Reasons to Love Open-Source DRM
I acknowledge that the title of this column is strange. Aside from the fact that most savvy music listeners (justifiably) hate DRM, the very idea of using open-source software to enforce digital rights management runs counter to everything commonly assumed about the technology: that it needs to be secret, obscure, proprietary.
But open-source DRM is exactly what Sun Microsystems has proposed, with its DReaM initiative. Its goal is to promulgate an open-source architecture for digital rights management that would cut across devices, regardless of the manufacturer, and assign rights to individuals rather than gadgets.
Assuming it catches on, this would create a bizarro world version of the copy-protection landscape.
It makes sense to me. First, security by obscurity doesn’t really work. Look what happened to CSS. Someone left an opening and Jon found it. Once he was able to see inside the complete system fell apart.
Second, the main use of DRM it not to protect content but to protect markets. For example, Apple uses DRM and the DMCA to keep a lock in their iPod/iTunes market. Third parties cannot sell portable music players that’ll play songs from iTunes. Nor can third parties sell DRMed music and have it play on the iPod.
If there was only one standard DRM on all devices then the consumer could move the content around without restriction.
Bizzaro World?!?… and CURRENT DRM is NOT Bizzaro?
Give it a try! It certanly can’t be worse than the money-suck we have as DRM right now!
And to throw salt in the wound, it “seems” to me , the more current the source, the worse the quality, at a higher and higher cost!
Album – pretty good (on “Clean-Room” quality electronics)
Ditto tape of any type (cassette/8-track/reel-reel/etc.)
CD – starting to get tinny (yes, I compared songs Ilike against each other. And I’m not even an audio-phile)
DVD type music – I don’t have any equipment to listen to it…
and so forth.
If Sun dominates with this, it’ll just cause lots of people to complain about Sun shutting down illegal copying.
how quickly will people crack this? course, then the community can close it immediately … I like – if only the major players would sign on (while I’m dreaming, anyone want to give me a million bucks?)
Oh yeah, what on earth kind of CD player do you have Tod? I mean, CDs sound bad on my old RCA CD walkman, but better than about anything else on a decent stereo (I haven’t heard the new DVD stuff either)