Posts like this one do a disservice to the reputation of the OSS community. In this post, the author claims that implies that one shouldn’t run Windows because of all the DRM technologies found in it. I wonder if that’s also why he doesn’t run OS X?
I never really buy this argument. It’s easy to run Windows without buying into any DRM schemes at all. It’s the user’s choice. And at least the user has a choice.
And DRM isn’t completely bad. It enables new business models. Subscription music. Streaming movies. Sure, it’s a pain in the ass in many cases, but don’t go blaming the companies for trying out new business models and trying to deliver new kinds of value. If you don’t like it, don’t buy it.
Sorry, sidetracked. The point is, whether you like DRM or not, it’s not an argument for not using Windows. Especially if Windows provides other value to you. If Microsoft wants to go and spend tons of money on implementing a DRM scheme which makes life harder for everyone and diminishes the value of their product, they’re completely free to do that. If it’s bad investment or engineering choice, then that’s all it is. But if you look at the market right now, Windows is the platform for DRM-based business models. All the subscription music models are on Windows, as well as most of the movie ones. Why is that? What has Microsoft done wrong in trying to implement this technology to expand markets?
If users don’t support the DRM-based business models, then they will die. And DRM will go away. Whether it’s on Windows, Mac, or Linux.