Slashdot Mirror
Felt Tip Marker Defeats Copy-Protected CDs
We posted this story over a week ago but the mainstream media
has flooded us with stories about felt tip markers and
copy protected CDs so I figured I'd post it again since I'm really sick of
deleting hundreds of submissions from people who didn't read Slashdot on May 13 ;)
Basically you can mark the rim of some CDs and defeat the copy protection.
And we all know what the DMCA says about tools for circumventing copy protection.
Haha they posted a repeat the editors are such...
Ummmm nevermind
I stole this Sig
Well I guess Office max and Office Depot are now fubard. Overnight they have become distributers of devices used to circumvent copy protection. I hope the RIAA goes easy on them....
Papa Legba come and open the gate
Where have I heard that before?
I hear several RIAA members have brought a suit against Sharpie for violating the DMCA. :-)
I threw out all my felt-tip markers when I read about this... I wouldn't want to have any tools for the circumvention of copy protection around my house.
-Berj
I've preemtively removed all felt marker from our office. Last thing I need is to spend time in a foreign prison, thanks.
OMG. Earth to Malda: You can expect to see exponential growth in troll post story submissions from now on. You have proven that persistence pays.
Sorry Taco! I submitted it yesterday :(
Its amazing what you miss when you dont visit /. daily
- what is the definition of simultanagnosia?! I've been meaning to look it up!
Hmmmnnn - sorta takes the fun out of trying to get a decent first post now.
:o(
M@t
Matt Thompson - Actuality - Insert product here.
Me and my buddy jESUS the monkey having been using felt markers to break that copy protect for months. get with the times!! Read the bible and name your monkey jesus!! wooooo!
Does this mean that Staples or Office Depot will be liable for trafficking DMCA circumventions devices?
How would you like to be arrested in the marker alsle? Freeze! Drop the marker, slowly!
And we all know what the DMCA says about tools for circumventing copy protection.
I thought the DMCA only stipulates laws for devices designed specifically copyright violation? A marker pen clearly doesn't fall into this category. Otherwise they could have outlawed CD burners, photocopiers and who knows what else by now.
If 2600 couldn't even link to sites offering DeCSS downloads, does the DMCA also prohibit news sites and Slashdot from even mentioning that markers can defeat Sony's CD copy protection mechanism? Whoops, did I just incriminate myself?
Now that felt-tip pens are a copyright protection circumvention tool, the mere discussion of pens is now a DMCA violation. Heaven help the people who are "trafficing" in this "contraband". How are they going to find enough prison space for all those OfficeMax and Staples employees?
If I draw on my CD I am a criminal?
Err.. I guess it really isn't 'my' cd now is it...
I am just leasing it....
Haha, it's always a matter of time before someone figures out how to beat any copy protection. When will they learn? Now, I wonder if Sony will keep this ridiculous copy protection scheme now that it's beat...
In a surprise announcement today the justice department attempted to release the details of "Operation Sharpie" in which all felt tip markers are to be confiscated. The press conference ended prematurely when a SWAT team crashed in and siezed the whiteboard and all other presentation materials as evidence.
All my previous sigs now look like this one, I wish they were permanetly recorded when used.
I just love the low tech solution to their high falootin attempt to screw us. There's gotta be a lot of RIAA people pulling their hair out the last couple weeks. :)
Good thinking champ.
Remember those dongles you had to put on your parallel port to get AutoCAD to work? Well, I remember getting around that (not actually the AutoCAD one, was for another app) by copying the circuitry inside the dongle... it was really simple, just a couple of wires looping back. Does this mean a soldering iron is illegal? What about the circuit board, or the wire? Or what if I employed someone else to do it? Are they themselves illegal (how does that work!?) since I'm just using them as a tool.
And, if the copy protection is so lame that it's trivial to break, doesn't that mean that general purpose things can be used to break the protection, and that's just mad. Think of password protected software... is a dictionary illegal since I might try to type in every word in it to gain access so I can copy it.
Stop the madness!!!
if we don't stop you'll post it again next week?...
We used felt tip markers to get high. Damn these kids with their fancy gadgets and such.
will the people who buy these cds be learned enough to do this? i think not!
I want 2D games back.
Has anyone actually been able to prove that this works? I'm not talking about anecdotal evidence, I mean, has any geek with /.'s general communal respect actually taken a stack of CDs, tried to rip them, gotten errors, marked the CDs up, and then got them to rip with no errors?
:) But I'd swear that an earlier posting talked about marking the inside, not outside, of the CD. Anyway, my question still holds -- any geek-written report on this, or do we only have the mainstream press to trust as to whether this actually works, and for which CDs?]
And then documented the crap out of it?
This all smells too much like the audiophile tricks of the 80's where coloring the outside rim of a CD was supposed to "trap stray laser radiation and improve the [clarity | transparency | imaging | other-nonsense-claptrap] of the music." (see the snopes entry on this one).
I ask because I'm really curious what the scientific explanation for this would be. It was my understanding that they (the infamous "they") did something to the actual track of the CD, with bad physical spacing, introduced errors, or something like that, but did it *throughout* the CD. How on earth would marking the inside of the CD fix that?
[okay, I just actually *read* the article.
Bye Bye felt tips
"I wonder what type of copy protection will come next?" one posting on alt.music.prince read. "Maybe they'll ban markers."
Maybe they'll just ban Prince. I think that would be one use of the DMCA that we could all approve of.
Ok, ok. Kidding. I know: DMCA evil. You guys are right. Now move along.
If you use the black marker to defeat the copy protection, can you still use the green magic marker to make it sound better? And will that improve the sound of your MP3s?
You pry it out of my cold dead hand.
Or...
When Sharpies are outlawed, only outlaws will have Sharpies
-- Chris Martin, System Administrator
come over to my house and I will set your c.d.s free.
.
It's hard to believe that's how Micronians are made. Why don't we see it right now by having you both kiss one another?
My Acorn RiscPC has actually a CD driver that shows me each of the disc's sessions as a separate disc drive... :-)
It just won't accept to open the Sony buggy track
Trolling using another account since 2005.
It seems that a new model has developed. File sharing cannot be defeated entirely, and I believe the entertainment companies know this. They seek to "niche" the number of file-swappers by making it increasingly difficult to rip and download music, apps, etc. The irony is that proliferation of media still occurs because one person devises a method to circumvent copy protection, and then uses the internet to not spread the media itself, but more the knowledge on how to unlock and spread the media.
It's unbelievable that the people who designed the copy protection are so stupid that it could be hacked by a 2 year old (literally). There has to be a subtle motive involved.
