Re:How DRM will infest the 3D printing revolution
by l33tbro on Tuesday October 16, 2012 @04:17PM
(#4661623)
That may be true, but what about when bigger players like Apple, Sony, Samsung, or perhaps even an emerging startup join the party? Many a comparison has been made to the home computer clubs of the 1970's - similarly DIY but produced giant companies like Apple who popularized the home computer. Same goes with AOL in the mid-90s crashing web and bringing the Eternal September.
I guess my point is that we are really in the halcyon days of 3d printing. This is an emerging technology. It's exciting, it's about experimentation, and it's a genuinely open-source user environment. But this phase has a shelf-life, and once 3d printing reaches critical mass, the Maker hackers will move onto the next thing of interest (rightly so) and the corporations will swoop in on the huge money making opportunities. It is just the way the world works.
Still ... DRM will never work. Whether it be a case of torrents for the Ikea desk, or firmware hacks to re-route your printer from phoning home to the corporation - hackers will find a way.
In order for the DRM to work it needs to be decoded at the last moment and would therefore need to be implemented directly into the electronics of the printer. In order for that to work the printer itself will need to be able to decode the 3D files and plan the tool route, a job that is better done by the PC. I think it will be cost prohibitive to implement in a secure manor.
With Blu Ray and HDMI there were massive multi billion dollar companies driving the direction of the design. That just isn't the case with 3D printing and is unlikely to be the case until far to long after consumer 3D printing is established.