Editor's note: No consumer version of the Mac OS has
ever been copy protected or even required a serial number for
installation, let alone included the kind of rights management software
hinted at in Apple's recent patent application. dk
During the run-up to Christmas, it was variously reported that Apple
Inc. has filed an updated application with the US Patent &
Trademark Office for a product activation and anti-piracy technology
that sounds awfully like Microsoft's execrable Windows
Genuine Advantage.
Patent application 20070288886, titled
"Run-Time Code Injection To Perform Checks" and dated Dec. 13,
describes a "digital rights management system" that would "restrict
execution of that application to specific hardware platforms."
It is further noted that if the check fails, a part of the
application's execution string is disabled and the application becomes
unusable - and that this scheme is designed to be implemented on Mac
OS X, which is currently not copy- or DRM-protected.
The filing also explains, "In general, the selected time period
should be small enough to prevent significant use of an unauthorized
application or system, yet long enough so as not to degrade system
performance,"
To say that I don't like the sound of this is a major
understatement, and if there's anything that would drive me into the
embrace of desktop Linux, DRM on the Mac OS is it. As a matter of
principle, I refuse to buy any product protected by DRM unless there is
absolutely no alternative for something I really need, which
categorically rules out music and entertainment products - and with
desktop Linux (and also desktop BSD, see below) around there are
alternatives in the operating system category.
On the other hand, I'm trying to keep my powder dry and not freak
out unnecessarily. Reportedly, this filing is an update and enhancement
of a patent application Apple filed in 2005, so it would appear they
are proceeding cautiously - and well they might. I would counsel them
to apply some sober second and third thought before imposing WGA-style
DRM on Mac-users.
But what if worse came to worse and Apple did implement DRM on
OS X? Could I really make the transition to desktop Linux and live
with it?
The Linux Philosophy
In some respects, as much as I love the Mac OS, I might be a better
philosophical fit as a Linux-user.
In The
Next Leap for Linux, the International Herald Tribune's Larry
Magid, recently quoted executive director of the Linux Foundation, Jim
Zemlin, commenting that, "For a lot of people, Linux is a political
idea - an idea of freedom. They don't want to be tied to Microsoft or
Apple. They want choice. To them it's a greater cause."
I'll buy that.
Philosophically and temperamentally, I'm probably more of a Linux
person, albeit to date a mostly vicarious one (although I did install a
couple of distros of PPC Linux on a WallStreet PowerBook a few
years back to check out and experiment with), than a Mac person. While
I love the Mac OS for its elegant, transparent, versatile, low-hassle
user-friendliness and dependability, I'm not and never have been a big
fan of what we might term "Apple culture" - and in that sense at least
I'm anything but an Apple fanboy, although I'm a consummate fan of the
Macintosh computer and the Mac OS.
While the Mac OS has always of practical necessity been highly
compatible with other platforms, Apple products have for the most part
been highly proprietary in nature. Apple has always been inclined to
discourage user tinkering or even maintenance on its hardware products,
and while there is a degree of Open Source tolerated in aspects of
OS X (Safari, for example), the elements that distinguish it as a
Mac are off limits.
And it's those uniquely Mac elements that keep me in the Mac fold
and never even seriously considering, at least so far, switching to
Linux or any other OS platform. While the fact that Linux is not owned,
updated, or controlled by any single entity, unlike the Mac OS or
Windows, appeals to me in theory, I'm not about to compromise the user
experience with something I spend most of my workday closely engaged
with to satisfy a philosophical ideology.
Even absent any misbegotten Apple DRM scheme, if, at some future
date, "desktop Linux" were to achieve the level of elegance, Plug &
Play low-hassle transparency, and software availability enjoyed by the
Mac OS, I might be moved to reconsider, but that day, if it ever comes,
has seemed a very long way off.
However, there might also be another non-DRM alternative to
Linux
Responding to my comments on this matter in a Low End Mac news
review last week, reader Jeffrey Kafer wrote:
Charles,
I believe I share your distaste for Windows "Genuine
Advantage" and similar technologies apparently being pursued by Apple.
However, I do not think that Linux would be my first choice if I choose
to move away from Apple/Mac. I'd be looking at *BSD. The top three out
there are FreeBSD,
OpenBSD, and
NetBSD. Of these,
FreeBSD is the biggest. OpenBSD has a focus on highest security. NetBSD
is arguably the most portable. For an Intel-based or AMD-based desktop
or laptop, DesktopBSD (a user
friendly FreeBSD variant) and PC-BSD (another), the *BSD
users are provided ease of installation and use that rivals the many
Linux distros.
