this post was submitted on 24 Dec 2023
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305
Do you actually own anything digital? (www.theregister.com)
submitted 10 months ago by L4s@lemmy.world to c/technology@lemmy.world
137 comments fedilink hide all child comments
 

Do you actually own anything digital?::From ebooks, to videos and software, the answer is increasingly no

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[–] Octopus1348@lemy.lol 34 points 10 months ago (1 children)

If I can actually download it and it's DRM-free, yes.

[–] WhatAmLemmy@lemmy.world 18 points 10 months ago (3 children)

The only certain way to own digital products is apparently to pirate it illegally.

[–] stoy@lemmy.zip 16 points 10 months ago (1 children)

Gog provides DRM free installers when buying games at their store

[–] TheGrandNagus@lemmy.world 10 points 10 months ago (1 children)

And plenty of steam games are DRM-free too.

I really wish steam made it clear though. Should have to come with a tag stating DRM/no DRM. Shit, let us filter games by its DRM status.

[–] Capricorn_Geriatric@lemmy.world 1 points 10 months ago (1 children)

Don't all games on Steam get the basic DRM treatment?

[–] TheGrandNagus@lemmy.world 3 points 10 months ago

Nah, it's optional

However, because steam doesn't tell you which games are DRM, and companies have been known to arbitrarily add DRM in updates, I generally treat steam games as being DRM games

[–] menemen@lemmy.world 6 points 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago) (1 children)

Nah, you can buy it legally and break the drm illegally. That is what someone I know very well does with my, ahm, their ebooks.

[–] gamermanh@lemmy.dbzer0.com 10 points 10 months ago (1 children)

Removing DRM from content you bought is actually legal

What's illegal is doing so for the purposes of sharing whatever was DRM'd in the first place

Not that it stops me

[–] SkaveRat@discuss.tchncs.de 2 points 10 months ago

It depends on the jurisdiction. Removal is illegal in some countries

[–] cynar@lemmy.world 5 points 10 months ago (1 children)

Fyi, steam doesn't add additional DRM to games. So long as the maker hasn't added anything significant, you can often just copy the game folder out, and run it independently. There's nothing (in theory) to stop you backing it up yourself.

[–] daniskarma@lemmy.world 3 points 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago)

There're few games that work like that. Many use the steam basic drm, making the game not launching if a valid steam session is not running.

That's why I have the generic steam crack. In case they pull the plug some day.