Steaming Turd

So, I wanted to install Adobe Reader on my old crappy laptop. It’s a 20MB bloatware download-the-downloader-first installation, and apparently Adobe can’t use a normal file compression solution like everyone else. No, instead they use some crapware called FEAD Optimizer, that supposedly has really good compression. Unfortunately, FEAD is much closer to its alternately spelled namesake than anything else, as on my old laptop it crashes and complains that there’s not enough memory to do its thing.

I checked the system requirements for AR7, and Adobe claims it requires a whopping 128MB to run (256MB recommended), which I think is a load of crap for software whose previous version claimed to need only 32MB. Turns out I’m right, because someone out there on teh Intarweb suggested that if FEAD is successful in extracting and running the installer, I could just copy the uncompressed files over to the other machine and run the setup program. I did that, it worked, and AR7 runs with no problem (surprise surprise).

In other words, the 128MB memory requirement apparently applies solely to the installer.

The EFF has a new short video out that depicts in a semi-entertaining-though-schlocky way the dangers that pending legislation like the Broadcast Flag, Audio Flag, Analog Hole, and other DRM-enforcing bills would impose on average legitimate consumers of entertainment media.

As I said, it’s schlocky, but the EFF and other groups like IPac have to do something to bring the word to average consumers. Right now, only a small minority of people are aware of the implications that these bills would have - not even most TiVo owners are aware that their right to save and rewatch programming or to fast-forward and rewind are being threatened by legislation that would turn them into criminals. If such legislation isn’t stopped, it will eventually become apparent even to people who have been using their VCRs to tape their favorite daytime shows while they’re at work that the rights they had before to time-shift their TV shows and watch them when they get home. By then, of course, the law will be firmly ensconced, and the task of restoring balance to copyright law will be even harder than it is now.

Cable HDTV, Blu-Ray, and HD-DVD are already encumbered with DRM that takes away these rights. Digital radio and broadcast HDTV are next, and what’s worse, the transition to digital is being enforced by the federal government. This is the perfect opportunity for the Copyright Cabal to take away our rights through technology and legislation, and if we wish to continue enjoying the freedoms we’ve had until now, they must be stopped.