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Interesting how the app store era (especially in Apple's ecosystem) has made it much more difficult to copy software. I remember in '80s and '90s copy protecti

Interesting how the app store era (especially in Apple's ecosystem) has made it much more difficult to copy software. I remember in '80s and '90s copy protection was a major focus (for software companies and legislators alike). As a kid of that era, I remember looking for cracks on Usenet and FidoNet. More info on Copy Protection here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Copy_protection#1980s_Locksmith http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Copy_protection#1980s_Locksmith

undertow 11y ago
Honestly, it's not particularly difficult to copy programs from the app store. With a jailbroken phone, you can just grab an app off the phone's file system. I think the real difference is the constant, relentless change in platforms presented to mobile phone consumers. Every year, it's a new phone, a major operating system upgrade, or something else disrupting the ecosystem, so that no out-of-band trade in raw files can take root. When you have a zombie fanbase chasing the latest glitter, and disruptive changes introduced every six months, it's tough to gain traction when you have expend so much energy just to keep up with the herd.
- luckman212 11y ago
  Not to mention that in that era, titles were often US$39, $49 (or more) and in today's dollars that would be much higher. Compare to most apps on the app store that are typically $4.99 or less... certainly makes paying for titles a lot more palatable for the would-be pirate.
  - beagle3 11y ago
    ... and that today's $4.99 is actually something like $1-$2 in 80's dollars.
- PhasmaFelis 11y ago
  There's also the fact that you have to jailbreak it first, which is going to be scary and difficult for many (most) users. When DRM was only enforced by the software, you just patched over the software and were good to go. Now that it's enforced by the operating system, it no longer appears so simple to the average user.
tritium 11y ago
I'd say copy protection, in the spirit of this particular article, still lives on in the type of copy protection applied to video content provided on optical media. Walled gardens, and the like, are really about server side retention of discrete copies, requiring a user to stream content by means of a continuous connection, or loading content onto a trusted (locked) system that the end user cannot (or rather, should not) directly control. They're different models of control, but both have been around for a while. With a walled garden model, you're visiting a restaurant and the food comes to you already prepared. With copy-protected content, you can buy and keep as many packets of instant food, and mix with water whenever you want, but you're prevented from understanding how to formulate the mix yourself from raw precursor ingredients, although no one can stop you from trying.

undertow 11y ago

Honestly, it's not particularly difficult to copy programs from the app store. With a jailbroken phone, you can just grab an app off the phone's file system. I think the real difference is the constant, relentless change in platforms presented to mobile phone consumers. Every year, it's a new phone, a major operating system upgrade, or something else disrupting the ecosystem, so that no out-of-band trade in raw files can take root. When you have a zombie fanbase chasing the latest glitter, and disruptive changes introduced every six months, it's tough to gain traction when you have expend so much energy just to keep up with the herd.

luckman212 11y ago
Not to mention that in that era, titles were often US$39, $49 (or more) and in today's dollars that would be much higher. Compare to most apps on the app store that are typically $4.99 or less... certainly makes paying for titles a lot more palatable for the would-be pirate.
- beagle3 11y ago
  ... and that today's $4.99 is actually something like $1-$2 in 80's dollars.
PhasmaFelis 11y ago
There's also the fact that you have to jailbreak it first, which is going to be scary and difficult for many (most) users. When DRM was only enforced by the software, you just patched over the software and were good to go. Now that it's enforced by the operating system, it no longer appears so simple to the average user.

tritium 11y ago

I'd say copy protection, in the spirit of this particular article, still lives on in the type of copy protection applied to video content provided on optical media. Walled gardens, and the like, are really about server side retention of discrete copies, requiring a user to stream content by means of a continuous connection, or loading content onto a trusted (locked) system that the end user cannot (or rather, should not) directly control. They're different models of control, but both have been around for a while. With a walled garden model, you're visiting a restaurant and the food comes to you already prepared. With copy-protected content, you can buy and keep as many packets of instant food, and mix with water whenever you want, but you're prevented from understanding how to formulate the mix yourself from raw precursor ingredients, although no one can stop you from trying.