Digital Restrictions (DRM) Cautionary Tales, Led by Microsoft
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Microsoft's draconian Windows 11 restrictions will send an estimated 240 million PCs to the landfill when Windows 10 hits end of life in 2025
Multiple key barriers prevent Windows 10-compatible PCs from running Windows 10, including a need for a 64-bit processor listed by Microsoft as a 'supported CPU,' at least 4 GB of RAM, a minimum of 64GB storage, and UEFI firmware with Secure Boot capability instead of the older BIOS. Additionally, a crucial requirement is TPM version 2.0 for enhanced security, which supersedes the TPM 1.2 version supported by some Windows 10 devices. In addition, Windows 11 also demands a DirectX 12-compatible GPU with a WDDM 2.x driver, which leaves out many older iGPUs. Many systems are still running outdated CPUs and using BIOS instead of UEFI with no SecureBoot support.
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Bricking it: Do you actually own anything digital?
All of the above is in a gray area of the law. In many regions it's technically illegal to remove DRM even for personal use, although there are some exceptions. If you intend to resell or share copies, it's certainly illegal to rip commercial, copyrighted, copy-protected videos or eBooks almost everywhere in the world. As it happens, I don't. I just want to watch The Thin Man movies even if I can't replace my DVD player sometime in the future and it's not available on a streaming service. I bought my books and videos, and I have this notion that I want to be able to enjoy them even if their intellectual [sic] property [sic] owners decide I can't.
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Discovery shows you’ve bought on PlayStation actually won’t be taken away
The original plan was one of two recent reminders from PlayStation that digital ownership sucks — especially because there were a lot of shows that were set to be removed from video libraries. You can see the full list on Sony’s website, which now contains the note about the changed policy. “Due to updated licensing arrangements, the Discovery content removal planned for December 31, 2023 is no longer occurring,” Sony says. “We appreciate your ongoing support and feedback.”