Category Archives: DRM

Interesting viewpoint: not all DRM is bad

Posted on June 10, 2007 by Eric

Hanford Lemoore points out that not all DRM is bad.  Specifically, takes the position that DRM for trial software (try-before-you-buy) is good.   I’ll have to admit that until now I’ve been vehemently opposed to all DRM.  I had not even … Continue reading →

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An interesting and potentially useful hexadecimal number

Posted on May 31, 2007 by Eric

The AACS LA doesn’t want you to have the number 45 5F E1 04 22 CA 29 C4 93 3F 95 05 2B 79 2A B2.  They can bite my computer’s shiny metal ass.  [h/t Boing Boing]

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Can a company own a number?

Posted on May 4, 2007 by Eric

The AACS-LA claims to own the hexadecimal number 09f911029d74e35bd84156c5635688c0 (decimal 13256278887989457651018865901401704640), and is threatening those who post it online, even though they also claim that the distribution of the number is not a problem for the viability of the AACS … Continue reading →

Posted in Blog/website/news comments, Copyright, DRM | 2 Comments

Defective by Design

Posted on May 24, 2006 by Eric

The Free Software Foundation has started a “Defective by Design” campaign to eliminate DRM (Digital Restrictions Management). DRM is intended to prevent unauthorized copying of music, movies, and software. However, it also prevents copying and use that is within fair … Continue reading →

Posted in Computing, Copyright, DRM | 2 Comments

HDCP Could Have Been Better

Posted on April 17, 2006 by Eric

Professor Ed Felten writes about how HDCP Could Have Been Better, primarily by using well-known but more secure cryptography rather than a homebrew algorithm. He points out that the reason the flawed HDCP algorithm is being used may be due … Continue reading →

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Backing up a damaged DVD

Posted on December 5, 2005 by Eric

I have a damaged DVD that will no longer play in my DVD player. My computer seems to be able to read it OK. The official position of the MPAA is that I’m shit-outa-luck, and should just buy another copy. … Continue reading →

Posted in Disaster recovery, DRM, DVD, HD-DVD, Blu-ray, Linux | Leave a comment

A very scary dream on Halloween morning

Posted on October 31, 2005 by Eric

This morning I awakened from a horrible nightmare. Perhaps somewhat apropos for Halloween. But the dream didn’t involve vampires, wiches, or ghosts. It was about Digital Restrictions Management (DRM). I dreamt that I went into a bookstore to browse. I … Continue reading →

Posted in Books, Computing, Copyright, Dreams, DRM | 13 Comments

The real purpose of AACS encryption for high-definition video discs

Posted on April 18, 2005 by Eric

In a Freedom to Tinker posting, Ed Felten writes about AACS, the replacement for CSS to be used for encrypting high-definition video discs: This scheme limits entry to the market for players, [...] This plan won’t stop filesharing, though I … Continue reading →

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