I would focus DRM in areas that are not entertainment related. Such as Windows Activation where you loose your OS functionality when Microsoft servers have a glitch or upgrading your PC, or worse putting Linux as your primary OS and Virtualizing Windows. This is the stuff that is hindering productive use. Things that you can get people to rally behind from a politicians perspective. Espectially with Windows as it is near impossible to pirate. As every near every PC you buy has Windows on it, and you paid MS for that indirectly. The small amount who don't buy Preloaded PC's you can assume Macs, and homebuilt for the most part. For the Macs most don't install Windows, many with Home built buy a legit version of windows. The Rest of the population who do Pirate Windows are balanced from the people take it off their system to install Linux or whatever, combined with returned Damaged Units which may just get tossed out with a legit Windows License.
Part of the success of early Windows was the fact that it was easily pirated. Hey let me borrow your Windows 98 CD to upgrade my 95 System. Windows 98 had integrated web browser built in so after the upgrade the person started to use Internet Explorer over Netscape. Or even earlier, Lets give MS DOS a try over DR. DOS wow MS Dos runs my games so much quicker then DR. DOS. Hey MS. DOS 5 was released I think I'll buy a copy. Or hey MS Dos comes with gwbasic/QBASIC I think I will use this for development. Wow my app is nice I need a Basic Compiler QuickBasic should do the trick. Hey now with windows there is Visual Basic I will go with that.
If something is so important that you feel the need to post it on the internet... It probably isn't that important.
the Spore case is very clearly one of a handful of trolls on Amazon. Games with DRM in general, however, are a clear case of what you said.
-- 'The' Lord and Master Bitman On High, Master Of All
I'm in Eastern Europe (Ukraine) right now on a trip. Walked into a DVD/PC games/PS2 game store. There were legal copies of a tiny number of games for sale at UAH 125 each (around $15, but this number is a bit warped due to the fact that the Ukraine currency has plummeted very recently) and a giant amount of games, dvds, etc for sale for around UAH 20 to 35 each, including all of the games that were for sale legally. curious, i went into another store, then another, and found that those dispensed with the formality of even having a few legitimate games. the selection of the games was far larger than you'd find in a typical best-buy. The shopkeepers made no secret of the fact that the games were not legal.
The thing is, it's not like these are little independent software stores run from the back of a truck. these are large multi-million dollar national (ukrain's population is about 50 million) professional chains selling this stuff.
Furthermore, at $15 (the price for the 'full' versions), the games are at least as affordable to the average ukrainian gamer as the $45 equivalents are in the USA. the situation where ukraine (or malaysia, or china, or you name it) is some poor backwater where we might as well just tolerate this since the potential users have no money. i mean, you have to have a serious PC to play most of the modern games, and serious PC prices are pretty much the same everywhere.
i asked the shopkeepers about business software like MS-Office. These were under the counter, but still easily available. one shopkeeper complained to me that his PC game business was down as people were flocking to the web to download stuff. a cousin of mine showed how through the university network (i mean directly on university servers) of ukraine's best university, she had access to from what i can tell tens of terabytes of films, games, software, etc just right there. this is a girl who drives a car better than most of you probably did at her age (19, new toyota land cruiser).
So, while slashdot obsesses over the attempts of companies to protect their own material and the inevitable over-reaches that happen in that quest, you might, just might want to consider that piracy prevention is a noble and fair goal to make people pay their share. we should be supporting sensible attempts at stopping the process wherein american and western european consumers basically subsidize the entertainment for the rest of the world.
The pissing people off aspect isn't really even the problem. The market will sort that stuff out eventually as people stop buying products from companies that make using their products a pain in the ass.
The damage done to PCs is the bigger issue. When you buy medication you are given a list of side effects on the packaging that warns you of potential risks. You might be buying the pills to make your penis bigger, but you have every right to know that despite the enjoyment you'll receive from the bigger dick, you might have to deal with that pesky issue of having a heart attack or aneurysm.
Software gives you no such warning. People have a right to know that installing a game might end up forcing them to take their computer in to get repaired and/or losing all of their data because of hidden software (extreme example).
"the Spore case is very clearly one of a handful of trolls on Amazon. Games with DRM in general, however, are a clear case of what you said."
So you mean the trolls did something good?
Sig not found.
You might be buying the pills to make your penis bigger
Something tells me that the "medication" sold to make your penis bigger probably doesn't come with full disclosure of potential side effects ;)
I want peace on earth and goodwill toward man.
We are the United States Government! We don't do that sort of thing.
This post is really great, how it manages to remain on the edge of trolling, but you're not quite sure.
Well, I might be feeding the trolls today, but if the poster was serious, he also forgot that little thing, you know, what was it? "Totally destroying the resale value and second-hand market"? Yes, that's it!
