[taxcontrol]

The more the industry pushes into the DCMA restrictions, the more I go out and actively look for open source software.

[pctech]

I hear ya. I'm ready to try a Linux variation get completely away from Windows and anything to do with the RIAA.

[MediaMole]

This law could make playing DVDs under Linux a federal crime.

[Golden Eagle]

The more the industry pushes into the DCMA restrictions, the more I go out and actively look for open source software.

And the less and less content you'll have legal access to, especially as that leftist Stallman takes open source further and further to the left to prevent the "Tivo-ation" of it as he says.

[DesScorp]

"The more the industry pushes into the DCMA restrictions, the more I go out and actively look for open source software."

While that's good, that won't solve the problem completely. What we should be pushing for as consumers is the use of open standards, especially in protocols and file formats. Would the Internet have ever taken off if it was IP property of one company, and no one could reverse engineer it? While you can use Linux or BSD, what happens when you go to the the web, and want to see, say, a video excerpt from the nightly newscast online? What are you going to do if it's only in Windows Media format, or Quicktime? Right now you can access them via reverse-engineered software, but every couple of years, companines like Microsoft and Apple tweak their media formats so you'll require their latest software. That means in the future, we won't be able to reverse engineer the protocols and software to make it work with other systems, something that has traditionally been legal. That means you have to buy or download THEIR software to use the stuff. And in Microsoft's case, that usually means you have to be using Windows. Apple still doesn't have a Quicktime plugin for Linux. They refuse to support it (ironic since OS X is literally built on top of open source software such as the BSD and Mach kernels).

What disturbs me the most is how things that have been considered fair use for decades are now being made illegal because of software and entertainment company lobbying. They should be able to protect their IP, but not at the expense of the fair use rights of the individual user. It's already difficult to make backup copies of your own DVD movies. The day's coming when it will be impossible, probably to even back up your music CDs as well. And that's rediculous. One guy with a cd burner is not going to start a piracy operation.