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Media-SFAQGeneral Questions:
Technical Questions:
General Answers: What is Media-S? Media-S is an open-source development project that aims to create an open Digital Rights interface for the creation, playback, and management of multimedia files. The initial goal of Media-S will be to develop this interface for Ogg Vorbis files. What is DRM? DRM is an acronym for Digital Rights Management. DRM allows a content provider to license their content in whatever way they would like. Isn't DRM bad? Many people cringe at the thought of DRM because it can be used to restrict the "fair use" rights of consumers. It is our opinion that DRM is a double-edged sword that must respect fair-use rights and not trample the rights of ordinary users. Content providers that do not recognize well-established consumer rights are doomed to fail no matter what DRM scheme is used. Therefore, Media-S is meant to be used by content providers who look to provide innovative content that preserves consumer fair use rights. What license does Media-S use? Media-S is available using either the GPL or a commercial license that allows users to distribute binary Media-S modules. Details of this commercial license can be found on the main Media-S page. What is Media-S Studio? Media-S Studio is a suite of three components: Two COM objects to greatly assist Windows Media-S Application and Content development, and an application that allows you to perform the batch encryption of content. Media-S Studio also includes a binary distribution license, and source code to all components. I have a feature request, what is the best way to communicate this request? Feedback about Media-S is encouraged through our Media-S product manager. You can email requests to him at rsage@sidespace.com. However, priority will be given to requests submitted by paying customers, so please purchase a commercial license. Wasn't this project called OGG-S? Yes, we were called OGG-S, but we changed our name for two reasons. One, users were confusing OGG-S with Ogg Vorbis, which is not correct as these are two separate projects. Second, Media-S is format independent, therefore keeping the name as OGG-S did not communicate the flexibility of the specification. I am interested in Media-S, but may require some implementation assistance. Can you help? SideSpace has a wealth of experience in protecting digital assets and would be more than happy to work with you implementing a custom Media-S solution. Please contact our sales team by email or phone (858-603-4673). Why is a corporation behind an open standard? SideSpace Solutions, Inc. is sponsoring the development of Media-S for two main reasons. First, we would like to become more active Linux community members, and this project appears to be a great opportunity to sponsor some open source work. Secondly, we would like this project to provide a window into our development process and practices. Technical Answers: If Media-S is open source, how can the encryption be secure? If a company wishes to use Media-S to protect their content, SideSpace Solutions highly recommends purchasing a binary distribution license. Under this license, any modifications to Media-S (such as a change of encryption engine or private keys) do not have to be released. Is the Media-S binary-distribution license royalty free? Yes, this license is royalty free. Does Media-S Studio include a binary-only license? Purchase of Media-S Studio includes a binary-only license for Media-S, and full support for both products. Does Media-S Studio include source code? Yes, Media-S Studio includes source code for the two Media-S COM objects and the actual Studio application itself. When is the anticipated release date of Media-S 1.0? Media-S will be released in 1.0 form in May of 2003. What changes will occur before release; I am concerned about purchasing a beta product? The interfaces for Media-S operations are stable and not expected to change in advance of the May release. The only anticipated changes to Media-S include a couple of memory leak fixes. If I purchase Media-S now, do I have to pay when 1.0 is released? Like all SideSpace products, Media-S comes with free updates for life. Therefore you will not have to pay when 1.0 (or even 2.0) is released. |
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