My first post

In the editorial, DRM in the BitTorrent and Broadband Age, Alan Dang writes that in order for the movie industry to survive the threats of piracy, they need to take a cue from the book industry. They need to make stars out of authors. He goes on to say that current DRM schemes are too bloated and intrusive and that the perfect balance of DRM needs to reached.

I disagree. Making celebrities out of screen writers would only add fuel to fire of piracy. People understand that there is a lot of effort being put into productions, but until actors, directors, and producers take a serious hit in their pay -- I don't think there will be an end to piracy. There is a limited amount of money in this world. How can you tell a struggling college student that Britney Spears or Tom Cruise deserve their money more than the student does? Yeah, because 5 mansions isn't enough compensation for the talent of the Cruise.

I agree that the current DRM scheme is horrible, but I don't see how a perfect balance can be reached. DRM's sole function is to limit a consumer's usage of data. DRM limits what a consumer should legally be able to do. Thanks to the DMCA, circumventing DRM is a crime -- making it illegal to accomplish something that is my right. DRM is bad for America, and always will be.