Microsoft defends Vista against DRM Criticism

[Brendon]

NZ Press Assn. Thursday 25 January 2007

 

Microsoft has defended the digital rights management systems in its new Vista operating platform due to be released on January 30, after strong criticism from a New Zealand academic.

 

 

Peter Gutmann, a computer science lecturer at Auckland University, set off a storm of debate on the Internet a few weeks ago with a paper claiming Microsoft's content protection features of Windows Vista made it "the longest suicide note in history".

 

He claimed it could be used to degrade performance in the playback of next-generation HD-DVD and Blu-ray discs if they were not output through approved connections on a computer.

 

He said Vista was "broken by design" and intentionally crippled the way it displayed video.

 

"The sheer obnoxiousness of Vista's content protection may end up being the biggest incentive to piracy yet created," he wrote.

 

But Microsoft said today only the quality of "premium content" would be lowered, and then only if requested by organisations which held the copyright of a piece of music or a video.

 

Microsoft said it had incorporated the measures to protect content such as high definition movies from being copied.

 

In a response to Mr Gutmann's paper, Dave Marsh, lead programme manager for video at Microsoft, told the BBC many of the copy protection systems enforced by Vista were common on all playback devices.

 

He said Vista did have the capability of downgrading video and audio quality, like other devices, but that it would only be activated "when required by the policy associated with the content being played".

 

And Microsoft said that if picture quality was degraded it would still be better than current DVD quality.

 

Mr Marsh also denied reports that the degradation would impact all video output, insisting it would only apply to premium content video.

 

Mr Gutmann said it was "reassuring" that only the ability to playback high definition video could be revoked.

 

"But if consumers have gone out and paid thousands of dollars on high quality, high resolution, high definition displays and find the content is downscaled or there is no picture at all, they are going to be very unhappy," he said.

 

"Some of the feedback I have been getting indicates that high HD-DVD discs are not playing on some PCs."

 

Mr Gutmann also said Vista's content protection systems will put extra demands on a computer's processor, but Mr Marsh said the content protection features were developed to carefully balance the need to provide robust protection... while still enabling "great new experiences".

 

Mr Gutmann said some sort of digital rights management was necessary, but the technology being deployed was "very consumer-hostile".

 

(Original article HERE for a day or two)

[golinux]

Seems like I read that else where a few days ago. Yeah, Vista really sux.

[wraithtdk]

... Mr Marsh said the content protection features were developed to carefully balance the need to provide robust protection... while still enabling "great new experiences".

 

Carefully balance to provide yadda yadda yadda

Runs silently in the background to speed up your yadda yadda yadda

System tray icon provides easy access to yadda yadda yadda

 

What is it with software manufacturers that creates this "my software is all that matters" mentality? Why is it that they can not get through their head that we don't want more tray icons, we don't want extra services running in the background, we do NOT want our software to not work unless we enable something. We don't want twelve extra toolbars, we don't want extra ANYTHING taking up our system's recources unless WE explicitly tell it to?

[lynn98109]

Carefully balance to provide yadda yadda yadda

Runs silently in the background to speed up your yadda yadda yadda

System tray icon provides easy access to yadda yadda yadda

 

What is it with software manufacturers that creates this "my software is all that matters" mentality? Why is it that they can not get through their head that we don't want more tray icons, we don't want extra services running in the background, we do NOT want our software to not work unless we enable something. We don't want twelve extra toolbars, we don't want extra ANYTHING taking up our system's recources unless WE explicitly tell it to?

Best way to tell them is to leave the stuff at the store

 

Lynn

[wraithtdk]

But it's friggin everywhere! Heck, there's like half a dozen unneeded processes that by defautl run thanks to EMC! Not to mention there are a lot of programs that I really need the other functionality. Tivo Desktop is a perfect example. There are two or three processes that run non-stop with Tivo Desktop, and one of them can not be disabled, or the software will not work without a reboot, but no other program will let you work with your TIVO over the network.

[gi7omy]

With XP there's always MSConfig to kill off any unwanted processes at the start - if they don't start, they don't run.

 

Actually I use AShampoo which is a simpler method of getting rid of unwanted start-up items

 

At least with XP you can do that (even get rid of some of the clutter like MSN Explorer if you know how) - try doing that with Vista and your computer will blow you a metaphoric raspberry

[wraithtdk]

With XP there's always MSConfig to kill off any unwanted processes at the start - if they don't start, they don't run.

 

Actually I use AShampoo which is a simpler method of getting rid of unwanted start-up items

 

At least with XP you can do that (even get rid of some of the clutter like MSN Explorer if you know how) - try doing that with Vista and your computer will blow you a metaphoric raspberry

 

MSconfig misses a LOT, but you can always make it stop with the right tool or tweak. Still, it's incredibly annoying that it starts by default, and worse, as I said, there are some programs that will NOT start without their process, and you have to re-enable it and reboot (and no, setting the processe to "manual" under administrative controls in the control panel does not always work.)