AACS DRM tentacles reach far into operating systems
 

*Source: Ars Technica (http://arstechnica.com/articles/cult...entacles.ars)*
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Peter Gutmann, author of a well-known and fascinating paper describing the tradeoffs of Microsoft's content protection system in Windows Vista, is on the hunt again. Last year, his paper "Cost Analysis of Windows Vista Content Protection" painted a grim picture of the lengths Microsoft went to in order to gain full compliance with AACS, the next-gen copy control system for Blu-ray and HD DVD (and they did go far). Now Gutmann is reiterating his claims but also reportedly digging deep in his attacks on Microsoft. While Microsoft deserves some of the blame, the bigger story here is the technical nightmare created by AACS and how its tentacles are reaching into the consumer technology we all use daily. It's a shame that this is getting lost in the mix, but after discussing the issue with a journalist this weekend, I decided to delve a little more into it here.

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