GeoDRM (Re: [Geowanking] Fwd: [OGC Press Release] Mash-up event to unite leading minds from the geographic information industry)

[SteveC]

* @ 15/10/06 05:51:02 PM nelson at monkey.org wrote:
> 
> >I imagine this drm effort, if it such, will fail just like all the
> >others.
> 
> Which DRM failures do you have in mind? iPod? Macrovision, which you 
> reference later as a failure and yet is shipped in every video device in 
> the US? Or maybe Windows Trusted Computing? Too early to say if that 
> will be a failure or not, but it sure will be a pain in the neck.
> 
> DRM is a technical failure because what they're trying to do is 

And that is what I meant.

> technically impossible. But DRM is a business success and, alas, a 
> technical impediment that we are increasingly subject to with digital 
> video and audio. Even stupid completely compromised DRM like DVD copy 
> protection is still deployed widely making things expensive for device 
> manufacturers and users. You can't dismiss DRM.

I can personally, as I'm sure I'll be able to get around it. I also
pointed out the economic imperative.

> We're at the beginning of the development of some amazing 
> location-specific data and services. My biggest fear is that these 
> businesses are going to be built where their entire business model is 
> "we have the only source of data and we protect it with all the DRM we 
> can muster". If that happens, the result will be that a lot of 
> interesting legitimate businesses will be impeded and we'll be left 
> having to steal data and use modchips to do powerful things with 

You mean infringe.

> geographic data.

Well, by this stage I'm sure openstreetmap or similar will have
comparable or better data for most use cases...

have fun,

SteveC steve at asklater.com http://www.asklater.com/steve/