This is a bit jaded, and I mean it light heartedly. But I'd be more inclined to listen to the W3 if they'd shoot down DRM. I no longer believe they have the web's interest at heart. Might as well let Google steamroll, if they're bound to steamroll things themselves.
"Google" was also one of the main forces combating DRM in HTML. Amongst others, the guy with his foot in his mouth in this thread (Tab) was one of the most vociferous opponents of the DRM proposal.
(there's also, of course, Hixie, but it's not surprising that his opinion wouldn't be informed by his employers)
"Google" was also one of the main forces combating DRM in HTML.
Bullshit. Utter and complete bullshit.
Google was one of the initial enablers of DRM on the web. Without Google enabling it, nobody could have used DRM on the web and it would have been a non-issue. If they were "against DRM" they should have stood their stance.
But they didn't. Because to them being able to sell ChromeOS with Netflix-support was more important than the integrity of the open web itself.
And so it shall stand in the history-books: When the web was poisened with DRM, it was done so first by the hands of Google.
There's no way they can claim they "were actually against it" when they were the ones doing the original sin. Fuck Google. Seriously fuck Google for this one.
Quit with the histrionics. You can be passionate without the informationless drama.
Read what I wrote again. I never made any claim like Google "were actually against it". I said that several of the most outspoken in combatting the proposal in the HTML working group (which is still an editor's draft, btw, and certainly not fait accompli) are employed by Google, and they will likely continue fighting it. Notable among them has been Tab[1] and, not for nothing, hixie[2], the editor of the HTML spec at the WHATWG, where he refuses to put in any sort of DRM to a specification for the open web.
That's exactly what you hope to see when a company doesn't force the people it pays to be on a standards body to toe the company line.
The simple fact of the matter is, Google were the first company to ship production hardware or software that used HTML5 EME, and what's more it was incredibly locked down. Their HTML5 EME implementation only plays back on approved Chromebook hardware from official suppliers that's locked down from the hardware up to prevent users from running any unauthorized applications on the system. Turning off the restriction on unauthorized code also disables the decryption module. It's thanks to Google that soon there'll be 100% standards compliant HTML5 sites that can only be legally viewed on locked-down, single purpose web browsing machines from approved manufacturers.