..because posting this story twice may make the MPAA and RIAA think you're trying to promote circumvention. I mean isn't posting a link to this story essentially the same thing as linking to DeCSS?
Can I bum a sig?
...and sue Sanford for making felt-tipped pens. Push for a ban of all marking devices. Run with it. It's things like this that will get the DMCA repealed.
No comment.
I can see my "Sharpie" common stock rising in value on the DJIA as I type....Im am rich!!!
At this point, I long for the days of trolls posting haikus about a petrified Natalie Portman slathered in hot grits driving the Slashdot Cruiser over to a Beowulf cluster. At least those posts tended to get appopriately modded down as trolls rather than modded up as both insightful and funny.
The DMCA circumvention device joke has been made. Several times. Stop mindlessly repeating it like you're Raymond going through the Who's On First routine. Besides, I hear Amazon.com has a patent on the business model of mindlessly repeating a joke.
(I apologize for cluttering up the comments with meta-discussion, but I felt the point needed to be made. Also, since this is just a repost, most important points have already been made.)
of violating the DMCA. It's illegal to spread information on how copy protection systems can be circumvented. Just ask Dmitry...
...from my cold dead fingers!
I don't care one whit for what kind of obnoxious copy protection they shove up Celene Dion's... music, but if the DMCA wants my sharpie, they'll need to bring the National Guard!
this is classic. this article is really about how the editors hate our story submissions, and how they really don't care about the news anymore. but that's nothing new either. so it's a double repeat!
and I have many markers. Come on by and we'll set your c.d.s free.
I have successfully burned 1000 copies of The Fast and the Furious soundtrack already.
.
It's hard to believe that's how Micronians are made. Why don't we see it right now by having you both kiss one another?
And we all know what the DMCA says about tools for circumventing copy protection.
I'm a married man but last week I committed a sin: I took the DMCA into a back alley and let the b*tch go down on me.
Now as bad as that may sound it gets worse, I think I may go back for more this week because the DMCA swallows!
:)
I'm really sick of deleting hundreds of submissions from people who didn't read Slashdot on May 13
Taco, sounds like you have a problem here. One solution is to post a duplicate story. Allow me to suggest an alternative.
void processSubmission( char* submissionString, char* toExclude[], int toExcludeLength ) {
int x;
for( x = 0; x < toExcludeLength; x++ ) {
if( strstr( submissionString, toExclude[x] ) ) {
return;
}
}
askTaco( submissionString );
}
Of course, if you need a little more power, there's always regex.
An unjust law is no law at all. - St. Augustine
Comments/questions/etc can be made here.
Subject: Copyright
I recently read an article describing how an unscrupulous individual could use a felt-tip marker to defeat the copyright protection on a CD. Being an artist, I have a large number of felt-tip markers in my possession. Do I risk being sued under the DMCA for being in possession of a device for circumventing copyright protection? What if I lend one to a friend? Is this considered distributing a device for circumventing copyright protection? I'd appreciate an answer on this... I want nothing more than to be an upstanding citizen.
Sincerely,
Nathan Labadie
Therefore, shouldn't there sales be discounted from the CD charts?
your president too?
.
It's hard to believe that's how Micronians are made. Why don't we see it right now by having you both kiss one another?
well.. I just did an install of OpenBSD 3.1 last night and the ports tree as well as the pre-compiled packages found on the openbsd.org ftp server includes both the DeCSS source and binary
so if 2600 can get in trouble for just linking to the code under the DMCA, i wonder what would happen to Theo for distributing it (along with all the openbsd mirrors there are out there)
yes this is mildly offtopic, but i found it interesting and worthy of being shared, if you disagree comment, dont' moderate
Specifically:
Felt tip markers are not primarially designed to circumvent access controls. Felt tip markers have lots of commercially significant purposes other than circumvention.
But, if you marketed a felt tip pen with the name CD Rip (TM) brand felt tip pens and included instructions for how to circumvent CD protection than you should expect a C&D letter.
It's the same situation as the fellow who's program unset the true type embedded bits and a generic hex editor. The first tool has one purpose, to twiddle embedding bits. The second tool has lots of commercially significant purposes many unrelated to any kind of circumvention.
I have discovered a truly marvelous sig, unfortunately the sig limit is too small to contain i
The DMCA was used to smack-down 2600.com for simply linking to a copy circumvention device (DeCSS) -- they were successfully prosecuted for providing information on copy protection circumvention devices even though they did not distribute the device or engage in the circumvention themselves.
While Sharpie markers are not likely to be outlawed since they have known legitimate functions (whereas making a non-CD workin your computer is illegal), giving information on how to use a Sharpie marker to circumvent a copy protection device probably is illegal. That's the absurdity of the law and proof that the legislators responsible for the piece of filth known as the DMCA deserve to be shot. And stabbed. And beaten. And boiled. And whipped. And drawn and quartered.
STOP MISUSING APOSTROPHES, YOU MORONS!!!
I'm surprised that the tech industry, especially slashdot isn't taking proper advantage of the current situation. Shame on you, just think of all the jobs around at the moment to develop copy-protection/drm systems - no, obviously im not saying you should actually try and develop a good system (if thats even possible) what im saying is that you could work for these companies and produce equally bad systems and make lots of money. not only that, but you could purposely build in back doors. These companies simply must understand that they are inferior, stupid people, and we are all laughing at them while gnutella runs in the background :)
:)
- oh yeah, and the pen thing? I've known for along time that pens are very dangerous. They allow people to express ideas, write encrypted messages (you can do simple encryption with pen, paper, and calculator) and even let people draw pornographic pictures (well that's pretty much all I did in art class). Pens and all other writing equipment should be replaced with government approved electronic note-pads that scan the user input for illegal ideas, and banned words and just delete them.
This comment does not represent the views or opinions of the user.
Are Celine D. and her cloned offspring copyright protected too???
clone n. 1. An exact duplicate: "Our product is a clone of their
product." Implies a legal reimplementation from documentation or by
reverse-engineering. Also connotes lower price. 2. A shoddy, spurious
copy: "Their product is a clone of our product." 3. A blatant ripoff,
most likely violating copyright, patent, or trade secret protections:
"Your product is a clone of my product." This use implies legal action
is pending. 4. [obs] `PC clone:' a PC-BUS/ISA or EISA-compatible
80x86-based microcomputer (this use is sometimes spelled `klone' or
`PClone'). These invariably have much more bang for the buck than the
IBM archetypes they resemble. This term fell out of use in the 1990s;
the class of machines it describes are now simply `PCs' or `Intel
machines'. 5. [obs.] In the construction `Unix clone': An OS designed to
deliver a Unix-lookalike environment without Unix license fees, or with
additional `mission-critical' features such as support for real-time
programming. Linux and the free BSDs killed off this product category
and the term with it. 6. v. To make an exact copy of something. "Let me
clone that" might mean "I want to borrow that paper so I can make a
photocopy" or "Let me get a copy of that file before you mung it".
