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I tried creating a web browser, and Google blocked me

blog.samuelmaddock.com

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Re: I tried creating a web browser, and Google blocked me

#51
Is the Chrome web browser buildable from sources?

If yes, what's the difference which allows Chrome to work with DRM and doesn't allow another code to do that?

I don't think I understand the problem. What does it mean "won't allow DRM" - you can always write code which you like, right?

Re: I tried creating a web browser, and Google blocked me

#52
post #47
post #45

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> The blame for this sits squarely on the w3c for their efforts in trying to replace flash by letting the content companies dictate standards for encrypted playback. The blame for this sits squarely on the users for their tolerance of malware (which DRM is) in the browsers that they use.

Do you think most users even know what drm is, or that it's being run?

I tell it to my acquaintances all the time. Nearly all of them are not interested in this information.

Re: I tried creating a web browser, and Google blocked me

#53

The blame for this sits squarely on the w3c for their efforts in trying to replace flash by letting the content companies dictate standards for encrypted playback. If they had held fast, we could have forced the companies to do their key management in something like WebAssembly and avoided this gatekeeping mess.

Blame Google and Microsoft. They were the people who created the specification, and pushed for it, when Netflix came begging for a solution to their DRM conundrum. Even if the W3C hadn't approved it, that's two of the big four browser vendors who are committing to implementing it anyways, which is enough to guarantee a de facto standard anyways.

Re: I tried creating a web browser, and Google blocked me

#54
post #19

let's address the elephant in the room. Google got the authority from everyone here who accepted chrome and IE DRM by default, to the point that even Firefox was forced to give in, so you all could be sedated by Netflix and other DRMed content.

Truth hurts. Is it too late to open up the web? I've already switched to Firefox.

Firefox uses Google's Widevine for DRM content: https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/enable-drm

"Firefox downloads and enables the Google Widevine CDM by default to give users a smooth experience on sites that require DRM."

Re: I tried creating a web browser, and Google blocked me

#55
post #45

The blame for this sits squarely on the w3c for their efforts in trying to replace flash by letting the content companies dictate standards for encrypted playback. If they had held fast, we could have forced the companies to do their key management in something like WebAssembly and avoided this gatekeeping mess.

> The blame for this sits squarely on the w3c for their efforts in trying to replace flash by letting the content companies dictate standards for encrypted playback. The blame for this sits squarely on the users for their tolerance of malware (which DRM is) in the browsers that they use.

I disagree; good DRM is transparent and unnoticeable, and if that is the case then users do not care.

Who does care about DRM is pirates and content creators whose content is shown without them earning off of it.

Yes I am aware of fair use exceptions, but fair use should exempt a user from getting sued over using a fragment of copyrighted content; it does NOT force a content creator from offering their content open for downloading and republishing, even if it's for fair use.

Re: I tried creating a web browser, and Google blocked me

#57
post #45

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> The blame for this sits squarely on the w3c for their efforts in trying to replace flash by letting the content companies dictate standards for encrypted playback. The blame for this sits squarely on the users for their tolerance of malware (which DRM is) in the browsers that they use.

I disagree; good DRM is transparent and unnoticeable, and if that is the case then users do not care. Who does care about DRM is pirates and content creators whose content is shown without them earning off of it. Yes I am aware of fair use exceptions, but fair use should exempt a user from getting sued over using a fragment of copyrighted content; it does NOT force a content creator from offering their content open f…

> it does NOT force a content creator from offering their content open for downloading and republishing, even if it's for fair use.

But being able to use the fair use rights means that you must not be sued for breaking the DRM on your own.

Re: I tried creating a web browser, and Google blocked me

#59

Flagging for inaccurate/inflammatory title. Google isn’t stopping the author from creating a web browser.

Just from creating a browser with a reasonable feature set, like, say, the ability to play non-obscure videos.

Why can't the author do the same thing Firefox does, which also uses Widevine DRM with no issues?

Re: I tried creating a web browser, and Google blocked me

#60
This sucks, I know how bad if feels when you rely on a major vendor that can make or break your product. I was somewhat relieved that it happened when I already abandoned the project for a better one but had I invested more time into it I would have been furious.

The only thing I wonder here is that DRM was a thing when he started working on this project, didn't he see this coming? By this I mean that project research should start with the hardest part, at least that's what I usually do.

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