View Full Version : A New Essay
popltree2
10-02-2006, 04:27 AM
I am writing a new essay/paper on DRM. I have been doing some research on the history of pre-DRM rights management (copyright law, etc) and how DRM works, but if you guys can point me in the direction of some pro and anti DRM articles, that would be splendid (and I will be sure to include a special thank you in the paper :)) Like I said, I have already done a fair amount of research on the topic, but the more the better and I figured you guys would be the right group to ask. Why? Because you are all awesome. Thanks in advance.
popltree2
10-02-2006, 04:51 AM
I am writing a new essay/paper on DRM. I have been doing some research on the history of pre-DRM rights management (copyright law, etc) and how DRM works, but if you guys can point me in the direction of some pro and anti DRM articles, that would be splendid (and I will be sure to include a special thank you in the paper :)) Like I said, I have already done a fair amount of research on the topic, but the more the better and I figured you guys would be the right group to ask. Why? Because you are all awesome. Thanks in advance.
Also, I should mention that I already have the Microsoft DRM whitepaper along with Cory Doctorow's paper from EFF.org.
ramzis-hairy-chest
10-02-2006, 05:01 AM
The name is Lessig. Lawrence Lessig.
Which it's kinda hard to find some good real facts
popltree2
10-02-2006, 05:10 AM
Be careful, DRM is a very bias topic. If your doing an essay your going to want more facts then opinion.
Point taken. Essay was the wrong terminology to use. It will be more of an editorial than an essay.
popltree2
10-02-2006, 05:11 AM
The name is Lessig. Lawrence Lessig.
Thanks for the recommendation. I haven't read any of his pieces yet. I will be sure to check them out and get back to you on them.
bigmikeherrmann
10-02-2006, 05:19 AM
heres a brief synopsis of what you should say
Its Good In Theory (like comunisom)
But fails because no one does it right (like comunisom)
popltree2
10-02-2006, 05:25 AM
heres a brief synopsis of what you should say
Its Good In Theory (like comunisom)
But fails because no one does it right (like comunisom)
One of the major reasons it fails is because of an inherent flaw in any sort of encryption/copy protection scheme: at some point, the content has to get approved otherwise you can't hear/see it. It is just a matter of time before someone finds a way to get around the stuff in the middle. I got this from an episode of TWiT where Will "Nick" Harris from Bit-Tech.com mentioned this. I can't remember the source he sited though.
bigmikeherrmann
10-02-2006, 05:31 AM
One of the major reasons it fails is because of an inherent flaw in any sort of encryption/copy protection scheme: at some point, the content has to get approved otherwise you can't hear/see it. It is just a matter of time before someone finds a way to get around the stuff in the middle.
yea add that
also mention example of companies who have done it toally wrong
ramzis-hairy-chest
10-02-2006, 05:32 AM
One interesting anecdote Leo Laporte mentioned on his podcast/netcast was that the Zune breaks Creative Commons licensing when someone transfers CC material, like his podcasts over to Zune, due to automatic DRM placement during the transfer to the Zune players.
bigmikeherrmann
10-02-2006, 05:33 AM
One interesting anecdote Leo Laporte mentioned on his podcast/netcast was that the Zune breaks Creative Commons licensing when someone transfers CC material, like his podcasts over to Zune due to automatic DRM placement during the transfer to the Zune players.
yes, mention that
btw: that ep of twit was one of my favs
psbp516
04-01-2007, 06:28 PM
Popletree, can you maybe post your essay on here so I can have an idea of what I should write about. I'm writing a persuasive essay in which I'm arguing against DRM. It's due tomorrow and I really need some help here, because I'm two paragraphs in and don't know else to write.....
with that if anyone can post some links to some other good essays it would be helpful.
masherscf
04-01-2007, 07:23 PM
This is interesting question and only one that could be asked by a person who grew up with computers. I suspect that the answer to question is that there was no technology for "rights management" before DRM because it was not necessary.
Someone's could only infringe on your copyright on an industrial scale. A person making personal copies of material really wasn't thought of as infringing. You just could sue anyone who infringed. The kind of micro-infringement that DRM was meant to combat just wasn't possible until microcomputers.
