Tim Marman's Loosely Coupled

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• Was DRM-free music an Apple innovation?

  Some people have tried to paint the recent announcement by Apple as example of Apple innovating and Microsoft following . Headlines like " Microsoft changes tune on selling DRM-free songs " are simply misleading - none of the technology companies truly wanted DRM, but they were a necessary evil in selling music that they did not own. As I've discussing in previous posts , Microsoft, Real Networks, and Yahoo! were all instrumental in the anti-DRM movement. Most labels seem to get it - these decisions and stratregy are more often coming from the corporate parents, not the labels themselves. In fact, Gates criticized DRM months before Jobs' manifesto a month ago, and EMI had been reportedly been considering releasing DRM-free tracks in MP3 format for awhile. This initially-exclusive deal with EMI simply demonstrates Apple's significant marketshare for purchased music and influence in the market. The mere fact that Apple was lucky and/or powerful enough to convince a major label to do something... Posted Apr 09 2007, 12:59 PM by Tim with | with 1 comment(s) Filed under: Intellectual Property, Rants, Things that bother me, Things that amuse me, Copyright, Microsoft, Apple, Law, Audio, DRM

• Gartner sends a cease and desist to remove a link

  Scoble passes along that James Governor, an analyst for RedMonk, received a C&D from Gartner for a link . Wow. I obviously haven't seen the letter, but I'm trying to imagine what possible legal recourse they have to linking to a publicly visible URL. Obviously there's no copyright infringement and there are standards you have to adhere to protect something as a trade secret. (Hint: putting something on a publicly visible server is not enough). Oh, and someone should tell Gartner that you can "redact" all the links you want but the Internet is forever . Here's the link - maybe I'll get my first C&D too. This is even worse than C&D'ing someone who is trying to help you . Tags: Gartner , RedMonk , CeaseAndDesist , Stupidity Posted Jul 11 2006, 01:15 PM by Tim with | with 3 comment(s) Filed under: Technology, Intellectual Property, Rants, Things that bother me, Things that amuse me, Copyright, Business

• Did you hear the one about the lawyer and the software engineer?

  phosita points to a post claiming that software engineers are stupid - at least when compared to lawyers. The author's underlying premise is that the legal profession has a high barrier to entry that, in turn, guarantees high salaries. Each step is a filter. For example, only 66% of students finish high school. Fewer complete a university degree. Even fewer are admitted to law school, and even fewer complete it. 30% of law school graduates are going to fail the bar exam, and only about 10% of these students will land a job at a good law firm. Finally, only about 20% new associates in a good law firm are likely to make partner. As a result, very competent people who could certainly serve as excellent lawyers are barred from giving legal advice to anyone (for example, Bill Gates, Richard Branson, Michael Dell, and Rush Limbaugh). Also, the legal bar has an adverse effect on minorities, limiting the number of minorities available to serve as potential judges and legal advocates. But, these... Posted Mar 14 2005, 12:40 PM by Tim with | with 4 comment(s) Filed under: Technology, Intellectual Property, Rants, Law School, Things that amuse me