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 COLUMN
How to put the DeCSS controversy and Linux in proper perspective I DISCUSSED THE NAPSTER situation at some length last week, concluding that advocates of Napster seem more interested in getting free stuff than advocating free speech. The decryption of the DVD DeContent Scrambling System (DeCSS) controversy is far more complex. In this case the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) and DVD Copy Control Association (CCA) are the ones who are being most disingenuous and acting like spoiled brats.
Since then, the MPAA and CCA have been doing everything possible to get the code off the Internet. The MPAA and CCA have tried to position this as a copy protection argument. It is not. The algorithm compresses the data to fit on a DVD. If the hacker's goal is to decrypt a DVD to make a copy of the movie, that hacker will end up with a huge amount of data that won't fit on another DVD. On the other hand, Linux advocates are making the mistake of focusing on this as a free-speech issue. Now the free-speech battle is particularly worth fighting, but in this case it is simply shifting the public's focus to something that will have no effect on the outcome of the DeCSS conflict itself. By getting off on a free-speech tangent, people are allowing the MPAA and CCA to divert attention away from the fact that DeCSS is not really a matter of copy protection. It is possible that the CCA is pursuing this matter so vigorously because it wants to find a way to collect a nickel for every copy of Linux that is downloaded or sold. But I am having a bit of difficulty buying that. I'm not really certain what the MPAA and CCA are truly afraid of, but if I had to guess, I would wager that they are afraid of losing control regarding the way in which DVD content is presented. Right now a DVD can take control of your DVD player. For example, I have DVDs that will not let me skip past the movie previews at the beginning of a DVD I purchased. There are rumors that DVDs will one day "expire" after being used a number of times. If hackers have the power to decrypt the content of a DVD, then they have the power to override these features. That is what these companies are afraid of. I don't think attempts to milk the public to pay multiple times for the same DVD will work. And people will be able to defeat such schemes on Windows or the Macintosh even if they can't on Linux. So even if my guess is on the mark, the MPAA and CCA are fighting a losing battle. I am also disturbed by the fact that many open-source advocates are focusing too heavily on the right to reverse-engineer for compatibility. Again, they have a valid point. But I would like to see Linux developers stop behaving like second-class citizens. Linux now commands 25 percent of server market share and has, by far, the fastest growth. Windows 2000/Windows NT is stagnant at 38 percent. Linux dominance at the server is nearly guaranteed, and its dominance on the desktop is no longer a pipe dream. So Linux developers should begin taking the attitude that companies that do not willingly provide algorithms and technical support for Linux developers are companies that cannot thrive for long. Nicholas Petreley is the founding editor of LinuxWorld ( www.linuxworld.com ). Reach him at nicholas.petreley@linuxworld.com.  RELATED SUBJECTS  Operating SystemsWeb TechnologiesDiscuss this article in our online forums MORE > SPONSORED WHITE PAPERS 
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