Slashdot Mirror
Gateway to Ship PCs with Pre-Installed DRM Music Files
Captain Chad writes "News.com has an article about Gateway's decision to bundle Pressplay's music service with its PCs. Of interest is the fact that 2000 popular songs will come pre-installed, helping reduce download time for those of us with modems." I wonder how much Pressplay is paying for this privilege. All sorts of interesting legal wrinkles here: you're buying a computer which contains data that you cannot legally access.
So long as I can still delete the damn things.
....As if the free AOL icons on the screen weren't enough... now is the paperclip going to pop up and say "You haven't been force fed pop music lately. Would you like me to play something by Brittney Spears?"
Music = marketing and product all in one. The more you listen to music the more you either like it or hate it. If you like it you'll buy more, if you hate it you'll suffer through it or turn it off.
Now the music companies are going to put their marketing materials (free?? music) on the computers to further entrench themselves.
42 - So long and thanks for all the fish.
I just bought this damn computer and I have no more disk space!! Oh yeah, i have 2000 songs on here that I can't listen to...
This is like saying "Buy our machine because the box has pretty cows on it".
I liked Gateway until they ditched AMD. Now with DRM included they should replace the Cow with Milquetoast as a logo.
Help fight continental drift.
Gateway computer, preloaded with songs: $999
Connection to the Internet: $19.95/mo.
Knowing it's only going to take a couple minutes to crack 20,000 songs wide open: Priceless
slashdot!=valid HTML
It comes preloaded with the Eminem and Dixie Chicks?
c:\
c:\deltree \mypreloadedmusic-DRM
Are you sure you want to delete the directory \mypreloadedmusic-DRM and all subdirectories? [Y/N]
Youbetcherass
172 File(s) deleted.
c:\
The next Slashdot story will be ready soon, but subscribers can beat the rush and slashdot the links early!
Thank god I'm a vegetarian then! :)
A slip of the foot you may soon recover, but a slip of the tongue you may never get over. -Benjamin Franklin
Is there an option available to pre-load my machine with porn instead?
--It's Pimptastic!--
Now pr0n, you just aren't bombarded by pr0n everyday
You don't know the Slashdot crowd very much, do you? Why do you think P2P is so popular *ducks and covers*
The end of DRM will the following: Microsoft, working in concert with the Big 5 record labels, will begin to deliver content in the form of stainless steel balls. Sort of like BBs, but bigger. They will insist that these steel balls are, in fact, music. "Believe us," they'll say, "we thought long and hard about this one." The steel balls will, however, confuse consumers. "I don't know," they'll say, "I can't hear anything." But the labels will insist that the steel balls work fine. "They're music," Hilary Rosen will say, "but they're copy protected." "It's foolproof," Jack Valenti will say, and then -- a few months later -- introduce his own version of the steel music balls: plastic video pyramids. Each pyramid will be about three inches high, black plastic, and weigh about three ounces. "Microsoft helped us with the protection algorithm," he'll announce. "In fact, they're so secure not even Microsoft's new operating system can play the video. But trust us, these videos look great." Confused consumers will be seen walking around with steel balls and plastic pyramids. "I don't know," they'll say, "I haven't seen anything yet, but I look forward to it." Another music lover will admit to liking the way the steel balls feel. "They're so smooth and lovely. Perfect." "The Register" will point out that the balls are not, in fact, perfectly spherical. "There are tiny, minute imprecise abrasions. But to the naked eye they'll look pretty nice." Posters on Slashdot.com will claim that they've not yet cracked their steel balls and enabled the music. "It's in there," a Slashdot poster named Borg2Soon will say, "I've set up a Linux box to play the steel balls." The plastic pyramids are a bit more diffucult since they take up more space and aren't as portable as the steel balls. "You can't carry as many pyramids around at one time," John C. Dvorak will say. The Screensavers Patrick Norton will be dubious. "Well, I'm not sure why they made the music into steel balls. I liked the normal files." The screensavers Yoshi will design a case-mod in which users can place up to one thousand balls and fifteen pyramids. "It's a wicked mod," Yoshi will say. Thousands will build the mod. Millions will praise the balls. "But not the pyramids. I don't like the pyramids." John C. Dvorak will wonder why they just couldn't have made the pyramids plastic balls instead of plastic pyramids. "Come on, Microsoft," Dvorak will chide, "not everyone has room for all these pyramids." Microsoft's stock will skyrocket. Amazon will merge with Starbucks. They'll rename the new store 'Pequod.' The White Whale will be spotted. "Balls!" Ahab will shout.
Sorry, could you say again? I kept getting this static that sounded like "BLAH BLAH I'M AN ANONYMOUS COWARD IGNORE ME"..
slashdot!=valid HTML
Yeah, but LPs are Ten Years Gone, having been Trampled Under Foot by CDs. Doesn't it just makes you Sick Again?
As copyright owner of this comment, I authorize everyone to defeat any technological measure which limits access to it.
But Hey Hey What Can I Do? Besides, the Song Remains the Same.
I cannot fault Gateway for trying to provide their customers a value-added item like this (like smallpox to the Native-Americans...)
At least the Natives got blankets out of the deal.
Where does the school board find them and why do they keep sending them to ME?
You know, the music may have its merits but when they start loading up the harddrives with a few gigs of pr0n before I buy it, then maybe I'll be interested (Now thats a time saver!)
3Y3
---- Anyone can act smart, but it takes a smart person to act stupid. ----
When The Levee Breaks, all this DRM stuff won't matter anymore. The RIAA and their old business model is singing its Swan Song. IF they had the Presence of mind to simply say Thank You to music fans, this could be their Celebration Day. Instead, they'd rather have us Swinging From the Gallows Pole.
I mean, look at how their lawyers come after you. You could try to make a Night Flight Over The Hills and Far Away to Norway, and you'd still find No Quarter. Soon, enough, you'll be Going to California, to stand accused in The Houses of The Holy for "damages" done to Hollywood.
Okay, I had to google "led zeppelin albums" to get all those names.
Glaxo, Inc, announced today it will soon begin shipping sealed bags of M&Ms with its blood sugar testing kits...
This is my post. There are many others like it. If you don't like what you read here, go try one of the others.