"It might be fashionable to make fun of Palin on Slashdot, where people pretend to be constitutional purists and libertarians. But this type of thinking, "don't cut my program" is why America is $10T in debt, not counting the 79 million baby boomers about to retire and demand their Social Security and Medicare."
When Bush took over the debt was 5 Trillion and was shrinking under budget surpluses.
Large unsustainable tax cuts with a trillion dollar war of choice are the main culprits in the current 10 Trillion Debt level. Your grand children will suffer mainly from the Bush legacy. Not fruit file research.
This is the third time (at minimum) this has been suggested that I remember on/. , each time people are aghast.
I think there would be no shortage of qualified volunteer from the scientific community who would go. The chance to analyze Mars up close and in person would be very tempting for many. Maybe send husband&wife teams to help handle the separation from humanity.
This would be for volunteers and just because it messes with your tender sensibilities is no reason not to do it. I say man up and damn the torpedoes.
That is, if we ever have the money for this kind of effort again. The economy is in shambles and I can't see this kind of grand project happening until that changes.
The reason PR failed is exactly because of campaigners like this one. Usually representing entrenched party interests (getting their 4 year dictatorships). Every discussion would have Liberal and Conservative representatives (the main beneficiaries) spewing anti PR FUD.
PR is not about producing minority governments. It is about producing coalition governments. Failure dispense with the all or nothing fight for majority governments, and refusal to cooperate in governing coalitions with minorities is also part of the resistance. A coalition as a viable governing can be very workable and many (most?) western democracies have some form of PR. It is more cooperative and less political.
Any party that tried to entrench old cronies (another common piece of FUD) would suffer extensively at the ballot box. If we had MMP and Brian Mulroney was a list Candidate, the party would sink into the toilet. The opposition would have a field day saying a Vote for the Conservatives is a Vote for Brian Mulroney. Parties are politically expediant and they would axe any member that the public found disagreeable.
I would like PR, but it will never happen because of the extensive FUD machine arrayed against from the mainline parties who benefit disproportionately from FPTP.
Unfortunately FUD is the favored and often winning tactic to block any change.
"Maybe you could provide a link, since I got my numbers by actually looking at the winning margins in seats lost by Liberals."
I am not sure what you are referring to on that link you provide, since in the 15 losses listed with margins for the liberals, the biggest margin was 2.7%. With the greens pulling 7%, it is easy to see that they cost many seats. Vote splitting a well known phenomena. I am not going to argue the number of seats the Greens cost. It clearly elected many extra conservatives with vote splitting. The 19 number I referenced came from this news story:
Whether the actual number is 12 or 20 is not the issue. The Greens are a seat-less party that draws only one result from their votes: Electing more Conservatives.
"Only if literally millions of voters sat down together and tediously worked out where it would be best to send their votes. Who's being the naive idealist again?"
You don't need to actually work together with anyone to vote strategically, you just need some information about the relative position of candidates in your riding. Such resource was a available and I used it and I didn't have to "sit down with millions of voters". Obviously strategic voting isn't for everyone, but if more progressive voters did it, progressive parties would hold more sway in the house of commons.
Yes that is more or less what happened, but just like last time, Harper will continue to do whatever he pleases and govern like he has a majority.
Given no one wants another election, we can look forward to about a year of Harper dictatorship as he pushes any legislation he feels like.
For Harper the election was win-win. He had a shot at majority, but even if he failed, he would get another year at minimum where he was untouchable and could do what he wanted all the while taunting the opposition.
People seems to assume this is some sort of made in Canada fluffy bunny DMCA lite. It isn't. This is an RIAA wet dream.
People tout the lower $500 fine per file, but that is downloading, most people get busted for uploading in the USA (which most file sharing clients do) the fine for that is $20 000 per file. Which is also the fine for breaking any DRM. Say hello to bankrupting lawsuits in Canada for your kids file sharing.
It also makes "making available" a crime, where this is being challenged in the states, it will be a codified law with this bill.
