Around the Net
Gates: DRM Should Be Better
- TechCrunch, Thursday, December 14, 2006 11:01 AM
Ahead of the Mix Conference in Las Vegas, Microsoft, a new player in the market currently dominated by Apple, convened a group of bloggers.
Gates was asked about the long-term
viability of DRM. He said the rise of illegal or quasi-legal options like AllofMP3 and BitTorrent ensure that users have options when it comes to DRM. Gates didn't say what he thinks could replace it,
but he did seem to agree that closed music isn't an attractive options for consumers who could just as easily steal music.
He said that no one is satisfied with the current state of
DRM. "People should just buy a CD and rip it."
Separately: here's how much Microsoft loves the tech blogging community: They each received a free copy of the new Zune music player. Not such a big deal, really, but that kind of thing used to be reserved for the "real" press. Apparently, the look on Gates' face was priceless when he walked into the room and virtually everyone had a Mac open on the desk in front of them.
