Journal phyxeld's Journal: RMS, Microsoft, DRM 10
RMS would give companies tight control over the permissions that apply to their business documents, said Mike Nash, corporate vice president of Microsoft's Security Business Unit.
...
Using RMS, a business could restrict access by user, limit or time-out user access, or prevent the copying and pasting of specific bits of information. Businesses also could prevent important e-mails from being forwarded to nonapproved recipients, such as reporters or competitors.
Microsoft's latest futile attempt at using software to restict content is actually called 'Rights Management Services', or RMS , for short.
Whoever named that one sure had a sense of humor
On the subject of the Good Saint IGNUcius, I actually had the privilege of meeting him in person recently! I can now honestly say that I've been personally and publicly corrected by RMS himself about Linux actually being called GNU/Linux. "There's a common misconception that there is such an operating system as Linux," he calmly explained. I smiled, some other audience members laughed, but Richard kept a straight face throughout. "It's not just about giving credit," he insists. I unfortunately didn't get to hear him sing [mp3 mirror], though. It's a shame, too, as I really would have enjoyed a musical performance.
He did loose his cool a bit later on in a hallway; he was heard yelling at someone [link] who had aparently misused the term "Open Source" in conversation. He says it hurts the movement to misuse terms like that. I see his point, but I don't think calling not-open-enough-for-rms projects open source could ever be nearly as harmful as screaming and yelling like a small child about the issue, in public.
I did learn a new term: Source Visible software. Thats what he called software such as pgp.com's offerings, that let you review the code but not under a Free licensee. I think everybody should just start using this term in place of open source in situations where they're not sure, just to, you know, avoid any potential harm they might inadvertently do, to the movement.
When I met RMS... (Score:3, Interesting)
Well he was outraged. He said that if anyone discounted his message because of the appearance of the website that he didn't want those types of people in the movement anyhow, and that it is meant to be useful, not pretty. He got enourmous applause from the LUG audience. I repeated that it could be more useful if some design thought went into it and was booed.
He did go on his GNU/Linux tirade and corrected several people. He also dressed up as St. IGNUcious and blessed people.
The main thing that I came away with was a sense of shock at how out of touch he was. He has no idea what is going on in the tech world. Stuff most /.ers would take for granted (like console video game systems) he simply said that he didn't know anything about them and moved on. He also stated that in the interest of "living efficiently" he decided to not date or have kids, so he could devote his resources exclusively to the movement. Rumour has it that he now has a girlfriend though... It was an interesting evening to say the least. He is an adequate spokesman when the audience is geeks, but I think he would be terrible for just about any other audience. No wonder so many people "don't get it." He comes accross as totally unappealing to most people. If the message is so important you would think that he would want to do things to get in the door but he is either too much of an idealist or too much of a loon for that.
I had no intention of writing this much.
Re:When I met RMS... (Score:1)
You mean he is serious when he does that? I just thought he had a good sense of humour or something like that. No, I've never met him... Ah, he woulnd't like my Mac-fanboy attitude anyway ;-)
Re:When I met RMS... (Score:2)
I do think it's kind of funny, but I also think it's a (sad) clear example of why the FSF has met with so much resistance over the years.
Re:When I met RMS... (Score:1)
Re:When I met RMS... (Score:2)
Re:When I met RMS... (Score:2)
If he wanted to spend a little more time, and do it right, the countless layout tables could be removed, and sever
Rights management (Score:2)
In the context they are promoting this it could have some use. Sometimes in business you do want to be able to restrict the distribution of documents.
That said, rights management is not a panacea. If it can be viewed it can be copied. Anyone allowed to print a rights restricted document can leak it, or pass it to someone who will. Anyone who can view the document can
Re:Rights management (Score:2)
I disagree. Such technology will never be reliable, so suggesting people might want to use it in important business situations where it really matters is not wise. It will only provide people with a false sense of security... Microsoft certainly won't tell customers that "well, ultimately, this will always be circumventable, but you should pay us for it anyw
If your going to talk about it... (Score:2)
Re:If your going to talk about it... (Score:2)