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Don't Smudge The Sensor When You Press 'Play'
mattyrobinson69 writes "According to The Register, 'The RIAA wants your fingerprints.' They've teamed up with VeriTouch, who say 'In practical terms, VeriTouch's breakthrough in anti-piracy technology means that no delivered content to a customer may be copied, shared or otherwise distributed because each file is uniquely locked by the customer's live fingerprint scan.'" No details, but the article talks about a locked-down "wireless media player" to prevent such passing around.
how this will work with porn movies...
now playdough is going to become illegal under the DMCA because it's a circumvention tool :)
Having your music locked to you instead of your computer almost sounds fair. I did say almost...
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2002/05/16/gummi_bear s_defeat_fingerprint_sensors/
they just don't get it do they?
Locked down devices have no future. Witness Sony getting its but handed to it by apple, after years of walkmen, by making intentionally defective products
and I'll say it again:
If I can hear it, I can copy it.
These companies who are selling technology "solutions" to the piracy problem are like snake-oil salesmen selling cures to old ladies. It might make them feel better, but it doesn't make a damn bit of real difference.
---- El diablo esta en mis pantalones! Mire, mire!
Because we all know how terrible it is to let a friend borrow your movie or music. Jesus h christ.
The image is a dream, the beauty is real. Can you see the difference?
This is The RIAA's dream. Everyone has to buy new... it's no longer possible to sell your music or give it to your little brother.
However, the principle buyers of music, PCKs (Poor College Kids), won't bite because they sell their crappy cd's and buy used ones that they think they will like.
Disclaimer: I am a PCK.
You have to ask if mugshots are to follow. DNA sample to buy a CD ? This does tend to confirm that the music industry considers there customers criminals and feels they should be treated as such.
I can allready see the boost in music sales this will bring.
RIAA asked for it. They got it...
/me gives RIAA the finger
Happy now?
they'll have to make do with my middle finger. Hope that's okay.
An Indian-American Hindu committed to non-violent thought/speech/action alarmed by the global explosion of radical Islam
This will go over like a lead balloon.
I love these wacky ideas they come up with, they're so unbelieveable implausible. It's nice to know that they're wasting a fuckton of money on R&D for thie type of crap though.
Because I'm getting in the latex finger/thumb print business.
-- $G
The real question is what if they can individually mark the music you purchase, and hold you liable if that music shows up on the net?
Cash is going the way of the dodo. I imagine there will be some degree of outcry to this in general, but already almost everyone's using check cards, ATM cards, and what have you and the music industry just may decide to stop allowing the purchase of music with cash, effectively eliminating anonymous purchasing.
Copy protection is inherently breakable if you allow the person to play the music back. The same is not true for watermarking, and I wouldn't be surprised if they try to go this direction in the long run.
...has to say it:
I'm a parapalegic, you inses....
Oh, you get the idea....
Does lending music to a friend not constitute as fare use?
What about when you die, if you have a sizeable music library (such could be considered an asset) how will your family be given access to it?
They are wasting their time.
Burn Bright or Fade Away
They really want your DNA in the long run... so be careful where you aim. :)
Are you local? There's nothing for you here!
Linkie
Crushing dreams at the speed of sarcasm
Makes me wonder if the RIAA will have some way to verify that it's actually a fingerprint they're getting. Simplest circumvention method I can think of is to lock the file with a random ubiquitous object (i.e. paper clip) and then anyone can unlock it with the same object.
If you are going to do something this complex you are going to have to close the analog hole. Next thing you will have to have the speakers surgically implanted into your ears...so that you can only hear input from an "approved" device.
Ahh...crap I better shut up giving them ideas.
*runs to patent the idea*
McK
This is perfect! I've always wanted to pay more for something because it comes with some sort of arcane and pointless feature that decreases functionality! It's like they read my mind! I don't even pirate music, the rewards vs. time invested for me just doesn't work out (apparently, no one else with a computer likes the music I look for). However it's measures like this that would drive me to rip&burn my way through anything i ever might want. Yes let's not even get into the fact that fingerprints change, and I've no faith in fingerprint scanners to begin with, and when you couple that with a cheap piece of crap stuck on to a portable player.. I'm sure it'll work just fine. Even after I wind up with a few new scars across my fingerpads, I'm SURE it won't accidentally lock me out of my own music! Oh and I bet if that DID happen the RIAA would gladly and with all due haste remedy the situation with a new copy of those now-locked songs for me.
... still waiting for this free-as-in-beer free beer I keep hearing about.
I'd like to see this technology used extensively. Only then, when it's absolutely ridiculous, can there be the kind of angry, widespread non-cooperation that can bring down or properly declaw (regulate) the RIAA.
Things are bad now, but they're not bad enough to spark a revolt against the RIAA. They don't realize it, but they're bringing about their own doom.
