Today’s links It’s been twenty years since my Microsoft DRM talk: It looks like you’re trying to avert the DRM apocalypse… Hey look at this: Delights to delectate. This day in history: 2004, 2009, 2014, 2019 Upcoming appearances: Where to find me. Recent appearances: Where I’ve been. Latest books: You keep readin’ em, I’ll keep writin’ ’em. Upcoming books: Like I said, I’ll keep writin’ ’em. Colophon: All the rest. It’s been twenty years since my Microsoft DRM talk (permalink) This week on my podcast, I read my June 17, 2004 Microsoft Research speech about DRM, a talk that went viral two decades ago, and reassess its legacy: https://craphound.com/msftdrm.txt It’s been 20 years (and one day) since I gave that talk. It wasn’t my first talk like that, but at the time, it was the most successful talk I’d ever given. I was still learning how to deliver a talk at the time, tinkering with different prose and delivery styles (to my eye, there’s a lot of Bruce Sterling in that one, something that’s still true today). I learned to give talks by attending sf conventions and watching keynotes and panel presentations and taking mental notes. I was especially impressed with the oratory style of Harlan Ellison, whom I heard speak on numerous occasions, and by Judith Merril, who was a wonderful mentor to me and many other writers: https://locusmag.com/2021/09/cory-doctorow-breaking-in/ I was also influenced by the speakers I’d heard at the many political rallies I’d attended and helped organize; from the…Pluralistic: It's been twenty years since my Microsoft DRM talk (18 Jun 2024)