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Magnetic healing bracelets aren't a very good analogy. Digital locks actually do stop some people from copying. Does it stop informed/skilled people? No, neith
by Steko 12y ago
Magnetic healing bracelets aren't a very good analogy. Digital locks actually do stop some people from copying. Does it stop informed/skilled people? No, neither do real locks but we keep putting them on houses and cars for good reason. Digital locks provide a non-zero level of actual security and a signal that the issuer intends to protect the content from unauthorized distribution.
If I leave my belongings out in the street tonight, I can imagine anything of nominal value will be gone by morning. I think more people would enjoy having my electronics than the latest Corey Doctorow novel. This isn't because the electronics industry hasn't made TV's and electronics available to the people in my community. It's because people prefer free to paying if all things are equal.
Instead I continue to keep my belongings in my house, with my doors generally closed and locked while I am out. When I am missing something, it's generally because I have misplaced it. Some people who do this do still get robbed but to say locks and doors and walls don't work is a bit silly.
- wpietri 12y ago> Digital locks actually do stop some people from copying. Do they? Is it a significant proportion? My guess is no. If you've got evidence otherwise, I'd be interested to see it. Most people get their entertainment from convenient sources. Amazon, Walmart, Comcast, Netflix. They could steal it, but generally it's easy enough to get their stuff from licensed channels that they just pay up. That's not about digital locks. That's about legal versus illegal distribution channels, and the incentives distributors have in both instances. Those vendors I mention have all done a great job at making it easy, and they can afford to make those investments because the police won't be kicking down their doors for getting popular.
- dragonwriter 12y ago> Digital locks actually do stop some people from copying. Do they? Or do they just stop some people from copy from the locked version and encourage them to instead copy from someone else's unlocked copy?