6 ms·

It will probably be unpopular to say so: But learn how to strip DRM. If you paid for it, you should own it.

greenyoda 14y ago
It wouldn't help in this situation, since you can't even download the stuff you bought[1]. Your "purchase" only got you on-line viewing. [1] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=5377617 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=5377617
- gngeal 14y ago
  What about a caching proxy? You can't view it on your screen unless the browser downloads it anyway.
  - ShawnBird 14y ago
    Someone should make and distribute one before May 30th.
  - greenyoda 14y ago
    It could be something like a streaming Flash video, which the browser never has a complete copy of.
    - WalterSear 14y ago
      Streamloaded flash video is stupid simple to grab. On windows, navigate to: Users\USER\AppData\Local\temp\acro_rd_dir And create a >hard< symbolic link for the .tmp file you will find there, renaming it to .flv . I am sure, on a mac, the location name is similar. Close the browser window, the tmp file will be deleted and the flv will no longer be locked for access, and is now yours. http://www.howtogeek.com/howto/16226/complete-guide-to-symbolic-links-symlinks-on-windows-or-linux/ http://www.howtogeek.com/howto/16226/complete-guide-to-symbo...
    - gngeal 14y ago
      In that case, Wireshark and protocol analysis comes to the rescue. The trick is to find the images in the mess that is the downstream packets, but I've had success in the past with recording VoIP calls this way (the client didn't support recording).
- deleted 14y ago
  [deleted]
icebraining 14y ago
Better yet: stop paying for, and therefore encouraging, the production of DRMed content. Whether that means abstaining is a personal choice.
- theg2 14y ago
  Abstaining is the correct choice though. Piracy only breeds stronger and more invasive DRM and I'm personally of the mindset that no one should work for free or produce goods without compensation unless they choose to.
  - mavrc 14y ago
    While I agree with you - I really do - it's also an incredibly difficult choice. You'd have to give up owning nearly all movies and TV shows legally, the lion's share of ebooks, and nearly all commercial audiobooks. You basically have to live a life where the only media you can consume is in formats created before the 90s, or those rare one-offs where new content is issued in DRM-free formats. I don't really have an answer for this. I feel guilty every time I buy a Blu-Ray, but I haven't stopped buying them either. edit: and, oh, yeah, video games. Not all of them, but most of them.
    - shmerl 14y ago
      Games situation is improving, along the lines of music. More and more DRM free games appear, since more publishers learn some common sense and realize that DRM serves no useful purpose whatsoever.
    - rgbrenner 14y ago
      That is exactly how I live.. it's really not difficult.. you should try it. And you can add to the list: rentals... Rent movies; hulu is free; pandora; etc. At the end of the day it is entertainment. You really don't NEED any of it. And the free stuff is good enough. I can assure you, you will not die if you don't get to play the latest version of Sim City (or any version of it for that matter).
rayiner 14y ago
> If you paid for it, you should own it That's facially nonsense. I pay for my apartment--it doesn't mean I own it. You pay for the specific rights you purchase. It's morally wrong to bargain for one set of rights and use a broader set.
- shrikant 14y ago
  This is nitpicking. He clearly meant to say: > If you bought it, you should own it. If the "real" meaning if the transaction is "rent till we decide you can't anymore", then it shouldn't be misrepresented as a purchase.
  - mikeryan 14y ago
    If the "real" meaning if the transaction is "rent till we decide you can't anymore", then it shouldn't be misrepresented as a purchase. it is a purchase, you purchased the rights to some piece of content for some period of time.
    - shmerl 14y ago
      No, if you want to keep it formal - it's not a purchase. It's rental. But since it's presented to people as purchase, people should treat it as purchase. And don't claim that people who buy it are buying any "rights" (i.e. keeping in mind to buy some abstract "rights"). They are buying content.
      - rayiner 14y ago
        There isn't a dichotomy between rent and purchase. In both cases, you're buying a bundle of rights with respect to somemthing. You may buy use of something yet be restricted in that use. Consider buying a condo. You "own" the condo, but there are all sorts of restrictions on what you can do. The real question is: are people aware of the terms of the deal? Are the aware of the specific rights they are purchasing when they buy DRM content? I think they are.