Rien n'est plus beau que le creux du 0.
Everyone's favorite Senator has already proposed legislation to stop the menace of the marker.
In other news, CNN is reporting that a Waste Minimization Assessment for a Manufacturer of Felt Tip Markers has just been published, highlighting the many environmental dangers behind the production of Felt Tip Markers...
All over the country, newspapers and TV news stations are running stories about inhalant abuse, saying that "Inhalants are the third most abused substances among 12 to 14-year-olds in the United States, coming in right behind alcohol and tobacco." (emphasis in original)
Shop owners are being interviewed for upcoming movies which depict them as being devastated by marker graffiti on their shop windows...
And parents are complaining (on national television news, every day) that their kids are coming home covered in marks from classroom marker fights!
It is impossible to copy protect digital data.
I salute the people who developed these bogus copy protection schemes and made their millions. They must have very good salesmen...
What the RIAA and others need to do, is use the abovementioned super salesmen to tell them how to make money from music in the new milennium, but copy protection isn't going to cut it.
As consumers: What is your wishlist for a medium to carry digital data for sale ?
My wishes:
- No special hardware required
- 'backupable'
- cheap
- PEN FRIENDLY
-- You Gotta Do What You Gotta Do
WARNING: The following image may be illegal under the DMCA. Further, the image depicts the actual commission of a felony offense in the USA. You have been warned.
Marker Method Illustrated.
STOP MISUSING APOSTROPHES, YOU MORONS!!!
Oh yeah, time to stock up on felt tip markers.... I'm sure I'll make a pretty penny on these baby's on the black market once they get pulled from the market for violating the DMCA. mua ha.... ha HA!
find a walkman or other player that works with the CPCD. Take the line out or headphone plug and connect it with the "Line In" on your sound card using a male-male cord.
.wav file (note: wav file will be pretty big). Modify recording for time (ie, strip off dead space before/after song) and volume. Convert wav->mp3 and you're done! Share away!
Use a program like Window's Sound Recorder and record the music to your harddrive as a
also remember to burn the mp3's onto a CD-R as music tracks and then return your CPCD to the store for good measure.
Ah yes!!! *sigh* the injustice of it all. Soon we won't be able to call the windows in our homes windows any more because of copyright protection. Pages will have to be ripped out of dictionaries. Webster will be exhumed, and Mom won't be able to write on her conserve jars because markers will be illegal... So I guess I'll just take a break, go back to vinyl 33's and listen to scratchy music while looking out on the graffitiless city through those see-through thingies on my wall.
Rien n'est plus beau que le creux du 0.
Outlaw these terrorist copy circumvention devices immediately!
It says, right on the label what its for... It was created to mark CD's...
Dumdumdum...
This is not so much a repeat as a clarification. The title of the story you cite is 'Post-it Notes vs. Copy-inhibited CDs' and though it does mention the marker trick most people will remember the headline rather than a secondary point mentioned in the article. Also, most of the discussion seems to be about the malfunctions caused by the copy-protection and possible legal troubles caused by this. The point about the marker is drowned in the noise. Now that the incredible ease of the marker trick has been emphasized by the mainstream media it's no surprise that you are getting resubmissions.
Here's what I believe should happen. Redhat, or another DMCA foe, should release a copy-protected audio CD with instructions regarding the use of Linux (for example). Someone should defeat the copy protection with a Sharpie. Redhat then sues Sanford (makers of Sharpie) to have the markers pulled due to DMCA violations (circumvention device). Redhat will, of course, lose horribly. Then we have a precedent. The court will probably rule that the Sharpie has other useful purposes, and will not be taken off of the market, or that the DMCA is too vague. Then CSS and similar tools (that have another purpose) will have a legal ruling to rally behind.
/. finds me to be 20% Troll, 80% Funny
I just color the whole side.
Pirates be damned! I'm going to Best Buy tonight to copy protect ALL their CDs for them.
Teacher: Ok, Jimmy, where is your homework?
Jimmy: I don't have it.
Teacher: Why don't you have it; and don't tell me your dog ate it?!?
Jimmy: No, nothing like that ma'am. Due to recent litigation the Supreme Court ruled that the manufacture of writing utencils was illegal under the DMCA.
And I used up my last one on last weeks writing assignment.
And yes, a paperclip could be considered a circumvention device. It enables you to unlock some CD drive drawers so you can keep trying low level circumvention hacks.
Raise that minimum to browse.
That rant got you some karma but it wont change \.
In all likelyhood 75% of those people thought they were the first to post what they said. The other 25% want to get on everyone's nerves and repeat crap endlessly. You just validated their existence.
Me I just want to hit 200 posts today if I can and I got tired of waiting for good things to say.
.
It's hard to believe that's how Micronians are made. Why don't we see it right now by having you both kiss one another?
"Power", "Play" and "Pay"
I am from a small, grease-loving country in the north called Ca-na-da.
Life:
Customer: Hi, where can I find blank CDs?
Employee: Making Copies. huh? They are on isle five.
If Life were like OfficeMAX:
Customer: Hi, where can I find blank CDs?
Employee: Making Copies. huh? They are on isle five.Right next to the felt tip pens which can be used to circumvent the copy protection of the CDs taht you may be copying. Here I'll print out the instructions for you. And here is my username and password to ftp.phat-warez.com
News for Nerds. Stuff that matters.
News for Nerds. Stuff that matters.
Computer Science is no more about computers than astronomy is about telescopes. --E. W. Dijkstra
Isn't this what Slashbacks are for?
From OfficeDepot, I figure I will get all the felt tip pens i can now - and i will corner the illicit felt tip pen market in no time. Screw coke and pot sales... illegal felt tip pens are gunna bring in a fortune! Its like prohibition all over again. Just call me Al!!
Let's see what you folks make of this.
The way that democracy and judicial system of yours works at the moment, just about the only thing that will get lawmakers to stick up for Joe and Jane is public outrage/ridicule.
Basically, I think the EFF should throw the DMCA at the people who make Crayola. Sue the pirating bastards.
Don't tell me that wouldn't make headlines. And headlines would raise public awareness of the DMCA issue.
If the DMCA is ridiculed in public over its potential uses, I don't think it'll last long.
Never mind whether the EFF would win or lose; the whole point is to showcase the idiocy of this law.
Anyone listening?
Blearf. Blearf, I say.
