Nate Lanxon
Nate is CNET.co.uk's expert on digital music and portable media. He was born just long enough before the beginning of the digital age to grow up with it, become one with it and then be utterly consumed by it. 'Geek by profession' has been his career goal for two decades.
Wednesday 30 January 2008, 10:35am
Blister packaging is just more DRM -- please kill it
We all hate blister packaging. You know the stuff: the thick plastic vacuum-sealed casing that companies pack their products into that makes it almost impossible to open with anything other than a bread knife. Manufacturers are aware of the issue and know how much we all hate the damn stuff, yet they continue to use it because it makes stealing what's inside much harder.
So what we've got here is something that only punishes the honest among us; something that companies use despite knowing how much it drives honest consumers mad. But if it makes stealing it harder, of course it's fine.
Haven't we experienced this exact scenario before? DRM is famously one of the biggest pains for honest people and only punishes those who cough up their honest money to pay for something others steal.
But DRM is finally on the decline. Companies are finally coming to their senses and realising that DRM not only doesn't stop piracy, it makes piracy all the more attractive to honest consumers. So please, when we've finished destroying DRM, can we please move our hatred to blister packaging? It's the DRM of the physical product and I'm sick to death of the stuff.
Comments on this post
I know exactly what you mean - worst case of this is the packaging for the playstation eye. In the end I had to use my catering blow torch to get inside the bloody thing, after breaking my £45 sabatier bread knife. Needless to say Sony were unsympathetic to my plight, saying, "You can ask the employee in the shop to open the packaging for you." Would that include a rooom for the night and breakfast on boxing day morning too?
Posted by Jon Evans on Thu 31 January, 2008 9:05 AM
Offensive? Inappropriate? Report this comment
Articles by Nate Lanxon
Best Sennheiser headphones
Round-up We've gathered together our essential Sennheiser collection, comprising of three superb pairs of earphones and one smashing pair of headphones. There are the well-priced CX 300s, the awesome-for-everyone CX 500s, our favourites, the CX 95s, and the HD 650 headphones
Intempo Fusion preview
Preview The Intempo Fusion is a £99 DAB/FM-enabled iPod dock for the bedside, with a built-in sub woofer and portable design. It'll be on sale from mid October, but we got an exclusive pre-production model and got to test it out. It's definitely ideal for quiet bedroom listening, we found, as louder and heavier sounds weren't as good as softer ones
Play.com goes DRM-free with all major labels
Crave First 7digital, now Play.com: the DRM-free MP3 catalogues from all major labels are being given to anyone who isn't iTunes. Play.com has announced it's the latest store to offer over three million MP3s with all the majors
Audio Technica ATH-CK10 sound-isolating earphones
Review The CK10s are sound-isolating earphones, featuring dual armatures and compact enclosures, making them most suitable to general pop, rock, country and folk. Clarity and sonic detail are the defining factors, so if this is something you're been looking for, you'll definitely miss out on a treat if you pass over this model
Hands-on with the Olympus DS-50 voice recorder
Crave We've been playing with a great little digital recorder this week, and for its price it's absolutely ideal for podcasters, students and budding MI5 agents
Photos: Hands-on with the Klipsch Palladium P-39F
Photo If you're looking to spend £14,000 of a new pair of floorstanding speakers, we've just got back from France after looking a just such a pair you might want to consider
LG unveils the LG-KP500: Keeps veiled all useful info
Crave LG has announced the launch of its latest touchscreen handset, and apparently it's going to have an extremely low price tag. Can't afford the Renoir? This could be for you
Photos: Nokia 5800 XpressMusic (aka Tube)
Photo Nokia has unveiled its 5800 XpressMusic 'Tube' handset -- a fully touch-controlled music handset with unlimited free music downloads and no a proprietary headphone socket in sight.
