Here's the DRM support I could get behind [LWN.net]

Here's the DRM support I could get behind

Posted Dec 13, 2005 3:33 UTC (Tue) by drag (subscriber, #31333)
In reply to: Here's the DRM support I could get behind by rjw
Parent article: GStreamer to support DRM

Well I never thought about it like that.

I always assumed they would finally create a sceme that worked reasonably well. Something based around hardware keying or whatnot. Or like were you are encryption a with a shared private key or something like that.

But if it is always going to be like what I say it is, then how can DRM possibly work? Are they depending fully on something like the DMCA to stop US citizens from having access to decryption tools?

The Sun Opera thingy is completely worthless?

As far as trusted computing goes.. I figure anything that allows me to have higher control over my bits and my computer is good; anything that is used that allows control by a external person/group is bad.

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Here's the DRM support I could get behind

Posted Dec 14, 2005 10:34 UTC (Wed) by ekj (subscriber, #1524) [Link]

Most people never thougth about it. But the grandparent is rigth: DRM is, in it's essence, nonsensical. Bruce Schneier said it best: Trying to make bits non-copyable is like trying to make water not wet.

You want literally millions of devices to be able to play the DRMed media. This means they must posess all the nessecary information to decrypt it. The algorithm, *and* the key.

Yet, at the same time one assumes that *none* of these devices will ever do anything the publishers want. Display on screen ? Ok. Save unencrypted on disc ? Not ok. Output through headphones ? Ok. Output through digital-out ? Not ok. Output through headphones-connection that happens to be connected to the audio-in on another device capable of recording ? Not ok.

Notice that it's *not* enough to stop most of the people most of the time. They need to stop all of the people all of the time. If 1 in 10000 people are capable of ripping, mp3ing and uploading the newest Tittney-album, then the other 9999 people can download it like they do today, totally unaffected by the DRM. Infact they'd be *more* likely to download it than they are today because the downloaded drm-free mp3 will work on "all" devices (and give all freedoms) whereas the drmed crap will work on "many" devices and give you exactly those rigths (i.e. near none) that the publisheer wishes to give you.

Today, a good rip and an original audio-cd is equally good. (for most practical purposes anyway) In the drm-world the good rip is a lot *better* than the original plastic-thing-that-looks-like-a-cd-but-isn't.