PowerPage contributor and podcaster Bart Hirst sent us this article connecting Microsoft‘s digital rights management system to increased costs to developers and additional hassles for customers.
The new system, as described in the article, limits the functionality of certain pieces of hardware (such as viewing HD content in select HD monitors), demands customized code for most device driver variations and demands that vendors obtain endorsements from movie studios such as MGM, 20th Century-Fox and Disney (who, according to technical documents, now have veto rights over security mechanisms).
Additional costs have been traced back to Microsoft disallowing one-size-fits-all designs for devices, banning the use of add-ons such as TV-out encoders, DVI circuitry and other add-ons given that feeding unprotected video to external components would make it too easy for the user to lift the signal. Thus, devices require more of a custom design before entering the market.
Legal costs also increase given the new digital rights management with the author claiming that “this makes everyone play by Microsoft’s rules or don’t play at all,” the new standard misallocating funds towards digital rights management that could have gone towards developing a better operating system.
It’s a long and technical read, but author Peter Gutmann makes some good points and researches his points well. The quotes make things that much more interesting and there’s something to think about before you upgrade to the next Windows operating system, either on a PC or via Boot Camp or virtualization on your Intel-based Mac.
PowerPage contributor and podcaster Bart Hirst sent us this article connecting Microsoft‘s digital rights management system to increased costs to developers and additional hassles for customers.
The new system, as described in the article, limits the functionality of certain pieces of hardware (such as viewing HD content in select HD monitors), demands customized code for most device driver variations and demands that vendors obtain endorsements from movie studios such as MGM, 20th Century-Fox and Disney (who, according to technical documents, now have veto rights over security mechanisms).
Additional costs have been traced back to Microsoft disallowing one-size-fits-all designs for devices, banning the use of add-ons such as TV-out encoders, DVI circuitry and other add-ons given that feeding unprotected video to external components would make it too easy for the user to lift the signal. Thus, devices require more of a custom design before entering the market.
Legal costs also increase given the new digital rights management with the author claiming that “this makes everyone play by Microsoft’s rules or don’t play at all,” the new standard misallocating funds towards digital rights management that could have gone towards developing a better operating system.
It’s a long and technical read, but author Peter Gutmann makes some good points and researches his points well. The quotes make things that much more interesting and there’s something to think about before you upgrade to the next Windows operating system, either on a PC or via Boot Camp or virtualization on your Intel-based Mac.