Tag: digital rights management

Hey Keurig: Why I Changed My Coffee

Well, not exactly a feature for you. Keurig’s DRM locks in their approved pod producers and allows cartel like control of this sizable market.

This is like Ford making a car which only accepts Ford gasoline.

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We have a Keurig coffee machine at home. I am the sole coffee drinker and it’s convenient to make a cup at-a-time, two-to-four times a day.

We own the original Keurig. Models today include a DRM (Digital Rights Management) feature. Well, not exactly a feature for you. Keurig’s DRM locks in their approved pod producers and allows cartel like control of this sizable market.

This is like Ford making a car which only accepts Ford gasoline.

The DRM is easily defeated. One coffee brewer even offers a free “Freedom Clip.” I took them up on their offer.

IMAG2414The clip, which will be my gift to KMIR’s lunchroom Keurig, came with three pods of San Francisco Bay Gourmet Coffee “Fog Chaser.” I’m no gourmet, but it tastes good to me.

Helaine just ordered a case. It will replace the Keurig coffee she had been buying.

Hey, Keurig: Sell your products on their merit, not by holding your customers hostage. Don’t screw with me.

Working For You – Not

I’m not in Las Vegas for the National Association of Broadcasters convention. I wish I was.

It’s a hardware, not content, affair. I was there a few years ago, demonstrating products on behalf of a weather equipment vendor. This broadcasters convention attracts a lot more production companies than TV stations.

Announced at NAB and most interesting to me, without really knowing everything that’s there, are new software suites from Adobe and Microsoft. These are made for posting richly interactive multimedia content on the web. This software facilitates an experience more than a few steps beyond just watching a video on YouTube in a small window.

What concerns me is the deep insertion of DRM, or digital rights management into the output of these products. Producers want the ability to make sure you watch the commercials if you watch their content. Certainly they’re entitled to make money to pay for their troubles.

The problem is, so far DRM has been an invasive add-on. It adds another layer of complexity to the viewing experience. It is software designed for the customer, but not the end user… or at least it has been until now.

I worry because Microsoft’s Silverlight platform requires people watching the content to first download a new plug-in (as you do for Flash, Real, PDF files, etc.). When Microsoft asks me to install free software, I instinctively count my fingers and lock the silverware.

A perfect example of DRM gone wrong shows up in the Sony-BMG DRM debacle. Sony’s audio CDs installed secret software on computers to protect Sony. Unfortunately, the software wreaked havoc with some PCs.

There are rumors Sony’s at it again with DVDs that won’t play in some (even Sony’s own) DVD players.

Maybe, in these rapidly changing days, there’s a better way to include commercial content? Maybe the ‘roadblock commercial’ we’ve accepted for over 50 years needs to change?

In the meantime, my opinion is, Adobe and Microsoft are not working for you.

Geeky Me

I have built my last few PCs. I’m about to build my next.

Actually, it’s more of a rebuild, replacing the older guts of one system with new innards. It’s very exciting… it is. Oh c’mon, humor me… please.

I’m not sure she asked in so many words, but Helaine wanted to know why I needed another computer? After all, I have 4 desktop machines and a few laptops. There are more carcasses and parts scattered in the attic and in a cabinet in my office. Most of the working machines are older, discards from friends and family.

The computer that should be my main squeeze has become unusable. It was unstable (hey, who isn’t). As of last night, I can’t even get it to boot. My backup machine isn’t exactly poky, but it’s way behind the times.

OK – There’s really no reason. I can’t say I need a new computer. This is like Jay Leno having a garage full of classic cars and cycles or my daughter’s collection of shoes and bags.

The faster processor will make a significant difference when I work on photos or edit video. Both are tasks I do a lot.

Actually, it’s faster processors – plural. I am buying a new AMD dual core CPU.

If you’re glazing over now, I’m not sure this entry will get any better.

In order to use the CPU, I’ll need a new motherboard. And the new chip and motherboard will need a new cooling system. Computer chips get really hot and if left to their own devices would quickly go poof.

There’s been lots of research reading about various motherboards, CPUs and chipsets. How much memory? What kind of memory? There’s lots to think about.

Here’s the rundown:

Motherboard: 110642 – Asus A8N-VM CSM GeForce 6150 Video/Audio/IEEE1394/Gigabit LAN/USB2

Processor: 120364 – AMD Athlon 64 X2 3800+ Dual-Core 512K cache/core

Heatsink Fan: 130099 – Zalman CNPS7000B-AlCu Silent CPU Cooling

Memory: 140895 – DDR (400) 3200 – 1 GB (2 pcs 512) OCZ Value

Warranty: 800125 – Standard Tech Support, 6 Month

Nero 7 Promotion: 210614 – Nero 7 Ultra Edition Retail Box FREE!

When the box comes, the surgery will take place on the kitchen table. There are no instructions, but putting together computers is relatively simple – really. The whole job shouldn’t take more than a half hour, though it will probably take closer to three hours.

With Microsoft’s new Vista operating system a year away, plus more and more enforcement of digital rights management, this might be the last time I’ll be able to build my own machine and expect it to perform with mainstream applications. That’s sad.

I’ll let you know how the build works out, because surely, though my heart is set on this new system, it will break my heart.

Texas Sues Sony BMG Over Rootkit

Texan Attorney General Greg Abbott said he filed suit against Sony BMG over rootkit. I guess this was to be expected.

I anticipate this will be one of many suits filed, not only about the installation of this software but also over the use of ‘open software’ within the rootkit without proper permission.

There are many people who don’t want this kind of technology or even more passive forms of digital rights management. I suspect they’re going to try and make any company that is thinking of implementing DRM think twice.

Sony, who probably bought a solution from a vendor without understanding everything it did, has given a textbook demonstration of how not to win friends and influence people.

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