Howard Greenstein has cogent reflections on DRM (including on my 3 Precepts).

Eric Norlin has blogged an interview with the technical director for Palladium in which Eric asks whether Palladium will be available to platforms other than Windows. Without this, despite whatever the Microsoft engineers say, Palladium is a Windows lock-in strategem: “Wanna listen to that CD? The record company has jiggered it so that it can only be heard on a Windows Palladium machine.”

The technical director says some of the right things. But, there’s no mention of Microsoft going Open Source with Palladium, and MS hasn’t decided if it will license the software to anyone else. But why should licensing even be an issue unless MS were looking for some advantage to being the supplier of the software that enables entertainment producers to sell their wares securely? Further, the technical director is the technical director. And like geeks everywhere, he just naturally is sympathetic to the forces of openness. But technical directors don’t make marketing decisions at Microsoft. I’ve been suckered by Microsoft in this regard before.

So, thank you, Eric, for getting this on record. Truly. You’re doing important work. The tech dir’s response is reasonable and gives some reason for encouragement. And flaming would be an unhelpful response. But I still don’t trust what I’m hearing from Microsoft about how they’re going to establish an environment that benefits me as a user as much as it benefits Hollywood and Microsoft.

Kevin Marks, Eric and others and engaged in a really useful colloquoy at Kevin’s MediAgora. They’re conducting a civil, constructive and incisive dialogue about the very nature of DRM.

Categories: Uncategorized dw