It also gives the power to corporations to make anything they want law, by make EULA 100% binding. Something else that was shotdown in the USA.
Say goodbye to any semblance of fair use, or first sale doctrine type rights. They are all out the window.
Basically whatever corporations say goes and huge fines if you disagree.
Of course that this was returning was only announced days before the election so no opposition could be built up against it.
I agree that this issue is beyond the typical citizens understanding or concern, but there was no time to build up any kind of flac on this. The Conservatives only announced the return after the final debate and after Advanced Polling had closed with less than week before the full polls. It received no public scrutiny. This could have been used to mobilize the young as this is essentially the coming of the digital police state and it will affect the most connected (the young) the most.
"The current bill limits what can be claimed against an individual, so there won't be any embarrassing stories about 100's of thousand dollar claims against grandmothers."
If you look at the Canadian Bill it is $500 limit per file downloaded, but $20 000 per file uploaded. This is actually much worse than the US laws as they stand. AFAIK everyone I know in the USA was busted as a uploading or "making available".
"Sorry, but this 'blame the third party' crap really piss me off, especially in this election, where it doesn't hold up to analysis."
The Greens are just one example and I acknowledged a weak Liberal leader as well. But in Canada we now have 3 "third" parties, all on the left (NDP, Green, Bloc)and two main parties (Liberals(center-left)/Conservatives(right)). It doesn't matter who leads the Liberals they won't get a majority in the current conditions, they might squeeze out a minority. While the conservatives occupy the right alone and came very close to a majority and would have had it if not for a few miss-steps that cost them votes in Quebec.
As far as analysis. There was one in a newspaper recently which indicated the Greens siphoned off enough votes that 19 less Liberals and NDP were elected.
So the Greens elected no members but did result in 19 more conservatives being elected.
What pisses me off is people who can't look pragmatically at voting and vote on misguided idealism that results in electing the greater of evils.
If progressive voters had voted strategically, they would have sent more Liberals, more NDP and more Bloc and more Greens to the government. Instead we get more and more conservative in a country that is largely progressive and left leaning.
I disagree with the others who say our Conservatives are different(I am Canadian). They share the same ideology (Pro Corporation, anti-socialism) and Harper seems to share the same mean spirited mud slinging personality as many republicans.
How they won is related to vote splitting and a weak Liberal leader. We have 1 right wing party, and 4 on the center left splitting the vote. Over 60% voted against the current government. But vote splitting gave them a government.
The green party is essentially the "Ralph Nader party" They elect no members and siphon off enough center/left votes to give yet more seats to the Conservatives. Idealistic people voting their idealism and giving the worse case result in reality.
I agree this has a real slimey feel. GM is pushing EPA to change the rules to make this kind of misleading statement a standard rating for PHEVs so the can claim the volt gets 100mpg even though it is 40 miles electric + maybe 50 miles on a gallon of gas.
It does nothing to help the consumer and only confuses.
Every message board I am on with gamers is flooded with rage over this. It is not from 0.2% of the gaming population.
Bioware forums (recently taken over by EA) have 50 page+ threads devoted to this outrage. With ZERO supporters of this.
EA is continuing to mistreat customers and belittle their concerns and this only feeding the movement against them, this is like the Sony Rootkit without the mea culpa.
EA seems to be under the assumption that their customers are idiots who don't know how to get DRM free versions. The industry as a whole has been training us for years to do just that. They survive largely on goodwill.
Goodwill that EAs practices, and poor customer treatment is being evaporated.
I am more curious about the Album that you would have supposedly paid $79 for. I wouldn't pay that for any album. I could easily do without, listen to the radio, etc...
"What are your basis for saying that loaning the game to your brother or selling it are perfectly reasonable things to do? Not that I necessarily disagree, but I'd like to know how you justify it."
Much like I can loan/sell Books/CDs/Movies. I think first someone has to justify why games are some special type of copyright material that can't be loaned/sold.
Just because publishers would like it to be so, doesn't make it so. They are attempting to end first sale doctrine exception of copyright by build walls to stop it, that doesn't mean they have the right to stop it.
