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Will Your CD Player Tell on You?

Posted by chrisd on from the autorun-away dept.

An anonymous reader writes "Ever feel like not being a marketing statistic? Well just by playing certain store-bought compact discs in your home or office computer, your new music disc may be transmitting your listening habits in real time to the respective record company...." Charming. Read on for more... Anonymous Continues: "A company by the name of Bandlink is providing technology to record companies that allows a cd played in a personal computer to contact their server and relate statistics such as what track you're listening to and when you're listening to them. This information is then compiled into customizable reports that allow the record company to develop "User Profiles". There are benefits listed for the consumer such as cd-specific chatrooms, concert information, etc but the question remains: What's your price for privacy? The only indication that the cd you're purchasing is Bandlink "enabled/disabled" is a small logo on the packaging. There is no mention of a opt in/opt out agreement when the cd is inserted on the website and none was displayed in a personal demonstration.

Favorite quote from their website: "Virtually any information you want to know about your fan or the quality of your release can be obtained.""

8 of 693 comments (clear)

  1. What sort of idiot? by Trusty+Penfold · · Score: 5, Funny


    What sort of idiot has their firewall configured to let their CD player send packets out?

    1. Re:What sort of idiot? by hitzroth · · Score: 5, Funny

      Idiots aren't average. That's why they're idiots.

      --
      In mathematics, one does not understand things, one merely gets used to them.
      --VonNeumann
    2. Re:What sort of idiot? by soulsteal · · Score: 5, Funny

      No, the average median person is an Idiot. What scares me is that 49% of the population is dumber than that.

    3. Re:What sort of idiot? by Tingler · · Score: 5, Funny

      I guess you haven't been to a mall lately.

  2. RIAA Self Destructs Again by KanSer · · Score: 5, Funny

    Wow. How did this line of thinking go?

    RIAA Exec #1: "Let's start spying on people. It's not like they have a real reason to steal music anyways."

    RIAA Exec #2:"Yeah! And we can have pop-ups that tell them Big Brother is watching!"

    RIAA Exec #1:"No... That would be stupid... right?"

    RIAA Exec #2:"Perhaps... But surely this will make people want to buy music as opposed to downloading it. Right? Right?"

    RIAA Exec #1:"..."

    RIAA Exec #2:"RIGHT?!"

    RIAA Exec #1:"Oops..."

    Me: "Thanks guys. Now I have a morally sound reason to download Britney's newest album! MERRY CHRISTMAS!"

    --
    • MOD PARENT UP by Anonymous Coward Wednesday April 20, @4:20
  3. IN UNITED STATES OF AMERICA by jsse · · Score: 5, Funny

    CD Player listens to you!

    (At least people in Soviet Russia can grin on this)

  4. Re:IN SOVIET RUSSIA by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    IN SOVIET RUSSIA "IN SOVIET RUSSIA" comments are lame

    Join the fight aganist lame /. comments

  5. Re:My desktop is my property by cioxx · · Score: 5, Funny
    Don't agree to their EULA and you are fine.

    That's what I do. I usually click "YES" in the EULA popup and install the program, but deep down inside I don't agree with it.