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Lawsuit could be the beginning of the end for DRM

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Re: Lawsuit could be the beginning of the end for DRM

#131

Post by dragonwriter »

6stringmerc wrote: post #124
zAy0LfpBZLC8mAC wrote: post #96

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Equivocating DRM with murder is ludicrous to me, it just is from a rhetorical standpoint. Except I didn't say anything of that sort? I mean, I didn't even compare DRM to murder. So what the heck have you been reading?

Yeah, you did in arguing that just because some Murders happen doesn't negate the utility of a law, but you've conflated Copyright which is a Civil matter in trying to discuss freedoms in a grand philosophical sense. I see you and I view the practical implementation of Copyright in the modern era from different perspectives. As in, you work from the premise that Copyright is sufficient in and of itself without the DM…

> Yeah, you did in arguing that just because some Murders happen doesn't negate the utility of a law, but you've conflated Copyright which is a Civil matter in trying to discuss freedoms in a grand philosophical sense.

You seem to confuse analogy with equivalency, as well as failing to recognize that, like homicide, there are both civil and criminal remedies for violation of copyright; neither is a purely civil or purely criminal matter.

Re: Lawsuit could be the beginning of the end for DRM

#132

Post by Yetanfou »

CharlesW wrote: post #104
Yetanfou wrote: post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Don't rely on any 'official' solution to maintain your digital library as those are sure to stop working in one way (company goes bankrupt or gets bought) or another (planned obsolescence, forced upgrade, etc) in a few years time. Configure your own using one of the existing tools; if you use Owncloud or Nextcloud you could use my OPDS Catalog app ( https://apps.owncloud.com/content/show.php?content=168132 ), possibl…

> Configure your own using one of the existing tools; if you use Owncloud or Nextcloud you could use my OPDS Catalog app… Okay, so this is a whole new world for me. Thank you! OPDS appears to be for electronic publications what RSS is to blogs and podcasts. There are feeds, there's content management software that generates them (like "OPDS catalog"), and there are reader-style apps to consume them and view the syndi…

OPDS for dummies? There is the Mobileread wiki (http://wiki.mobileread.com/wiki/OPDS) which gives some pointers to catalogs and software, but it doesn't really explain all that much.

What OPDS enables you to do is gain access to a collection from any OPDS client device. To test it you can just install an OPDS-compatible reader on a phone or tablet or some such device and point it at an OPDS catalog. If you install FBreader (for Android) you'll find a number of OPDS catalogues pre-configured for your perusal, it is also possible (and easy) to add your own. You'll be able to browse the catalog, search for publications (something which I have not implemented in my Owncloud/Nextcloud tools yet due to the (IMnsHO) lacking search infrastructure in Owncloud) and download publications to the device. So yes, in this way it works just like a feed reader, which makes sense as it is based on the same technology (RSS and Atom).

Kindle does, as far as I know, not support OPDS - I don't have one so I can not try. I do know that it has a (rudimentary) browser so that might be an option to get access to publications on a 'personal cloud server'. In the case of OPDS Catalog you can just point the browser at the library root in the Owncloud/Nextcloud 'Files' app to see the same files as those which are served through the OPDS feed, bar any filtering done on the latter (it can be configured to show only certain types of files and/or to skip certain patterns). You will not see the metadata which OPDS Catalog has collected on those publications, once Nextcloud matures I'll see if it is feasible to implement this as an addition to the Files app.

Calibre (https://calibre-ebook.com/) is able to convert publications on the fly to a format understood by (unmodified= Kindle devices. It also contains a server which publishes in both OPDS as well as HTML, the latter would be useable on a Kindle. I think Calibre does a good job on the conversions but it is rather overweight and overly complex to use as a server. Of course there are other options, check that Mobileread wiki I linked to for some examples.

Re: Lawsuit could be the beginning of the end for DRM

#133

Post by roywiggins »

digler999 wrote: post #123

On their website is a banner: "Cancel netflix!". I click on it, and I'm told I should cancel netflix because they put DRM on their HTML5 delivery of movies. Now look, Im a self-professed pirate. I say screw most DRM and I dont recognize IP law. However, I totally disagree that I should "cancel netflix". What are they supposed to do ? Deliver all their movies DRM-free and see them immediately get copied to torrent sit…

Netflix shows are all on torrent sites anyway. I'm not sure they would actually lose anything if they dropped the DRM.

Re: Lawsuit could be the beginning of the end for DRM

#134

Post by 6stringmerc »

dragonwriter wrote: post #131
6stringmerc wrote: post #124

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yeah, you did in arguing that just because some Murders happen doesn't negate the utility of a law, but you've conflated Copyright which is a Civil matter in trying to discuss freedoms in a grand philosophical sense. I see you and I view the practical implementation of Copyright in the modern era from different perspectives. As in, you work from the premise that Copyright is sufficient in and of itself without the DM…

> Yeah, you did in arguing that just because some Murders happen doesn't negate the utility of a law, but you've conflated Copyright which is a Civil matter in trying to discuss freedoms in a grand philosophical sense. You seem to confuse analogy with equivalency , as well as failing to recognize that, like homicide, there are both civil and criminal remedies for violation of copyright; neither is a purely civil or p…

How is using Murder, the taking of another's life, in any way a suitable analogy to Copying a file/song/film without permission? They're completely different ballparks and to do so is a form of equivalency - more like equivocation, as I mentioned - because the harms are so drastically different. It only takes one Murder to be convicted of a Criminal offense and sent to Prison - there is a significantly higher bar[1] before Copyright Infringement is remotely similar to the nature of the reference point. I mean, I get the basic underlying philosophy being argued but I disagree with it. Talking about Copyright and Murder in the same sentence, I will reiterate, is rhetorically off-base.

