On Thu, 30 Sep 2010, Anthony McKale wrote:
Replace BBC with iPlayer and I'd agree with some of those points,
it's more a indifference and lack of care rather than being
directly hostile though.
I have to say, that's not true. The BBC has expended extra effort on:
a) Implementing newer and less laughable content protection
mechanisms
b) Shutting out "unauthorised" clients (never mind that the BBC
should /never/ have the power to "authorise" viewing devices)
It has done these things several times over the course of a number of
years. There's just no way you can call that "indifference" and "lack
of care" - it's clearly a high-level policy.
If your point is that the BBC didn't mean to class free-software
clients as "unauthorised", or that it's indifference that has meant
the BBC hasn't gotten round to "authorising" free-software clients,
then I think you may be missing the point. (With all due
respect):
It's simply inevitable, given that policy, that the BBCs' resources
will never be enough to cover all the clients that might wish to be
"authorised". The BBC has chosen to focus its resources on
"authorising" the devices of, primarily, large manufacturers.
The BBC has consciously decided to not bother with "authorising"
free-software clients (be it at a per-user or a per-software level).
I know this for a fact, because I applied for such and have had not
any reply once I made clear what I wanted to have authorised.
Of course, none of this changes the fact that real "content
protection" is a pipe-dream - all such schemes are very brittle. The
likes of get_iplayer will continue to exist and work. It's just a
shame the BBC makes fine technical people waste their effort on
trying to block such clients.
regards,
--
Paul Jakma p...@jakma.org Key ID: 64A2FF6A
Fortune:
If parents would only realize how they bore their children.
-- G.B. Shaw
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