Andy, if I had been the fool in charge of it, let me assure you by now
I would be taking legal action against your repeated public
accusations of corruption and misuse of public funds by individuals
within the BBC.
martin
currybet.net
.
On 26/06/07, Andy <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
On 25/06/07, Graeme Mulvaney <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
> I don't agree with piracy and it annoys the hell out of me when I see entire
> episodes of BBC programming published on places like YouTube
Why does it annoy you? the BBC don't mind, if they did they would have
asked google to take them down.
> I like DRM it helps to stop lazy people from
> getting 'creative' and using yet another web 2.0 service to 'mash-up'
> everything in sight,
How much do you know about basic Computer Security concepts? Lazy
people can bypass DRM, there are point and click methods for striping
DRM.
Add to that the BBC are using an extremely weak DRM scheme. All
software DRM scheme's are crackable. We know this, it's due to the
workings of CPUs and the laws of mathematics, mathematics won't change
live with it.
A DRM scheme can only be strengthened by reducing the incentive to
attack it as it WILL fall apart under an attack by a skilled attacker.
How do you reduce the incentive to attack the system?
Well first off you make sure the minimum amount of content is
protected using that scheme. This means any bespoke scheme is stronger
than an off the shelf scheme (this is the opposite of things like
encryption algorithms as they are based on the assumption they can not
be broken and as soon as they are sufficiently broken they are
decommissioned.)
Secondly you don't unnecessarily limit use. For example you don't lock
it to one OS.
The BBC is ignoring both those facts to intentionally weaken any
protection and to lock out certain license fee payers. Odd that they
always claimed it was content producers who insisted on such
protections. Are the producers happy the BBC is intentionally and
knowingly weakening the DRM protection for the purposes of a third
parties financial gain (Microsoft's shareholders)?
> the intention isn't to stop you creating your own
> original content it's to guarantee a revenue stream for the creative types
> who originate stuff in the first place.
The intention is to block the use of non-MS products, presumably
somebody at the BBC holds shares in this company and would like to
increase there wealth. Any chance of the BBC stating whether their
employees are MS shareholders or not?
> I want a DRM version of iPlayer now!
And I would like the BBC to comply with British and European law
without the need to involve regulators but the BBC refuse to comply
with the law.
> If it works well on Vista or XP then that's great - I'm glad the BBC is
> focusing on delivering the iPlayer on a computing platform that will reach
> over 90% of its' target audience, that represents great value for money and
> most people in the country probably couldn't care less either way.
It could have got one that worked with 100% of it's target audience,
and for a better value for money. Release a standard for server to
client interaction (including file formats), use previously published
standards (which I helpfully listed for you). Should take less than a
month.
Someone will pop over to sf.net and start a project wait a while and
there you get a cross platform iPlayer for no money what-so-ever. How
could you beat that?
> This has nothing to do with freedom of choice or public service remit... its
> just another woe-pen source bandwagon - instead of bickering about the BBC
> using Microsofts' DRM, get together and come up with a suitable
> open-alternative - that's why the open source movement started in the first
> place.
OpenIPMP! I mentioned it a very short while ago! Did you download it,
did you read the documentation, did you read what it provides? It
provides time constrained DRM, that's what you wanted wasn't it?
Country locking is simple to implement, assuming you used a Linux OS,
simple add a rule to block all non UK IPs to iptables. If you are
using a Windows server, don't bother with DRM someone will just hack
the server and grab the unDRMed file anyway (see metasploit for some
examples).
iPlayer has been completely mismanaged. Can the BBC confirm the fool
in charge of it has been fired? They certainly should be or does the
BBC not considered incompetence a problem?
A huge indicator that iPlayer was mismanaged is evident from the
choice of Windows Media Player. The BBC trust has told you it wants
platform neutral. Read the judgement!
When developing a cross platform application you have to be careful to
make sure you don't stupidly tie yourself to one platform. If you have
to use external libraries you make sure that:
1. It is cross platform
2. You know precisely how it works and you have all the information
needed to reimplement it (i.e. you need all the standards defined).
3. You make sure you can port it to other platforms and are legally
allowed to do so.
The Windows Media Player and MS DRM libraries manage to fail all 3 of
those tests. Which moron decided that it would be a good thing to use
considering the requirement for it being platform neutral?
Add to that the fact an EU court has found that WMP has already been
used to restrict competition and this is adding up to either the
single most incompetent software engineer in the history of the world
or deliberate actions to restrict other operating systems. Which is
it?
Another good trick when working cross platform is to make sure you use
a programming style that is portable. Do NOT call OS functions that
are not defined to exist on multiple platforms. For instance calling
Windows API functions would be non-portable. Calling POSIX functions
would be portable as any system conforming to standards will have the
same functions though the underlying implementation would vary.
I do have further evidence regarding mismanagement but I can't provide
it as it would influence future or current legal proceedings.
Andy
--
Computers are like air conditioners. Both stop working, if you open windows.
-- Adam Heath
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Martin Belam - http://www.currybet.net
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