KEY POINTS:
University of Auckland researcher Peter Gutmann has responded to the blistering attack launched by ZDNet writers on his in turn scathing analysis of the DRM (digital rights management) features of the Windows Vista operating system.
If it sounds like this argument is getting personal, it already did, long ago, as Gutmann points out in his rebuttal of a three part ZDNet series published by Microsoft expert Ed Bott.
Gutmann sees the ZDNet attack as a "vendetta" against him but he's gone to some lengths to address some of the key points Bott makes.
The problem here is that an important issue that attracted worldwide headlines around the world when Gutmann's Vista DRM paper started drawing attention around the web early in the year, has turned into a head-butting contest between geeks.
So I emailed Ed Bott of ZDNet and Peter Gutmann and offered to host a moderated debate through this website where I'd put the same set of key questions to both of them.
The aim of this is to try to make sense of this argument for readers and Windows users who are probably completely baffled by the contradictory statements that have been presented on this subject.
Neither party had appetite for that suggestion.
"Sorry, but I'm not interested in participating in a 'debate' with someone who has such low regard for the truth or the facts," wrote Bott in an emailed response.
"I've briefly shot down every one of his nitpicks, he's going to come back with more trivia, I'll have to respond to that, he'll come back again..." Gutmann responded.
"It's a step up from arguing over whether Spiderman could beat Batman in a fight, but only a very small step."
At least Gutmann is willing to admit the juvenile element this debate has developed. Anyway, if you've read Ed Bott's three-part critique of Peter Gutmann's original paper, it's worth reading Gutmann's reply as well.
