The Norwegian public broadcaster has broken new ground with a project that has put 20,000 video clips and 12 radio stations online. That's the good news. Hell, it's better than good. It is breathtakingly amazing.

The bad news is that they've released this media in Microsoft's DRM format for Windows Media Center.

Fine so far.  He's wrong but not yet false.  

That's not just bad news because the Media Center contains all kinds of restrictions on user-freedom (though it does).

You can't name one restriction unless you contort the concept freedom into: free to trash somebody else's stuff.  Media Center plays a broad range of content.  It doesn't restrict you from playing unrestricted content.  It also attempts to honor a content owner's expressed wishes.  If a content owner says "i don't want you to copy" then Media Center tries not to.  This is only a restriction of freedom if you a) don't believe in IP or b) unciviliy wish to do something an IP owner would prefer you not to.  But Cory, an author, believes in some form of IP.  He's not very charitable with any definition other than those he prefers. 

Look, I know it's stupid for me to lay down twenty dollar bills on the street and request that people not take them.  Digital CDs are exactly that - extremely stealable.  It was lazy of the record companies to not do more to stay in the digital arms race between themselves and casual theives.

I also know that it's a pain in the bottom to not be able to do everything you want with somebody else's property.  It's nice to be unrestricted.  I think it may be non-optimal to put punishing restrictions onto good customers.  It certainly isn't how I wish to be treated.

That being said, without restrictions, I've stolen IP by non-fair use copying in the past.  I've been a good customer, but I should have been a better one. 

Furthermore, Media Center a unique set of features and support from hardware vendors.  So it, through functionality, creates freedoms for people in the manner that an automobile creates freedom for a teenager.  I can do things with my Media Center I could never do before.  Yes, I'm sure there is some sort of low rent duplicate in Linux.  But my linux skills, like those of most Norwegians, are below the script-kiddie level.  Media Center is an auto I know how to drive.  Cool!  (of course it's one that I have to freaking reboot but we'll continue to "fumble towards excellence" (tm) on that front.

Back to Cory:

The worst of this is that the Norwegian broadcaster is selling out Norwegian taxpayers by setting them up to pay monopoly rents to Microsoft to the end of time.

No they haven't.  Did you know that we license WM codecs to Linux?  To Mac?   Do you know that, as a part of the DVD Forum's ratification process, we had to give up control, source code and price variability for the natural life of the codec?  Did you know that our prices and price caps are about half that of MPEG's? 

Box canyon Cory.  You are either ignorant of this or you aren't and are trying to scare through lying.  Or lying-ish.  In any case you are not a fair voice.  Hating us is ok but it's eating you up and making you stupid.  Cut it out.  Mean people suck. 

Look at it this way: if the broadcaster had released the video as H.264 streams or a innother open format, they would have enabled Norwegians to buy products from any vendor in the world who wanted to make a player for the video that the broadcaster commissioned with public money, for the public's enjoyment.

Theoretically truie.  Microsoft could even shut itself down and take it's video codec ball home and stop everyone from playing.  But Cory is hiding the fact (potentially non-intentionally but i doub it, or maybe he's fooling himself too) that in reality of variety of platforms that play WMV is h u uuuuge.  and growing.  We are a mandatory codec for all next-gen DVD players.  Yes that includes Blu-ray.  Why?  Because we are great at what we do.  Oh, and we provide DRM.  Which artists, content owners and governments have a right to use.

Instead, by choosing Microsoft, they've put the Norwegian owners of the broadcaster -- i.e. the taxpayers -- in the position of having to pay again for Windows to play back the video that they already paid for once, with their taxes.

I'm pretty good at understanding these sorts of things but I missed this.  I'm not being sarcastic.  I expect it's possible, but I don't see it.  How does a Norwegian have to pay twice?

What's more, a Microsoft monopoly over the video they release means that Norwegian tech companies can't made products that play back Norwegian video without permission from an American company -- an American company that can withhold permission or charge whatever it wants for the privilege of playing back Norway's storehouse of video.

The world would descend into chaos without dependency on the American empire.  The last sentence is more than anti-Microsoft, it is anti-Capitalistic (read: anti-freedom).  Yes, now that I have a SAAB my dealer can charge whatever they want for service and Gillette me to death with bait and switch pricing.  Maybe they are and service is super profitable for them?  humm.  It seems ok so far.  Last time I went in they fixed for free while i waited.  Wonder why?  If I were Cory would I be living in fear of their evil Capitalist leverage?  Sucks to be you man. 

It's true that Microsoft Windows can play the Media Center PC videos without a download, while H.264 requires you to get new software -- but why is that? With any other video format, the Windows Media Player just automatically gets the patch it needs and you're off to the races.

 But when it comes to file-formats that threaten the Microsoft dominance in the market, all of a sudden you need to jump through a hundred hoops to get up and running.

Not sure it's a hundred hoops you exaggerating falsehood spreader.  To you we are a monopolistic (not definable in non-subjective law) and eeeeeviilll corporation who should spend our treasure on every potential competitive format because we've lost the right to our platform because everybody chose to use it er,... succumbed to our gun to their head and was forced into 'softitude. 

Whatever.  Boise & Jackson notwithstanding, we have managed to retain some rights to our property and we are not yet forced to do our competitors work for them.  Cory, take a look at Apple's growth rate.  Our competitors are fearsome and are doing just fine.  H.264 will be popular and around for a looong time.

So will we.  Get over it.  It's tired. 

Many people have a hard time downloading new software, but every single P2P user (likely also to be the leading users for this service) has already demonstrated her willingness to download and install new apps.

