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Building a free future in embedded devicesBuilding a free future in embedded devicesPosted Oct 19, 2006 20:04 UTC (Thu) by cventers (subscriber, #31465)In reply to: Building a free future in embedded devices by sepreece Parent article: Free gadgets need free software
Well, I suppose you're right about it not being a proprietary fork in the
And again - I stress that GPLv3 can't crack this DRM issue all by itself,
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Building a free future in embedded devices Posted Oct 19, 2006 21:10 UTC (Thu) by bronson (subscriber, #4806) [Link] in a licensing structure that permits Tivoization, no counter-incentive exists for manufacturers wishing to make use of free software.What?! The most effective counter-incentive is the free market. Always has been, always will be. If a device doesn't make its customers happy, customers won't buy it. Anyone who thinks that the GPLv3 is the customer's last defense against the evil DRM manufacturers is simply deluding himself. Think about DRM-fettered devices... TiVO has become mostly irrelevant in the PVR market. It's being eaten on the high end by Myth and Sage boxes and on the low-end by Comcast's junk. Customers have voted with their feet. If TiVO had been more open with their hardware, I think they would still be selling a ton of boxes. But, no, they were greedy and are now getting what they deserve. Let's say Apple wants to produce an iPod that only plays iTunes music. Even with all the DRM in the world, could they? Not successfully. Would the GPLv3 affect Apple's decision? Not in the slightest. Adding controversial, divisive, and poorly-understood wording to a widely-used license to try to protect against a problem that may or may not even exist... That sounds like a clear-cut case of overengineering to me.
Building a free future in embedded devices Posted Oct 19, 2006 21:32 UTC (Thu) by cventers (subscriber, #31465) [Link] I think you are making the mistake of confusing hardware DRM with, say,content DRM. Apple couldn't get away with making an iPod that only played iTunes music, but they could certainly get away with making an iPod that only ran Apple-signed firmware. That's the important distinction. I am like you in this way - I believe the free market is _vastly_ powerful and will disrupt content DRM completely. I'm eagerly awaiting the mass purchase of Zune players, for instance, because I know lots of iTunes customers that are about to lose their lunch when they realize that their paid-for "MP3s" won't play on their new "MP3 player" because what they were sold is actually proprietary DRM-laden crap.
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