As cousins of Darwin,
they share a lot of its strengths. Unlike Linux, which is a kernel
bundled with supporting utilities, *BSD is an integrated operating
system. For those of us Mac users who work or tinker in the Mac
Terminal, *BSD will is a bit more familiar. I've installed and used a
couple Linux Distros (Ubuntu/Kubuntu/Xubuntu, Yellow Dog Linux, and
Gentoo [my favorite so far]) but none of these have met my expectations
as well as *BSD. I've tried DesktopBSD and liked it, and I currently
use NetBSD on my MobilePro
at work instead of running Windows CE. And, unlike Mac or Windows,
current (and future?) versions of *BSD run on PowerPC, Intel, SPARC,
MIPS, or many other architectures as well.
BSD is not yet as user-friendly to install or use as
Linux on the Desktop, but it is closing the gap quickly and for me, the
advantages make it worth my while. Therefore I recommend *BSD for your
further consideration.
Regards,
Jeffrey
Thanks to Jeffrey, I now certainly would consider BSD as a Mac OS
alternative if push came to shove with Mac OS DRM. I'm not a command
line jock by any stretch of the imagination, so I'm wondering what's
available in terms of Desktop GUIs for BSD. Application availability
would be another question mark, and indeed that issue pertains to any
potential move to desktop Linux as well.
For example, it would be a major trauma for me to have to learn to
get along without tools like Tex-Edit Plus, TypeIt4Me, (I would include
WindowShade X here, except I've been struggling along without it in
Leopard for the past six weeks or so and not liking it one bit),
AppleScript, iTunes, and so on and so forth. Are there reasonable
facsimiles of these applications and functions available for BSD and
Linux, and how well do they work?
Many imponderables and unanswered questions from my perspective, and
leaving the elegant, user-friendly, "just works" Mac OS behind is not
something I would take likely. It's a great facilitator of efficient
workflow and such a pleasant place to be. It's really not a transition
I'm enthusiastic about making in the practical context, and I
profoundly hope Apple will not force my hand.
In the meantime, for those who do want to switch to, or just
experiment with, desktop Linux, while I note Jeffrey's praise of the
Gentoo distro, the Ubuntu distro seems to be widely acclaimed
as a relatively user-friendly way to go, and a good resource to help
you get up and running is Rickford
Grant's Ubuntu for Non-Geeks, 2nd Edition, subtitled: A
Pain-Free, Project-Based, Get-Things-Done Guidebook (currently
$23.07 from Amazon.com).
Ubuntu Linux for Non-Geeks is a newbie's guide to Ubuntu that
lets readers learn by doing, using immersion-learning techniques
favored by language courses.
Step-by-step projects build upon earlier tutorial concepts,
stimulating the brain and increasing the reader's understanding. The
book also covers many topics likely to be of interest to an average
desktop user, such as installing new software via Synpatic; Internet
connectivity; working with removable storage devices, printers, and
scanners; and handling DVDs, audio files, and even iPods. It also eases
readers into the world of commands, thus allowing them to work with
Java, Python or other script-based applications; converting RPMs to DEB
files; and compiling software from source.
Ubuntu is a South African term that translates roughly as "humanity
toward others," and Rickford Grant's approach to teaching Linux is to
provide an understanding, patient, and genial guide to help walk you
through your Linux adventure.
Ubuntu Linux for Non-Geeks is a project-based, take-it-slow
guidebook intended for those interested in - but nervous about -
switching to Linux.
Ubuntu Linux for Non-Geeks helps you:
- Download and install free applications, games, and utilities
- Connect to the Internet and wireless networks
- Configure your hardware, including printers, scanners, and
removable storage devices
- Watch DVDs, listen to music, and even sync your iPod
- Download photos and videos from your digital camera, then edit and
share them
- Tackle more advanced tasks as soon as you're ready
Included is a companion CD that lets you try out Ubuntu 7.04
("Feisty Fawn") without making any changes to your computer and then
install it when you're ready.
- Ubuntu for Non-Geeks, 2nd Edition
- A Pain-Free, Project-Based, Get-Things-Done Guidebook
- by Rickford Grant
- June 2007, 352 pp. w/ CD
- ISBN-10 1-59327-152-2
- ISBN-13 978-1-59327-152-7
- $34.95
A version of Ubuntu 7.04 for Power PC Mac (which supports Macintosh
G3, G4, and G5 computers, including iBooks and PowerBooks) is available
for
free download.
