Was a mistake made in the design of AACS?

[John Gilmore]

> Well, there's an idea: use different physical media formats for
> entertainment and non-entertainment content (meaning, content created by
> MPAA members vs. not) and don't sell writable media nor devices capable
> of writing it for the former, not to the public, keeping very tight
> controls on the specs and supplies.  

This approach was rejected by the computer industry, in particular
with respect to DVDs.  Computer companies like Intel, HP, Dell, and
Sony wanted to be able to compete to be a "consumer electronics"
platform, playing music, video, photos, etc.  Indeed, many of the
advances in consumer electronics have come from computerization, such
as digital music (DATs and CDs), MP3 players, digital video, fax
machines, digital cameras and digital photo storage, color photo
printers, ...

I do recall that it took most of a decade for computer "CD-ROM" drives
to be able to digitally read audio CDs, and then later to record them.
Silicon Graphics gets major kudos for breaking that artificial barrier.

> Then finding, say, a Disney movie
> on an HD-DVD of the data format would instantly imply that it's pirated.

False.  It's like saying "Then finding a record album on a cassette tape
would instantly imply that it's pirated."  No, it would instantly imply
that it's been copied onto a medium of the consumer's choice.  Consumers
are (and should be) free to record copyrighted works onto media of their
own choice, for their own convenience, without needing the permission or
concurrance of the copyright owner.

Congratulations, Nico, you fell into Hollywood's favorite word:
"pirated".  It takes discipline to stop thinking in the grooves that
they have worn in your brain.

	John

---------------------------------------------------------------------
The Cryptography Mailing List
Unsubscribe by sending "unsubscribe cryptography" to majordomo at metzdowd.com