It is time to start banning some more things. We can start with banning markers. Once we have no more pens then we will start banning news services for leaking this information to the public. Now that we have no news then we need to shut down the internet. The benefit of that is we stop piracy, online gambling and porn. :)
"I have gone to look for myself, If I return before I get back keep me here"
A duplicate to be sure, but not a dupe.
If you aren't sure why, go to dict.org and find out.
--
English - The Illegitimate child of Lation and German.
American - The rebellious teenage child of English.
American Slang - The mid-twenties junkie friend of American.
American Haxor - The LSD-induced comatose still-tripping dog of American Slang.
That's all I have to say about that.
"...sick of deleting hundreds of submissions...", I'm surprised that you didn't whine about you wrist again!
-- Probability does not dismiss possibility --
The president of Sharpie today was dragged from his office by federal agents and is being transported to an undisclosed maximum security federal jail. He stands accused to breaking the security of CD protection and is being treated as a domestic terrorist that endangers our national economy.
Federal authorities also raided local Taco Bells today in seach for the terrorist known as 'CmdrTaco'. Unable to find the self proclaimed commander of the Tacos, John Ashcroft vowed to keep the search for the Taco Commander until he is found and brought to justice.
-Henry
"Useless organic meatbag" -HK-47
Hey d00dz,
Can't find this program on the web or on Kazaa.. can someone mail a copy to me plz...
thx
A haiku "about a petrified Natalie Portman slathered in hot grits driving the Slashdot Cruiser over to a Beowulf cluster" would probably get modded up to +5 for the sheer creativity inherent in the thing.
Best Slashdot Co
...since youre being so nice to us, users, posting duplicate stories ill help you posting a mirror HERE...
Fabio - Sumare/Sao Paulo/Brazil/South America/Earth/Solar System/Milky Way/Universe
http://www.morroida.com.br
So the problem is that computers check the data tracks before playing the audio, and give up when the data track is bad. Is it the CD drive doing this, or could the OS be modified to accept these CDs?
People who disagree with you are not automatically evil, greedy, or stupid.
dude:
"all your marker are belong to us"
now those "CD Markers" you can buy which are sold for marking on your CD-Rs etc. are going to face the courts.. oh, no, i live in England so im safe from your pathetic laws
This comment does not represent the views or opinions of the user.
I don't know about the rest of you but I think that ThinkGeek should start selling DMCA Circumvention Devices. e.g. a Sharpie with a custom label with a caution symbol and the text "This object may be used as a device for circumventing copyright protection methods as outlined in the DMCA."
I think they'd sell. Who wants an entire office toolbox filled with copyright protection circumvention devices? I do, I do!
where repeated stories aren't errors, they're features
This is what it is supposed to look like.
No idea if it works, however...
El Karma: excelente(principalmente la suma de moderación hecha a los comentarios de los usuarios)
Actually, the mere act of publishing an algorithm or method for copy-protection circumvention is illegal under the DMCA. Therefore, publishing an article stating that "felt tip marker defeats copy-protected CD's" and then discussing the exact implementation (drawing on the outside of the disk) is illegal under the DMCA. CNN.com may now be sued by Sony for publishing this and slashdot may be sued for further disseminating the information.
... and Sony's lawsuit.
Sean Ellis
Follow OfQuack's antics on Twitter.
Marker pens should be included in the list of dual use goods and technologies.
No more exports to Afghanistan, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Cuba, Iran, Iraq, Libya, North Korea, Syria, Tajikistan, Vietnam, Burma, China, the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (Serbia and Montenegro), Haiti, Liberia, Rwanda, Somalia, Sudan and Zaire.
They'll arrest me for owning felt tip markers.
Repeal the DMCA!
Shouldn't someone file an injunction to prevent you from linking to the article? I'm completely serious... just think how the publicity (ie. getting laughed out of court) would help 2600
-- "At Microsoft, quality is job 1.1" -- PC Magazine, Nov. 1994
A friend of mine happened to have some of the UMG and Sony CDs, and he tried to reproduce the results reported in the news. He tried both the marker and the electrical tape techniques, and the only thing he succeeded in doing was making the CDs unreadable in his computer. In one instance the computer would not eject the modified CD and he had to use the paperclip eject trick.
I would be curious to know if anyone has witnessed success. To me this sounds like the "green marker on the inner ring" rumor that was supposed to make a CD sound better.
WAKE  UP  DOWN  THERE!
slak
Unfortunately, there might be a way for Sony to revive this copy protection. Couldn't Sony just reduce the the distance between the bogus data track and the audio so that a person with a marker couldn't reliably separate the two?
--
For the book says, "We may be through with the past, but the past ain't through with us."
I don't know, but I'm pretty sure you can find out on the DMCA author page. ;)
"Old man yells at systemd"
I remember reading an article in some HI-FI magazine some years ago...
"I you use this [a special very expensive] pen on the edge of the CD it will remove reflections on the CD and it will sound a lot better"
Now I believe them! It will actually make the CD playable.
(Well at least if this thing actually works)
NullPointerException
Nope, paying's not an option, it's mandatory!
After you've marked up you CD to get around the copy protection, what are the chances that your favorite used CD store will consider this to be damaged??
So the news is reporting this? Does this make the media prosecutable under the DMCA? After all, they're explaining how to get around a copy protection.
Turner
Windows - Proof that PT Barnum was right!
As was proposed by many people the first time this story was posted, why not boycott these non-CDs? Why not send an email, snail-mail, whatever to the artists whose records are being made this way and tell them what you think? Surely this would be more useful than giving more of your money to the RIAA by buying these things. Plus, that might be mistaken for "supporting the idea of copy-protected (non)CDs...
Just a suggestion.
"Empathise with stupidity, and you're halfway to thinking like an idiot." - Iain M. Banks
Due to the banning of markers, the paperless office is now mandatory under the DMCA!
What a load of crap, the copy protection never affected me as a Linux user anyway. I don't automount my cdroms so my machine never looks for a data track. I had no problems copying the Jimmy Eat World Album which uses this copy protection.
;)
Also, the article was pants, the bit which really caught my eye was "Because computer hard drives are programmed to read data files first, the computer will continuously try to play the bogus track first." Hmm, hard drives that can read cds, whatever next....
No, the DMCA in section 1201(E) stipulates that the devices are banned if they are (a) designed to circumvent, or (b) have limited commercial purpose other than to circumvent, or (c) are marketed as circumventing a "technological measure that effectively controls access to a work".
...provide ... any ... device ... that is marketed by that person ... for use in circumventing [encrypted content access]." So my guess is, can tell you a marker pen can be used to defeat access controls on non-redbook CDs, but then I am not allowed to give you a marker pen.
