Paperclip

Here's the manual for the software that got me through the first two years of university: Paperclip. Paperclip was pretty primitive compared to modern word processors, but it did precisely what I needed it to do: made it possible for me to type and print my assignments instead of writing them longhand, which would have surely doomed my chances at graduation. 

Paperclip came with a unique form of copy protection: the Paperclip Key, a small grey dongle you plugged into the Atari 130XE's joystick port. Without the dongle, the software wouldn't operate. It took me years to wonder idly if the key was just an electronic switch that made the computer think a joystick button was being held down. So I pulled out the key, plugged in a joystick, held down the fire button, and lo and behold the software worked. A determined pirate could have copied the software, plugged in a joystick, and held the button down with electrical tape. Still, they wouldn't have gotten the manual, and for all the bother why not just buy the software...

Why I Hate DRM Part the Thousandth

I know this isn't the Criterion Channel's fault, but that of content providers who can't seem to come up with DRM software that doesn't prevent paying customers for accessing the content they, again, PAID FOR in good faith. I have no idea why I could watch films on the Criterion Channel for an entire year without getting this error message, yet now, with no change in my hardware, the DRM software assumes I'm trying to pirate content. 

THIS IS THE SORT OF THING THAT MAKES PEOPLE PIRATE. 

Thankfully the Criterion Channel still works on our big TV, so it's not like my subscription (prepaid) is now worthless. But I'm going to miss the convenience of watching on my PC too, when, for example, Sylvia is using the TV or I'm writing a review on one monitor while watching the film on another. 

The Futility of DRM

Several weeks ago, I purchased Ex Machina on Blu-Ray. Tonight I decided to watch it, but my computer now refuses to play Blu-Rays thanks to some DRM hogwash and I can't even use the Google Play code provided because "you cannot redeem this code in your country."

You know, content owners, I paid for the  movie because I support the arts and good movies in particular, and I hear that Ex Machina is very good indeed. Why do you insist on throwing up roadblocks in front of paying customers, when it's been demonstrated again and again that all you're doing is encouraging piracy?