DRM is bad. But is OMC good?

[hlfmanhlfamzng]

Sun Microsystems continues to show that it is a friend to the OSS movement........

------------------ Dream is open-source software governed by Sun's Community Development and Distribution License--the same license it uses to cover its OpenSolaris operating system. Dream's components include software for letting different DRM systems interoperate based on credentials held by individuals, not by particular devices; server software for delivering streaming video; and Java software for managing video streams.-----------------

http://news.com.com/Sun+launches+ope...3-5840492.html

Sounds good to me. Nothing is a panacea but I do like what I hear.

[fsck]

Great idea. When being mugged by the music and movie industry it's vital that the knife they twist in your gut be OSI conformant, and open-source.

/sarcasm

[hlfmanhlfamzng]

roflmao

Like it or not, it isn't just that evil RIAA who is pushing this. It's metallica, dr dre and others.

And on the software front it's microsoft.

A concession is going to have to be made somewhere. At least it's being made with the backing of a major player like sun.

The freedom to use our computers will be a long battle.

[iamroot]

We have to fight it all the way. A concession looks likely but I hope it does not happen cos it this situation, a concession would give THEM an opportunity to break our defense open. Once GNU/Linux officially supports DRM/OMC or whatever its called these days, it's over.

[hlfmanhlfamzng]

------------Once GNU/Linux officially supports DRM/OMC or whatever its called these days, it's over.-----------

I wish linux had gained prominence a decade ago because chances are we wouldn't have been put in between the rock and the hard place we now find ourselves in.

But as to your statement, it's too late. http://linux.slashdot.org/article.pl...id=185&tid=106 Also a concession gives us an opportunity to break their defenses open. That's how a compromise works.

I fully understand why this is such a bad thing, but simply supporting isn't a big deal. It's the enforcement of DRM in linux that freaks me out.

DRM is a great linux recruitment tool(or BSD, or whatever) People instantly understand the implications. I know I've done my fair share of talking to people about it.

I'm glad you're paying attention to this cause we are a minority on this and we need all the help we can get.

[iamroot]

That's really sad. I was hoping it wouldn't have happened. The reason I don't really like the Open-Source movement is because they are so ready and eager to make concessions just to get more GNU/Linux users. Soon, we might lose our beloved OS on which we can do things freely without worrying about DRM or anything of that sort. Maybe it's time for me to switch to BSD.

[hlfmanhlfamzng]

-------------The reason I don't really like the Open-Source movement is because they are so ready and eager to make concessions just to get more GNU/Linux users.---------------

It's a double-edged sword. Onlly on an OSS operating system will we be able to leverage the market away from things such as DRM.

Without concessions it's harder to attract new users.

It's a classic "chicken or egg" situation.

Besides, supporting DRM isn't a bad thing. When it comes to DRM music files we are naturally going to want to be able to play them.

But linux, BSD, and others...... I find it *VERY* hard to believe that OSS will enforce DRM as those such as hollywood, the RIAA, metallica and Dr dre would want us to. The way Microsoft and Apple will be doing very soon.

------------- Maybe it's time for me to switch to BSD.-----------

I have faith in Linus. Red hat. Sun, whoever. We have alot more power than you think we do, but the simple fact is that there's strength in numbers.

Whenever..... And this is important..... Whenever someone mentions drm you(or I) as linux users can say to them that yeah we support it. All your new music will work. But as we say it it's only a half truth. We don't enforce DRM so all your older music files that you've already archived....

They'll still work. So uhhhh, want to give linux a try?

And you can say this with a smile.