Perhaps you want to check any law that sprung up around the invention of xerox.
The earliest forms of DRM I remember where to combat copying computer software. The idea of sharing software is pretty deeply embedded in the micro-computer hobby movement. Therefore, when people started sell software there was little moral compunction not to copy it.
yashar
04-01-2007, 07:30 PM
I am writing a new essay/paper on DRM. I have been doing some research on the history of pre-DRM rights management (copyright law, etc) and how DRM works, but if you guys can point me in the direction of some pro and anti DRM articles, that would be splendid (and I will be sure to include a special thank you in the paper :)) Like I said, I have already done a fair amount of research on the topic, but the more the better and I figured you guys would be the right group to ask. Why? Because you are all awesome. Thanks in advance.
I already wrote an essay on DRM a couple weeks ago for college.
Here are the URL's that I used in my essay:
[1]
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digital_Rights_Management
[2]
http://www******rmationweek.com/blog/main/archives/2006/03/apples_demand_f.html
[3]
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rhapsody_%28online_music_service%29#Harmony
[4]
http://www.eetimes.com/disruption/essays/vonlohmann.jhtml
[5]
http://en.wikinews.org/wiki/Sony_faces_class_action_lawsuits_for_DRM
[6]
http://lxer.com/module/newswire/view/78008/index.html
Hope this helps you
masherscf
04-01-2007, 07:36 PM
No offense, Yasha, but...
I hope you used sources for substantial then those that you listed.
electricalburn
04-01-2007, 08:13 PM
wiki's are being phased out as reliable sources for colleges and highschools recently.
magunwarrior
04-01-2007, 08:30 PM
wiki's are being phased out as reliable sources for colleges and highschools recently.
Quotes first word out of my English teachers mouth when assigning an essay we did earlier this month, "Do not use wikipedia.ever." I used wikipedia and got an A :p
rabidbadger
04-01-2007, 08:41 PM
Quotes first word out of my English teachers mouth when assigning an essay we did earlier this month, "Do not use wikipedia.ever." I used wikipedia and got an A :p
Yeah. But wikipedia, et al, can be a good jumping off point. Can give a decent overview and links to verifiable sources. Or give you the right terms to google. It's a shame wikipedia can't be made reliable, it's a genius concept, but there always has to be the idiots who screw it up for the good guys.
electricalburn
04-01-2007, 09:32 PM
Yeah. But wikipedia, et al, can be a good jumping off point. Can give a decent overview and links to verifiable sources. Or give you the right terms to google. It's a shame wikipedia can't be made reliable, it's a genius concept, but there always has to be the idiots who screw it up for the good guys.
The schools accually tell you to start there for links. i aggree i is a shame
masherscf
04-01-2007, 09:50 PM
The theory is the idea of peer-review. Peer-review can be a powerful vetting agent if the peers themselves are properly vetted. Happily, there are enough people on the internet that don't care to see bullshit.
tokenuser
04-01-2007, 10:20 PM
The theory is the idea of peer-review. Peer-review can be a powerful vetting agent if the peers themselves are properly vetted. Happily, there are enough people on the internet that don't care to see bullshit.There are obvious problems with self vetting systems as well - especially when the people doing the vetting are themselves not vetted*
* Points to the guy pretending he had a PhD in Theology on the Wiki ... and Jimmy Wales defending the asshat.
masherscf
04-01-2007, 10:50 PM
There are obvious problems with self vetting systems as well - especially when the people doing the vetting are themselves not vetted*
* Points to the guy pretending he had a PhD in Theology on the Wiki ... and Jimmy Wales defending the asshat.
They drill into young people in schools how everyone opinion matters. With all of the celebs on talk-shows offering their opinions on things they know nothing about, it's sometimes easy to forget that some people actually have opinions that matter more than others.
rabidbadger
04-01-2007, 10:55 PM
And some people know the difference between "no" and "know."
Just kidding.
It's not just whose opinions matter more, it's whose facts are provable and verifiable, even in the realm of "theories." (Theory of evolution, Big Bang Theory...)
masherscf
04-01-2007, 11:09 PM
And some people know the difference between "no" and "know."
