[aklug] Re: !~

On Tue, 29 Oct 2013, Nathan Templeton wrote:

> I can see both sides of this one here. Multimedia support with linux has
> really been a "hotbed" issue for years as one of the cataylsts to get it to
> be a main stream OS. Albiet, something it was never really created to do. But
> that is neither here nor there. I agree that DCMA (?), I was speed reading,
> so I might have the letters wrong; is truly nothing more than a way for those
> with the power to make more money.
>
> Good for them, that might get me flamed a bit, but here is the thing. If you
> are hooked onto a cashcow that is paying for your house in the Hamptons and a
> new Range Rover in your driveway each year, would you not find a way to "lock
> it down" and make it viable income? This has nothing to do with whether it is
> right or not. That is up to a moral debate that has little to do with any OS
> and more with the moral compass of a given group of people. It was posted a
> bit back in this thread that there are now commercial entities selling
> software to play dvd's on linux. It is a link in the money trail that
> exploits the grey area that most live in when it comes to using the "renegade
> os" :).

I have no problem with maximizing profits, but from an ethical perspective
it should be because you've added something of value. The DMCA is simply
legislation whose sole purpose is to undermine fair use doctrines, however..
Companies that leverage that aren't adding anything of value, they're
undermining your right to view content you've already paid for in any manner
more convenient for you. In short, they'd rather you have to pay to access
their content on a per-device basis, even though the reality is that all of
the content is pragmatically the same.

In any event, I'm not making any judgments on anyone here, either. Everyone
needs to follow their own conscience and creed. If legislation like the
DMCA sticks in your craw, flout it at will, we all simply must be
responsible enough to accept the assumption of risk that comes with that.
And know that we have a government that's no longer operating in the best
interest of its people.

         --Arthur Corliss
           Live Free or Die
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Received on Wed Oct 30 00:42:20 2013