DRM WIP
This is apparently my TLA post. Need a decoder ring? Here you go:
- DRM = Digital Rights Management
- WIP = Work In Progress
- TLA = Three Letter Acronym
Digital Rights Management or DRM is the process or technology used to “protect” digital media like movies or music from unauthorized distribution. This concept was one of the main reasons why I waffled so long before getting an iPod about a year and a half ago. I didn’t want to limit myself to a single vendor for my digital songs, and the iPod was linked to the iTunes music (media) store. What finally changed my mind? I realized that I didn’t plan to buy music anyway, as I have a library of over 500 music discs already. I didn’t need to buy digital tunes when I already had the cd. So I picked up an iPod and have been extremely happy with it.
But back to DRM. One of my regular stops on the Internet is a web comic hosted at xkcd.com. The author / artist has a warped sense of humor that I find (most of the time) to be quite amusing. (If you visit and start reading the older versions of the comic don’t forget to hover your mouse over the comic and read the alternate text… it’s sometimes more fun than the comic itself.) On Monday he posted this comic:
Click to visit the site
Many years ago I used to work for a software company. Today one of my hobbies is photography. How are those two statements related? With the improvements in digital media management both software and pictures can be easily copied and distributed. Should they be? Not without the permission of the owner. That’s where DRM comes in.
Once music becomes digital there are very few things that can keep someone from sharing the file(s) with friends. Indeed, there are very few things that can keep someone from sharing the file(s) with anyone on the Internet, friends or otherwise. 
Needless to say, this has media companies concerned. As a result, they have tried to come up with some way to protect the digital files. Some of their efforts are laughable (remember the sharpie news from a few years back?), some are annoying, and some are just dangerous and stupid. (Sony BMG installed a rootkit that introduced a vulnerability on your computer. Then they released a removal program that introduced another vulnerability. Nice job, Sony.)
I’m not going to finish the post by taking a stand for or against DRM. At this point I have not been affected by it because I purchase my movies or music in physical rather than digital form. That means as long as I have possession of the disc, I can play the media. The platform (computer, iPod, stereo, television…) might change but all I have to do is move the physical media from one device to another. As a digital content creator myself I can understand the desire to protect content. As a consumer I can’t see where any of the current mechanisms work well.
To be honest, I will be very surprised if they come up with something that works under the current consumer model. I think someone needs to come up with a different distribution model altogether.