The third part is important and reads "No person shall manufacture, import, offer to the public, provide, or otherwise traffic in any technology, product, service, device, component, or part thereof, that is marketed by that person or another acting in concert with that person with that person's knowledge for use in circumventing a technological measure that effectively controls access to a work protected under this title."
Cut out the guff not related to marker pens, and we get: "No person shall
In California I can't keep pet snails, molest butterflies or ride a bicycle in a swimming pool either.
Once more unto the breach, dear friends, once more, Or close the wall up with our American dead!
ROCHESTER, NY -- Technology buffs have cracked music publishing giant Sony Music's elaborate Celine Dion distribution technology with a decidedly low-tech method: scribbling around the middle of a disk with a felt-tip marker.
Internet newsgroups have been circulating news of the discovery for the past week, describing the simple method of making the latest Celine Dion release, "A New Day Has Come" actually tolerable to the human ear. The technique involves covering the section of the disc from the center rim to 1cm from the edge of the disc with indellible ink.
"My children would scream in agony at the sound of the new CD," one post on alt.music.celine-dion said, "but with the modified disc, they even got their homework done while I listened."
Sony has not commented on the discovery, but experts believe no legal action will be taken since the technique does not defeat Sony's "Key2Audio" copy protection.
--- Jason Olshefsky
Karma: Poser (mostly affected by adding this line long after everyone else did)
Instead of a sharpie, I chuck one of these "CD" like things up in my metal lathe and cut the outside edge off down to the "gap". Now does that make my metal lathe a circumvention device?
I figured I'd post it again since I'm really sick of deleting hundreds of submissions...
What do you say, should we submit this story repeatedly over the next week or two and try for a triplicate post?
Well , I bought the soundtrack from Episode 2 only to come home and notice the big label "Will not play on PC/MAC". And yes sir, it doesn't play/rip on my x86 or my powerbook g3.
I looked at this page to get some more information on the felt-pen method, but discoverd my SW cd didn't had the big seperated outside track. So I guessed I'd be searching the Limewire for the mp3 files...
I gave the disc to my friend who has a Powerbook G4 (the previous model - 2 months old) and the disc played and ripped without a problem, probably because it has a very recent dvd/cdrw combo drive.
Well, I'm glad I can listen to the soundtrack anywhere I want too, and I hope Sony comes to their senses about these silly schemes.
If they'd really look at the p2p networks they'd see that their effort to keep the music of those networks is already in vain...
blaah !
I translated the relevant paragraphs from their website and submitted it to Slashdot along with detailed explanation on FEBRUARY, three months ago. Guess what? It was rejected...
--- Frantisek Fuka (Yes, that's my real name and you have no idea how it's pronounced)
This reminds me of the old days when you could use a pair of scissors or a hole-puncher to make single-sided 5 1/4 inch floppies into double-sided.
Or put a piece of tape over the hold to make them read-only.
Sigh.
-nd
Insightful??
I guess there's no "doesn't get the joke" category.
Just released!
Sony, after the embarasing default of their state-of-the-art copy protection system, have announced a new, more proven, form of theft protection system. According to Sony, a black magic marker will now be run across the bottom of all new CD's in an X fashion. This marking will prevent all CD-Burners to eject the disk in disgust. Macintosh computers have been known to crash when reading these disks, and PC cd-rom drives have exploded due to increased spin rates. There is a warning on the CD which states "Any attempt to play this CD in any device will result in four alien beings sucking your brain out your ears, becasue obviously you don't need it". Music enthusiasts are upset at the fact that these CD's cannot be played in even 100% honast to goodness CD players. Sony refused to comments on this accusation in public, but did tell our reporter that it is a minor side-effect that Sony will look into, Until then, people are encouraged to buy these new CD's and help Sony gain a monopoply, just like Micro$oft.
Is this thing on?
This latest hack is a twist on that theme - the marked lines invalidate the disc track that's supposed to keep make your PC think it has a bad disc. If you kill the bogus track, the PC's CD-ROM drive can simply go on to rendering the next one, the real one.
No matter what you do in the digital world, there is still the possibility of ripping at the analog level. Standard consumer equipment exists that can make a really good A/D conversion and get a high-quality rendering of the audio content back into the digital realm without any DRM encumbrances. CD players exist that have digital output (S/PDIF) - run that output back into a sound card with matching inputs and you're done. Any of these so-called protected discs can be played, and ripped, in such a set-up. My goofy DVD/CD/MP3 player has such an output (yours too?). Once you have one digital copy, it'll show up on the Internet all over again.
Only by encrypting the data all the way to a closed rendering subsystem (decrypting speakers or headphones?) could you prevent this - and consumers will never stand still for that. Any solution that prevents consumers from getting their fair use out of purchased content, by that I mean the ability to play it wherever they want (iPod anyone?) is akin to handcuffing everyone in order to prevent crime.
This is a war that can never truly be won, the only solution is for the content producers to embrace the technology rather than trying to kill it. A new business model that exploits the Internet and its bandwidth and provides a reasonable exchange of fair value for goods received is the only way they can inhibit (not wipe out) piracy. If discs were fairly priced, rather than selling for 30 times their manufacturing cost, there would be little need or impetus for Joe-Sixpack to participate in piracy. If you could buy the songs you wanted, rather than pay full price for an album that has more filler than meat, that would also help.
I'd really like to see an unbiased, non-knee-jerk-reaction analysis of the so-called harm done to RIAA member studio profits by the file sharing. We've all read analysis that suggests CD sales were actually helped by the emergence of Napster. Recent downturns in the industry are more likely due to general lagging in the economy rather than lost sales due to piracy. Any 'solution' to this problem needs to take a cold, hard look at those facts, first.
I have a very curious view on this given that my 'job' for the last few years has been on the side of the protectors...
....where we repeat old stories for people who are not intelligent enough to read past the first screenful of posts.
The original article said the adhesive from post-it notes will work as well...Of course the theft protection devices included on the inside of CD Cases contains a similar adhesive....this should be the preferred method....then when they outlaw them people can just walk off with copies of the CD.
Make America grate again!
Seriously.
This seems like a perfect opportunity to underline JUST HOW FUCKING REDICULOUS the DMCA is. We push the gov't to back up their rediculous law by going after everyone that's ever sold a felt-tip pen under the DMCA.
If that doesn't get the DMCA shown up for the vile heap of rat excrement it is, then nothing will.
Fooz Meister
Ok ok ok, we get the jokes (most of us anyway).
