Via Boing Boing this morning comes news that Digital Rights Management may be sending dollars down the drain in Fairfax. Tax dollars, that is. According to a report from Phil Shapiro of the Digital Divide Network, the Fairfax Public Library system got the great idea to distribute downloadable books. There’s just one problem. The books are in Windows Media Format. That means they don’t play on Macs, iPods or computers running the GNU/Linux operating system. Apparently, they’ve never heard of MP3.
This is where the story gets really intersting. Washington Apple Pi, a local group of Mac enthusiasts, gets involved. Efforts to make their concerns known results in what might be the first-ever protest song about technology, or the lack thereof.
Meanwhile, Shapiro has shopped the story around to various media outlets — including The New York Times, Wired, and Slashdot — in hopes that publicity will persuade Fairfax Public Library system to take another look at the issue and rethink how well its serving some of its patrons. Says Shaprio, “Do you know who is getting the shortest end of this stick? The tenants in affordable housing units in Northern Virginia where GNU/Linux computer labs have been set up for them to use. Many of these tenants are hardworking immigrant families. Could the adults and children in these families benefit from greater access to audio books? You tell me.”
As for the song, words fail this DCist. You’ll just have to hear it for yourself.
