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Symantec's DRM of Choice | 49 comments (49 topical) | Post A Comment
Piffle![ Parent | Reply to This ] (none / 0) (#27)
by Anonymous User on Tue Oct 14, 2003 at 04:22:57 PM PDT

I pay a lot more for a car that is often left in public. Since I don't leave my software in public and don't need it protected from theft, I don't need software activation.

I have removed all traces of all Symantec products on my personal PCs and as a consultant I will never recommend their product to my customers. I've been using Norton Products since the late 80s and it's time to say goodbye. Apparently they don't understand history and appear doomed to repeat it.

Cheers.

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I think you're missing my point[ Parent | Reply to This ] (none / 0) (#35)
by ajcook on Wed Dec 03, 2003 at 02:59:32 PM PDT

Ok, yes, a car gets left in public, and your installed software does not. Yes, the automobile key protects you against loss of your purchased property, which does not hold for software that you've installed.

But, that automobile key also protects the manufacturer/dealer from theft prior to you buying the car, just as the activation key protects the publisher from theft of unpurchased copies of their software.

Can you honestly tell me that publishers have no right to protect their software from unpurchased installations? That is clearly theft, it seems to me. Sure, it saves me money, and it's easy/convenient. That doesn't make it right.

I'm not, on the other hand, defending the current activation key and other DRM schemes as perfect.

But, that's my point. What I tire of is everyone bitterly complaining about DRM in general, as if we all ought to have free reign to copy software 'till the cows come home. I disagree.

But, what I do agree with is that broken DRM implementations should be fixed. Yes, let's attack the implementations that interfere with using the copies we've purchased. Let's not attack publishers as "evil" merely because they attempted to protect their licensing rights. That's what I was speaking against, and have a hard time believing that a truly reasonable person would argue against.

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Symantec's DRM of Choice | 49 comments (49 topical) | Post A Comment
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