Update 2010-01-25: We will be meeting outside the Theater at 8:30am (Wednesday 27th), and will go until at least 10:30am. Stay tuned to http://identi.ca/dbd for updates and coordination.

This coming Wednesday, January 27th, Apple has invited members of the media to San Francisco's Yerba Buena Center for the Arts Theater to "Come see our latest creation."

There has been much speculation about what Apple will be announcing, with most of it revolving around a possible tablet PC -- basically an oversized iPhone. But no matter the form factor, it's all but certain given the direction Apple has been going that any new product will be DRM-infected and restricted by proprietary software.

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The company who once announced to the world that they opposed DRM on music has been pushing DRM in every other area of their business. Apple's iPhone goes out of its way to apply DRM on every piece of software on the device, saying it is illegal for users to install software that comes from anywhere other than the official Application Store.

Can you imagine a world where this same restriction is applied to your laptop or tablet PC? That could very well be Apple's announcement on Wednesday -- their latest restriction.

As in the past, they didn't invite us to the event, but we thought we would go anyway, and bring some friends. We'll be there to warn the public and the media outside the event about Apple's support for DRM and proprietary software.

Come help create the counter story in the media -- take photos, talk to the press, and have fun with a little bit of theater to show that Apple is not the force for creative expression they claim to be.

We got through to Steve Jobs before on music DRM, and convinced iTunes to drop it. We know we can have success here. But we need to repeat that effort and show that DRM on Apple computers means that people who are actually interested in creativity and freedom will go elsewhere.

Press coverage of Apple events usually falls all over itself to praise the style and sleekness of their devices. It's vital that we be there to unmask the new product for what it undoubtedly will be -- another seamless case and pretty screen hiding a new set of restrictions and threats to the public's digital freedom.

We'll post the precise time and meeting location for our group here next week -- since Apple's event starts at 10am, attendees will be showing up at 9am, and we will want to be ready and outside the Theater by then to hand out flyers and talk to people.

I'll be there representing the FSF and coordinating the action. Please join us, and bring friends. Let us know you're coming at info@defectivebydesign.org.

We'll meet at 8:30am outside the Theater.

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We're at a crucial moment in the fight against DRM. This year--thanks to the strength of the movement you've built and been a part of--we defeated DRM on music. But DRM on books, games, and other digital media is a bigger threat than ever.

Meanwhile the Free Software Foundation, the organization behind Defective by Design, is engaged in a broader battle: fighting for our rights to control the technology we use by promoting free software. The FSF is a member-supported nonprofit. Please consider donating or becoming a member today.

Membership is $10 a month or $5 a month for students.

Free software is our best weapon against DRM. When you use free software, no company can use your hardware to control you. You're free to share whatever you want with whoever you want. And there are no artificial rules or restrictions: the only limit is our community's imagination and ingenuity.

The FSF believes that anybody who doesn't give you this freedom is doing something fundamentally wrong and needs to be stopped. This conviction often pits us against some of the biggest companies and the most dominant ways of thinking in the technology business. What gives us the independence to speak out--and the power to make our voice heard--is the support of our members.

You can also give a gift membership to a friend, or refer a friend to join--and receive recognition.

The FSF can take on controversial campaigns like Defective by Design because it isn't built on the support of big companies and Silicon Valley CEOs: it's built on the support of other activists like you. If you believe that the technology we use should be free from arbitrary restrictions, the best way to put that into action is by becoming an FSF member.

The FSF is a 501(c)3 nonprofit, and donations are tax deductible in the US. Thanks for your time, and thanks for all the work you've done this year. Keep reading below for some of the highlights of Defective by Design's work this year. We're proud of it, and we're proud of you!

Sincerely,

Holmes Wilson
Campaigns Manager
Free Software Foundation / Defective by Design

P.S. Here are some highlights from Defective by Design's work in 2009:

• 2009 was the year that music DRM died. But when Apple's iTunes store went DRM-free on music, we celebrated the victory without buying the hype: Apple still uses DRM on virtually everything else they sell (movies, TV shows, games, audiobooks, applications, and of course hardware).

• Ebooks and ebook readers took off this year, and so did the threat of DRM on books. When Amazon deleted copies of George Orwell's 1984 from hundreds of people's ebook readers, we collected thousands of signatures from readers, authors, public intellectuals and librarians demanding an end to ebook DRM.

• At the same time, we praised and promoted the work of authors and publishers who do the right thing and keep their books DRM-free, like Harlequin's new publishing house Carina Press, or the hundreds of publishers who tagged their work "drmfree".

Through all this, Defective by Design is proud to be the only voice saying loud and clear that there's no such thing as "better" or "friendlier" DRM. No matter how many devices it works on, or what "features" it includes to trick people into accepting it, DRM robs us of our basic rights and insults human curiosity--it needs to go.

This work is critical. Please consider supporting it by becoming a member.