[Fsuk-manchester] Arguments against free software and DRM is a good thing

[Peter Colton]

        Hello all,

No I have not gone mad.

Whats below is the arguments that support the subject title : 

 " arguments against free software and DRM is a good thing "

The text is a copy of a reply to  subject title : 

 " Support Free Software - protest against BBC - Microsoft corruption "

The copied text is from another mailing list that I keep the name to myself 
for the moment. 

Just thought that you may be intrested seeing a pro DRM answer and why some 
one thinks that Microsoft is the centre of the world when it comes to 
invovation in a digical age.

        Regards

                          Peter Colton

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Subject : Support Free Software - protest against BBC - Microsoft corruption

Bit of a conflation of issues here. Why should software be free? It costs 
a lot of money to develop and large teams of software developers need to 
feed and clothe themselves.
 
The software market is a strange example of darwinian economics with a few 
small companies acting as an effective oligarchy whilst the rest struggle.
 
However as we saw with Web 2.0 and open source movements this isnt 
forever. Arguably without Microsofy we would be about 10 years away from 
where we are now in terms of web functionality which requires a degree of 
uniformity and interoperability.
 
BBC need to DRM their content as everyone who pays £135 a year for 
unlimited downloads (i.e. watching TV) is being ripped off by those who 
chose not to and get it all for free off the net. I wouldnt be happy if I 
had to pay to watch whilst some other guy ripped it all off for nothing. 
If I was a programme maker I wouldnt sell to the BBC unless they had this 
in place. We are talking about a different market to music here with much 
more limited re-sale and reuse opportunities for programme makers. No-one 
objects to not being allowed to record movies in the cinema, why should TV 
be any different?
 
As for free laptop software (OLPM) I am quite sure that it wouldnt take an 
enterprising programmer to knock out a DRM license compatable viewer in a 
few weeks.
 
Not sure that this issue is worth supporting or has much political merit. 

other methods of education? Having a laptop doesnt advance an education,
good teaching does that and a stimulating environment, so if that is the
main reason for having a go at the BBC then it is a bit weak in my opinion.
Far better to have a go about their appalling outsourcing of programming,
swingeing cuts in newsgathering and broadcasting staff and a whole host
of more important issues.

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