Excellent point, but you won't garner any public support as it is now. People want their computers to play games, surf the internet, look at porn, and do their banking. They don't care about installs because they don't do them. People don't realize that things aren't the way they're supposed to be. This is a step in the right direction because it addresses something that everyone can get behind. When the precedent for striking down or curbing DRM has been set, we can hope for someone out there to broaden the scope.
Sig not found.
My ass.
They are going to protect the interests of the mega corporations that funnel donation money in.
Its how the 'system' works.
---- Booth was a patriot ----
That's because sugar pills don't have any side-effects.
If fate makes you a motorcycle, you become a motorcycle.
What does the MAFIAA have to do with gaming DRM?
That's because sugar pills don't have any side-effects.
Well if you eat enough of them they might make other parts of your body fat but probably not the part that you bought them for ;)
I want peace on earth and goodwill toward man.
We are the United States Government! We don't do that sort of thing.
A DVD or Bluray player, right out of the box, implements DRM. It doesn't need modification, because it comes pre-crippled. When the user buys a shiny disc and inserts it (and executes code from it, in the case of Bluray) nothing unexpectedly bad can happen. The player device is not damaged.
On personal computers, though, the situation is altogether different. DRM isn't already implemented out-of-the-box; installing malware is the only way to implement it. When you install Spore, your software environment is damaged, even when you're not playing Spore.
FTC shouldn't talk about this as a discussion of DRM itself, because DRM problems will still exist regardless of anything FTC does. They should instead call it a discussion about malware that implements the DRM.
This is ultimately about what labeling conventions imply consent on the part of the victim. If there isn't informed consent, then what Spore's publishers did is a crime, so there should be both criminal and civil sanctions, just like there would be if the author of some spam botnet worm were caught. If there is informed consent, then the victim isn't a victim of crime, they're just a victim of their own stupidity because they bought Spore when they should have known better.
Hopefully the outcome will be that the FTC will say that any software that is sold over state lines, will have to have a label on the outside of the box and in all advertisements: "this contains malware and will damage your operating system if installed" in situations where that happens to be the case.
"Believe me!" -- Donald Trump
Will they even consider requiring notifications about more important DRM like Microsoft's trusted media path, tilt bits, and "windows genuine advantage"?
Oh, was that a rhetorical question?
The only thing that will work is to vote with our wallets.
Don't put up with any DRM at all in your life.
Just don't buy any media, software, operating system or even device that implements DRM.
I'm guessing EA are already suprised by a large difference in estimated and real profits of spore. In fact I hope they actually made a net loss on it after development costs. They need to get the clear message that people didn't buy it because of the DRM and not just blame their low sales on the game being crap or the recession or something.
As soon as comapnies like EA realise they will actually lose sales just by using DRM, DRM will go away. It seems Apple/I-Tunes got the message recently. Hopefully EA will be next.
Anyone who, acting in good faith, pays good money for any product that turns out to be unusable, when there was a reasonable expectation that it should be usable, has suffered. This is more true, not less, when the actual cause of the problem is not an honest mistake but a deliberate restriction. Any person who fits my description who is denied a refund has been defrauded. That's the essence of the phrase "defective by design".
There is an idea, well really it's more of an observation, that every big menacing problem was once a small problem that could have been easily dealt with. It's our lack of foresight and our unwillingness to take an idea to its completion that keeps us from seeing the problems while they are still small.
"I can't play this music on Linux" is a very small problem indeed. "I can't make any changes to any equipment I supposedly own or view any media for which I bought a license without first obtaining approval from several different companies" is a much larger problem. Both have the same nature. The only difference between them is degree. The first example is the small problem that is tough but not so hard to deal with. The second example is more like what you would get if the acceptability of this kind of control is taken to its conclusion. The problem is that this is very much a "frog soup" type of situation, so the time to start protesting it is now.
That's the beauty of having principles and considering these matters in terms of underlying principles. You don't have to wait until freedoms are taken away before you realize that this is where the situation is headed. You also don't have to worry about whether it's a big step towards reducing freedom or a baby-step towards reducing freedom before you realize that any step towards that is simply unacceptable.
It is a miracle that curiosity survives formal education. - Einstein
When copyright is revoked and universal distribution of everything for free is the rule, there will be no more DRM.
Only free software will exist, because nobody will be able to charge anything for it anymore.
Of course, the quality might suffer a little and there might be a few less items out there, but it will all be free. Oh, and you might have to spend a week or so figuring out how to compile a game before you can play it.
Until some really smart people figure out how this can actually work it is going to be tough. People really want stuff for free and plenty of people are willing to buy things and post them for all to download. Of course, a lot of that is stuff bought with stolen credit cards... but the spirit is there. I don't see any turning back from the "it all should be for free" movement. At least until the last vestiges of decadent Western civiilization is wiped off the map.
