3 ms·

DRM is as old as the floppy. Frequently, bad sectors were created on the original media and the software checked for those bad sectors. If you copied the softwa

• hollerith 14y ago
  Right. It was called "copy protection" back then, not DRM.
• beagle3 14y ago
  That's a very distant cousin to DRM: if you had two machines, you could just move the floppy or dongle between them (or lend them to a friend, or resell them). You cannot do this with your DRMd music or ebooks. Furthermore, your software and data were usable even if the authorization server went down. (google play4sure if you are not familiar with a modern counter example ). Furthermore, quaid software's "Copywrite" and central point's option board were able to copy just about everything, and we're legally sold and marketed. French and US 3-strike accusation-based penalty is very much in line with what stallman was describing. copy protection of the 80's isn't. The guy deserves credit for quite accurately predicting a non-trivial future.