...and most have demonstrated a willingness to steal IP.  That being said, P2P is GREAT and Microsoft is the biggest and only great platform for consumer P2P as a product of our market share and the network effects of P2P.  Oh, and our great network stack.  But I doubt you believe that.  Wait until you see the IPV6 goodness we are shipping in Vista.  It is unparalleled.  Don't hate us because we are beautiful.  And filthy filthy rich.

And if it's hard now to get people to download and install non-Microsoft technology that would provide a level playing field

LPF is a big ol commie term.  Cory is a creative commie, so it's appropriate.  This graph is strange in that it contains insults from me that I expect Cory to take as compliments.  Can't we all just get along?

to the Norwegian tech companies, imagine what it will be like in Norway after five or ten years of the state broadcaster officially supporting Microsoft -- and only Microsoft -- with the cultural product that is the life's blood of the nation.

It will be frickin cool because everybody will be playing their amazing content on our kick ass video codec!  Yay!!

You know, Cory has some strange nationaistic thing going on.  Microsoft is an american company, true.  We are also a global company.  Cory I invite you, on behalf of the EXCELLENT Microsoft employees in Norway, to become more sophisticated in your global outlook.  The people of Norway that work for us (many) love us.  The government of Norway wants us there.  The people of Norway, by and large, want us there.  The tech companies,... some compete, some innovate on top, some love us, some probably hate us.  But Microsoft is not the enemy of the people of Norway by product of our Redmond home office address.  This trend will only increase!  We typically double our presence in India year over year.  We are growing in China.  We are growing in Ireland.  We are growing worldwide, ~10K employees a year.  YES!  And we will hopefully add enough value to Norway to allow us to grow there too.  Wherever we offer an addition Cory only sees a subtraction.  But many people love our software and are more alive and productive through using it.  I'm sure if everybody learned Linux instead of doing the things they have chosen to do instead or if they all paid a premium for Macs instead of saving on a cheap Dell, it would be a different world.  Does Cory believe that would be a better one?  Don't be a player hater. 

Norwegian production companies rely on huge state subsidies, direct and indirect, to fulfill the crucial role of providing cultural identity to a small nation. But Norway's many innovative tech companies provide an equally crucial service to Norwegians: offering economic independence and self-determination. To lock up Norway's culture in a wrapper that can't be opened by a Norwegian tech company is economic and cultural insanity.

Interesting rhetorical path, blind to Microsoft.  Either we are partially subsidized by Norway (doubt it but is possible) and are among those companies Norway tries to help help them, OR we are able to add value to Norway without subsidy, which is pretty darn cool.

If I were a Norwegian taxpayer, I'd be calling my MP and the public service broadcaster demanding redress for this.

True, although statistically, as a Norwegian taxpayer, you'd probably never know or if you knew, care.  Thank goodness!  Lucky us.  Team, continue the brain control protocol, it seems to be working.

It's totally, utterly unacceptable for a tax-funded broadcaster to sell out the public and industry to foreign software giants.

This is Soviet thinking.  God forbid you drive a car manufactured elsewhere or use technology from overseas.  It takes a villiage Cory.  A global village.  Yugoslavs should only drive Yugos, and to not do so is unpatriotic.  Forget about buying the product best adapted to your needs.  Everyone use technology from your own country.  Unless you are in the states and that technology is Microsoft. 

GARRGG this is so remedial it's painful to write.  A computer contains parts from all over the world, and runs code written all over the world.  Even ours.  Stop pretending you are dumb.  You aren't.  Pretending you are dumb makes you less credible and I don't like it.  I like you credible.  I am getting depressed writing to you.  It'll pass.  It's a beautiful day in NYC and that always cheers me up.

DRM doesn't work. No show that the broadcaster locks up with DRM will be prevented from showing up on the Internet almost instantly after it airs.

Darknet darknet blah blah.  Except it does work.  Back alleys have fake Rolexes too, but the majority of business for Rolex looking watches goes to,... Rolex.  For all the conventional wisdom that the Darknet is omnipotent, it simply is not.  DRM + lawsuits,... works!  Duh. 

I'm not saying DRM + lawsuits is great, it isn't.  I used to not lock my house in L.A. because i grew up in the country and I hate locks.  But once I got burglarized I put the alarm system in, and now I kinda like it.  Even if the robot voice is too pushy.  "LEAVE NOW!!!"  Ok mam. 

And Apple's more friendly system of iTunes + iPod is waaaay better than our confusing Plays For Sure mess.  The market speaks this every day.  But Cory's DRM fatalism has no proof.  I don't think he's lying, he's just fooling himself here.  He's ignoring some of (not all of) the cultural effects of DRM + lawsuits.  Making it slightly harder or more dangerous moves mountains of people towards legal and ethical behavior.

And yes, some of the lawsuits seem mean and frivolous to me.  But that doesn't mean that they can't be crafted more fairly.

At a time when American state governments are throwing away their Microsoft products in favor of future-proof open standards, Norway has no excuse for selling out to Redmond.

To represent the situation realistically, I would insert "a insignificant number of" in there somewhere.  We are growing our state government business by leaps and bounds.  Norway doesn't have to apologize for using us, were just the best solution.

BTW as a goading aside, my alma mater music.yahoo.com serves something like 6 billion WMV-based music videos and 12 billion audio streams a year.  It ain't iTunes but it sure ain't bad.  To you this service enslaves America's youth in Microsoft chains, yadda yadda.  Agitprop b.s. Stop it and start telling the truth.

This lockdown only adds cost, subtracts value, and betrays the national interest of Norway.

No argument here.  If you believe the rest of his b.s. then this conclusion follows Q.E.D.

Best,

Cort