Just kidding.
It's not just whose opinions matter more, it's whose facts are provable and verifiable, even in the realm of "theories." (Theory of evolution, Big Bang Theory...)
Damn spell check!
One of the wonders of studying Mathematics is that it is one of the few "sciences" that contain absolutes. Certain "truths" in Mathematics are subject to basic axioms. That is, I could write a proof and the proof itself would have it's own validity, regardless of my credentials. The same is true for a flawed proof. The author of the proof cannot lend validity to a false proof.
Most sciences from the real world to contain areas of gray that are open to opinion. At that point, the proper credentials of those offering opinions does count.
Matters of historical fact also open to interpretation are equally subject to the proper vetting of the interpretors.
rabidbadger
04-01-2007, 11:17 PM
Don't all or most sciences deal with absolutes? If I mix suchandsuch chemical with another, it either does this or it doesn't, yes?
If I observe through a telescope that a little dot in the night sky exhibits a certain behavior (color, flicker, whatever...) it either is one thing or the other. Isn't all science about absolutes? Either searching them out or proving them? Isn't that the definition of science, vs other things that we call scientific disciplines but aren't? (Psychology, political "science", etc)
masherscf
04-01-2007, 11:28 PM
Don't all or most sciences deal with absolutes? If I mix suchandsuch chemical with another, it either does this or it doesn't, yes?
If I observe through a telescope that a little dot in the night sky exhibits a certain behavior (color, flicker, whatever...) it either is one thing or the other. Isn't all science about absolutes? Either searching them out or proving them? Isn't that the definition of science, vs other things that we call scientific disciplines but aren't? (Psychology, political "science", etc)
If you had spoken with Physicists at the end of the nineteenth century, they would have told you that the laws of physics where pretty much already known. They had no idea that the theory or quantum mechanics was about to screw things up.
I suppose there is a certain amount of "absolutism" when it comes to the scientific method. Scientists take a certain comfort when their Math agrees with their observations. However, one should not enshrine any scientific priniciple or law no matter axiomatic it may seem.
The legendary Carl Sagan once wrote "The cosmos is all there was, all there is and all there ever will be." However, the also wrote "The only absolute in science is there are no absolutes."
Sagan was a wise man.
rabidbadger
04-01-2007, 11:37 PM
But there are absolutes. 2+2 will always = 4, no? Planets revolve around the sun, yes? The respected Mr. Sagan, I believe, was being philosophical. Philosophy being another of those semi-sciences.
masherscf
04-02-2007, 12:16 AM
But there are absolutes. 2+2 will always = 4, no? Planets revolve around the sun, yes?
Ah, you are confusing your math and reality. However, 2+2=1 in mod 3 arithmetic.
Nevertheless, do planets do revolve around the sun? Or, do they revolve around each other? And, what path they should take differs slightly depending on if you subscribe to Newton or Einstein for your theory of gravitation.
rabidbadger
04-02-2007, 12:53 AM
gotta submit to your superior no-ledge on this... :)
'cause I have know friggen' idea what you are talkin' 'bout, Willis.
masherscf
04-02-2007, 01:18 AM
gotta submit to your superior no-ledge on this... :)
'cause I have know friggen' idea what you are talkin' 'bout, Willis.
'Nah, I'm fulla shit... this is the internet you know...
rabidbadger
04-02-2007, 02:06 AM
...where no one knows you are a dyslexic god.
ariastar
04-02-2007, 03:28 AM
I'll see what I can find for you, Hon.
masherscf
04-02-2007, 01:52 PM
...where no one knows you are a dyslexic god.
In dog we trust!
rabidbadger
04-02-2007, 09:32 PM
I am writing a new essay/paper on DRM. I have been doing some research on the history of pre-DRM rights management
Well, looks like some fun new grist for the mill (http://www.microsoft-watch.com/content/games_consumer/what_apple_drm_free_means_to_microsoft.html?kc=MWR SS02129TX1K0000535) announced today...
Why? Because you are all awesome. Thanks in advance.
Yes. Yes we are.
don't you forget it either.
(you are awesome too. I hear.)