From: "Rich" 

This is a multi-part message in MIME format.

------=_NextPart_000_01DC_01C74EDD.C6C42230
Content-Type: text/plain;
        charset="iso-8859-1"
Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable

   This is from Bruce Schneier.  A long standing and well known =
Microsoft hater.  BS from him is still BS.

Rich

  "mike"  wrote in message =
news:9162t2pe65cro1cnbo30p83i7k28cdk1bj{at}4ax.com...


  =
http://www.forbes.com/2007/02/10/microsoft-vista-drm-tech-security-cz_bs_=
0212vista.html


  =3D=3D=3D
  Windows Vista includes an array of "features" that you don't want. =
These
  features will make your computer less reliable and less secure. =
They'll
  make your computer less stable and run slower. They will cause =
technical
  support problems. They may even require you to upgrade some of your
  peripheral hardware and existing software. And these features won't do
  anything useful. In fact, they're working against you. They're digital
  rights management (DRM) features built into Vista at the behest of the
  entertainment industry.

  And you don't get to refuse them.

  The details are pretty geeky, but basically Microsoft (nasdaq: MSFT -
  news - people ) has reworked a lot of the core operating system to add
  copy protection technology for new media formats like HD-DVD and =
Blu-ray
  disks. Certain high-quality output paths--audio and video--are =
reserved
  for protected peripheral devices. Sometimes output quality is
  artificially degraded; sometimes output is prevented entirely. And =
Vista
  continuously spends CPU time monitoring itself, trying to figure out =
if
  you're doing something that it thinks you shouldn't. If it does, it
  limits functionality and in extreme cases restarts just the video
  subsystem. We still don't know the exact details of all this, and how
  far-reaching it is, but it doesn't look good.

  Microsoft put all those functionality-crippling features into Vista
  because it wants to own the entertainment industry. This isn't how
  Microsoft spins it, of course. It maintains that it has no choice, =
that
  it's Hollywood that is demanding DRM in Windows in order to allow
  "premium content"--meaning, new movies that are still earning
  revenue--onto your computer. If Microsoft didn't play along, it'd be
  relegated to second-class status as Hollywood pulled its support for =
the
  platform.

  It's all complete nonsense. Microsoft could have easily told the
  entertainment industry that it was not going to deliberately cripple =
its
  operating system, take it or leave it. With 95% of the operating =
system
  market, where else would Hollywood go? Sure, Big Media has been =
pushing
  DRM, but recently some--Sony (nyse: SNE - news - people ) after their
  2005 debacle and now EMI Group--are having second thoughts.

  What the entertainment companies are finally realizing is that DRM =
just
  annoys their customers. Like every other DRM system=20
  ever invented, Microsoft's won't keep the professional pirates from
  making copies of whatever they want. The DRM security in Vista was
  broken the day it was released. Sure, Microsoft will patch it, but the
  patched system will get broken as well. It's an arms race, and the
  defenders can't possibly win.

  I believe that Microsoft knows this and also knows that it doesn't
  matter. This isn't about stopping pirates and the small percentage of
  people who download free movies from the Internet. This isn't even =
about
  Microsoft satisfying its Hollywood customers at the expense of those =
of
  us paying for the privilege of using Vista. This is about the
  overwhelming majority of honest users and who owns the distribution
  channels to them. And while it may have started as a partnership, in =
the
  end Microsoft is going to end up locking the movie companies into
  selling content in its proprietary formats.=20

  We saw this trick before; Apple (nasdaq: AAPL - news - people ) pulled
  it on the recording industry. First iTunes worked in partnership with
  the major record labels to distribute content, but soon Warner Music's
  CEO Edgar Bronfman Jr. found that he wasn't able to dictate a pricing
  model to Steve Jobs. The same thing will happen here; after Vista is
  firmly entrenched in the marketplace, Sony's Howard Stringer won't be
  able to dictate pricing or terms to Bill Gates. This is a war for
  21st-century movie distribution and, when the dust settles, Hollywood
  won't know what hit them.

  To be fair, just last week Steve Jobs publicly came out against DRM =
for
  music. It's a reasonable business position, now that Apple controls =
the
  online music distribution market. But Jobs never mentioned movies, and
  he is the largest single shareholder in Disney. Talk is cheap. The =
real
  question is would he actually allow iTunes Music Store purchases to =
play
  on Microsoft or Sony players, or is this just a clever way of =
deflecting
  blame to the--already hated--music labels.