"it's there because they think it will help stop or at least slow piracy. If the world wasn't full of thieves, there would be no DRM."
Nonsense. It is well known by now. That this does nothing to slow piracy. See evidence in the last 30 years of computer gaming. DRM exists now to stop you from lending the game to your brother and to stop you from selling it.
"Acting like DRM will go away if you cry about it is childish."
Derogatory nonsense this time. Change happens from protest all the time. When DRM protest continue to strangle sales on the most egregious DRM offenders, industry will take notice and try desperately to not be the next target of wrath from offensive DRM. Some like Stardock will sell the virtue of DRM freedom (Just like all the DRM free music now available).
"The only successful DRM comes from hardware makers (read: Apple)"
Again more nonsense. People can't tell the difference between Apple DRM and Microsofts DRM. Apples is a "success" because Apple built a better moustrap (ipod), and a better service (itunes) and marketed both better. Note that now their are several sources of DRM free music, including from Apple itself. You have to be a half-wit to consider buy DRM's music IMO. Look at recent announcements to shutter DRM servers from Microsoft, Yahoo and Walmart which will strand customers.
Lets face. DRM has been a total and utter failure. It doesn't even slow down piracy, much less eliminate.
It has trained a generation of PC gamers to download cracks to get around annoyance, it has trained a generation of cracker to provide that service. Annoy people long enough and they will eventually skip over the buying phase and go straight to the trusted download scene. After all the publishers have forced to go here for fully functional copies of their own software for years.
Consumers don't need producers, they need us. Withhold our dollars from those who push "Defective by Design" products will eventually have an impact.
In the meantime buy games that are fully usable out of the box and don't require a visit to bit Torrent to correct the deficiencies.
Stardock Boxed products and www.gog.com downloads are fully consumer friendly. Anything else?
"DRM can encourage the best customers to behave slightly better. It will never address the masses of non-customers downloading your product."
Seriously, WTH is that supposed to mean? By better it means, not loaning it to your brother, it means not being able to sell it. All perfectly reasonable things.
DRM definitely does encourage customers to visit the pirate sites to get proper usability back by downloading cracks (AKA no cd cracks). Eventually you are going to lose a number of customers who get fed up and cut out the middle man (the producer) and start with the cracked version. After all you trained them for years this is where you get the full value product.
"You obviously don't have a clue how these companies behave. DRM -> piracy -> "See? We were right! MORE DRM!!!". "
Please explain all the DRM free music now for sale. No piracy on music?? Explain GOG and Stardock touting no DRM as a feature.
There is a fairly strong movement toward treating the consumer better. We should actively reward companies that treat consumers with respect, and punish those who abuse consumers.
That is how change happens. The rise in profits of DRM free shops and fall in profits of DRM pushers will not go unnoticed.
They don't care about DRM, they care about money. If less DRM brings in more money that is what they will do. It really is that simple. It may take time for the lesson to sink in, but not that long, publicly traded companies have thought horizons not much longer than the next quarterly report.
Sink the profits on two or three EA blockbuster games and someone wll say, lets try not abusing our customers and see what happens.
"BS. Moral considerations aside, because if you're advocating piracy you obviously don't feel there's any moral ground against it, by pirating the game you encourage further repressive copy protection, as the AC said."
I have never encouraged Piracy before, but I would do so now if someone I know wants an EA game. I would first suggest another game and if I could not dissuade them, I would tell them exactly how to get a clean reliable and free copy, possibly even getting it for them.
Piracy is nothing but a smoke screen in this case. The "repressive copy protections" are broken on day 1, they are only serve to make the lives of consumers miserable, and destroy EAs public enemy number two, the resale market. Pirates don't hate repressive DRM, to them it is a challenge (well more of a race). The repressive DRM is there to screw over the honest consumer and that is all.
I consider your thesis broken about piracy encouraging more DRM because you have it absolutely backwards. Repressive DRM is encouraging more piracy and when the bean counters clue in they will eventually be forced to a more enlightened path as is happening with music DRM.
