Will Apple Follow Microsoft's Lead to Restrictive DRM?

Steve Ryan asks: "The direction Microsoft are taking with Windows (for example, the DRM issues in Vista) have led me to believe Windows will soon be an OS which controls the user, rather than the other way round. I like XP, and I find it stable, but I do not want to upgrade to an OS (Vista) which is restrictive. This leaves me with either Linux or Mac OS X. I like Linux, but it may not work with my laptop, so I don't really want to risk it. OS X seems nice. I spend most of my time writing documents and surfing the web, so it should handle everything I want, and I would be happy to buy a lovely MacBook Pro. This leaves me with my question: Will Apple follow Microsoft's lead and implement a DRM loving policy?"

A few mistakes in your post

[2nd Post!]

1) Apple DRM has nothing to do with moving music off an iPod. The music is stored in a hidden folder and can be copied off trivially.
2) Apple DRMed songs can trivially (in iTunes) be burned to a CD, opening up to a world of CD players and DVD players. If you choose to re-encode again you can transfer to additional devices other than iPods.
3) Apple has never acted like Microsoft. Microsoft has raised Windows license fees or withheld licenses from companies promoting or developing competing technologies (OS/2 and Netscape). The closest is when Apple withdrew licenses from clonemakers exactly because they did not want to only sell operating systems. Microsoft has also developed competitive technologies rather than endorsing existing solutions so they could extract more control (WMA instead of AAC, WMV instead of MPEG4, Direct3D instead of OpenGL, MTP instead of UMS, etc)

Maybe your point (Apple is a corporation, not an entity) would be better made as, "Don't trust Apple to be good by you unless it also helps them as well".

Laptop

[JoshJ]

Linux works fine on the laptop. Use an Ubuntu livedisc (dapper or edgy- dapper has Long Term Support, whereas Edgy is more up to date) to test it out to make sure it works before installing, and when installing do a dualboot- it's not hard to do (literally all you have to do is check the radio button to partition the hard disc and select the percentage of the HD to give the preexisting OS) and that way if things don't work out in ubuntu your windows install is safe and sound, leaving you free to try out another distro.

I specify Ubuntu because it has a livedisc installer, and I know the partitioning on the installer is extremely easy to do- doesn't hurt that Ubuntu is also a fairly newbie-friendly distro.

That said, if you want to prepare yourself for a switch in general, the best thing to do is replace as many of your current apps with crossplatform and/or opensource apps, and open or standard file formats for all your documents- OpenOffice.org, gAIM, Firefox for more common stuff; xchat ( http://silenceisdefeat.org/~b0at/xchat/win32/ [silenceisdefeat.org] - several builds don't have the $20 fee), and so forth for less common apps. Mostly, applications are interchangeable, files may not be. You need to identify any sticking points first, before the switch- this applies to any platform.

Don't blame linux or os x for being "broken" when "broken" really just means "different". This is generally more a problem with old geezers/technophobes, but also a problem with people who are used to Windows's way of doing things.

It's been said by some that the people who have the hardest time switching are the "power users", because they have a lot of knowledge of "how to do *somewhat advanced thing*" that isn't the same across OSes. An example would be something like changing the screen resolution, or maybe a bit more advanced, setting up a printer; or adding/removing users.

Re:news to me...

[Anonymous Coward]

uhh... actually... I just _did_ rip the 'Cars' movie using Handbrake. Literally it is one click. Works great. No problems. The only discs I have trouble ripping these days are Sony/Columbia DVDs... and usually those are beatable with a tiny bit of either effort or compromise.

Apple already tolerates DRM

[SuperKendall]

Every intel mac ships with a "trusted" computing module

Theonly use of which is for OS X to recognize it is running on Apple hardware - it IS NOT USED to prevent you from running Linux or any other OS, or adding your own OS X drivers, as Microsoft had been talking about.

and apple uses DRM on every tune or movie they sell.

That you can easily remove - even the video you can simply re-record with any number of video screen capture software. This is mandated by content providers, not Apple - remember Apple is the one that brought DRM to this loose state. Microsoft is the one giving you protected video paths with Vista.

You can't burn itunes tv shows to DVD

You can if you simply copy it.

you can't transfer music from an ipod to a computer (easily)

Since iTunes recognizes ID3 tags it is childs play to copy a whole directory of music from any iPod you can mount into iTunes, and have the music all show up.

you can't transfer DRMd songs to any player but an ipod.

But you can also choose to move the songs to other formats that lack DRM and move them that way. There is an out.

People like you have been blasting Apple for DRM use for years when in fact Apple is the company that is slowly backing studios out of DRM use. the MP3 sales trial recently on Yahoo would never have been done if Apple had not locked up the popular use of DRM with Apple instead of an indsutry controlled company such as Microsoft.

Re:If you want a Mac so badly, just buy one alread

[ceeam]

Actually, starting with v6 Ubuntu live CDs and install CDs are the same one disk. Ubuntu installs from link icon on live CD's desktop. Very cool idea, actually.

Re:User control ended at Windows 2000 service pack

[Animats]

Once, Microsoft rebooted everybody who had auto reboot turned off but Windows Update turned on. That's when it became clear who was in control.

Re:Does it really matter that much in reality?