Think of the diabetics!
This isn't about "i can't watch HD content on linux"
it's more along the lines of..
I popped this disk into my completely normal beige box computer and it blacked my screen. I'm being ripped off.
VLC FOR MAC IS DYING! IF YOU DEVELOP, PLEASE SAVE IT!!
The solution to DRM is easy. It is consumers caring. If they don't care enough then DRM will continue to harm the consumers. When they stand up and quit buying products from companies that use it those companies will stop.
Government involvement though will almost certainly screw things up even more. I cant for the life of me remember one thing the government has gotten involved in during my lifetime that they did not make worse.
Why is it so hard to only have politicians for a few years, then have them go away?
Maybe they're sugar pills, or maybe they're dried blood serum of Ebola victims rolled into pills and personally cursed by the High Priest of the Church of Satan to weed the stupid from the world. All you know for sure is that you got them from some shady character on the Internet who's whereabouts you don't know and who is unlikely to ever make business with you again, making him far less trustworthy or interested in your continued wellbeing than the neighbourhood drug dealer. So the question is:
Do you feel lucky, punk ?
Forget magic. Any technology distinguishable from divine power is insufficiently advanced.
This post is really great, how it manages to remain on the edge of trolling, but you're not quite sure.
Well, I might be feeding the trolls today, but if the poster was serious, he also forgot that little thing, you know, what was it? "Totally destroying the resale value and second-hand market"? Yes, that's it!
That and GGP is nothing more than a thinly veiled troll as well. Pretty much all the +5's I remember from that were very simple.. "you, the author of this article, are either a moron or deliberately disingenuous"
VLC FOR MAC IS DYING! IF YOU DEVELOP, PLEASE SAVE IT!!
Except that you bought the disc with said software, put it in your computer, and then ran this installer. That's not criminal at all.
Allow me to translate:
Ars Technica reports that the FTC is getting ready to take a hard look at gaming DRM, setting up a town hall meeting to be held on March 25th. They're currently recruiting panelists, and they say the meeting will, in part, "address the need to improve disclosures to consumers about DRM limitations."
A longer legal notice will be included with each product (alongside the warnings about not sticking a fork in electric sockets or using the device as a parachute when jumping from an airplane) thus making it less likely to be read by comsumers, less likely to be understood if they do read it, and written in a smaller font so it can still fit on the same amount of paper.
The controversy over DRM came to a head in 2008 with the release of Spore and the multiple subsequent class-action lawsuits focusing on the SecuROM software that came with the game. Ars Technica says the town hall meeting will also look at "legal issues surrounding DRM"
New laws will be written to protect the makers of Spore, SecuROM and other DRM enabled or enabling technology from the evils of class action lawsuits that would otherwise result when consumers find they can't use the products they have paid for.
and "the potential need for government involvement to protect consumers."
Consumers will be protected from the higher prices that result when people are able to use a purchased product more than once. By making sure people can only use a product one time, people will need to keep repurchasing the same item over and over, allowing manufacturers to produce larger numbers of the same item and sell these items at a volume discount.
The phrase government involvement may scare some readers, but don't worry! Those generous manufacturers, who only want to keep our prices low after all, will be watching the FTC, providing donations to the right lawmakers, all to make sure that consumer interests are protected every step of the way.
I often don't like the choices people make, but I like the fact that people make choices. That's why I'm a conservative.
When Windows XP was released, some big customers were worried about depending on an external instance for authorization.
Microsoft appeased them by releasing the "Corporate Edition" that didn't require remote authorization.
Guess what happened?
The "Corporate Edition" got pirated. Once again, those who pirate the software are bothered less than legitimate customers...
C - the footgun of programming languages
All you know for sure is that you got them from some shady character on the Internet who's whereabouts you don't know and who is unlikely to ever make business with you again
That's why I get all of my penis enlargement pills from that guy on late night TV ads. TV is a lot more trustworthy than the internet ;)
I want peace on earth and goodwill toward man.
We are the United States Government! We don't do that sort of thing.
FAIL.
I bought Game X. I installed Game X. I consented to Game X I never knew that I was also installing SecureROM. It never tells you on the package nor in the EULA nor in the installer. That's unauthorized computer usage. That's completely criminal.
Consenting to something does not mean I'm consenting to everything.
I find being offended by me offensive.
If you aren't sure of something or don't like it, DON'T BUY IT.
We don't need government agents deciding how things should work. The last thing we need is a federal usage rights management agency.
As a matter of fact I do! Just yesterday I was chosen to receive a very handsome sum of money from a member of the Nigerian royal family, and barely an hour later, not one but seven gorgeous women sent me flirtatious messages on MySpace.
I'm on a roll!