How do we wake up the Bean counters, by demonstrating a direct cause and effect relation. More DRM = less sales and greater piracy.
Do your part download Spore and make it the most downloaded game ever. I would bet Spore (repressive DRM) has been pirate at rates over 50% and Sins of the Solar empire (zero DRM) probably well under 10%.
Support Stardock and www.gog.com (I just signed up today) and other fair practice vendors. Fight those that foist oppressive DRM in any way that you can.
I agree about the aim, but don't about it being a win.
This is based on the faulty assumption that every prevented used sale results in another new retail sale. This is the same faulty logic that claims multi-billion dollar losses from "piracy" because every download = a lost sale.
It is clear that this is not the case. Games are desired items, not needed items, and they can easily be done without. Price it too high and it won't sell, piss off your customer too much and they won't buy.
In this case I won't buy anything that I can't, in a nostalgic mood, re-install on my system and play in 5 or even 10 years from now. Anything less is a rental and an overpriced one at that. So the game is overpriced and not worth buying.
Furthermore. EA just destroyed resale value with this move. Resale value is also a part of perceived value. So again EA has reduced value of the product.
So by shortening the life of the product if I keep it and destroying the resale if I don't, EA has greatly reduced the value of the product, while keep the same pricing.
It is now overpriced to the point of being off the table as a purchase. It will be interesting to see how this plays out. I am joining the Anti-EA crusade and will warn everyone I know away from their games pointing out that it is essentially a $50 rental.
Slashdot Mirror
I can't think of any company that has openly worked this hard to piss off it's customers.
"It might be fashionable to make fun of Palin on Slashdot, where people pretend to be constitutional purists and libertarians. But this type of thinking, "don't cut my program" is why America is $10T in debt, not counting the 79 million baby boomers about to retire and demand their Social Security and Medicare."
When Bush took over the debt was 5 Trillion and was shrinking under budget surpluses.
Large unsustainable tax cuts with a trillion dollar war of choice are the main culprits in the current 10 Trillion Debt level. Your grand children will suffer mainly from the Bush legacy. Not fruit file research.
This is the third time (at minimum) this has been suggested that I remember on /. , each time people are aghast.
I think there would be no shortage of qualified volunteer from the scientific community who would go. The chance to analyze Mars up close and in person would be very tempting for many. Maybe send husband&wife teams to help handle the separation from humanity.
This would be for volunteers and just because it messes with your tender sensibilities is no reason not to do it. I say man up and damn the torpedoes.
That is, if we ever have the money for this kind of effort again. The economy is in shambles and I can't see this kind of grand project happening until that changes.
The reason PR failed is exactly because of campaigners like this one. Usually representing entrenched party interests (getting their 4 year dictatorships). Every discussion would have Liberal and Conservative representatives (the main beneficiaries) spewing anti PR FUD.
PR is not about producing minority governments. It is about producing coalition governments. Failure dispense with the all or nothing fight for majority governments, and refusal to cooperate in governing coalitions with minorities is also part of the resistance. A coalition as a viable governing can be very workable and many (most?) western democracies have some form of PR. It is more cooperative and less political.
Any party that tried to entrench old cronies (another common piece of FUD) would suffer extensively at the ballot box. If we had MMP and Brian Mulroney was a list Candidate, the party would sink into the toilet. The opposition would have a field day saying a Vote for the Conservatives is a Vote for Brian Mulroney. Parties are politically expediant and they would axe any member that the public found disagreeable.
I would like PR, but it will never happen because of the extensive FUD machine arrayed against from the mainline parties who benefit disproportionately from FPTP.
Unfortunately FUD is the favored and often winning tactic to block any change.
"Maybe you could provide a link, since I got my numbers by actually looking at the winning margins in seats lost by Liberals."