The important thing is not whether felt tip pens will become illegal. It's that somebody figured out a laughably simple way to defeat something Sony must have spent a good chunk of money coming up with. I'm thinking meetings, demos, testing, approval, and at least one large congratulatory catered lunch. And now they look like idiots. Nothing, I mean NOTHING, upsets corporate management more than being made fools.
Right on.
You should know that the way you defined your arguments to processSubmission() is not canonical.
Alternatively, you could have used
void processSubmission(char *submissionString, char **toExclude, int toExcludeLength)
Depends on how you look at it. You could also say that the pen has one purpose: to mark things with ink. The question in the former case is, what are the various uses of twiddling those embedded bits?
All unfair meta-mods are now being meta-meta-modded as retarded.
This has got to really, really piss of Sony (or whomever they bought/licensed the "copy protection" (sic) technology from). Just imagine, now the probably several tens of millions of dollars (at least) invested in creating this piece of crap are mostly wasted..
You want me to rim my CDs???? How gay do you have to be artist these days? Isn't this discrimination?????
;->
"None of this shit works" -W.Shatner
So then this would be bad: Buy Sharpie's Now
...and with a bit of adjusting of the post-it, it worked fine on my copy-protected CD-Single of Vanessa Carlton's "Thousand Miles". I would have preferred the marker method, but I didn't have a water-soluble felttip available and I want to return this crippled disk tomorrow. I wouldn't have bought it if I had known that Universal/A&M was copy-protecting all its new releases. And there was absolutely NO indication on the packaging or on the CD itself that it was copy-protected. Interestingly enough, the CD Logo was missing from the surface of the CD where it usually resides. But its absence wouldn't have helped me since I couldn't open the CD case to have an actual look at the CD before I purchased it.
It's unfortunate that Universal is treating me like a potential criminal when all I want to do is listen to these tracks which I've payed for on my mp3 player and my computer. I like Vanessa Carlton and I want to support her releases but I'll be deleting these two tracks from my hard drive and telling my friends to avoid purchasing her CDs when I return this single tomorrow. I'd write Universal a letter, but obviously the only thing that matters to them is money. So I'll let my return do the talking.
Bakas.
Tig
Given that Slashdot gets all of its stories from other sources, and that it (demonstrably) only runs stories after many submissions (so the "last" submitter gets his name on it rather than the first), and that the "editors" (I use the term loosely) very demonstrably don't even read their own stories, then this is just business as usual.
How about you change the site policy and actually go out and find stories yourself or even (gasp!) do some actual investigative journalism?
If you were blocking sigs, you wouldn't have to read this.
`(2) No person shall manufacture, import, offer to the public, provide, or otherwise traffic in any technology, product, service, device, component, or part thereof, that--
`(A) is primarily designed or produced for the purpose of circumventing a technological measure that effectively controls access to a work protected under this title;
`(B) has only limited commercially significant purpose or use other than to circumvent a technological measure that effectively controls access to a work protected under this title; or
`(C) is marketed by that person or another acting in concert with that person with that person's knowledge for use in circumventing a technological measure that effectively controls access to a work protected under this title.
Move on. There's nothing to see here.
I'd prefer to read people's opinions in the comments section and not in the by-line for stories. This especially includes bitching about people submitting good news, even if they're redundant submissions. I'd think that if you don't like deleting duplicate news emails, this isn't the hobby/line of work for you. Granted, I have read Slashdot's numerous request for folks who submit news to make sure similar stories haven't already been posted, but how often do people find an interesting article and then immediately go search the SD archives before submitting? Isn't it the job of "reporters", and I use that term as lightly as it seems to be taken around here, to shift threw the news and post what's interesting to the community, preferable without the commentary in the news post?
In all fairness, I realize that Slashdot is foremost a discussion board, and then it is a news site. However, I for one, and I doubt that I'm alone in this, would like to read straight-and-to-the-point news headlines and leave the commentary for the comments section.
-I'd like to see a user-mod feature (for other users comments) in every discussion board.-
How long do you think it will take before someone comes out with a kit that makes it easy to draw the black circle around the outside rim of the CD?
Something like those "easy CD labeling" thingys.
-ch
Its unfortunate that their technology for copy protection doesnt work, but I understand from
reading about Volume Holographic Optical Storage
the technology is supposed to be unbreakable
because the copy protection is in the molecular or atomic data pattern. If you interested the web
www.colossalstorage.net
they do an extentive evaluation of all data storage type on their colossal5.net webpage.
"public school is front for mass CD copy circumvention"
This just in: It seems top executives of Sanford, makers of the widely-used Sharpie felt-tip pens, and Avery Dennison, makers of the ever popular Marksalot markers, are dumping their stocks. This follows the recent findings that the two products just mentioned, when properly used in conjunction with human hands, can be used to circumvent the copy-protection of several CDs that have recently been released. The heads of both companies have supposedly been aware of the potential for legal action to be taken against the prodcuts since the discovery of the copy-protection workaround, yet both continue to pump out millions of pens. Former Sanford employee Emily Frankins has come forward claiming to have been fired after threatening to alert officials to the shredding of memos containing valuable information regarding the pens. The shredding of memos to higherups in the company concerning the obvious lack of respect for the law has supposedly been going on for the past week.
In a related story, God continues to argue with authorities in the ongoing investigation of human hands. God claims that the human body is modular only to some extent and that it would not be feasible for Him to remove hands from all people. Government officials are currently seeking the help of anyone that no longer has either of their hands as a result of an 'Act of God' in order to prove that the removal of hands can in fact be accomplished. Officials are also investigating the possibility of using other body parts to write onto copyprotected CDs and the possibility of having God remove those parts as well. This includes using feet, arm, legs, mouth, and other orifices that could hold a pen while marking on a CD.
That *cocksucker* was Mr. Bad at Pigdog who put it together to confuse the RIAA attack dogs who were trying to eradicate deCSS from the internet.
Here.
DiVX ;-)s at 11.
BAN ALL FELT TIP MARKERS!
They are evil DMCA breakers!
cat
It has come to our attention that you are distributing a tool (aka the "Sharpie Fine Point Permanent Marker") used to circumvent current copy-protection mechanisms on audio disks. This violates the DMCA. Please stop immediately or we will send the flying monkeys after you.
The latest ghetto wear is the warez-friendly green sharpie hanging from a gold necklace.
It says "I'm bad, I like free music, and the cops can stuff it!"
Soon we'll see runway models with green sharpies on necklaces.
-
--- Will in Seattle - What are you doing to fight the War?
> Tell that to Dmitry.
You know, I'm not kidding when I say that I accidentally read that line:
"Tell that to Disney."
