defectivebydesign.org — For BBC viewers, GNU/Linux users and those that oppose DRM, it's important to take a stand against the BBC iPlayer. BBC Director General Mark Thompson, and his Microsoft cheerleaders, Erik Huggers and Ashley Highfield, are under growing pressure to explain themselves to the BBC Trust... Sign-up and spread the word.
Aug 2, 2007 View in Crawl 4
keeperofkeysAug 3, 2007
'Sold'? You mean 'rented'.iTunes' honeymoon period will end when the trickle of people finding that their music no longer works becomes a torrent (pun intended).
keeperofkeysAug 3, 2007
So the latest Redmond brainchild is now a 'standard'? Tell that to the people who bought 'Plays for Sure' content and players.
antismackAug 3, 2007
Putting the debate about why the BBC is applying DRM to the content aside for a movement, what alternatives did the BBC have? What other DRM systems are out there that run on open source and have the blessing of the content providers? Also, I have a device running Linux that also has Microsoft’s DRM software. So I don’t understand what all the fuss is about.
hackerb9Aug 3, 2007
1) The Linux/Windows thing is a red herring. This is about DRM, not OSes. The fact that DRMed media will only play on one OS is just an example of one of the ill effects of DRM.2) Yup, DRM is there for a reason. It's the easy way out of the legal minefield. By not taking a stand, the BBC won't have to spend time wrestling with copyright and contract issues. And you get to, as you put it, "watch content TODAY". Yay, you.But for the rest of us, we don't want to live in a minefield. Sure, there are legal issues, but we can clear them with time. The BBC has come very close to taking a position against DRM. (Have you read the previous proposals for this project?) They just need a little push from the public to do the right thing.3) Niel said, "Why the hell does DRM matter? It's a TV PROGRAMME - you watch it once and it's very, very unlikely that you'll want to watch it again. Why do people get so over-protective about this? I think this is the heart of this issue. Like many people, Niel, you're stuck in the 20th century mindset that people are consumers of "content" -- you're happy to watch a TV programme once and do nothing with it.This is why DRM matters: we're not just talking about one person watching a disposable show. We're talking about our shared cultural history being locked down in a format that is uneditable now and will be unviewable to future generations.People are no longer mere consumers. We edit, remix, and reuse video. We create new works from old and distribute them ourselves. DRM is a step backwards into the old paradigm where our cultural artifacts are transmitted by a select few. DRM locks us in as consumers. This is why we have to stop it before it becomes entrenched.--b9P.S. Niel said, "why would you choose to run Linux if you weren't one of those 'think different' hippies?" Hey doood, I know you've been on the weed, so I just want to check: you do know the Apple ads aren't for Linux, right? Peace and love.
cemkalyoncuAug 6, 2007
yeeeess, so be silent and let the beta become final...not buying it dude
zeroknotsSep 14, 2007
This must make the BBC absolutely schizophrenic!How do they hate the U.S. yet love M$? Except that both are liberal breeder-reactors.Mere 'bias' can now be downright tyrannical.. oooh baby such great bed-fellows.. but AMERICAN? ick!But then who will be on top? Who does what to whom?
scamdexSep 3, 2008
My problem with BBC's online offerings has always been that I want to download stuff that's on NOW and listen to it LATER (maybe this week, maybe next month and again in a year or so's time). The accursed RealPlayer (can't record) monopoly was bad enough but this new crap is unusable. I have always used a product called TotalRecorder (Google it) to get round these restrictions but then you have to save in real time. DRM is one thing but time-limited recordings - forget it!