Technology moves fast. Context matters. Independent by design ↗
vnunet.
Explore topics

Find your next rabbit hole.

Explore the collection, or type to search.

ExplainerYahoo closes GeoCities: how the web lost millions of home pagesYahoo bought GeoCities for billions in 1999 and switched it off a decade later. The closure became a turning point for web preservation.ExplainerThe Storm worm: the botnet that started with a weather headlineIn January 2007 an email about deadly storms in Europe spread a Trojan that built one of the largest peer-to-peer botnets of its time.ExplainerGPLv3: how the free software licence was rewrittenAfter 18 months of public drafting, the Free Software Foundation published version 3 of the GNU General Public License in June 2007.ExplainerThe UK identity card scheme: from Act of Parliament to shredded registerBritain legislated for national ID cards backed by a central biometric register, then abolished the whole scheme within five years.ExplainerThe netbook era: small, cheap laptops that briefly drove PC growthThe Asus Eee PC started a boom in low-cost mini laptops that propped up PC sales, until tablets and thinner laptops took their place.

Press Esc to close

2006 · Security

When Bill Gates told people to buy CDs: Microsoft and the DRM debate

Last reviewed 5 October 2026

In December 2006 Bill Gates said digital rights management caused too much pain for honest buyers, at a time when Microsoft was selling DRM technology.

What he said

Speaking to a group of bloggers in December 2006, Bill Gates was reported to have said that DRM made life too hard for people who paid for music, and that buying a CD and ripping it was a more flexible option.

Why it was notable

Microsoft sold its own Windows Media DRM and had just launched the Zune player with its own protected music store. Hearing Microsoft’s chairman criticise DRM was widely quoted as a sign that even its supporters saw the technology as flawed.

What happened next

In February 2007 Steve Jobs published “Thoughts on Music”, calling on record labels to drop DRM. Within two years the major online music stores were selling DRM-free downloads. Streaming later moved the debate to subscriptions, where access is controlled by the service rather than the file.

Sources

More on Security