It's really sad when when people have started to subconsciously associate wholesale abuse of the law and the public with the company which brought us Mickey Mouse and DisneyWorld. Wow. I guess the real question becomes--what have they done for us lately, versus what have they taken from us lately?
Draconian copyright laws designed solely to keep Mickey from becoming public property like he would have years ago, and to keep their artificial-scarcity DVD racket going. The shredding of tons of documentation to prevent the family of Pooh's copyright licensor from proving that they weren't given their contractual percentage of the incredible sales. Some "family" company it's become, eh Walt?
Chasing Amy
(We all chase Amy...)
"The more corrupt the state, the more numerous the laws"-Tacitus
I've circumvented a few copy protection schemes in my time, and people often call me a "tool"
If the purpose here is to prevent the outer track from being read, the solution is simple. Take any somewhat sharp object (knife, pen, pencil) and scratch at the top side of the CD where you would have marked on the bottom. A foil-like layer will come off, and you're done.
My server
Everyone buy one of these CD's and "fix" it.
Make sure when you open the case that you do not break the seal (just lift the opposite corner of the case)
Then put it back in and return it. I've returned CD's before this way and as long as you didn't break the seal they'll take it back. Just tell them you don't want it because it won't play in your computer.
Fuck the greedy bastards.
Information wants to be free!
Go www.goldcrack.org for your free information (cracks, warez, mp3s).
a felt tip marker aroung the outer edge of a copy protected cd will disable copy protection but u run the risk of loseing the last track on the cd
Universal will probably shit-can it, but unless Vanessa Carlton is selling millions of copies (never heard of her, but I may just be out of touch), every fan/sale will make a difference to her. Make sure you explain the economics of the situation to her. If you can't play the disc, and none of your friends can, that's X people who would have contributed to her pocketbook. Multiply some percentage out by her fanbase and she will start to see what kind of money she's losing by allowing the record company to do this.
If artists start hearing from former fans en masse that they are losing sales due to their record companies' practices, and that they are pissing off these fans without any doing of their own, maybe Universal will start getting heat from their breadwinners. If their assets start complaining and maybe even walking out, there's a chance that this copy protection bullshit won't have to go to courts. Maybe good old economics will move it the way of DIVX.
While it's rather funny that a marker could be considered a circumvention device under the DMCA, I believe the logic is completely flawed. The pen is just a *tool* to create a particular *type* of circumvention device (in
this case a mark on the CD). For example, with DeCSS, your text editor (where you edit the C code)
or compiler are not circumvention devices, they are tools which allow you to create the device (
source code or executable code -- these both seem to be considered circumvention devices.)
An illustration: one could imagine a product which consisted of a mostly clear, CD-sized sleeve with a small
sliver of black on it which would do the same thing as this mark on the pen. It would be this sleeve -- which
one inserts the CD in -- that would be illegal, and not the materials that it was made out of. To conclude,
the resultant ink mark is the actual circumvention device, not the marker.
Let the Copyright games begin!
Sometimes boldness is in fashion. Sometimes only the brave will be bold.
Forget arguments about rights and priveledges, we are talking about basic consumer perception. Why buy something that you cannot use with as many 'things' as you do with other products of the same category? Would many people knowingly buy a car that only works on a portion of the roads their standard car works on? (and more importantly that they currently use out of need/want)
There is a time to fight... then there is a time to just sit back and watch your enemy stab himself repeatedly. (and this will be funny)
However, the legal side needs addressing. If I mistakenly pop in the wrong CD and it fubars my system then in most cases the CD manufacturer should be held accountable. One very weak and temporary solution to this is to simply publicize this issue MUCH better than has been done to date. Now admitingly I have only bought about 5 CD's in the past 2 years... so the loss from someone like me is insignificant for the most part.
(B) a technological measure ''effectively controls access to a work'' if the measure, in the ordinary course of its operation, requires the application of information, or a process or a treatment, with the authority of the copyright owner, to gain access to the work.
I'd agree that the CD copy protection doesn't fit this definition either (in what sense does it require application of information/process/treatment?), but it has nothing to do with "how effective" the protection is.
Sorry, just sick of hearing this particular argument (I had it suggested to me many times in my own DMCA battle ... I think that having the good guys understand the law is an important step.
Yes indeed. In fact, the "twiddling" that my program does isn't even always "circumvention", since circumvention only occurs when it is done without the authority of the copyright holder. I guess Royster should read the whole DMCA!
For sale - Music CD circumvention devices.
Comes in scented and unscented.
The race isn't always to the swift... but that's the way to bet!
Using this circumvention only provides the record companies more money because it show that these CD's are being purchased. What needs to be happening is that we either (1) not purchase these "CD's" anymore, or (2) purchase, then return with the statement that they didn't work in any of our CD players and that it's a piece of crap.
These discs aren't just Celine Dion discs anymore, they are from people like J. Lo, too. Find out, and boycott!!!
>It's unfortunate that Universal is treating me like a potential criminal when all I want to do is listen to these tracks which I've payed for on my mp3 player and my computer
You know, the idiot guy on CNN, Jack Cafferty made a comment that pissed me off.
They were talking about how to do this, and he jumped in and said something inane like
"Gee, next why don't we tell them how to crack into safes or something?"
So the implication is that you must be out to steal if you want to be able to play this in your PC. They only said these were 'copy protected', not PC player disabled. The assumption being, that unless you are putting this into a stand-alone player, you must be out to illegally copy the CD.
bleah
There is much cruelty in the universe, John.
Yeah, we seem to have the tour map.
That would require buying a Celine Dion CD, and god knows when that will happen.
Moderation Totals: Flamebait=2, Troll=1, Redundant=1, Insightful=6, Overrated=1, Underrated=1, Total=12. (not mine)
If you drain the ink out, does the marker become DMCA compliant?
Did anyone notice this quote about Sony Music Europe:
"Sony Music Europe has taken the most aggressive anti-piracy stance in the business. Since last fall, the label has shipped more than 11 million copy-protected discs in Europe, with the largest proportion going to Germany, a market label executives claim is rife with illegal CD-burning."
They've sold 11 MILLION CDs! And that's just one type of CD for one company in an area "rife with illegal CD-burning."
(OK, so I missed this the first time it was posted... still...)
I can see the stories now... "Riots at OfficeMax as thousands buy out markers..."
Glad I bought that box of Sharpies last week...
Internet Explorer was unable to link to the Web page you requested. The page might use standard HTML or CSS.
I remember when Music CD's first came out and you could get .. well.. "CD Quality" sound for a fraction of the cost of a serious turntable etc. The audiophiles claimed you would get better bass response if you marked the edge with a green felt tip or something. Some PC magazine ran a story that said "yea and the Encarta CD will give you 20% more entries if you use the marker on it."
