Friday, July 15, 2005

The Clicker: Microsoft’s OPM for the masses

Here we go. DRM comes to your future monitor with the upcoming Windows "Longhorn". Don't have the right monitor? Don't worry. That hi-resolution premium content you just purchased will show up as lower-res content. So what's the point of paying more for hi-res premium content when you can illegally download the low-res stuff for free? Well the illegal part of it is a prob, but other than that only those who can afford both the premium content and the monitor to view it, will do so. The rest of us will manage to do without.

Am I the only one who sees a problem with this business model? Just as Podcasts fill the free and legal audio void, free and legal video will also fill that void, thereby enabling those who don't want to be bound by DRM and such to stay entertained.

Except for the PATRIOT Act, the public library is looking more and more entertaining. In other words, there is one way not to be held captive by the content providers with their onorous DRM -- don't buy their content. Just like digital TV, they may be selling but the masses may not be buying.

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