MIT Libraries have cancelled access to an online database after the publisher demanded that users download a DRM plugin (hat tip – Open Access News).
MIT Drops Subscriptions Due to DRM Demands
2 Comments
Recent Posts
Back-of-the-Napkin Cultural Policy: The Government’s $600 Million Streaming Plan Copies the CRTC Decision It Killed at More Than Double the Cost 
The Law Bytes Podcast, Episode 282: Udbhav Tiwari on Why Signal May Exit Canada Over Bill C-22’s Encryption and Metadata Retention Rules 
From Making Web Giants Pay to Paying Media Giants: Budget 2026 Replaces the Government’s Internet Platform Strategy With $1.5 Billion in Taxpayer Dollars for Culture and News 
Has the Government Read Its Own Bill? What Three Days of House Debate Revealed About Bill C-34 Before the Committee Hearings Begin 
Surveillance By Design: Government Officials Say Lawful Access Could Reach Gaming Platforms, Daycares and AI Services
Good for them! First the University of Wisconsin tells the RIAA to go away, then the University of Nebraska tells them to pay up for wasting its time, now this. Sounds like companies are going to be figuring out the hard way that while the public may put up with their DRM crap for a time, intellectual foundations are too smart to fall for it, and they’re increasingly educating the public. I love it.
FIDO wireless drops US roaming on NAURDA
FIDO Cellphone outraged customers using wireless data, by unilaterally cutting off agreed coverage of the entire USA, recently. When is an agreement not an agreement? Ask Rogers and FIDO. Industry standard agreements maintain features as sold. Cell and data account features may be different at any given original agreement time. Loyal customers typically rely on FIDO (subsidiary of Rogers) to honor their industry commitment to deliver so called \’grandfathered\’ features or prices maintained, but no longer sold. February 13 FIDO did doodoo on users relying on their longstanding \’North American Unlimited Roaming and Data Agreement\’ NAURDA. This cut of over half the area, let alone the main feature (USA) of that account was advertised and sold for, still costs users the same price per month. FIDO even added new hiked charges to roaming, and Kilobyte rates! Interesting e-mails suggest some FIDO executive now can pick out the agreements they wish to chop, calling them, amazingly, not agreements they have to honor, or grandfather. Some reactions cited at http://www.HowardForums.com under \’Canadian Carrier Discussion\’, to \’GPRS roaming in the USA will no longer be part of Fido\’s packages\’
p.s. your website is both interesting and practical. Thank you.