Sony may or may not have been aware their copy-protection could be broken this way. However I'm sure they knew that eventually it WOULD be cracked somehow, there's no disputing that. My question is will they use this as evidence to support DRM claims. I can just see it now: "But we tried to protect our cd's judge, it just won't work!! the only solution is hardware level copy protection in everything with a cd-rom drive in it...."
Seriously, get a black Sharpie marker. The permanent kind. Take every one of your CDs, audio, data, etc., and black out the outside 1/2" of the whole CD on the shiny side. This will not only make sure that none of them are copy protected, it will allow you to write to them over and over. Even AUDIO CDs you buy in the store. It is like cutting out the notch on the old 5.25" floppy diskettes to make them double sided - ONLY BETTER! Free CDRWs! The DMCA doesn't want you to know about this, so pass it on.
Holy crap, I hope nobody really tries that...
My beliefs do not require that you agree with them.
Doesnt' a CD begin from the inner tracks and progress outwards (opposite of a vinyl record)? Wouldn't this allow the drive to see the audio tracks first? Or would a computer CD drive go for the data which is mapped in the TOC to the outter track first as opposed to a regular CD player which says "skip the data BS and move to audio track 1"?
If anyone can explain how this works, I'm pretty sure you're not violating the DMCA...
CAn'T CompreHend SARcaSm?
the right to make some personal digital copies of their music in return for allowing recording companies to collect royalties on the blank media used
wouldn't be precisely accurate in how it works up here - it's actually called "fair dealing," and it's only acceptable as a defence in court against charges of copyright infringement, like an insanity plea against murder.
of course, the fact that this levy / tax hasn't been yet extended to hard drives means that any Canadian who has MP3s of commercially released music is breaking the law, regardless of whether they purchased it before in another medium.
Mod this post up!
Then in case like this you can point all those submissions to the article you already covered. Maybe it will shut people up.
...looks at submissions bin with tons of the same article. Sees link to existing article for that topic. "Well hell. I guess I will have to find something else from a few days ago on theregister to report on."
"How come Taco wont post my story on the new matrix movie?"
just a thought. probably not the best one I have had.
This
Comment removed based on user account deletion
I buy a CD, then I rip the CD to MP3, then I return or sell back the CD.
Lets give them something real to worry about.
The above is not worth reading.
bbspot have a very good take on this whole thing - http://www.bbspot.com/News/2002/05/markers.html
This post will enter the public domain 70 years after my death, unless Disney buys another extension.
OfficeDepot are the ones with the "helpful tip" ads
Oh, those hippie programmers couldn't possibly figure out our scheme for making copy-protected CDs. *whisperwhisper* What!? OH CRAP!
While not really cutting-edge news, interactive interviews, Ask Slashdot and book/movie reviews do fall into the investigative journalism category.
/. material.)
(The reviews may be more opinion than news, but it's still original
However, I agree that the story selection process has many faults.
I've got two CDs with SACEM, SDRM, SACD, SGDL written on it. They will not sync up in my newish ATA CD-ROM (takes about a minute, then the red light just flashes). However, they will get recognised in my 2x SCSI CD-ROM -- go Apple.
There is what looks like an extra track, but it's right next to the audio. I've tried the felt-tip marked technique, but the CD still fails to read.
Oh well.
there should be a special list of posts called "+6 funny", that are just severely funnier than even the average +5. And this post should be their KING :).
well, anyway, at least a well respected citizen.
Liberty uber alles.
I used my felt tip marker to color the entire CD surface in, the world is one CD safer!
-- If at first you don't succeed, lie!
[Note: the page either pops up an ad or tries to inflict some sort of download from Gator on you if you're running MSIE.]
RRRR. Wrong. (Or at least, likely soon to be) The proposed increase in this levy left the public discussion phase on the 8th of this month (I beleive), and will be decided on soon (yes, I'm too lazy to go find out exactly when). I would be surprized to see this increase shot down after the original levy was approved.
The new levy stipulates a $21/Gb levy on blank hard drives included in devices primarily used for music storage and use.
This amounts to $210 of tax on (often $200) 10Gb MP3 players. At least until they start including intro chimes on them from the factory.
The nice thing about this levy is that it gives us as citizens the right to copy any music for personal use without reimbursing the recording companies (or the artists, but they don't get much anyway). Just be careful that YOU make the copies you want to listen to (no, the owner of the original does not matter, and no, who's equipment you do the copy on does not matter) because if you're friend makes the copy, only HE is legally allowed to use it.
This actually (in my mind, but IANAL) confuses the MP3 issue a bit, because when I go online, and I request a download of the MP3, and the copy is made on my request, aren't I doing the copying, and as such don't I now have a right to use that copy?
I guess it comes down to "who" is doing the copying. I would agree the original copy is done using someone else's machine, but that isn't against the law.
Does anyone know what the actuall legal standpoint on this is?
Not having read the levy in it's entirety, I can not say whether or not the mediums we are permitted to copy onto are specified as only those with the levy or not, but I don't see it being too far from now that MP3 devices will connect to the 'net themselves. Until then, just use your 'net enabled PocketPC to write directly to a flash card (which will be covered under the new levy).
>Unfortunately, there might be a way for Sony to revive this copy
>protection. Couldn't Sony just reduce the the distance between the
>bogus data track and the audio so that a person with a marker couldn't
>reliably separate the two?
>
>
Not really,because this trick depend on hardware features of cdrom drives. The data track has to be created in such a way so the drive can recogize it, otherwise it would be like it wasn't there or run the risk of creating a corrupt disk that *nothing* can read.
A one-time loser walks into a bank carrying a sawed-off shotgun. He shoots the guard at the bank, robs the bank, and starts his get-away. During the police chase in his get-away, 10 people a hurt and numerous cars are wrecked including several police cars.
time passes to trial
He comes before the judge and jury. He is given 90 days suspended sentence for the robbery because he came from a home where his mother didn't love him. He is given 5 years suspended sentence on the murder of the guard because his father abused him. He is given a $200.00 fine for wreckless driving which caused all the destruction of property (he had no insurance so all of the other folks are on thier own for the cost of repairs, etc). However, upon arresting him it was discovered that he had a felt-tipped marker in his pocket and a copy-protected CD in the CD-player in his car. He is given life in prison for DMCA violation.
Now isn't that justice for you!
I have no sig, does anyone have one to spare?
No doubt the RIAA and their Corrupt Henchmen in Congress are now drafting law to ban feltip markers. Government for the rich by the rich of the rich.
Winamp's take on pens being used for evil.