The Real Purpose of DRM

Roberto writes "Gorgeous nerd Annalee Newitz hacked a political interpretation to recent vacuum cleaner cockfights at O'Reilly's ETech: 'Hollywood corporations have finally admitted that the real reason they built digital restriction management (DRM) software into PVRs and DVD players was to stop geeks from turning their recording devices into back-alley combat machines. You haven't seen ugly until you've watched what a DVD player without DRM can do to a TiVo.' Don't try to even think of this at home."

What?

[Anonymous Coward]

"Don't try to even think of this at home."

What the hell does that mean?

Err...

[remembertomorrow]

Am I the only one who feels more confused after reading TFA?

Is this supposed to be a joke, or some form of satire? A "jest" at "nerds"?

Nerd != Fugly;

[Scrameustache]

it's "Gorgeous nerd". It's relative at that point.

30 seconds on google image search, NSFW! [nerdgirlnetwork.com]

Evasive tactic

[AnalogDiehard]

Hollywood doesn't want the words "fair use" to be uttered to their congresscritters, and they want to draw attention away from the Sony fiasco. This is just an evasive tactic to lend legitimacy to DRM.

Re:Gorgeous?

[PixelScuba]

I think Annalee would have a response similar to this [typepad.com]

Re:Meta-commentary: "Gorgeous" really relevant?

[Professr3]

Excuse me. Allow me to refer to this particular female, then, as Ugly Ms. Newitz. We wouldn't want to compliment a person just because they look attractive, now would we? Especially if the compliment couldn't, in good faith, be given to a guy. I'm sure nobody ever called Brad Pitt gorgeous, no sir! I shall make certain that all the Slashdot editors are sacked, and then sacked again.

Huh?

[FullCircle]

Does anyone have a clue WTF this article is about?

If the summary is that bad, I'm not about to click the link.

Re:digital rights management

[Shai-kun]

That's what they want you to think.

Re:Meta-commentary: "Gorgeous" really relevant?

[cgenman]

To be fair, it wasn't the slashdot editor but the story submitter that referred to the author in that way.

Likewise that introduction would be obviously inappropriate if the author's story was about an OpenSSH vulnerability or a commentary on the sad state of Windows Vista. In that case writing about physical appearances would be an irrelevant distraction which would imply judgement of factual nature of the article in question based upon the physical appearance of the person. Whether or not that judgement is positive isn't important.

But on a farcical story about cockfighting roombas that line isn't very clear. Can a comedian be demeaned by references to her appearance? Are they making less relevant a story that is already, at core, irrelevant? It again implies a degree of judgement, and a reminder of the prevalant nature of physical judgements in this culture. (I might add, the most insidiously judgemental people about women's appearances are largely other women)

I personally would have edited out the reference to her "gorgeousness." But the question remains... In a non-serious, non-professional context, is it OK to slip in an irrelevant compliment about someone looks?