Copy Protection

[Jonathan Hutchins]

They tried copy protection on software a while back.  Didn't work, pissed
people off, cut into sales.  The scheme's coming back now, as with
Microsoft, and the refusal to allow drive "cloning" to distribute software.
It's pissing people off again.

I think the confusion between commercial piracy, where people are _selling_
bootleg copies of original works, and sharing, where the people who end up
with the copies do not have them in place of something they would have
bought, but would never have had them if they had to purchase them, is
stupid to overlook as the publishers have.  Easy to go after the little guy.

> -----Original Message-----
> From: Jim Herrmann [mailto:JimH at ItDepends.com]

> When CDs are all copy protected, I will no longer buy any.  
> Even though I don't copy the ones I have now, I can't support the 
> restriction that that mentality represents.

A good friend had a bunch of CD's stolen on a trip once.  He now keeps the
originals at home and only travels with copies.  Yeah, sure, if he gets
ripped off again, the RIAA "looses" the revenue for his replacements.  They
would rather go after him then they guy who stole the CD's.