I am not sure what you are referring to on that link you provide, since in the 15 losses listed with margins for the liberals, the biggest margin was 2.7%. With the greens pulling 7%, it is easy to see that they cost many seats. Vote splitting a well known phenomena. I am not going to argue the number of seats the Greens cost. It clearly elected many extra conservatives with vote splitting. The 19 number I referenced came from this news story:
http://www.canada.com/ottawacitizen/news/story.html?id=832e5b09-2500-4976-8732-698310091024
"The Green party again cleaved votes away from the NDP and Liberals and were on pace to take away enough votes to help elect Conservatives in 19 ridings."
Whether the actual number is 12 or 20 is not the issue. The Greens are a seat-less party that draws only one result from their votes: Electing more Conservatives.
"Only if literally millions of voters sat down together and tediously worked out where it would be best to send their votes. Who's being the naive idealist again?"
You don't need to actually work together with anyone to vote strategically, you just need some information about the relative position of candidates in your riding. Such resource was a available and I used it and I didn't have to "sit down with millions of voters". Obviously strategic voting isn't for everyone, but if more progressive voters did it, progressive parties would hold more sway in the house of commons.
One strategic voting resource:
http://www.voteforenvironment.ca/
Yes that is more or less what happened, but just like last time, Harper will continue to do whatever he pleases and govern like he has a majority.
Given no one wants another election, we can look forward to about a year of Harper dictatorship as he pushes any legislation he feels like.
For Harper the election was win-win. He had a shot at majority, but even if he failed, he would get another year at minimum where he was untouchable and could do what he wanted all the while taunting the opposition.
People seems to assume this is some sort of made in Canada fluffy bunny DMCA lite. It isn't. This is an RIAA wet dream.
People tout the lower $500 fine per file, but that is downloading, most people get busted for uploading in the USA (which most file sharing clients do) the fine for that is $20 000 per file. Which is also the fine for breaking any DRM. Say hello to bankrupting lawsuits in Canada for your kids file sharing.
It also makes "making available" a crime, where this is being challenged in the states, it will be a codified law with this bill.
It also gives the power to corporations to make anything they want law, by make EULA 100% binding. Something else that was shotdown in the USA.
Say goodbye to any semblance of fair use, or first sale doctrine type rights. They are all out the window.
Basically whatever corporations say goes and huge fines if you disagree.
Of course that this was returning was only announced days before the election so no opposition could be built up against it.
I agree that this issue is beyond the typical citizens understanding or concern, but there was no time to build up any kind of flac on this. The Conservatives only announced the return after the final debate and after Advanced Polling had closed with less than week before the full polls. It received no public scrutiny. This could have been used to mobilize the young as this is essentially the coming of the digital police state and it will affect the most connected (the young) the most.
"The current bill limits what can be claimed against an individual, so there won't be any embarrassing stories about 100's of thousand dollar claims against grandmothers."
If you look at the Canadian Bill it is $500 limit per file downloaded, but $20 000 per file uploaded. This is actually much worse than the US laws as they stand. AFAIK everyone I know in the USA was busted as a uploading or "making available".
"Sorry, but this 'blame the third party' crap really piss me off, especially in this election, where it doesn't hold up to analysis."
The Greens are just one example and I acknowledged a weak Liberal leader as well. But in Canada we now have 3 "third" parties, all on the left (NDP, Green, Bloc)and two main parties (Liberals(center-left)/Conservatives(right)). It doesn't matter who leads the Liberals they won't get a majority in the current conditions, they might squeeze out a minority. While the conservatives occupy the right alone and came very close to a majority and would have had it if not for a few miss-steps that cost them votes in Quebec.
As far as analysis. There was one in a newspaper recently which indicated the Greens siphoned off enough votes that 19 less Liberals and NDP were elected.
So the Greens elected no members but did result in 19 more conservatives being elected.
What pisses me off is people who can't look pragmatically at voting and vote on misguided idealism that results in electing the greater of evils.
If progressive voters had voted strategically, they would have sent more Liberals, more NDP and more Bloc and more Greens to the government. Instead we get more and more conservative in a country that is largely progressive and left leaning.
