DRM…
A friend of mine recently bought the new Imogen Heap album online, but it was DRMed, so he can’t play it from his Media Center Extender. In my opinion, this is not a problem with the Media Center Extender–it is a problem with DRM. Now he will probably end up “pirating” the album he bought.
I found out recently that it was possible to buy downloadable DivX movies, and I was kinda excited that I would no longer have to rip my own DVDs before streaming them to my TV. Then I noticed that they were DRMed, so I stopped short of ordering The Watchmen. Sorry, guys. You lost a sale because I wanted to actually be able to WATCH the movie I bought.
What are they afraid of? That people will share copies of the movie illegally?
Does it really make sense for it to be harder to legitimately buy and view a movie than to pirate it? I’m not encouraging piracy–I am in favor of rewarding creative efforts, but why punish the people who pay by burdening us with DRM?
MPAA, if you’re listening, please let me pay you money for the same level of convenience that the pirates get for free. Thanks.