On Thu, 13 Nov 2008 17:35:22 -0500, Warp wrote:

>   Soon we will live in a world where pirated music and movies are the
> *only* way to get them to work properly without having to spend enormous
> amounts of money on expensive hardware which might still not guarantee
> that you can get them to work properly.
> 
>   The naive theoretical idea behind DRM is that if you are a honest
>   paying
> customer, you don't even notice it's there. Only if you try to copy it
> illegally you will stumble accross its obstacles. In practice it's often
> almost the opposite.

Yep, agreed there.  We just picked up a copy of "The Mummy Returns" from 
our local secondhand DVD store.  It comes with a digital copy on disc 2, 
which must be activated by June 8, 2009.

You have to be running Windows XP or Windows Vista in order to actually 
view it.  Requires WMP10 in order to watch it, and is DRM-encumbered.

Nice idea, but of course using Linux, totally useless to me.  
Fortunately, I can use k9copy to rip a copy of the video on disc 1, don't 
have to deal with DRM issues or platform lock-in, and I can move the file 
to my laptop if I'm taking a trip or view it on my desktop if I like, 
rather than being tied to the "only usable on 1 PC" built into the DRM 
software.

Jim

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