I’ve talked in the podcast about the widening division between open culture and closed culture. If something like this situation comes to pass with monitors required to implement DRM security restrictions to view content with rules chosen by content creators, I can tell you what I’m going to do. I will take out a bank loan and buy every damn older monitor that doesn’t implement the security restrictions and every possible open solution to the extent allowed by law. I will go into the “open monitor” business, selling them on eBay or in a shop or out of my trunk down by the river.
At some point, the combination of Big Media content companies and the technology firms that suck up to them will overplay their hands. When they do, it will create enormous market opportunities for systems to go around their bullshit. Should this situation hit the shelves, I’m putting my money down on the opposite bet.
Which will not be enough. As far as I understood this, the _sending_ side checks if the other side has this implemented. If not, it will only send a low quality signal to the receiving end.
But, this is why podcasting happens, this is why videoblogging will get bigger and independent artists will have more chances over the next years. It is the dark side of the force.
If that’s the case, then I’ll also go in the OS business, selling versions of various ones that are either pre-DRM or alternatives without it. However the details work, if this lockdown occurs I’ll go in business providing solutions that avoid it. Should such a new world order come to pass, opposing it will be a growth industry.
I agree with Dave on this one.
Dave, if you need a partner, just let me know! 🙂
I think it is sickening that an OS can have the power to dictate how I spend my money. If I don’t want to upgrade my monitor now, and I’m happy with what I’ve got, I won’t upgrade. I don’t want an OS to tell me to upgrade or else…I get mono colors, or a resolution enlarged from 800×600.
I, actually, think it is a great idea. What better way to make a market opportunity for smaller players in the monitor/content markets? I can already see the marketing “No Restrictions!! Play any media from 1000s of independent producers!!!”
If there is a monitor and/or content creator combo that wants to restrict my access to their content, fine, I’m restricted. In fact, save yourself the trouble of DRMing it and I will just ignore you completely.
DRM is one hell of a scary thing. The second some faceless company is allowed to see what I am doing at home at any given moment, is the second I learn to solder my own hardware and write my own Operating Systems.
It is good to see that even more Musicians, software developers and the general public are becoming aware of this issue, because if they weren’t then these multi-nationals would sneak there spying wares into our homes and we would wake up in a different world before we knew it.
1984 is 21 years overdue… I will do everything in my power to make sure it remains that way.