A much more reasonable line of "analogy" (which it wasn't) would have been talking about Theft and Copyright Infringement have disparate parameters on the books, and therefore expose the over-reach of Copyright. I frequently sense that because I'm not "pro-freedom" in the definition of those who disagree with me that I'm somehow on the other side. I'm most definitely not and it is quite tiring to feel such derision when I'm not a Partisan - I'm a goddamn Independent.

[1] http://www.dslreports.com/shownews/Piracy-Puts-People-in-Pri...

Re: Lawsuit could be the beginning of the end for DRM

#135

Post by 6stringmerc »

roywiggins wrote: post #133
digler999 wrote: post #123

On their website is a banner: "Cancel netflix!". I click on it, and I'm told I should cancel netflix because they put DRM on their HTML5 delivery of movies. Now look, Im a self-professed pirate. I say screw most DRM and I dont recognize IP law. However, I totally disagree that I should "cancel netflix". What are they supposed to do ? Deliver all their movies DRM-free and see them immediately get copied to torrent sit…

Netflix shows are all on torrent sites anyway. I'm not sure they would actually lose anything if they dropped the DRM.

Not saying it's right, but in practical terms, I'm rather certain they would lose all their contracts with major studios / content holders. They're in such a tough & unique position.

Re: Lawsuit could be the beginning of the end for DRM

#137

Post by Endy »

digler999 wrote: post #123

On their website is a banner: "Cancel netflix!". I click on it, and I'm told I should cancel netflix because they put DRM on their HTML5 delivery of movies. Now look, Im a self-professed pirate. I say screw most DRM and I dont recognize IP law. However, I totally disagree that I should "cancel netflix". What are they supposed to do ? Deliver all their movies DRM-free and see them immediately get copied to torrent sit…

They are not the "good guy" - they're merely among the lesser of a few evils. If they were the "good guy", they would deliver content 100% DRM-free and actively support the public domain. For me, "Cancel Netflix!" is not merely a call to remove myself from their service, but rather a call to remove a DRM-friendly platform from the face of the Web. Because as it stands, every other DRM jail can point to Netflix and say, "See! They do it and they're the good guy!" - and we need to cut that off at the ankles.

They do work with DRM on a regular basis. They are, or work willingly with, the bad guy. Until you remove yourself from them and we work to remove them completely, we will never win.

Re: Lawsuit could be the beginning of the end for DRM

#138

Post by roywiggins »

6stringmerc wrote: post #135
roywiggins wrote: post #133

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Netflix shows are all on torrent sites anyway. I'm not sure they would actually lose anything if they dropped the DRM.

Not saying it's right, but in practical terms, I'm rather certain they would lose all their contracts with major studios / content holders. They're in such a tough & unique position.

Oh, for sure- it's not like it's Netflix that cares, its the contracts they have with content owners. I guess they could turn off DRM for the show they produce but that sounds like a technical hassle for no gain.

Re: Lawsuit could be the beginning of the end for DRM

#139

Post by freshhawk »

digler999 wrote: post #123

On their website is a banner: "Cancel netflix!". I click on it, and I'm told I should cancel netflix because they put DRM on their HTML5 delivery of movies. Now look, Im a self-professed pirate. I say screw most DRM and I dont recognize IP law. However, I totally disagree that I should "cancel netflix". What are they supposed to do ? Deliver all their movies DRM-free and see them immediately get copied to torrent sit…

"Netflix is the good guy, they are pioneers in electronic content delivery."

The basis for this is that Netflix was a major player in the success of the push for Encrypted Media Extensions in HTML5. The possibilities for abuse here are just unreal.

Pissing off their competitors by not being incompetent when it comes to technology isn't enough to make me call them "good guys" even if some of their stuff I happen to like. It's a bit more complex than "good guys" and "bad guys".

Re: Lawsuit could be the beginning of the end for DRM

#140

Post by abawany »

bad_user wrote: post #23

Just a friendly reminder that there are online shops that sell DRM-free content. I found this guide helpful: https://www.defectivebydesign.org/guide In particular, I'm a Downpour.com customer for audio books. Up until now they had all the content I wanted, high quality too. And with a subscription the prices are good. I've also bought DRM-free games from Gog.com. E-books I sometimes buy from Google Play, where they h…

I agree. I signed up for an Audible trial not realizing the extent of their appalling trash-fire DRM. In summary, you have to run their app on a device they support to be able to listen to their content. Shocking since my local library lets me check out audio books with fewer restrictions. Needless to say that in spite of their very-nice electronic pleadings, I canceled the trial promptly.
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