thegoldenstrand wrote:It would be nice to have a choice?
It would. Of course, it'd be nice to have a lot of things, but dreaming doesn't make it so.
Car manufacturers have been doing this for years: proprietary parts, uncapable of functioning with the competition, protected by government fiat. We put up with it, because we're a long ways away from the days when cars were, ah, "open source." We remember computing when it was less proprietary [although many of us remember when it was /more/] and thus, we object.
We should! Objection is the right of all humans, I think, although it's worth noting that, by itself, objection does generally very little.
thegoldenstrand wrote:A warning about using these software and hardware products would be nice.. the platform has very little to do with DRM, but with the control the platform gives big companies, DRM would be easy to police and control.
Oh, warnings are always nice, but I don't think we deserve those, either. A citizen has the responsibility to be informed; we don't have the /right/ to be informed. I think, anyway.
thegoldenstrand wrote:I was thinking.. maybe we should insist on a warning label before buying and.. why not a choice? Maybe some of us don't want our computers, tvs and cell phones possessed with a platform that gives the power to others to switch off or reduce the quality of whenever they want.
That power, you have. Inform yourself, and vote with the best ballot of all: money. Now, you should know, you're in the minority. Most people won't care, and will happily shell out their dollars for crippled hardware and DRM-protected crap, and so your vote probably won't mean much, but it means more than nothing.
And what, after that? When it's illegal to do what you want to do, and the majority thinks that illegality is acceptable, how do you protest? Start a political action group, as many people today are doing, or join an existing one. Don't spend your money on people who support draconian standards, and write them letters - real, physical ones, please - letting them know why you're not spending your money on them. And then, break the law.
Gods, how to recommend something of the sort! Breaking the law is /wrong!/ Except that it's not: it's the last refuge of the patriot, depending on your point of view. If my nation made it illegal not to eat babies, you can bet I'd break the law, and protest, and start political action groups. Follow your morality, not the law, if the law does not match your morality. Just understand the consequences: you may have to pay enormous sums of money. You may go to prison. Welcome to the revolution.
Or you can do what most everyone will do: complain on message forums, and do little else. Use Linux, and make fun of people who run DRM-infested computers. It won't make any difference, but it might make you feel better.