Jesse Ross | jesseross.com

When I first started learning Chinese, I looked at everything. One of the first things I found were the Pimsleur Audio Lessons, which are totally amazing (I highly, highly recommend them). The only issue about them is their cost — they run about $250 per section, of which there are three. I didn’t really want to fork out $750, so I decided to check out my local library. Now, the Minnesota suburbs are not very well known for linguistic diversity, but surprisingly enough they had copies of the lessons. The lessons were not provided by the library, however, but as a downloadable audiobook via NetLibrary. I’m a tech-savvy guy — a downloadable file doesn’t worry me. The only thing that did worry me was that they were provided as Windows Media files.

So, I downloaded the files, and downloaded a copy of Windows Media Player for the Mac. No problem. Open the file… no luck. Huh? Then I read the FAQ:

Q: Can I download and play an eAudiobook on a Mac?
A: No. eAudiobooks cannot be played on Macs because the latest version of Window Media Player available for Macs (version 9) is based on Windows Media Rights Manager version 1.3. We use version 2.x licenses for downloadable eAudiobooks in order to maintain a high level of security.

Q: Can I download and play an eAudiobook on an iPod?
A: No. eAudiobooks cannot be played on iPods. iPods use the .aac file format and the .aac file format does not support the Digital Rights Management (DRM) protection required by our eAudiobooks at this time. DRM protection helps ensure that the content of our publishing partners is secure, especially when items are checked out from the library’s collection and borrowed by a user rather than purchased. This Digital Rights Management technology allows checked out items to expire on the due date.

So, no luck. I can rent books from the library, even CDs and movies, and none of them are locked down to prevent how I want to use them. But, apparently, not all audio content is created equal. Don’t even mention the chances people using Linux or BSD would have trying to listen. Should the library not provide fair and equal access to all patrons? I understand wanting to be monetarily rewarded for one’s efforts… but at the cost of locking people out of a cultural institution, which, by all accounts, they are already monetarily supporting in the form of tax dollars?

DRM creates a lock-in. It denies people choice and robs them of their future. Most heinously, it traps culture in a box where access is granted only to those who have money and only for the time contstraints imposed by the jailer.

Don’t fall victim to the conveniences of DRM. Read more now.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, October 3rd, 2006 at 9:28 am and is filed under Activism. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.