I disagree with the others who say our Conservatives are different(I am Canadian). They share the same ideology (Pro Corporation, anti-socialism) and Harper seems to share the same mean spirited mud slinging personality as many republicans.
How they won is related to vote splitting and a weak Liberal leader. We have 1 right wing party, and 4 on the center left splitting the vote. Over 60% voted against the current government. But vote splitting gave them a government.
The green party is essentially the "Ralph Nader party" They elect no members and siphon off enough center/left votes to give yet more seats to the Conservatives. Idealistic people voting their idealism and giving the worse case result in reality.
I agree this has a real slimey feel. GM is pushing EPA to change the rules to make this kind of misleading statement a standard rating for PHEVs so the can claim the volt gets 100mpg even though it is 40 miles electric + maybe 50 miles on a gallon of gas.
It does nothing to help the consumer and only confuses.
Every message board I am on with gamers is flooded with rage over this. It is not from 0.2% of the gaming population.
Bioware forums (recently taken over by EA) have 50 page+ threads devoted to this outrage. With ZERO supporters of this.
EA is continuing to mistreat customers and belittle their concerns and this only feeding the movement against them, this is like the Sony Rootkit without the mea culpa.
EA seems to be under the assumption that their customers are idiots who don't know how to get DRM free versions. The industry as a whole has been training us for years to do just that. They survive largely on goodwill.
Goodwill that EAs practices, and poor customer treatment is being evaporated.
Going to Update my Sig now.
No he claimed he would buy if he couldn't get it for free. So I would like to know what was worth $79 to him.
I am more curious about the Album that you would have supposedly paid $79 for. I wouldn't pay that for any album. I could easily do without, listen to the radio, etc...
"What are your basis for saying that loaning the game to your brother or selling it are perfectly reasonable things to do? Not that I necessarily disagree, but I'd like to know how you justify it."
Much like I can loan/sell Books/CDs/Movies. I think first someone has to justify why games are some special type of copyright material that can't be loaned/sold.
Just because publishers would like it to be so, doesn't make it so. They are attempting to end first sale doctrine exception of copyright by build walls to stop it, that doesn't mean they have the right to stop it.
"it's there because they think it will help stop or at least slow piracy. If the world wasn't full of thieves, there would be no DRM."
Nonsense. It is well known by now. That this does nothing to slow piracy. See evidence in the last 30 years of computer gaming. DRM exists now to stop you from lending the game to your brother and to stop you from selling it.
"Acting like DRM will go away if you cry about it is childish."
Derogatory nonsense this time. Change happens from protest all the time. When DRM protest continue to strangle sales on the most egregious DRM offenders, industry will take notice and try desperately to not be the next target of wrath from offensive DRM. Some like Stardock will sell the virtue of DRM freedom (Just like all the DRM free music now available).
"The only successful DRM comes from hardware makers (read: Apple)"
Again more nonsense. People can't tell the difference between Apple DRM and Microsofts DRM. Apples is a "success" because Apple built a better moustrap (ipod), and a better service (itunes) and marketed both better. Note that now their are several sources of DRM free music, including from Apple itself. You have to be a half-wit to consider buy DRM's music IMO. Look at recent announcements to shutter DRM servers from Microsoft, Yahoo and Walmart which will strand customers.
DRM is for chumps. Just say no.
Lets face. DRM has been a total and utter failure. It doesn't even slow down piracy, much less eliminate.
It has trained a generation of PC gamers to download cracks to get around annoyance, it has trained a generation of cracker to provide that service. Annoy people long enough and they will eventually skip over the buying phase and go straight to the trusted download scene. After all the publishers have forced to go here for fully functional copies of their own software for years.
Consumers don't need producers, they need us. Withhold our dollars from those who push "Defective by Design" products will eventually have an impact.
In the meantime buy games that are fully usable out of the box and don't require a visit to bit Torrent to correct the deficiencies.
Stardock Boxed products and www.gog.com downloads are fully consumer friendly. Anything else?
"DRM can encourage the best customers to behave slightly better. It will never address the masses of non-customers downloading your product."
