These guys are in haz-mat suits outside of a Bill Gates speech to protest the Digital Rights Management (DRM) capabilities that Microsoft's building into their software. "Defective by Design" is their catchphrase, meaning if you try to play an MP3 file, for example, and MS's software doesn't recognize it as belonging to you it won't play. Defective by design. They're trying to call attention to the fact that while DRM might be functionality that benefits Insert Evil Record Company Here you're the one buying the software. Is that something you'd like to pay money for?

Seattlest says, well, just buy a Mac then. This post is being composed on an iBook, in fact, and by no means is Apple The Perfect Company, but the point is that if you don't like how your software's performing there are other options out there. Now, if it's built into your computer hardware (this protest was staged outside of a Microsoft hardware engineering conference) AND it's mandated by law that you must use DRM-capable hardware (people are working on it) then you're screwed and it's time to put on a haz-mat suit and walk around downtown.

More pictures here and video here.