Cory Doctorow on the real cost of free

If you want to damn someone for selling a bill of goods to creative people, go after the DRM vendors with their ridiculous claims about copy-proof files; go after the labels who say that wholesale lawsuits against fans on behalf of artists (where labels get to pocket the winnings) are good business; go after the studios who are suing to make it impossible for anyone to put independent video on the internet without a giant corporate legal budget.

via guardian.co.uk

Superb piece covering the ridiculous attempts by media companies to stop the unstoppable, exposing what I feel is the frightening amount of political clout they possess. To me, it's also clear that tech companies peddling DRM solutions today are no different than snake-oil salesman from a century ago.

Tagged Copyright DRM EFF Media artists authors music piracy writers

Patent Absurdity: The Movie

You don't want to miss the movie, regardless of your views on software patents. Even if you love them, you will at least understand why software programmers almost to a man do not.
via groklaw.net

Download it here.

Tagged EFF Software legal open patent

EFF Furious That Apple Is Successful

Overall, the Agreement is a very one-sided contract... That's not unusual where end-user license agreements are concerned... If Apple wants to be a real leader, it should be fostering innovation and competition
via eff.org

Pretty much all you need to know from the EFF's screed.

Seriously, there's nothing particularly unusual here, and they admit as much. Still, they rant anyway because there are so many iPhone developers that apparently disagree with their stance.

The last line is classic. As if Apple didn't ramp up innovation and competition by developing the iPhone in the first place. As if the Nexus One, Palm Pre, Blackberry Storm, Motorola Droid, and countless others would ever have seen the light of day if not for Apple's obvious innovation.

Tagged App Store Apple EFF Software iPhone
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