We love Dave, but sometimes he is wrong

Dave Winer of Scripting News is the father of so many things we use in the blogging and podcasting world. Everyone knows that he is very opinionated and if you get on his wrong side, you will be posted in his blog for thousands to read. Recently Dave ranted on Audible.com's DRM solution and how he did not like it. So what does he do? Cancels his subscription and uses a Hack alternative. He buys the CD's and rips them down to mp3 files which I assume takes him forever. He talks about it again here today.

I like Audible and use their service often. I use Mac and Itunes to get my content, so I have never had any issues with the DRM that Dave has had. So why is he wrong?

1. Audible needs to protect the content. Yes we should all be trusted to make sure we don't pirate the owners content, but there is a reason we need to control bad people and the good people that don't pirate data are inconvenienced but it makes society much easier to deal with.

2. Like all companies they fail at service often. Dave needs to realize that customers are important and he should know that. He should have contacted them in ernest and deal with the issues for which Audible could take care of.

3. Stop using windows Dave. The reason why you lost your audible content is that you machines were filled with spyware. If you used a Mac you would not have a problem.

4. You should be able to back up you data and you can back up you audible content. If for some reason you need it back, Audible can help you if you let them.

5. Dave picked this battle because he didn't like the CEO. That just seems lame. How about some objectivity.

DRM is not the best solution for content in a digital age. Companies have a responsibility to protect the copyright of the media and so they need to use technology in order to do this. I know DRM will evolve in time, but I think it is here to stay. As someone who purchases content legally I don't have an issue with it.

So Dave can be right a lot, but here he is just picking on Audible because he doesn't like the CEO.

dave winer