[Nightspirit]

Contrary to what someone mentioned, no, WMP does not automatically add DRM if you select the mp3 option. Also try the ffdshow codec, it may allow you to play divx content within media center (as within vista I am currently viewing a divx video within windows media player).

Contrary to all the FUD, the only DRM you have to worry about is on "next-gen" media, and it looks like until they put the analog protection flag up it can apparently be broken (if this article is correct).

You can still rip all your mp3s or FLAC (with a supported player) off CDs and copy DVDs (with DVD shrink or similar programs). So I really don't see what all the fuss is about [yes, I would prefer no DRM, but at this point it is not very likely. For instance, you are unlikely to see a commercial HD-DVD/blu-ray player (that supports the copy protection flag) for linux, unless linux can provide some means of a protected path for content].

Re:Not M$

[dangitman]

Microsoft has less of interest in owning your content, sure they have to assure content providers that their content will not be used in improper ways - however their OS isn't targeted specifically to content creation and consumption.

That's pretty delusional. Firstly, Microsoft runs a music store, and has been desperately trying to control media on the desktop with Windows Media Player and the Media Center edition of their OS. And their OS is geared towards consumption of products and content. Like Microsoft applications, and third-party applications and games.

Microsoft doesn't just want to own your media - they want to oen your whole system and have the ability to shut your OS down remotely. Hell, Microsoft even tries to put DRM on your pre-existing content - for example, if you rip a CD with Windows Media Player. And their "PlaysforSure" DRM is way more restrictive than Apple's.

Just because Microsoft hasn't been particularly successful with their plans, doesn't mean they aren't trying.

Apple not as bad as Win, Linux not perfect either

[LKM]

1. Apple doens't use the TPM hardware [osxbook.com]. Unlike Mac OS X, Linux actually does include drivers for this hardware, as far as I know (Quote Linus [forbes.com]: "A lot of commercial companies want to do some really bad things with DRM. So people dislike DRM and want to make it harder to do. But the silly thing is that DRM really is just technology, and like most everything else, the badness comes not from the technology, but from what you use it for. There are actually valid uses of the exact-same technology, even if it ends up being called something different ("privacy rights," "security," what-not)."
2. Apple uses DRM in the iTunes store, but that DRM is relatively lenient, compared to what Microsoft allows for.

This simply doesn't compare to what Microsoft is doing [schneier.com].

So what are you going to do? Write your own OS?

Activation

[Anonymous Coward]

I don't think that word means what you think it means.

Also, what did you not get from the GP's statement that Apple was a hardware company? Guess what, they sell the hardware their software is to run on.

Oh and 'sceme' is spelled 'scheme.'

Actually, *you* are uninformed.

[LKM]

I don't think you understand just how much DRM there is in Vista. Read this and weep [schneier.com].

Apple simply can't compare with this.

Macs have no TPM!

[LKM]

Geez, your post reads like you were just making it up as you went along, yet it got modded 5. Fascintaing.

1. While some Intel Macs had TPM hardware, it was never used, not even for making sure Mac OS X ran on a Mac. More recent Macs don't even include it anymore (much to the chagrin of some people who actually did make use of it) [osxbook.com]
2. Unlike Mac OS X, Linux does include drivers for TPM by default
3. If Apple's DRM is so draconian, how come it's the most lenient out there?
4. Nothing that Apple has ever done can't compare to what MS is doing. I mean, even remotely. It's not only not the same league, it's not even the same sports they're playing. [schneier.com] Sorry, but MS very much is leading this charge.

Re:Step Up

[sottitron]

I can see both sides of the argument, but I think everyone forgets that before iTunes, the big labels weren't willing to open their catalogs. Sure emusic was around, but it was all small time labels and it largely still is. The point is, I don't think Apple has as much control as everyone thinks they do. Plus, they don't care about the content as much as we do. They are out to sell iPods, Macs, and soon iTVs. The content they sell just reinforces their position as the market leader.

I will leave you with this nugget, though: I recently helped someone who had their Mac crash. She had moved from computer to computer paying little attention to her iTunes account. But this time, there was a problem. She had authorized all her available computers to play her music collection. She had her files backed up, but she had lost her system drive in her Mac and it was gone at this point. I thought she was screwed. It turns out, there is a little known feature of your iTunes account whereby you can reset your authorized computers on your account with Apple. The only catch is that you can only do this once a year.

If you find you have reached 5 authorizations due to system upgrades, you can reset your authorization count by clicking Deauthorize All in the Account Information screen. Note: You may only use this feature once per year. The Deauthorize All button will not appear if you have fewer than 5 authorized computers or if you have used this option within the last 12 months.

Check it out here. [apple.com]

The State of DRM

[LKM]

As far as I know it boils down to this:

Windows XP
DRM is implemented in individual applications such as iTunes. No fundamental support for DRM. You don't need to use DRM even if you use applications that potentially support DRM (again, such as iTunes).

Mac OS X
DRM is implemented in individual applications such as iTunes. No fundamental support for DRM. You don't need to use DRM even if you use applications that potentially support DRM (again, such as iTunes).

Linux
Kernel-level support for TPM.

Vista
DRM is a fundamental part of Vista. You can't get around it. [schneier.com]