Support and General Use > Plugins/Viewers

Audible.com and other DRM format ideas

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chripley:
I've read all about how Rockbox can't support DRM-protected files.  That makes sense.  But since there is a plugin architecture, could not someone write a plugin that was closed-source?  Would this approach not allow the rockbox to play audible format files, keep the agreement with Audible in tact by "keeping the secret", and provide additional functionality to users that may not have had the ability to play Audible format with their native firmware (like my v1 Sansa e260)?  Please help me understand if this approach is possible...  or does the license Rockbox is published under forbid the interoperation with closed-source systems?

AlexP:
Nope, this can't be done as Rockbox is licensed under the GPL.

chripley:
OK, so does anyone have any links on where I can discuss licensing topics?  If this is the case, how can GPL projects run on MS Windows?  What about how we modify the bootloader of a closed-source product in order to be able to run this open source one - does that not violate the license of the original system?  Is there any discussion on an alternate open-source license, or is that just not attractive to the development team?

Yeah, I could probably find a way to remove DRM from Audible.com files.  There are two ways I can think of right now, but I'd rather not.  Right now I play them through my TomTom, but I'm not bringing my TomTom on a plane to travel to San Francisco just to listen to audible.com audiobooks (the battery life stinks on that thing...  5 hours my bum!  hehe).  I could find non-DRM audio books, but as someone else already pointed out, they are not produced as well as Audible, the titles they have are usually dull and they have few in number.

Llorean:
GPL programs can run on a Windows computer because the code isn't *linked*.

Rockbox isn't a full OS. Plugins are linked to Rockbox. And we don't link any code to the original firmware at any point.

chripley:
Thank you for being patient with me an answering these types of questions.  What is the technical difference of a GPL program "not linking code" into Windows but taking advantage of its .DLL files (for drawing windows, drivers for keyboard/mouse access, etc) and a closed-source plugin "linking" code to Rockbox?

By the way, I'm loving my RockBox!  I was playing blackjack in my car, listening to FLOSS Weekly (where I learned about this to begin with) while waiting for a meeting to start at a client's.

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