DRM for Images and Text in Stacks

[Sivakatirswami]

OK further testing I finally settled on a compromise taking Key Ray's  
suggestion but not using  compressed imageData,  I don't see any  
advantage (I could be missing something) to using compressed  
imageData over simple  jpg storage. Either format would be equally  
hackable...

I think this comes close to making the images at least some  what   
obscurely stored.

--create a substack
--import images into custom props as jpegs,
--One could put these props in something a "available" as a card  
property or something very obscure, like a transparent invisible  
graphic.
--set the uStuff1 of btn "obscureObject" to (url ("binfile:/somePath/ 
foo.jpg"))
--scripts then can call the images for display:
	 put the uStuff of btn "obscureObject" into img "DisplayImageNow"
-- then encrypt the stack with a password. (all this does is prevent  
another developer from seeing the scripts that display the custom prop)

That's about as  good as it gets, I think...some developer who was  
really, really intent on stealing your images might dig through every  
object in the stack, find the  object with custom props, surmise  
these were image data and extract them from the msg box... but this  
is a highly unlikely scenario... as our managing editor pointed out  
today in a staff meeting, discussing this very issue of how  much  
energy we need to put into protecting images, he said that all these  
years, anyone could make  some hi-res scans of our printed magazine  
and get a pretty decent image. But, no one  has actually done this.

Still, on principle, I think we need a strong DRM option and I have  
put in a feature request into bugzilla for simple  option to block  
access to a substack from inside the IDE... I still need to be able  
to say for example, to NewsCom photo agency (who we use a lot of  
photos from), or Thomas Kelly (world famous photographer who does  
shoots for us in India, Sri Lanka and Nepal) with a honest face: "No,  
people cannot extract the images, not even another revolution  
developer...you are welcome to test it yourself if you wish."

--right now I cannot do that....if our managing editor asks "are the  
images locked up," I have to say "well, almost...but not quite"

Sivakatirswami
Himalayan Academy Publications
www.HinduismToday.com



On Mar 20, 2006, at 10:46 AM, Mark Talluto wrote:

>>
>> mmm. I'm reviewing  all the memos to date on this and see you  
>> already mentioned this.
>>
>> OK yes, I think this is "doable"   I will try it. I wonder how  
>> hackable this could be from inside the IDE if one were to place  
>> that line into just the script of the substack "library"
>
>
> This will not work as all one has to do is lock the messages before  
> opening the stack.
>
>
> Mark Talluto
> -- 
> CANELA Software
> http://www.canelasoftware.com