I was reading an article on Linux Today this evening about Fedora 7. The article is well written but there is one point I really want to contest because I am getting so tired of hearing it debated.
The quote I want to discuss is:
The advantages are clear: you get a secure system without DRM restrictions that works even on old hardware, and the best thing is: all software comes free of charge.
Now in basic premise it’s right. You can set up a sweet little system with software that will in the basic sense, replace your favorite Windows applications. I say in the basic sense because in reality Amarok is not iTunes and OpenOffice is not Office 07. That’s definitely debatable but it’s my opinion so there ya go.
The point I want to contest is that Vista is all full of super restrictive DRM and Fedora is going to be scott free and easy peasy. Yes, Vista has the plumbing for HDCP, it has the internal capability to support the Digital Rights Management technologies that “could” be enabled in the future. But let’s make that point clear. The nasty features everyone is scared of are not enabled.
The fact of the matter is that until they are, Vista is as free as Fedora is. The more important fact is when they are enabled, Vista will still work, but Fedora will not!
Think about it and do the research. Vista is not a scary nightmare of DRM, it’s just got the features to support the more restrictive DRM schemes should they be put into use.
Once they are, Fedora will not help you unless you are illegally cracking the DRM in which case it would probably still work on Vista anyway.
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Although you are right, i think the point of many (not all) people writing about “DRM in Vista” is the idea or fear of restriction. Not whether they actually are restricted or not…
Sure many think DRM is enabled by default on Vista. And to some extend i think it is enabled. Look at the DVD copy protection thing for example. Media player checks if your DVD is legal and if it thinks it’s not it won’t play… (I’ve experienced this firsthand but on XP with the latest WMP)
But one cannot claim DRM is active if regular downloaded MP3s still will play. If you think about it. How many ACTUAL reports are there from people that their MP3s or whatever files won’t play…
But there are also many people, like me, who realize DRM is not active but still won’t use Vista because it can be activated… Which would suck bigtime.
I don’t like to be restricted by my software, or the possibility there of. I believe it’s not for Vista (or any operating system) to decide if software is illegal or not.
If someone asks me why I won’t use Vista, i will answer that person; Because of the implemented DRM, bloated system requirements *Yes they’re not as high as everyone thinks, but still…* and it’s nature to make it more easy (read annoying) for people to use.
I’ll also have to admit that I have no extensive experience with Vista. I have been on other peoples computers who use Vista and got annoyed with it so much I was able to make up my mind about it.