__/ [WhoTurnedOffTheLights] on Thursday 05 January 2006 16:19 \__
> "Roy Schestowitz" <newsgroups@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
> news:dpii29$15j2$1@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
>> __/ [WhoTurnedOffTheLights] on Thursday 05 January 2006 05:26 \__
>>
>> "Google has quashed a rumour that it plans to enter the ultra low-margin
>> PC
>> business. The denial will surprise few given the speculative nature of
>> the
>> original LA Times piece that made the Google PC claim."
>>
>
> Well, it is that time of year when everyone makes their predictions for the
> coming year.
This gives something for the bloggers to feed on. They can now argue that not
only blogs make statements that are unfounded and often not credible. Media
has been using it as a weapon for a while, as did the librarians who fear
exposure to unbalanced 'literature'.
>>> <snip />
>>>
>>> "Microsoft indicated that later this year, it will start selling external
>>> HD-DVD drives, which will enable users to watch high definition DVDs via
>>> their Xbox machines and also allow greater interactivity. At the outset,
>>> the new drive will be only for movies and does not include games."
>>
>> When they start using and encouraging DRM, I'd be worried. They can easily
>> lock out the competitors from being able to access or interact with media.
>> Imagine yourself hiring a DVD or buying a CD that only plays on hardware
>> with Microsoft-licensed software. At least the European Commission can
>> smell
>> the danger. The same practices were employed in the server room:
>
> Are you suggesting that they would want to monopolise the distribution of
> Videos and Music? What Microsoft? Naaaaaaah.
> Anyhow, which are you referring to Roy? The implentation of DRM on Windows
> Media? or its use on any future DVD Drives to be used with Xbox?
Anything that reaches the frame buffer can be grabbed in one form or another.
If Microsoft can sway people towards watching DVD's outside the 'comfort
zone' of the desktop environment, they can hinder piracy. *Whooptiay*. It
all sounds very innocent, but this means that media can only be played on
certain devices that support and embed certain (closed-source) decryption
algorithms. Say goodbye to standard format (I am not even mentioning Open
formats). But no need to worry. Gates promises "Windows Everywhere"!
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/4583342.stm
> Regarding the latter, Windows Media isn't the end-all. Aren't companies
> coming out with their own Media Players all the time? Yahoo's got their own
> as do others. Of course Microsoft would be making things harder for
> everyone else by featuring exclusively their own Windows Media Player
> (which they already) do in the next version of Windows. Wow, Deja Vu all
> over again.
Well, WVA and WMA formats are enough of a pain. They are inferior to their
siblings DivX and MP3, which are interoperable and thus should be
eradicated, according to the Redmond 'agenda'. There are ways of deciphering
them, even in Linux, but these are not trivial, not ideal and raise some
legal concerns. My guess is that what remained standard, e.g. CD music
tracks, DVD HD-DVD ( news just in
http://hardware.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=06/01/05/1331236&tid=109&tid=211&tid=137
) will sooner or later become non-standard. Gates once said that "being
aggressive is not being unethical". Did you follow the news that revolved
around Sony's Blu-Ray being rejected by Wintel and Microsoft?
> Regarding the former, (Xbox) it reminds me of my Sony Mini-Disc Digital
> Recorder/Player. I'd gotten it when it first came out. All it could/would
> play were Sony Mini-Discs. Which S*cked big time. It wasn't as if Sony had
> the greatest collection of music available on that format.
>
> Am I reading you right Roy on any of this?
I think so. In short, there are still many open formats around the house,
whether it's telephony and its protocols of communication, a CD player, a
television/cable set, and a VCR (now DVD). If the giant can penetrate these
markets (or make them obsolete), it can then 'extend' their 'formats' (in
this case protocols) in a way that is not openly stated and thus forces
everyone to conform, i.e. buy Microsoft products. The EU commission will not
swallow this, I can assure you. It's enough of a mess in IT already where
Windows servers refuse to talk to anything else, as they please.
Sorry to have become so software-political in this newsgroup... I decided to
cross-post as well.
Roy
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