- Open Rights Group is hiring a part-time campaigner in London
- Free Software Foundation is looking for a systems administrator in Boston
April 2008 Archives
After the end of August, music purchased from Microsoft's now-defunct MSN Music store will no longer be able to authorize itself for new devices. Put more simply -- if you get a new player or computer, or you decide to upgrade your operating system (which isn't something I'd advise), your music won't be able to come with you. Once September rolls around, you'll be stuck with your music on the five computers you've previously authorized.
This serves as painful reminder of the real ways in which DRM is bad for consumers. When faced with situations like this, it is impossible to speak of DRM as being part of 'rights', when it only serves to restrict the very people who supported the store in the first place. Of course, you can go and buy all your music again from the Zune Marketplace, but that has another, incompatible DRM scheme... and who's to say Microsoft won't pull another stunt like this when they
finally realize the Zune is doomed to failure.
Instead, buy music from services which don't set themselves up to restrict you if they fail. Check out 'A guide to DRM Free Living'.
We're no strangers to love...
Radiohead is having a remixing contest. I suggest you take a good, long look at the terms and conditions before you take part, especially the bit about you having to transfer your rights to Warner Chappell, Xurbia (Radiohead's company) and Radiohead personally, by name, as songwriters. You also need a Mac, and iTunes, and to pay to download 5 tracks (which presumably are DRM free as you're importing them into GarageBand), plus GarageBand, which is proprietary.
However, Radiohead are quite happily allowing people to upload a five meg MP3 to their website. Wouldn't it be funny if people took it upon themselves to upload Rick Astley's 'Never Gonna Give You Up', in various remixes, mashup and other interesting and creative ways, dozens of times, in protest to the rather unfriendly terms of the contest?
Just a thought.
In other news, Sony BMG is apparently threatening people for Rickrolling on YouTube.
I predict the track will get a single release in some form fairly soon. I hope Astley rerecords it and makes a mint off it himself.
Oh, and for anyone else wondering about yesterday's post. Check the date.
So, there comes a time when we all have to figure out what makes us happy. For me, I finally think I've found a place I can be truly content. A lot of my work in free software has been about usability and building communities, which is why it won't come as a huge shock when I say that I've accepted a job with Apple, in California.
On May 12th, I'll be moving to San Francisco and will start working in Cupertino shortly after.
I'm going to be working within the Mac product group, working on the next version of Mac OS X. I hope at least part of my job will building relations with the open source community, but initially I'll be working on user interfaces and won't have much time for that.
For now, my gnu.org email will continue to work, but if you have any questions, email them to macboy@gmail.com and I'll get back to you.
I realise this represents something of a change in direction for me. It won't be an entirely smooth transition, but I hope at least that my friends and readers will be easy on me.
UPDATE: It seems a LOT of people fell for this one. Sorry, but this was just another April Fools :)
