Hulu Desktop Brings Remote-Controlled Streaming to Linux (Lifehacker) [LWN.net]

Hulu Desktop Brings Remote-Controlled Streaming to Linux (Lifehacker)

Posted Oct 11, 2009 8:56 UTC (Sun) by drag (subscriber, #31333)
In reply to: Hulu Desktop Brings Remote-Controlled Streaming to Linux (Lifehacker) by epa
Parent article: Hulu Desktop Brings Remote-Controlled Streaming to Linux (Lifehacker)

They would have to defeat the Flash DRM.

This is very easy to do, of course. The encryption they use is a stripped-
down and made worthless version of SSL that is vulnerable to MiM attacks and
such. Plus the "signature" is created by taking a hash of the file size... It
is all documented online.

So breaking the DRM is easy, but it would automatically be hit with a DMCA
violation for breaking digital copyright protection schemes, or whatever is
the equivalent in Canada or the EU or whatever. (DMCA is really just a
legislation passed to enforce a international treaty if you look at it
closely)

Thankyou, USA Government and friends for keeping the world safe for piracy,
but illegal for making compatible software.

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Hulu Desktop Brings Remote-Controlled Streaming to Linux (Lifehacker)

Posted Oct 12, 2009 7:16 UTC (Mon) by cmccabe (guest, #60281) [Link]

> So breaking the DRM is easy, but it would automatically be hit with a DMCA
> violation for breaking digital copyright protection schemes, or whatever is
> the equivalent in Canada or the EU or whatever. (DMCA is really just a
> legislation passed to enforce a international treaty if you look at it
> closely)

Doesn't this fall under the reverse engineering clause of the DMCA? There is some confusing language in there about "achiev[ing] interoperability of an independently created computer program with other programs."

If not, support could still be added to Gnash / SWFDec in loadable module form. Not everyone lives in the US and Canada.