[GRLUG] NOT Linux

[Scott Huffman]

On Dec 11, 2007 7:10 AM, eah <darth_linux at ameritech.net> wrote:
>
> On Tuesday 11 December 2007 05:38:14 am Bob Kline wrote:
> > http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/7136069.stm
> >
> > I'm not sure exactly what's being
> > done here here, but do know that
> > the RIAA and the MPAA would
> > dearly love to control people's
> > computer's so that nothing can be
> > stored on people's personal hard
> > drives that those monopolies don't
> > approve of.
> >
> > **
> > Western Digital has blocked users from sharing more than 30 different file
> > types, if they are using the company's software, called Anywhere Access.
> > **
> >
> > People like Orin Hatch, R-UT,  point man
> > for the MPAA and the RIAA,  contemptuously
> > claimed that if people didn't heed the wishes
> > of those monopoly groups their PCs would
> > be rendered useless.  Never mind that he didn't
> > know what he was talking about - the intent
> > is clear enough.
> >
> > The question is whether a company like WD
> > will try to implement a hardware solution -
> > something that looks for a code in a file?
> >
> > I doubt the industry will stop looking for a
> > way to prevent people from storing things
> > on their PCs that it doesn't like.  Failing that,
> > it will continue to keep suing everyone in
> > sight,  but I suspect it would prefer PC control.
> >
> >      -Bob
>
> and it's the blanket policies of "that file type/protocol is used for illegal
> sharing" that makes computing less useful. If they had their way, the
> Internet would revert back to nothing but plaintext, information-only,
> no-attachments-allowed and e-commerce would die.
>
> sorry, that's a hot button for me :-)
>
> eah
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>

This is pretty ridiculous.  Content providers like record companies
and movie studios etc would have to add that to their terms and
conditions.  And who's to say that the mp3's I'm sharing with my
family aren't just home-recorded songs?  DRM is a horrible way to
police restricted content.  If they had gotten on the ball earlier
with digital music and video, I doubt "illegal filesharing" would be
such an issue.

~S