On Wed, 15 Oct 2008 22:14:06 -0700, Tim Smith wrote:
> In article <4417190.TZT58WT28x@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>,
> Roy Schestowitz <newsgroups@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
>>
>> http://community.zdnet.co.uk/
blog/0,1000000567,10009526o-2000331777b,00.htm
>
> Another gross misrepresentation by Roy. It's Adobe DRM. The only
> connection to Microsoft is that it appears that Adobe will let you tie a
> document to either your Adobe ID or your Microsoft Passport ID.
And it also appears that after downloading the bought and paid for file
from this DRM'ed mess the British Library have bought into you cannot
read it anyway, because it feloniously assumes you are a crook unless you
can prove otherwise.
<quote>
..."you must reactivate using your Microsoft Live ID or Adobe ID".
Not that this is in any way optional, even you don't want to greatly
enhance your reading experience in this way, you need to create one of
those IDs. Grinding their teeth, my correspondent went to open the
document (thirty pages of an academic journal, costing around a pound a
page) and was greeted by the Adobe DRM Activator. Which said "Welcome.
Please tell us a little about yourself."
So they had to fill in name and email address – to "Discover the world of
digital media!" -- and then cope with a long and entirely horrible
automated email from Microsoft demanding, in tones of a bureaucratic
robot, that they confirm their Live ID request – oh, and check out the
Privacy Statement.
(All this is to read a document costing thirty pounds for thirty pages.
Remember that.)
After all that? Epic fail. "This Digital Edition cannot be opened. You
have tried to open a Digital Edition that was downloaded to another
computer. You can open such a document on two computers only when you
have activated Adobe Reader or Acrobat on BOTH computers using the SAME
Microsoft .NET Passport or Adobe ID.
PROBLEM: This computer and the computer to which the document was
downloaded were activated using different .NET Passports or Adobe IDs.
SOLUTION: Return to the retailer, library or other location where you
acquired the document and obtain permission to open it on this computer."
As my correspondent says: "After all that I still couldn't open the
document (which I've only opened once before) and got this. Now I know I
haven't opened the document at another computer because this is my only
computer with a printer - so I didn't open it anywhere else. I am never
using this service again. The British Library, Microsoft and Adobe can go
shove their DRM up their document delivery service exit."
</quote>
I don't know about you but I expect my tax money to be spent on a system
that allows people to actually read and use the paid for documents they
have downloaded.
As a commenter said they could have used PDF files. Typical bureaucratic
minds at work, why do something simply when you add layer upon layer and
end up with virtually unworkable procedures that ensure more and more
pointless jobs for more and more pointless bureaucrats.
Rant over!
--
I'm always kind, polite and reasonable...
except when I'm not.
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