  Microsoft is reaching for a much bigger prize than Apple: not just
  Hollywood, but also peripheral hardware vendors. Vista's DRM will
  require driver developers to comply with all kinds of rules and be
  certified; otherwise, they won't work. And Microsoft talks about
  expanding this to independent software vendors as well. It's another =
war
  for control of the computer market.

  Unfortunately, we users are caught in the crossfire. We are not only
  stuck with DRM systems that interfere with our legitimate fair-use
  rights for the content we buy, we're stuck with DRM systems that
  interfere with all of our computer use--even the uses that have =
nothing
  to do with copyright.

  I don't see the market righting this wrong, because Microsoft's =
monopoly
  position gives it much more power than we consumers can hope to have. =
It
  might not be as obvious as Microsoft using its operating system =
monopoly
  to kill Netscape and own the browser market, but it's really no
  different. Microsoft's entertainment market grab might further =
entrench
  its monopoly position, but it will cause serious damage to both the
  computer and entertainment industries. DRM is bad, both for consumers
  and for the entertainment industry: something the entertainment =
industry
  is just starting to realize, but Microsoft is still fighting. Some
  researchers think that this is the final straw that will drive Windows
  to the competition, but I think the courts are necessary.

  In the meantime, the only advice I can offer you is to not upgrade to
  Vista. It will be hard. Microsoft's bundling deals with computer
  manufacturers mean that it will be increasingly hard not to get the =
new
  operating system with new computers. And Microsoft has some pretty =
deep
  pockets and can wait us all out if it wants to. Yes, some people will
  shift to Macintosh and some fewer number to Linux, but most of us are
  stuck on Windows. Still, if enough customers say no to Vista, the
  company might actually listen.
  =3D=3D=3D


  "...most of us are stuck on Windows...."


  Imagine if General Motors had a similar attitude...  wait, they did.


    /m
------=_NextPart_000_01DC_01C74EDD.C6C42230
Content-Type: text/html;
        charset="iso-8859-1"
Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable








   This is
from Bruce Schneier.  A
long standing = and well=20
known Microsoft hater.  BS from him is still =
BS.
 
Rich
 

  "mike" <mike{at}barkto.com>">mailto:mike{at}barkto.com">mike{at}barkto.com>
wrote=20
  in message news:9162t2pe65c=
ro1cnbo30p83i7k28cdk1bj{at}4ax.com...http://www.forbes.com/2007/02/10/microsoft-vista-drm-tech-securit=
y-cz_bs_0212vista.html">http://www.forbes.com/2007/02/10/microsoft-vista-=
drm-tech-security-cz_bs_0212vista.html=3D=3D=3DWindow=
s=20
  Vista includes an array of "features" that you don't want. =
Thesefeatures=20
  will make your computer less reliable and less secure. They'llmake =
your=20
  computer less stable and run slower. They will cause =
technicalsupport=20
  problems. They may even require you to upgrade some of =
yourperipheral=20
  hardware and existing software. And these features won't =
doanything=20
  useful. In fact, they're working against you. They're =
digitalrights=20
  management (DRM) features built into Vista at the behest of=20
  theentertainment industry.And you don't get
to refuse=20
  them.The details are pretty geeky, but basically Microsoft =
(nasdaq:=20
  MSFT -news - people ) has reworked a lot of the core operating =
system to=20
  addcopy protection technology for new media formats like HD-DVD =
and=20
  Blu-raydisks. Certain high-quality output paths--audio and =
video--are=20
  reservedfor protected peripheral devices. Sometimes output quality =

  isartificially degraded; sometimes output is prevented entirely. =
And=20
  Vistacontinuously spends CPU time monitoring itself, trying to =
figure out=20
  ifyou're doing something that it thinks you shouldn't. If it does, =

  itlimits functionality and in extreme cases restarts just the=20
  videosubsystem. We still don't know the exact details of all this, =
and=20
  howfar-reaching it is, but it doesn't look
good.Microsoft =
put all=20
  those functionality-crippling features into Vistabecause it wants =
to own=20
  the entertainment industry. This isn't howMicrosoft spins it, of =
course.=20
  It maintains that it has no choice, thatit's Hollywood that is =
demanding=20
  DRM in Windows in order to allow"premium
content"--meaning, new =
movies=20
  that are still earningrevenue--onto your computer. If Microsoft =
didn't=20
  play along, it'd berelegated to second-class status as Hollywood =
pulled=20
  its support for theplatform.It's all
complete nonsense. =
Microsoft=20
  could have easily told theentertainment industry that it was not =
going to=20
  deliberately cripple itsoperating system, take it or leave it. =
With 95% of=20
  the operating systemmarket, where else would Hollywood go? Sure, =
Big Media=20
  has been pushingDRM, but recently some--Sony (nyse: SNE - news - =
people )=20
  after their2005 debacle and now EMI Group--are having second=20
  thoughts.What the entertainment companies are finally =
realizing is=20
  that DRM justannoys their customers. Like every other DRM system =
ever=20
  invented, Microsoft's won't keep the professional pirates =
frommaking=20
  copies of whatever they want. The DRM security in Vista wasbroken =
the day=20
  it was released. Sure, Microsoft will patch it, but thepatched =
system will=20
  get broken as well. It's an arms race, and thedefenders can't =
possibly=20
  win.I believe that Microsoft knows this and also
knows that it =

