Comments on: Linux, digital rights on collision course

HP executive blames Digital Millennium Copyright Act for incompatibility with open-source software.

[mpotter28]

digital rights

why should anybody in the rest of the world care about a stupid law in the USA.
"Digital rights simply means rich bean counters get to steal from content creaters" - translation of a george bush statement

the current admin. position is to put it mildly stupid (gwb) and corrupt(orin hatch and his 200 grand). The American people deserve better than policies that help the immensely rich and put the rest of you at a disadvantage. Its your choice of course but too many members of my family are americans to want to see you drop because certain laws are screwing up your whole system.
p.s. my attidude to my own politicians is even worse I'm just not allowed to use the appropriate language in this forum (I am inclined to use it to the PM's face if he'd like to visit me)

[chill633]

DRM is *necessary*

US or not-US, DRM is absolutely critical to business.

DRM != {Movies && Music}

Stop thinking about movies and music for the moment. Think about industrial manufacturing, industrial espionage and the like.

Manufacturing facilities need document control to make sure the blueprints, schematics, processes and procedures being used are up to date and accurate. They also need to make sure that they don't fall into the hands of competitors or that if they do, they are unusable.

Information -- knowledge -- is *the* most important commodity. Not all knowledge is, nor should it be, public. That is why trade secrets exist. What is the exact recipe for Coke? What about the 7 secret herbs and spices of KFC's Original Recipe? They're trade secrets.

DRM is vital to almost every business in the world that does anything unique. Even differences in processes, like a manufacturing step, can be critical.

DRM, like a kitchen knife, can be used for evil (murder) or good (chopping vegetables for a meal). It is not inherently good or evil, as that depends on the use and implementation.

-Charles

[chill633]

Amen on the licenses!

I've wondered about all the different licenses for sime time now. It seems everyone and his dog has to have a different license.

One of the (supposed) benefits of FOSS over proprietary was not having to deal with things like software assurance and license management. In the Windows world, that can be a full time job.

Real companies have to protect their assets and shareholders. This means they have to have their lawyers read and approve the various licenses or they can be liable for negligence. 50+ licenses is absurd, a waste of time and money and an anchor on FOSS adoption.