News Ubisoft disables Uplay over free game exploit

Gareth Halfacree · 10 Apr 2013

Sloth said: ↑

I like to think of Gareth's articles as the literary equivalent of shouting "come at me bro". They all have some technically correct but easily misread line in them just for this.
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Nah, I'm just not very good at seeing anything other than my intended meaning when I read it back. It's better when it's not a quick-turnaround news piece: given a few hours of doing something else, I can re-read what I've written with fresh eyes and spot sentences that can be misconstrued. When it's a news piece, though, I don't have the luxury of popping off for a spot of lunch and coming back a couple of hours later, so these things slip through. It's something I'm trying to improve upon, though, and I'm always grateful when somebody points out sentences that can be easily misconstrued - providing, that is, they do so in a polite manner, otherwise I'll just think they're being a bit of an arse.

Shirty said: ↑

I'm surprised you don't have the Model F plugged in to the laptop
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Are you kidding? It weighs more than the laptop does!

David · 11 Apr 2013

I rather enjoy Gareth's articles, and especially his indignation when people misconstrue his meaning; having been on the receiving end of one of his corrective replies.

demastes · 12 Apr 2013

Gareth Halfacree said:

sotu1 said: ↑

So this is BitTech saying that digital distribution requires DRM? Just getting that on record next time you scream murder at a form of DRM being present...
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No, it isn't. You've made several unwarranted assumptions there, based on your own bias. First, and least: I am not Bit-Tech. Bit-Tech is not me. Bit-Tech is a site which publishes words written by as diverse a group of people as you are likely to find sharing a common interest. Amazingly, we don't always agree on a given subject. Shocking, I know. Anything I write should not be taken as "Bit-Tech saying" anything, but simply something I am saying on Bit-Tech. See the distinction.

More importantly, you have misinterpreted the statement in a way that conforms to your pre-existing view - confirmation bias. At no point in the article did I claim in any way that digital distribution requires DRM. Look at the Humble Bundle: digitally distributed games, no DRM. Clearly, it works.

What I said - and, indeed, what you quoted - is that a given digital distribution service lives or dies by, among other things, 'the strength of its digital rights management (DRM) implementation.' This is a fact: a digital distribution service with a weak DRM implementation will not have publishers banging on its door. This is not the same as saying that DRM is required - just that if it is present, it must be reliable. Amazon's Kindle platform is not the best example, but one that is easily accessible to the public: it has (trivially breakable) DRM, but the publisher can choose whether or not to use that DRM. It's as simple as a checkbox when you publish your book: "Use DRM." Tick the box, DRM gets used; don't tick the box, it doesn't.

The Humble Bundle gets used despite not having any DRM, by publishers (or indies, in most cases) who have decided they don't need or want DRM. Other services offer - or, in some cases, force - DRM, and are used by publishers who have decided they do want DRM.

Still confused? Let's simplify: imagine three digital distribution services. Let's call one Bumble Hundle, one PlayU and one Vapour. Bumble Hundle has no DRM, PlayU has DRM that has been proven ineffective, and Vapour has DRM that has so far resisted attack. If I'm a publisher who has decided that my latest and greatest game should be protected from those filthy piratical types by DRM, which am I going to pick: the one without DRM, the one with known-vulnerable DRM, or the one with apparently secure DRM?

Exactly.

As I said, digital distribution services live or die by the perceived security of their DRM implementations. What I didn't say, and what perhaps may have prevented you from misreading the sentence quite so badly, was this: digital distribution services live or die by the perceived security of their DRM implementations where such implementations exist. Does digital distribution require DRM? Of course it doesn't, as a glance at the Humble Bundle proves.

Hope that's cleared things up for you.
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That was awesome..... =)

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News Ubisoft disables Uplay over free game exploit

Gareth Halfacree WIIGII! Lover of bit-tech Administrator Super Moderator Moderator

David μoʍ ɼouმ qᴉq λon ƨbԍuq ϝʁλᴉuმ ϝo ʁԍɑq ϝμᴉƨ

demastes What's a Dremel?

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News Ubisoft disables Uplay over free game exploit

Gareth Halfacree WIIGII! Lover of bit-tech Administrator Super Moderator Moderator

David μoʍ ɼouმ qᴉq λon ƨbԍuq ϝʁλᴉuმ ϝo ʁԍɑq ϝμᴉƨ

demastes What's a Dremel?

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