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Re: [As Usual] Roy makes up stuff about Microsoft (was Re: [News] [Rival] British Library Ruins Public Assets with Microsoft DRM)

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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