"An important component of this should be the building-in of DRM technology to internet protocols, so that copyrighted information cannot be sent over the network without permission from copyright holders."
Yup, sounds like a great idea - great, that is, until you realize that you have to pay M$ 300 bucks just to post a plain html/text page on your website in the proper DRMed format...
Putting DRM into every internet protocol would kill the internet as we know it. Enforcing your copyrights legally against infringers is one thing - punishing the entire world with a crippled internet is something else entirely.
Being a student, I can thankfully get the new upgrades at the educational rate (for now). Still, it's no excuse for these prices.
Even Microsoft realizes this to an extent - upgrades to new software versions are cheaper than buying the new version outright (albeit not significantly). Unless it's a completely new product, loke from 9 to X, it seems ridiculous to pay full retail for every single point-release.
It's true, of course, that even Panther costs less than an upgrade to XP Pro. That being said, though, XP may be around until 2005 or so, by which point there will be who knows how many new OSX releases - times $129.
Shaking down loyal customers is an excellent way to ensure that you end up with less of them.
Slashdot Mirror
Yup, sounds like a great idea - great, that is, until you realize that you have to pay M$ 300 bucks just to post a plain html/text page on your website in the proper DRMed format...
Putting DRM into every internet protocol would kill the internet as we know it. Enforcing your copyrights legally against infringers is one thing - punishing the entire world with a crippled internet is something else entirely.
Even Microsoft realizes this to an extent - upgrades to new software versions are cheaper than buying the new version outright (albeit not significantly). Unless it's a completely new product, loke from 9 to X, it seems ridiculous to pay full retail for every single point-release.
It's true, of course, that even Panther costs less than an upgrade to XP Pro. That being said, though, XP may be around until 2005 or so, by which point there will be who knows how many new OSX releases - times $129.
Shaking down loyal customers is an excellent way to ensure that you end up with less of them.