  doesn'tmatter. This isn't about stopping pirates and the small =
percentage=20
  ofpeople who download free movies from the Internet. This isn't =
even=20
  aboutMicrosoft satisfying its Hollywood customers at the expense =
of those=20
  ofus paying for the privilege of using Vista. This is about=20
  theoverwhelming majority of honest users and who owns the=20
  distributionchannels to them. And while it may have started as a=20
  partnership, in theend Microsoft is going to end up locking the =
movie=20
  companies intoselling content in its proprietary formats. =
We saw=20
  this trick before; Apple (nasdaq: AAPL - news - people ) pulledit =
on the=20
  recording industry. First iTunes worked in partnership withthe =
major=20
  record labels to distribute content, but soon Warner Music'sCEO =
Edgar=20
  Bronfman Jr. found that he wasn't able to dictate a pricingmodel =
to Steve=20
  Jobs. The same thing will happen here; after Vista isfirmly =
entrenched in=20
  the marketplace, Sony's Howard Stringer won't beable to dictate =
pricing or=20
  terms to Bill Gates. This is a war for21st-century movie =
distribution and,=20
  when the dust settles, Hollywoodwon't know what hit =
them.To be=20
  fair, just last week Steve Jobs publicly came out against DRM =
formusic.=20
  It's a reasonable business position, now that Apple controls =
theonline=20
  music distribution market. But Jobs never mentioned movies, andhe =
is the=20
  largest single shareholder in Disney. Talk is cheap. The =
realquestion is=20
  would he actually allow iTunes Music Store purchases to playon =
Microsoft=20
  or Sony players, or is this just a clever way of deflectingblame =
to=20
  the--already hated--music labels.Microsoft is reaching for a =
much=20
  bigger prize than Apple: not justHollywood, but also peripheral =
hardware=20
  vendors. Vista's DRM willrequire driver developers to comply with =
all=20
  kinds of rules and becertified; otherwise, they won't work. And =
Microsoft=20
  talks aboutexpanding this to independent software vendors as well. =
It's=20
  another warfor control of the computer =
market.Unfortunately, we=20
  users are caught in the crossfire. We are not onlystuck with DRM =
systems=20
  that interfere with our legitimate fair-userights for the content =
we buy,=20
  we're stuck with DRM systems thatinterfere with all of our =
computer=20
  use--even the uses that have nothingto do with
copyright.I =
don't=20
  see the market righting this wrong, because Microsoft's =
monopolyposition=20
  gives it much more power than we consumers can hope to have. =
Itmight not=20
  be as obvious as Microsoft using its operating system monopolyto =
kill=20
  Netscape and own the browser market, but it's really nodifferent.=20
  Microsoft's entertainment market grab might further entrenchits =
monopoly=20
  position, but it will cause serious damage to both thecomputer and =

  entertainment industries. DRM is bad, both for consumersand for =
the=20
  entertainment industry: something the entertainment industryis =
just=20
  starting to realize, but Microsoft is still fighting. =
Someresearchers=20
  think that this is the final straw that will drive Windowsto the=20
  competition, but I think the courts are necessary.In the =
meantime, the=20
  only advice I can offer you is to not upgrade toVista. It will be =
hard.=20
  Microsoft's bundling deals with computermanufacturers mean that it =
will be=20
  increasingly hard not to get the newoperating system with new =
computers.=20
  And Microsoft has some pretty deeppockets and can wait us all out =
if it=20
  wants to. Yes, some people willshift to Macintosh and some fewer =
number to=20
  Linux, but most of us arestuck on Windows. Still, if enough =
customers say=20
  no to Vista, thecompany might actually =
listen.=3D=3D=3D"...most=20
  of us are stuck on Windows...."Imagine
if General Motors =
had a=20
  similar attitude...  wait, they
did. =20
/m

------=_NextPart_000_01DC_01C74EDD.C6C42230--

--- BBBS/NT v4.01 Flag-5