On Microsoft and DRM.
(With apologies, this started as a 'damn Microsoft...' rant, and turned into a bit of an anti-DRM sermon)
In light of some recent news (Microsoft is essentially killing OpenGL, either 'cause it's too hard to implement or because they didn't invent it...) I was thinking back about Microsoft's history, and I was wondering... Why does anyone with a brain or a sense of self-preservation support them, or any other company that seeks to lock us in?
Microsoft got their start by writing a BASIC program for IBM, and by buying a CP/M clone that was just different enough from the software it copied to be considered legal. This set the stage for behaviour that was alternately brilliant and borderline criminal. In many cases, such as Microsoft's outright theft of Stac Technologies 'Stacker' software, they actually were proven to be illegal. This isn't isolated behaviour, Microsoft's history is littered with the husks of companies it's bought out or ripped off. This isn't really anything more than normal cutthroat business procedure, but it brings me to my point.
Microsoft only innovates when they have to. Like many monopolies they reach their all-conquering pinnacle and then stop. Explorer stagnated until Firefox/Mozilla (and my favourite scrappy browser, Opera) started to kick its ass. This can't be good for us, not for progress as a whole.
Microsoft wants control, so that they can lock you in to their products. Then they can stop innovating and rake in the profits without actually working to earn them. Consider Windows Media: There are dozens of free formats out there, and Windows typically ships with applications to convert your media to Windows Media (WMV or WMA). There are no free apps to get OUT of this format - Microsoft threatens to annihilate any free apps that work with WMV formats through legal action. Easy-in, no-out is their preferred modus opperandi, and while again you can argue, to some extent correctly, that this is just normal business, it's not good for US.
Their new operating system is dabbling with content control so severe that it will dictate what kind of monitor you can use. If you don't use a MS-approved monitor it will cripple your video quality.
I can accept that MS' tactics are smart, but they're not good. Not good for consumers, not good for MS' partners, and not good for technological progression. Throw open the gates and let the competition begin in earnest, I say. Break open the DRM and make them fight for their dollars. No company, and this goes for Microsoft, the RIAA and MPAA and many more, deserves my money. They have to bust ass to get me to part with it.
It's a proven fact that people will pay more for unlocked technology. I went way out of my way to buy a portable music player that plays .ogg files - a free, better alternative to the MP3 format device makers need to pay for. I went to Hong Kong and bought a region-free DVD player, 'cause I like to import DVDs. I chip my consoles, often at no small cost, so that I don't have to be locked into one or another region's price-fixing scheme. I bought a phone that lets me up- and down-load my own media without restriction. My wife's phone is unlocked so that she can use it overseas, and she paid a lot for the privelege.
Give us the tools to do what we want. Stop locking us in to your bullshit pay-per-use schemes. My phone is locked to the 3 network, and their online content is the typical ridiculous shit all cellular companies think we want. Live 'Big Brother' coverage, horoscopes, sports scores, ringtones and really bad games. They think we're going to pay for this shit, and to some extent we do. I can guarantee you however that the first cellular company to unlock their gear and make it easier for people to create the content is going to profit big-time from the sudden massive boost in network usage. Consider Google's massive popularity. Free apps, free tools, free APIs so we can access their services and run amok in any way we see fit. Consider Linux' rise to popularity, on the backs of insane people working their ass off for free because they can and because they like to create things.
Stop locking us down and set us free. Create a good product and we'll give you our money with a smile (and come back for more). Keep locking us in and we're going to be doing everything in our power to get away from you at the earliest opportunity. We're all of us creative people. We're not thieves or pirates or, worse, consumers <spit>. We want to create and share, and companies that let us, with good and easy products, are gonna get some loyal followers. But don't change your mind later, we'll be displeased.
That is all, carry on.
08:46 | NFG | Tech
