Analysis: DRM may be why Microsoft flip-flopped on Vista virtualization
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| Whether most users would call DRM a feature, however, is questionable. A
| close cousin to DRM technology, known as Windows Rights Management Services
| (which in turn is part of a larger category of technologies called Enterprise
| Digital Rights Management, or ERM), can help business users password-protect
| key documents and files, or assign the ability to open them only to trusted
| co-workers. But DRM's main purpose seems to be to help the Warner Bros. and
| Sony Musics of the world keep consumers from sharing movies and music. The
| entertainment industry claims that almost all blocked sharing is illegal;
| digital rights watchdogs argue that legitimate consumer uses are also blocked
| by such technology.
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http://www.computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=viewArticleBasic&articleId=9025466&pageNumber=1
How so very fragile DRM has become. It will punish the innocent and never stop
pirates (as everyone predicated all along).
Yesterday:
Is need for control behind Microsoft's flip-flop?
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| Meanwhile, Gartner analyst Michael Silver took Microsoft to task
| for its continued restrictions.
|
| "Microsoft's policies...come off as a way to gouge customers," Silver
| said in an e-mail, noting that customers are forced to pay for higher
| priced editions, even though they don't get many of the benefits, like
| the Aero user interface, which often won't work in a virtual machine.
|
| Silver argues that Microsoft is likely leaving money on the table.
| "Allowing use of lower priced (editions) could even be worth more
| money to Microsoft as it would likely increase the number of people
| that would legally run a Microsoft OS in a VM (like on a Mac),"
| Silver wrote. "Eventually they will have no choice but to make their
| peace with virtualization."
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http://news.com.com/8301-10784_3-9733433-7.html?part=rss&subj=news&tag=2547-1_3-0-20
Last week:
Microsoft insults our intelligence on Virtualization security
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| Microsoft has once again pulled out the security argument for its
| decision again and I must say that I find it rather insulting. It’s
| not that I think Microsoft doesn’t have a right as a private business
| to set the terms of the EULA as they see fit, but don’t take us for f
| ools. If they want to restrict Virtualization, just come out and
| say it and don’t make up ridiculous excuses for it.
|
| [...]
|
| Trying to stop a Hypervisor Rootkit with a EULA is like trying to
| stop Malware with a EULA.
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http://blogs.zdnet.com/Ou/?p=549
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