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Dear markbot:
Once upon a time, reproducing the contents of a book required that a monk with good eyesight sit at a writing desk for many weeks on end. As a result, books were rare -- and very expensive. Monks made good coin in this gig. Then this German goldsmith figured out a way to automate the process, making it much faster and cheaper. Understandably, the status quo was not happy about this. This guy's innovation turned the world upside down, and not even the most powerful institutions in the world could stop it. (The most powerful church in the world even split in two as a result!)
The technological change we are going through now is much deeper and more important than the one unleashed by the German guy. This newfangled "digital information", by its very nature, can be duplicated and transmitted perfectly, incredibly cheaply. This upends today's status quo in unimaginable ways. It is not surprising that the status quo is fighting back with clunky measures like DRM, that penalize readers in a feeble attempt to impose the limitations of the old medium onto the new. DRM is driven by fear of change.
We don't know how the digital revolution will play out, but this is certain: things will change. Perhaps we'll even find ourselves having to redefine many notions we hold dear: property, ownership, authenticity, and who knows what else. (IMO, it's a small price to pay for the increase in education and enlightenment that will result.) Change is not easy. The status quo will be dragged, kicking and screaming, into this new world; they will do many stupid things in the process to try to stop change. The historical record is not on their side: nobody could stop the revolution unleashed by the German guy six hundred years ago, and I doubt anyone will be able to stop the digital revolution. DRM has no future.
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