It wouldn't help in this situation, since you can't even download the stuff you bought[1]. Your "purchase" only got you on-line viewing. [1] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=5377617 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=5377617

gngeal 14y ago
What about a caching proxy? You can't view it on your screen unless the browser downloads it anyway.
- ShawnBird 14y ago
  Someone should make and distribute one before May 30th.
- greenyoda 14y ago
  It could be something like a streaming Flash video, which the browser never has a complete copy of.
  - WalterSear 14y ago
    Streamloaded flash video is stupid simple to grab. On windows, navigate to: Users\USER\AppData\Local\temp\acro_rd_dir And create a >hard< symbolic link for the .tmp file you will find there, renaming it to .flv . I am sure, on a mac, the location name is similar. Close the browser window, the tmp file will be deleted and the flv will no longer be locked for access, and is now yours. http://www.howtogeek.com/howto/16226/complete-guide-to-symbolic-links-symlinks-on-windows-or-linux/ http://www.howtogeek.com/howto/16226/complete-guide-to-symbo...
  - gngeal 14y ago
    In that case, Wireshark and protocol analysis comes to the rescue. The trick is to find the images in the mess that is the downstream packets, but I've had success in the past with recording VoIP calls this way (the client didn't support recording).
deleted 14y ago
[deleted]

icebraining 14y ago

Better yet: stop paying for, and therefore encouraging, the production of DRMed content. Whether that means abstaining is a personal choice.

theg2 14y ago
Abstaining is the correct choice though. Piracy only breeds stronger and more invasive DRM and I'm personally of the mindset that no one should work for free or produce goods without compensation unless they choose to.
- mavrc 14y ago
  While I agree with you - I really do - it's also an incredibly difficult choice. You'd have to give up owning nearly all movies and TV shows legally, the lion's share of ebooks, and nearly all commercial audiobooks. You basically have to live a life where the only media you can consume is in formats created before the 90s, or those rare one-offs where new content is issued in DRM-free formats. I don't really have an answer for this. I feel guilty every time I buy a Blu-Ray, but I haven't stopped buying them either. edit: and, oh, yeah, video games. Not all of them, but most of them.
  - shmerl 14y ago
    Games situation is improving, along the lines of music. More and more DRM free games appear, since more publishers learn some common sense and realize that DRM serves no useful purpose whatsoever.
  - rgbrenner 14y ago
    That is exactly how I live.. it's really not difficult.. you should try it. And you can add to the list: rentals... Rent movies; hulu is free; pandora; etc. At the end of the day it is entertainment. You really don't NEED any of it. And the free stuff is good enough. I can assure you, you will not die if you don't get to play the latest version of Sim City (or any version of it for that matter).

rayiner 14y ago

> If you paid for it, you should own it That's facially nonsense. I pay for my apartment--it doesn't mean I own it. You pay for the specific rights you purchase. It's morally wrong to bargain for one set of rights and use a broader set.

shrikant 14y ago
This is nitpicking. He clearly meant to say: > If you bought it, you should own it. If the "real" meaning if the transaction is "rent till we decide you can't anymore", then it shouldn't be misrepresented as a purchase.
- mikeryan 14y ago
  If the "real" meaning if the transaction is "rent till we decide you can't anymore", then it shouldn't be misrepresented as a purchase. it is a purchase, you purchased the rights to some piece of content for some period of time.
  - shmerl 14y ago
    No, if you want to keep it formal - it's not a purchase. It's rental. But since it's presented to people as purchase, people should treat it as purchase. And don't claim that people who buy it are buying any "rights" (i.e. keeping in mind to buy some abstract "rights"). They are buying content.
    - rayiner 14y ago
      There isn't a dichotomy between rent and purchase. In both cases, you're buying a bundle of rights with respect to somemthing. You may buy use of something yet be restricted in that use. Consider buying a condo. You "own" the condo, but there are all sorts of restrictions on what you can do. The real question is: are people aware of the terms of the deal? Are the aware of the specific rights they are purchasing when they buy DRM content? I think they are.