Hacker News new | ask | show | jobs
by J_Darnley 4008 days ago
That will never happen. Platforms just get more DRM in the form of walled gardens, code signing, binary encryption modules. Alternatively everything becomes an online-only service though which everything is streamed and you don't actually own anything you just pay for a license which grants you access while you can maintain a connection to some server.
2 comments
TD-Linux 4008 days ago
I'm a bit more optimistic. It's true that there are some segments (mostly Hollywood, which continues to distance itself from reality) which are insisting on stronger and stronger DRM. For example, new Hollywood 4K DRM requirements include hardware decoding and decryption, mandatory internet access for playback, and HDCP 2.2 which sets limits on cable length, TV size, and projector brightness.

On the other hand, there has been a huge growth in non-DRM markets. Bandcamp, Soundcloud, Youtube (and Apple of course) for music, GoG and Humble Bundle for games. I would even count Steam in this as many games ship without DRM. You can use Kindle Cloud Reader without binary plugins.

link
pdkl95 4008 days ago
So stop giving those services your money and patronage. As long as people keep paying them, the market will continue to provide what they see people are willing to pay for.

Effecting change is rarely easy, and often requires sacrifice, but fortunately one of the benefits of the internet is that we have access to a lot more options.

Also, remember that the longer a power is entrenched as the status quo, the harder it is to change it. I strongly encourage making any necessary sacrifices to help fight DRM, walled gardens, and the like now, because waiting will only make the problem worse. Right now it might only require avoiding stuff like Netflix, which is a luxury. It will be a lot harder once the MPAA/etc decide there are too many workarounds for Netflix and start pressuring OEMs to start using the new Intel SGX to setup the "trusted execution environment" they've always wanted.

link
wlesieutre 4008 days ago
On this note, is anyone aware of a good source of non-DRMed ebooks? Not just a place selling from little indie publishers; when a friend recommends a popular book to me I'd expect to be able to find it in the catalog.

Does such a place exist, or do I have to go back to paper?

link
opcvx 4008 days ago
If you like audiobooks you can try LibriVox.

https://librivox.org/search

https://librivox.org/search?primary_key=30&search_category=g...

They are very transparent. In my experience, about 95% of the books were pleasing to listen to.

LibriVox recordings are Public Domain in the USA. If you are not in the USA, please verify the copyright status of these works in your own country before downloading, otherwise you may be violating copyright laws.

link