-Jem
> VeriTouch's breakthrough in anti-piracy technology means that no delivered content to a customer may be copied, shared or otherwise distributed because each file is uniquely locked by the customer's live fingerprint scan.
That would be great! I hope they completely lock the music down. They should also implement a LoJack system that detects potential piracy and alerts the DOJ, whose jackbooted thugs swoop down for the arrest.
Please, hasten the destruction of your industry. The faster that happens, the faster you will be replaced by a more open, fair, democratic online sales/distribution system.
From the linked article: "iVue: a wireless media player that allows content producers to lock down media files with biometric security. This week Veritouch announced that it had demonstrated the device to the RIAA and MPAA.
"In practical terms, VeriTouch's breakthrough in anti-piracy technology means that no delivered content to a customer may be copied, shared or otherwise distributed because each file is uniquely locked by the customer's live fingerprint scan," claims the company."
Now just who is going to buy this, a player that you can't let your mom or girlfriend (ok, that's not a problem for Slashdotters) or colleague borrow, that you can't use if your hand's in a cast or even in a glove (nobody plays MP3s on cold days?)?
And worse: how do you purchase tunes? Presumably, you'll have to present your fingerprint on purchase so it can be matched to the fingerprint when played. So will the media player lock you into purchasing only from merchants that process your fingerprint? How will you play free music -- like the legal live band recording at archive.org?
Perhaps it will also play fingerprint unencumbered music, but then what's the point?Why go to the extra trouble to purchase from a fingerprinting vendor, which at least will probably require hooking the player to your PC, providing the fingerprint, transmitting the stored fingerprint from the media player through the PC using some proprietary mechanism like an Active-X control?
again, who will want to pay extra to deal with having to provide a fingerprint?
The answer: no one.
So will it be legally mandated, or are the big record companies planning to stop selling CDs and sell only encrypted, DRM'd music? It has to be one of the two, or else this product has no market.
Opinions on the Twiddler2 hand-held keyboard?
The problem is, those of us who will refuse to purchase music under conditions like this make up a very small percentage of the population. Most sheep, er, consumers, will jump through whatever hoops necessary to listen to the latest tripe from the music industry.
Money not found! A)bort, R)etry, D)eclare Bankruptcy
Then you can forget about using my music collection.
The RIAA is very excited about their newly discovered way to stifle fair-use and beat down consumer rights.
They seemed to have forgotten that two years ago Finger Print scanners were tricked by then a little known Japanese cyptogropher named Tsutomu Matsumoto. This pretty much stalled adoption of finger-print scanners indefinetely since supporters were unable to prove they could outsmart his meddling.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/1991517.stm [BBC.UK]
I'm sure those who want to will find an even easier way of defeating it on a hardware/software level rather than resorting to copying finger-prints. But still you think the RIAA themselves would follow security news.
Something intelligent here.
How to break the cycle?
Method 1 - the stupid method - rant about basic issues of copyright like whether it should exist at all. insult the RIAA/MPAA and accuse them of being worse than hitler and thus antagonizing the situation more. talk about the loophole technology of the week, be it freenet or the MIT 'on demand' system or bittorrent or whatever while giving a "substantial noninfringing uses" wink wink.
Method 2 - the reasonable method - foster a culture that respects copyrights and really and truly frowns upon piracy. rational behaviour leads to being able to enter into sane dialog with rightsholders about the future of intellectual property in a digital age, including looking at which areas of IPR are out of date or need revision. the culture of respect and no-tolerance-for-pirates allows for a wider range of useful services to be deployed that are now possible thanks to new technology. everybody wins.
It's funny -- you can lock down a player all you want, but not the output. Nothing stops you from running a standard audio cable from the output (headpone or speaker jack) of the DRM'd device into the input of an unrestricted device, thereby allowing you to copy the music.
Sure it's analog (unless you use S/PDIF), and there will be a slight reduction in quality, but it will definitely be a useable recording.
Yet another DRM technology defeated by a simply workaround.
-Jem
ALl they have to do is take a loss on it. if it's substantially cheaper than a iPod, people will buy it.
And I will publish a hack to circumvent the system on freenet, making in effect a super cheap iPod.
Everybody Wins!
Why, yes, I AM a Pagan Libertarian.
Software should help people, bring people together, make stuff easier to do. It should not restrict us, seperate us, and make things harder to accomplish.
i love it when the RIAA does shit like htis publically
they're like the evil villian in the top hat w/ the handlebar mustache trying to get the girl on the train tracks killed and every single time they do shit like this they cement that image into the minds of everyone they come in contact with...
the more hated the better, people wont' stand for not being able to play their music WITHOUT A FUCKING FINGERPRINT SCAN FIRST ahahaha hell they might as well have you verify every single song individually (fun while driving i'm sure) and have a lil webcam that broadcasts live spy video of you wehrever you are back to RIAA Headquarters so they can invidiually charge all the people within earshot (maybe they'll switch to retina scans/facial recognition to make this easily debited from your bank)
I can't wait until I cut my finger by accident, leaving a scar and changing the print pattern.
