This move isn't about now; it's about the future. MS is betting that the SSSCA (or whatever) gets passed and suddenly manufacturers will be compelled to drop all formats that don't contain DRM. And, since WMA is DRM ready, it will be the natural choice, since the equipment manufacturers will have it licensed already. Likewise, the equipment folks are hedging their bets against SSSCA, licensing WMA now so they'll have it available when the hammer falls.
I'll bet the licensing is a sweet deal too: right now the fee's are either $0 or nominal, which MS can view as a loss leader. Thenn SSSCA passes and whammo - licensing fees skyrocket, and the manufacturer's just start charging $10 more per unit.
Here's the real beauty of the scheme: Let's say some smart guy figures "Hey, I just won't upgrade Media Player to the latest copy-protection-mandatory version. Fine for a while, and then Mr. Smartguy clicks on Windows Update and sees CRITAL UPDATE - SECURITY RELATED!!! and he scrambles to download it. And hidden beside the fix to the security hole of the week is a Media player update. MS previewed this tactic with the IE5.5 "security" update that wiped out plug-ins as well.
220v comes into the house on 2 each 110v lines. For 110v circuits, you use the voltage between a hot and neutral. For 220v, it's the voltage between 2 hot. That's how electric ranges and all of the other heavy equipment in our houses are wired.
The trick would be to change the circuit in your "entertainment room" to 220v at the breaker panel, and then change the outlets in the room to the appropriate 220v receptacles. Snip the cord ends off the European electronic equipment and replace them with American pattern.
Double Pole Breaker: $10
220v outlets (3): $15
220v plugs (3):$15
Beer for an friend to do the wiring:$20 (heineken, right?)
Not having a cheap xfmr/power converter set your residence and equipment on fire: Priceless
Next question - is Netherland 60Hz or 50Hz, and does it patter to DVD and TV set power supplies?
When was the last time Austrailia was the target of attack? I'm betting when the English showed up, and before that the Aboriginies (sp?). I'll hedge my bets and allow a random Japanese air raid during WWII.
Building a super secure facility in a secure country seems like taking a refrigerator to Antarctica to hold your beer.
"Seriously, when was the last time you saw an IBM desktop? "
Er, 20 seconds ago? I work for a construction company and IBM's are all we buy. Although we're moving to laptops, we still buy a fair number of desktops. Their support is great, and they're bulletproof. We put them if the most un-computer-friendly environments (dirt, dust, and construction trailer electrics) and I have yet to see one crap out on a hardware problem.
Ironically enough, I work for a company that strikes all references to arbitration from the contracts it signs. Why? Because in my industry, arbitrators generally either favor the little guy or live up to the word arbitrary and simply split the difference, regardless of either side's merits.
That's not exactly true when it comes to intellectual property. Companies can effectively lose trademarks by not enforcing them; "Aspirin" jumps to mind.
Also, one can lose an FCC license by failure to construct faclities or use the frequencies. True, it is a licensing issue, but it has a lot of parallels.
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This move isn't about now; it's about the future. MS is betting that the SSSCA (or whatever) gets passed and suddenly manufacturers will be compelled to drop all formats that don't contain DRM. And, since WMA is DRM ready, it will be the natural choice, since the equipment manufacturers will have it licensed already. Likewise, the equipment folks are hedging their bets against SSSCA, licensing WMA now so they'll have it available when the hammer falls.
I'll bet the licensing is a sweet deal too: right now the fee's are either $0 or nominal, which MS can view as a loss leader. Thenn SSSCA passes and whammo - licensing fees skyrocket, and the manufacturer's just start charging $10 more per unit.
Here's the real beauty of the scheme: Let's say some smart guy figures "Hey, I just won't upgrade Media Player to the latest copy-protection-mandatory version. Fine for a while, and then Mr. Smartguy clicks on Windows Update and sees CRITAL UPDATE - SECURITY RELATED!!! and he scrambles to download it. And hidden beside the fix to the security hole of the week is a Media player update. MS previewed this tactic with the IE5.5 "security" update that wiped out plug-ins as well.
220v comes into the house on 2 each 110v lines. For 110v circuits, you use the voltage between a hot and neutral. For 220v, it's the voltage between 2 hot. That's how electric ranges and all of the other heavy equipment in our houses are wired. The trick would be to change the circuit in your "entertainment room" to 220v at the breaker panel, and then change the outlets in the room to the appropriate 220v receptacles. Snip the cord ends off the European electronic equipment and replace them with American pattern. Double Pole Breaker: $10 220v outlets (3): $15 220v plugs (3):$15 Beer for an friend to do the wiring:$20 (heineken, right?) Not having a cheap xfmr/power converter set your residence and equipment on fire: Priceless Next question - is Netherland 60Hz or 50Hz, and does it patter to DVD and TV set power supplies?
When was the last time Austrailia was the target of attack? I'm betting when the English showed up, and before that the Aboriginies (sp?). I'll hedge my bets and allow a random Japanese air raid during WWII. Building a super secure facility in a secure country seems like taking a refrigerator to Antarctica to hold your beer.
"Seriously, when was the last time you saw an IBM desktop? " Er, 20 seconds ago? I work for a construction company and IBM's are all we buy. Although we're moving to laptops, we still buy a fair number of desktops. Their support is great, and they're bulletproof. We put them if the most un-computer-friendly environments (dirt, dust, and construction trailer electrics) and I have yet to see one crap out on a hardware problem.
Ironically enough, I work for a company that strikes all references to arbitration from the contracts it signs. Why? Because in my industry, arbitrators generally either favor the little guy or live up to the word arbitrary and simply split the difference, regardless of either side's merits.
That's not exactly true when it comes to intellectual property. Companies can effectively lose trademarks by not enforcing them; "Aspirin" jumps to mind. Also, one can lose an FCC license by failure to construct faclities or use the frequencies. True, it is a licensing issue, but it has a lot of parallels.