1. What if you gave a protest and nobody came?

This has got to be the most ineffective protest since those prats at MacWorld were bitching about iPod batteries.

-jcr

Posted at 3:48AM on Jun 11th 2006 by John C. Randolph

2. Pathetic demonstration, but I think Apple is an appropriate target. The company is a commited to DRM as the RIAA is. for Apple, DRM closes the circuit of the iTunes/iPod loop, destroying value for its customers.

Posted at 9:45AM on Jun 12th 2006 by Brad Hill

3. The protest was the lamest thing I ever saw. Most people who were passing by didn't get it, and most people in the store didn't seem to care. It was more of a freak show, because all anyone would ask was, "why are those people wearing hazmat suits?"
The funniest thing was that most of the protesters' face masks were starting to fog up, and they tried to keep them on, but eventually they started removing them, and they all looked pretty tired. The protest just faded away; no one noticed they had left. Completely ineffectual protest.

Posted at 10:52AM on Jun 12th 2006 by Mike

4. So, if bright yellow suits and hard hats don't grab people's attention and draw it to the DRM issue, what will?

I'm as unimpressed with the protest as you three are, but I still feel the message is important. How can groups like the EFF and DefectiveByDesign be more effective in what they are attempting to accomplish?

Posted at 11:32AM on Jun 12th 2006 by Grant Robertson

5. This can only help Mediamax by Sunncomm. Mediamax V6 is fully compatable with everything. People love it.

Posted at 4:42PM on Jun 12th 2006 by bleuduece

6. I'm hoping that was tounge-in-cheek. :)

http://www.p2pnet.net/story/7600

Posted at 5:42PM on Jun 12th 2006 by Grant Robertson

7. I agree that this protest is misdirected. iPods support DRM, but they also support DRM-free MP3 files. DRM is the only way to buy most music online because record companies demand the control it provides to them. Other music stores like eMusic and Beatport offer DRM-free downloads, but convincing major labels to supply content is a continuing, uphill battle.

With luck, though, the trend for new artists to release music on indie labels, and via cc licenses will continue to grow, so the ratio of restricted to free content will shrink considerably over the next few years.

Times are changing. Who would have thought ten years ago that Apple would employ an open source operating system and port to PC architectures?

iTunes already supports DRM-free media distribution (see their huge podcast directory). If DRM-free formats are demanded by consumers, and provided by labels, you can bet that Apple will be flexible enough to run with it.

Direct your DRM protests at the RIAA and MPAA.

Posted at 8:44AM on Jun 26th 2006 by Eric Hamilton

8. I think the thing that people fail to realize is that the major labels are complicit in DRM; they would not make music available digitally without it. Apple benefits because people are tied to their system, but most people didn't choose ipods because of the file format, it's because the job Apple did building and marketing them.

Posted at 10:31AM on Aug 7th 2006 by Spencer