Penny Arcade Digs into DRM, Now With More Crecente

Last week Penny Arcade’s own Tycho contacted me to see if I would be interested in writing a short piece for their site about Digital Rights Management. What with the escalating brouhaha with Electronic Arts and likelihood that this won’t be the last time gamers run face first into some form of DRM they don’t like, I jumped at the opportunity.

In the short essay I talk about the origins of the word piracy (Daniel Defoe don’t you know), and the absurdity of applying todays shrinking ownership rights to a situation closer to that origin. I also call for a sort of Gamers’ Bill of Digital Rights. Not that anyone will listen.

If that sort of stuff floats your boat hop on over on the link to check it out. If it doesn’t interest you, hop over there to read Tycho’s take on my “wavy locks and hard-arse goatee.”

The Origin Of The CD-Keys, Part One [Penny Arcade]