Alan De Smet (![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif){kind=small} alan_de_smet) wrote,@ 2008-09-27 11:55:00 |
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| Entry tags: | drm, wal-mart |
Wal-Mart screws music buyers
Were you an early adopter of Wal-Mart's online music sales program? Wal-Mart would like to thank you by not letting you move it between computers starting October 9th.
In screwing their customers over, Wal-Mart joins an illustrious club, including Microsoft, Major League Baseball, Google, and Yahoo.
When you "buy" activation locked content, you will eventually lose access to it. Maybe the company will go bankrupt and no buyers will want to assume that liability. Maybe the company will switch to a new DRM system, meaning the old activation servers are simply an expense with no matching income. Maybe Microsoft Windows 2012 will be released, and updating the DRM to still work will cost too much. Whatever the reason, it's when, not if. Companies that promise long term access are either lying or clueless.
(Thanks to Brian De Smet for sending me the link.)