Seriously, WTH is that supposed to mean? By better it means, not loaning it to your brother, it means not being able to sell it. All perfectly reasonable things.
DRM definitely does encourage customers to visit the pirate sites to get proper usability back by downloading cracks (AKA no cd cracks). Eventually you are going to lose a number of customers who get fed up and cut out the middle man (the producer) and start with the cracked version. After all you trained them for years this is where you get the full value product.
"You obviously don't have a clue how these companies behave. DRM -> piracy -> "See? We were right! MORE DRM!!!". "
Please explain all the DRM free music now for sale. No piracy on music?? Explain GOG and Stardock touting no DRM as a feature.
There is a fairly strong movement toward treating the consumer better. We should actively reward companies that treat consumers with respect, and punish those who abuse consumers.
That is how change happens. The rise in profits of DRM free shops and fall in profits of DRM pushers will not go unnoticed.
They don't care about DRM, they care about money. If less DRM brings in more money that is what they will do. It really is that simple. It may take time for the lesson to sink in, but not that long, publicly traded companies have thought horizons not much longer than the next quarterly report.
Sink the profits on two or three EA blockbuster games and someone wll say, lets try not abusing our customers and see what happens.
"BS. Moral considerations aside, because if you're advocating piracy you obviously don't feel there's any moral ground against it, by pirating the game you encourage further repressive copy protection, as the AC said."
I have never encouraged Piracy before, but I would do so now if someone I know wants an EA game. I would first suggest another game and if I could not dissuade them, I would tell them exactly how to get a clean reliable and free copy, possibly even getting it for them.
Piracy is nothing but a smoke screen in this case. The "repressive copy protections" are broken on day 1, they are only serve to make the lives of consumers miserable, and destroy EAs public enemy number two, the resale market. Pirates don't hate repressive DRM, to them it is a challenge (well more of a race). The repressive DRM is there to screw over the honest consumer and that is all.
I consider your thesis broken about piracy encouraging more DRM because you have it absolutely backwards. Repressive DRM is encouraging more piracy and when the bean counters clue in they will eventually be forced to a more enlightened path as is happening with music DRM.
How do we wake up the Bean counters, by demonstrating a direct cause and effect relation. More DRM = less sales and greater piracy.
Do your part download Spore and make it the most downloaded game ever. I would bet Spore (repressive DRM) has been pirate at rates over 50% and Sins of the Solar empire (zero DRM) probably well under 10%.
Support Stardock and www.gog.com (I just signed up today) and other fair practice vendors. Fight those that foist oppressive DRM in any way that you can.
I agree about the aim, but don't about it being a win.
This is based on the faulty assumption that every prevented used sale results in another new retail sale. This is the same faulty logic that claims multi-billion dollar losses from "piracy" because every download = a lost sale.
It is clear that this is not the case. Games are desired items, not needed items, and they can easily be done without. Price it too high and it won't sell, piss off your customer too much and they won't buy.
In this case I won't buy anything that I can't, in a nostalgic mood, re-install on my system and play in 5 or even 10 years from now. Anything less is a rental and an overpriced one at that. So the game is overpriced and not worth buying.
Furthermore. EA just destroyed resale value with this move. Resale value is also a part of perceived value. So again EA has reduced value of the product.
So by shortening the life of the product if I keep it and destroying the resale if I don't, EA has greatly reduced the value of the product, while keep the same pricing.
It is now overpriced to the point of being off the table as a purchase. It will be interesting to see how this plays out. I am joining the Anti-EA crusade and will warn everyone I know away from their games pointing out that it is essentially a $50 rental.
The whole point is you need to contact DRM servers.
There is no guarantee they will be up on the day you want to install. It is as simple as that. I will never BUY a game that requires this.
This is what EA is really trying to end. First Sale Doctrine, meet activations....
http://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/ea-second-hand-sales-are-a-critical-situation
There are lots of reasons to expect a respected Scene group to deliver quality without any hidden agenda, just as they always have.