Technological Freedom - 4 views

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  #1 Jiamin Lin on 16 Sep 09

   

  http://media.www.csucauldron.com/media/storage/paper516/news/2009/09/06/TheMeltingPot/Technological.Freedom-3759993.shtml
  
  Digital Rights Management (DRM) or should it be called "Digital Rights Mismanagement"? It has been said that big corporations like Apple, Microsoft, Yahoo and Adobe refer to these schemes to take impose restrictions on users "digital rights management (DRM)," but the reality is, no one computer user's rights are being protected in the slightest bit.
  
  Most of Apple iTune users and Adobe software users wish to share their songs or software with their friends or families but with DRM, sharing is prohibited and restricted. Where then, is the sharing spirit that communities ought to have? From a communitarian viewpoint, it is only fair that these users are given the autonomy to share whatever file that they are currently possessing to people that they wish to share with. After all, sharing is for the greater good of the community. In addition, sharing helps to spread the word. For example, after listening to one song by a particular band that has been recommended by a friend through file sharing, he/she may then go out to purchase the cd in stores. How often is it that fans of a particular band became fans by randomly going to the store and shelling out cash for a CD? That's not how it works - we become fans of music because friends share their music collections with us. What then is the true purpose of DRM? Is it to protect the invention or to gain profits from this exclusive distribution right? Would it not be better if sharing was made possible?

   

  <div class="cArrow"> </div><div class="cContentInner"><a href="http://media.www.csucauldron.com/media/storage/paper516/news/2009/09/06/TheMeltingPot/Technological.Freedom-3759993.shtml" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">http://media.www.csucauldron.com/media/storage/paper516/news/2009/09/06/TheMeltingPot/Technological.Freedom-3759993.shtml</a> <br /> <br /> Digital Rights Management (DRM) or should it be called "Digital Rights Mismanagement"? It has been said that big corporations like Apple, Microsoft, Yahoo and Adobe refer to these schemes to take impose restrictions on users "digital rights management (DRM)," but the reality is, no one computer user's rights are being protected in the slightest bit. <br /> <br /> Most of Apple iTune users and Adobe software users wish to share their songs or software with their friends or families but with DRM, sharing is prohibited and restricted. Where then, is the sharing spirit that communities ought to have? From a communitarian viewpoint, it is only fair that these users are given the autonomy to share whatever file that they are currently possessing to people that they wish to share with. After all, sharing is for the greater good of the community. In addition, sharing helps to spread the word. For example, after listening to one song by a particular band that has been recommended by a friend through file sharing, he/she may then go out to purchase the cd in stores. How often is it that fans of a particular band became fans by randomly going to the store and shelling out cash for a CD? That's not how it works - we become fans of music because friends share their music collections with us. What then is the true purpose of DRM? Is it to protect the invention or to gain profits from this exclusive distribution right? Would it not be better if sharing was made possible?</div>

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