"Your effort to remain what you are is what limits you."
Would couples need to scan both sets of fingerprints? Familes? Will gay couples be allowed to scan both sets of fingerprints?
Can I mod something +1 Scary if it's true but I wish it weren't?
You might hate his music, but George Michael has released his LAST store CD release. Everything from now on will be available online only! This is a huge step forward for the artists themselves.
Bands like U2 and Aerosmith need to follow suit, drop their labels, do all their own production (which they do anyway) and sell their songs themselves. The day of the middle man making money off of the talent needs to come to a close. Our rights as consumers and fans are being infringed. The artists are the ones that need to step up.
Lars if you're listening, drop Electra and start doing it all yourselves. Control your own distribution!
Peace
Or am I just being paranoid?
I think you are not being paranoid enough, actually. Do a google search on the RIAA's new toy, the PIRATE act. You'd end up paying for sueing yourself. What a nice business model...
Treehugger? Treehugger... Treehugger!
One thing about your statement, S/PDIF is digital and caries the digitized audio part of a file unchanged, if the audio signal contains some form of watermark it won't be filtered by the interface. If the DRM is contained in the file headers or metadata it won't be found at the other end of the cable since S/PDIF only carries the audio part of a signal and apply it's own headers which are only present during the transfer. Therefore, it depends on how the DRM works for an S/PDIF transfer to result in a DRM free file..
You walk into the music shop.
You: I'd like to buy the latest... err.. Eminem single, please. Erm. As a present, you know. For my little brother.
Sales assistant: Certainly, if I can just take your fingerprint...
You: Fingerprint? I didn't know it was a crime to buy Eminem records. Yet. Although I'm sure somebody's working on it.
Sales assistant: No, no, it's just to stop other people from using it.
You: No, no, you don't understand. It isn't for me. It's a present.
Sales assistant: Sorry, we need a fingerprint.
You: He lives five hundred miles away.
Sales assistant: We can sell you a voucher? Or maybe you could get him to send his finger to you?
I worked at a place that required finger prints as a confirmation that employees weren't checking in / out for eachother. After a few years the system got so bad that you could check in with the wrong finger, with someone else's finger, with toes, with an elbow... I've even signed in using a warm hot dog.
In short, the real-world performance of these systems is still greatly up in the air, and is by no means a solution to security problems. The idea of etching a fingerprint photograph onto a PCB and into a gummy bear is ingenious, but somehow I doubt that after a few years of being kicked around any of these systems will be sensitive enough to tell if you took a picture of a fingerprint or of the president's head.
The ______ Agenda
Or, even simpler, pay some kid $20 to buy the a CD. Cash sale. Minor cannot be held to contract. It is not illegal for someone to purchase unrestricted merchandise for some one else. It is not yet illegal to resell discs. Police can't do much of anything.
Just like most security systems, this will tend to protect the innocent who probably would not significantly violate copyright and are probably not the one that the RIAA cares about. However, unlike many security systems, I see little that protects the innocent from those who would desire to circumvent the system.
I mean, this system encourages the criminal element to target the unsuspecting, and the RIAA doesn't care because all it wants to do is file bogus lawsuits and net a few thousands dollars in extortion fees.
"She's a scientist and a lesbian. She's not going to let it slide." Orphan Black
That article has to be a fake: What happens when you die? to my son I leave my right hand... What happens when you sell your cd collection to the local secondhand shop.. what happens when your sittin round with friends and it comes time to change the music.. I have to get up every time ? what happens if your working away from home? does your wife have to wait untill you get back from your trip... Oh wait there is the latex finger, well I suppose you can ensure she doesn't miss you too much... what would be the score with DJ's ? Job security ??? who comes up with these idea's the articles a fake isnt it ? isn't it? unless.. 1)impliment finger print scheme 2)Kill music sales entirely 3)Everybody pirates everything 4)Sue everybody for copyright infringement Profit!
Blarney Quality Restaurant, Plants
Scene 1:
...How much is that shotgun?
Roommate: Hey, the CD's over and the party's dying. Get up off the floor and put another one on.
You: Ngguh.
Roommate: You've got to. It's your fault for getting smashed by 11.
You: Nnnnuuuuuuuh.
Roommate: Dude, that cute girl in red has been giving me looks all night. You have to keep the party going.
You: Nnnnuh. Nuhhhhhhhh.
Roommate: Allright, we'll do this the hard way. Give me your hand. Guh! Damn you're heavy. Guh! Ok, over to the stereo! And no grunting in protest.
Roommate: Phew. I knew we should have just played MP3's.
Scene 2:
Employee: Welcome to Walmart! How can I help you?
