I’ve been cooped up in a crappy hotel with sporadic internet access for a week, only to be confronted by the mother of all blizzards for my 6-hour drive home. So, let’s just say I was a little punchy when I got there. All I wanted to do was sit back, relax, and watch the first season of Heroes via Netflix’s new streaming service. I booted up the laptop, put on my headphones, and settled back, only to be rudely confronted by this message:

Feeling my blood boil, I did some googling to find out what the deal was. It turns out that under pressure from the major movie studios, Netflix had to use some rather extreme methods in order lock down the content. These methods are very specific to recent versions of Windows Vista and XP, thus leaving a good portion of the online community (Linux, Mac, Windows 2K, and earlier versions of Windows XP) out in the cold.

This is becoming an unfortunate trend. Windows Vista is only found on the newest and most expensive hardware. Working-class and poor people tend to not have the latest and greatest computer hardware. Thus we are seeing the technological disenfranchisement of an entire class of people. Sure, I’m pissed about not being able to stream a Netflix movie, but the core issue is much larger. Doubters should read up on the Amazon Kindle, a recently released E-Book reader from Amazon. It’s a pretty slick piece of hardware, but if you think you can use it as you would a paperback, you should think again. Sharing is actually discouraged, forcing those who believe in a free exchange of ideas back into the public library! Internet news broadcasts will surely be next, and if we don’t act, DRM will become the rule rather than the exception in all of the media we consume.

All of this brings me to a little website called DefectiveByDesign. They kindly provided a little pre-written note that I can mail back to Netflix with my next DVD return. They are also on the front lines of the Media Industry’s DRM war against free information and technology. If you believe in the cause, give them some support.