Disclaimer: I work for Amazon, though I am not related to the Kindle team in any way.
This is nothing new - DRM already allows banning of digital material long before the Kindle came about. Back when iTunes was stilled DRMed Apple could easily have de-authorized all instances of a particular song and done the exact same thing. Having the file is a trivial detail - it's no good if you cannot access the decrypted material.
Personally I have faith. We have, in a few short years, progressed from the draconian DRM of iTunes to the non-DRM stores that both Apple and Amazon run today. We have also progressed from restrictive DRM measures on video games to the decidedly anti-DRM stance of major game publishers today.
We have proven that DRM can be defeated, so I wouldn't scream bloody murder just yet.
I think DRM for literature, news, or other reading material has far more serious implications than that for music, video, etc. The former is a tool to fight against opaque institutions, the latter is just entertainment.
We have also progressed from restrictive DRM measures on video games to the decidedly anti-DRM stance of major game publishers today.
Er, have we now? We've progressed from kernel mode drivers with disc checks to kernel mode drivers with disc checks and/or limited online activations, and most companies still never bother to release DRM-removal patches which even Starforce recommends.
The most we seem to get from major publishers is the very occasional single token game that's testing the DRM-free waters, before they scream in terror and release their next game inexorably tied to some servers they control.. which is pretty much the model described here.
I mean, just look at one of the most successful online game services around right now: Steam. It's online activation with a pretty face, and they can make your games disappear whenever they like, and yet it's hugely popular and people love it. I mean, we trust Valve, right?
Hell, I don't like it, yet 168GB of my 263GB Games folder is taken up by my Steam install; it's frequently the cheapest, and sometimes the only option.
I agree with you, but have to laugh at your labeling of the iTunes DRM terms as "draconian". iTunes represented the first case of DRM I can think of whose terms were so fair that most consumers never even knew they existed. 5 computers? Unlimited devices? Unlimited burning (as long as you weren't burning the exact same playlist over and over)?!
I think we're all better off without DRM, but the iTunes model was the next best thing to no DRM at all. Hardly "draconian".
[+] [-] potatolicious|16 years ago|reply
This is nothing new - DRM already allows banning of digital material long before the Kindle came about. Back when iTunes was stilled DRMed Apple could easily have de-authorized all instances of a particular song and done the exact same thing. Having the file is a trivial detail - it's no good if you cannot access the decrypted material.
Personally I have faith. We have, in a few short years, progressed from the draconian DRM of iTunes to the non-DRM stores that both Apple and Amazon run today. We have also progressed from restrictive DRM measures on video games to the decidedly anti-DRM stance of major game publishers today.
We have proven that DRM can be defeated, so I wouldn't scream bloody murder just yet.
[+] [-] joubert|16 years ago|reply
[+] [-] roc|16 years ago|reply
Why should we stop? This nonsense is not acceptable.
[+] [-] mjgoins|16 years ago|reply
Faith doesn't really go too far in maintaining a free society. You have to have legal rights to fall back on.
[+] [-] Freaky|16 years ago|reply
Er, have we now? We've progressed from kernel mode drivers with disc checks to kernel mode drivers with disc checks and/or limited online activations, and most companies still never bother to release DRM-removal patches which even Starforce recommends.
The most we seem to get from major publishers is the very occasional single token game that's testing the DRM-free waters, before they scream in terror and release their next game inexorably tied to some servers they control.. which is pretty much the model described here.
I mean, just look at one of the most successful online game services around right now: Steam. It's online activation with a pretty face, and they can make your games disappear whenever they like, and yet it's hugely popular and people love it. I mean, we trust Valve, right?
Hell, I don't like it, yet 168GB of my 263GB Games folder is taken up by my Steam install; it's frequently the cheapest, and sometimes the only option.
[+] [-] jemmons|16 years ago|reply
I think we're all better off without DRM, but the iTunes model was the next best thing to no DRM at all. Hardly "draconian".