Yahoo Screws Music Users, Takes DRM Servers Down

Here's the problem, all of these companies, music, software, etc, have these servers that "authorize" the buyer to use the content they BOUGHT.

In this example, Yahoo uses DRM license servers to authenticate music files before they can be played on a customer's computer. Yahoo has announced they're closing their music store and taking the DRM servers down -- meaning that if you bought music from Yahoo, you won't be able to play it. Even though, you bought it.

Microsoft faces the same problem with Windows XP. We've already seen how hard it has been (and still is) for them to get people to accept that Vista really is the best they can do, and they won't let you keep using XP. It's only a matter of time before Microsoft takes the "activation" servers for XP offline. When this happens, all copies of Windows XP will stop working. Yes, they really will, because XP "phones home" every once in a while to make sure you're still authorized to use it.

All of this active authentication, such as DRM and/or software activation has only one purpose - to annoy and screw legally abiding users.