Customer: I'd like to buy a copy of "Vespertine" by Bjork.
Employee: Ok. I need your fingerprint and 3 forms of ID. There will be a 4 day waiting period while we burn an individualized copy.
Customer: What?
Employee: We do all of this for your convienience.
Customer: That doesn't make any sense.
Employee: See, right here on the label of the sample box. It says "For your convienience, this recording is individually traced."
Customer:
Employee: Fourty-nine ninty five, with your super-saver card.
Customer: Deal. [turns gun on Employee] Now give me that CD.
Employee: Sure thing.
Scene 3:
[Scene 3 has been lost. The woman delivering scene 3 to the studios struck a telephone pole while trying to get approved by her biometric car stereo. But on the bright side, none of the medics stole any of her CDs.]
The ______ Agenda
...that was used to hold down shift in order to circumvent their last silly attempt at copy protection?
Unless technology provides any useful upside for the consumer, it's not going to pan out. This technology could be used as a basis for global authentication, making tedium like PGP keys a thing of the past. Instead, the makers concentrate on protecting content providers.
Think small.
So now people will have to send digital photographs of their fingerprint together with digital content, so people could reproduce it Tsutomu Matsumoto style:
"His more interesting experiment involves latent fingerprints. He takes a fingerprint left on a piece of glass, enhances it with a cyanoacrylate adhesive, and then photographs it with a digital camera. Using PhotoShop, he improves the contrast and prints the fingerprint onto a transparency sheet. Then, he takes a photo-sensitive printed-circuit board (PCB) and uses the fingerprint transparency to etch the fingerprint into the copper, making it three-dimensional. (You can find photo-sensitive PCBs, along with instructions for use, in most electronics hobby shops.) Finally, he makes a gelatin finger using the print on the PCB. This also fools fingerprint detectors about 80% of the time."
I wonder how long before the first universal fingerprint starts circulating like proprietary software activation codes do today.
In practical terms, VeriTouch's breakthrough in anti-piracy technology means that no delivered content to a customer may be copied, shared or otherwise distributed because each file is uniquely locked by the customer's live fingerprint scan.
Let me guess... Those geniuses from VeriTouch haven't read this 1998 essay by Bruce Schneier, have they? So... They have finally invented a working copy-prevention technique. Bravo. I've been waiting for literally decades. Have they also invented a lossless compression of random data by any chance? Because it would be great if they had. It would make my network faster. Also, I would like a pony. My God, what a waste of time...
Sincerely,
Pan Tarhei Hosé, PhD.
"Homo sum et cogito ergo odi profanum vulgus et libido."
This is very insightful. Very insightful indeed. Do I have to remind the 1769 history of 13 years old Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791) and the Miserere by Gregorio Allegri in Sistine Chapel? I don't think so. I believe everyone here remembers how this one of the unquestionably most significant and influential composers in history, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, was the first person who has literally circumvented the copy-protection of Sistine Chapel with nothing more but bare ears and his pure genius. Please let me quote Wikipedia:
It is worth repeating: If I can hear it, I can copy it. Amen. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart himself has proved it in the age of 13. Could we really need any better proof? Could there even be any better proof? Please keep in mind that there is more complexity and beauty in every minute of Allegri's Miserere than in the whole content produced by RIAA in any year. Let us not forget this very important fact.
Sincerely,
Pan Tarhei Hosé, PhD.
"Homo sum et cogito ergo odi profanum vulgus et libido."
If you read the originating companies (there's two of them) PR, they state only that they have "demonstrated it to" the RIAA. That's very different, and shouldn't be taken to be an endorsement by them. My guess is that what this amounts to is they called up the RIAA and said "we have a brand new DRM system that will solve all your problems!!! Do you want us to come and show you?", and the RIAA said "sure, we'd love to take a look".
That the best they can now say in a press release is that they "demonstrated it to" the RIAA makes me think that the reception was lukewarm. I guess we'll have to wait and see. The RIAA have certainly supported dumb ideas before, but at this point I don't see any evidence they're actually backing this one.
This shoulda been a reply but owell...
All this talk about protection methods led people to sony and cd's, then to tying peoples names to music files so if they were uploaded to the net they would know who did it...well not true, you can easily re-encode music via your sound card, line out goes to line in and a viola drm free 100% perfect copy that can be compressed in your favorite format and uploaded at will.
A perfect audio compression algorithm would remove exactly everything you don't hear. Since watermarks cannot be heared, an ideal audio compressor would therefore just remove them.
Although a perfect audio compressor doesn't exist (and probably won't ever), this shows that all watermark mechanisms are inherently fragile on improved audio compression algorithms. That is, algorithms which weren't developed with the intent of removing watermarks, but just with the intent of saving memory/bandwidth.
The Tao of math: The numbers you can count are not the real numbers.