There is "How can content providers protect their assets and maximize their profits in the broadband environment?" by the COO of the MPAA; there is "Enabling a simple connected digital lifestyle: what should the industry do to make content flow?" by the senior vice-president of Microsoft's digital media division; there is "Dumb, dangerous and dire: the case against DRM" by author and former EFF campaigner, Cory Doctorow, and there is some kind of - snigger - 'unbreakable' watermarking algorithm for digital content, presented by none other than the CEO of the company that will usher in this holy grail, where all others have failed.

Perhaps more interesting than the program was what was actually said. I have not been able to confirm whether the MPAA dude actually spoke (his entry was still marked unconfirmed) but the others certainly did. First the Microsoft vice-president. His title is slightly misleading. It should read: "What should the industry do to make paid-for content flow, whereupon the revenues go into Microsoft's coffers?"

Because unless I am missing something, gigabytes of content flow around the Internet every day. And I do not mean unauthorized copies of movies, music and books - I mean original stuff produced by people who want to share. Content is flowing already, and Microsoft wants a cut somehow.

Well if you cannot get people to use your tools to create it, then there is another way: license it out to media device manufacturers. Amir Majidimehr, the aforementioned Microsoft vice-president, explained that device makers will have to pay Microsoft a licence fee for each device that uses Microsoft DRM.

There is also the small matter of a licence agreement that forbids implementing a player in open source and imposes a number of restrictions on the sort of business you can get into. None of this should be terribly surprising. What was surprising was that he came right out and told everyone his company was being deliberately anti-competitive.