If fate makes you a motorcycle, you become a motorcycle.
So by loading a web page that has a silent trojan installer you consent to have your machine rooted and joined to a bot net?
You opened the browser. You went to the web page.
I find being offended by me offensive.
The pissing people off aspect isn't really even the problem. The market will sort that stuff out eventually as people stop buying products from companies that make using their products a pain in the ass.
Publisher: People are not buying games for PC or they are just pirating due to DRM.
Developer: Well how about we turn all our focus for game development to consoles and fuck everyone over who enjoys PC gaming. If there is a big enough demand maybe we can give the PC gamers a terrible watered down console port that barely works with even more DRM. This way they will just go buy the console version.
Publisher: Great idea!!! We'll get right on that start making the squeal to "Epic FPS PC game" for the consoles. Make sure to dumb the game play and storyline down to the average console gamers attention span and IQ. If the PC gamers don't like it, fuck em we'll give them the shitty port a year later with SecuROM, CD-Keys, Online account creations and require six logins to different web services before they can play.
So pick ONE imperfect control mechanism, not both.
Start an OpEd stating that fucking 11 year olds is OK and should be allowed freely everywhere and then say that there will just be a knee-jerk reaction from all those idiots who won't, don't and can't think.
And you know what?
I'll be right.
If they don't ban DRM outright, one good thing they could do is to enforce some labeling requirements.
Something like:
"This game includes DRM:
* It will not be unintstalled with the game.
* It prevents you from using other software, specifically:
- Virtual CD-ROM software (e.g. Alcohol 120%)
- PC Emulators
* It requires you to insert the original CD/DVD when playing the game.
* It reports data back to the licensing server whenever you are connected to the internet, including but not limited to:
- License #
- Computer specifications (CPU speed, etc.)
- Other software installed on the system (other games, modifications to this game, other software that looks like it might be a crack or a form of the banned software listed above).
* This game will cease to work when the licensing server goes offline in 2012."
I wonder how many people would agree to conditions like that if they had to be spelled out up front? Then again, I guess people would still buy it and complain. But maybe that's not entirely a bad thing. The publishers need to hear a lot of complaints from customers...
That is because you have been desensitized to the abuse your received.
About a week after my son's second birthday, I formatted his hard drive and gave him a copy of Ubuntu Linux. He sat down and installed his OS with no help and no problems. You, presumably a full grown adult, had to call the manufacturer to get help installing your OS. You were reduced to a lower level of competency than a two year old child.
The reason that you could not accomplish the same task as a 2 year old must be attributed one of the two factors that was different. 1) The person doing the install. Or 2) The OS being installed.
Now, while I like to think that my kid is exceptionally smart, I don't for a second believe that your intelligence is less than a 2 year old. That leaves the fact that you did have a problem with the software, and just didn't realize it.
What I want them to address is the fact that many DRM mechanisms as defined by the DMCA are no longer and possibly never have served their intended purpose as an effective copyright control measures, instead they being used to create tiered levels of personal usage rights for which they may charge you more for allowing you the same rights you used to get for free. How can they define their DRM as an effective copyright measures if they are selling the same materials without it? What DRM is really doing is fair use rights control. This is an important distinction as by the purchase of the music you are supposed to legally gain fair use rights but the DMCA's anti-circumvention clause makes effectively aborts this. DRM is now being used as a method of restricting and profiting from persons' desire for fair use. This is not a copyright restriction mechanism, it is fair usage rights restriction mechanism which should render the DMCA circumvention provision inapplicable.
oh! wait
So why is that wrong?
This isn't so much an issue of fair use as it is an issue of fit for purpose.
SecuROM installs without permission(sometimes it'll even install without actually even installing the game, before you've agreed to any license whatsoever), it's almost impossible to remove, and it causes issues both with the system its installed on and sometimes with the games its installed for.
since then I've not bought any CD-based games that have DRM.
But have you bought any DVD-based, cart-based, UMD-based, or BD-based games that have DRM? All video game consoles require all game media to have DRM.
We live in an age where good-faith isn't enough. DRM is necessary because of rampant piracy issues which have already seen companies switch to primarily console development.
Sounds like GTA 4 to me. Rockstar can lick my sweaty nuttsack. Goddamned motherfucking cock-sucking shit eaters.
Oh, and fuck Valve too. Fuckin slimeballs wont even give refunds for distributing a completely broken shit-fest like GTA4. It's not like they're gonna have to eat some shipping costs... fuckin' assholes.
FUCK ALL YOU GODDAMNED DRM USING PRICKS!
Fortune cookie at the bottom when I loaded this thread: "Insanity is the final defense ... It's hard to get a refund when the salesman is sniffing your crotch and baying at the moon."
34.6 chances of backfiring. If not you know what's next....