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Longhorn's Copy Protection Standard
hype7 writes "The Register is reporting that Microsoft have attempted to force a last-minute CD protection standard on the recording industry in order to ship it in Longhorn. From the article: "Any such deal would see Microsoft support 'an industry-wide copy control platform' built in to its next-generation Longhorn operating system, with the computer giant instructing labels that the compatible secure CDs must contain additional multimedia content, such as bonus tracks, 'as a quid pro quo for adding effective [DRM] into the consumer experience'". It looks like everyone except the consumer is going to win on this one - Microsoft controls the secure format, the RIAA gets a secure format, and the consumer loses all their rights for the "quid pro quo" of a bonus track."
In other news, Microsoft to offer computer training packages on Herding Cats.
Seems there was something within the last month where Microsoft's Windows Media advances on big media content were spurned.
"We're calling together a representative coalition of the industry to plan a possible meeting to discuss whether further consideration of your offer is necessary. Not that we're worried about you getting a cut of our cut, but we're all insane with greed and want to be sure we don't let anyone dictate our destiny to us in the same way we have for decades to consumers. Now if you'll excuse me I have several new acts to screw, I mean, negotiate standard industry contracts with."
A feeling of having made the same mistake before: Deja Foobar
All this crippling of Windows takes a lot of time. Besdies, DRM is much better than WinFS.
give up my rights for a bonus track! NOT!
Forget the RIAA, support your local garage band.
I love being screwed.
...richie - It is a good day to code.
Copy protection would be the best gift MS could give to the open-source movement.
95% of all windows boxes must contain 100% pirated software.
Build your own energy sources from scratch. http://otherpower.com/
Does this mean that alternate OS's such as Linux and OS X could be consider encryption circumvention devices under the DMCA and upcoming Uber-DMCA's in the USA and around the world? This of course assumes that Microsoft's protection scheme is Windows only. And I think that's a safe bet.
...why am I not concerned about M$'s SECURITY being cracked in short order?
.. all mentioned in the same article?
Whoa, let the flamefest commence!
From reading Slashdot it looks like the entire world is using Linux with occasional Mac OS here and there. Microsoft will impact that tiny market share it controls, the rest will just rely on realiable and highly compatible Mandrake 10.
We imagine Apple won't be willing to play ball on this front.
Likely not, but what if the files are DMR-locked (somehow) to only play with a Longhorn-capable client? Reverse engineering would go against the DMCA likely.
Trolling is a art,
Only one copy protection mechanism to overcome, and then it's time to go back to freely backing up you data again.
Sure, we also gain a standardized copy protection format which will be tuned not to break things like some existing copy protections *cough* Starforce *cough*.
And...standardization is good, just a single standard to bypass if we want to make backups instead of having to learn how to bypass multiple protections.
Sure, call me a pirate, but when want to play games on my laptop, I don't want to have to tote the CD around, I'd much mount the disc image to a virtual drive so I don't have to tote a breakable CD for every game I might play while traveling.
If they can't secure the code on the CD what makes you think they can secure the CD?
Why do customers want to upgrade to Longhorn? I seem to keep losing reasons, or never had them in some cases.
-b
It does matter, encryption works the same way. It isn't unbreakable but hard to do so. It keeps everyone and their brother from doing something or looking at your private e-mail. It keeps out the ones who either are too stupid or whatnot from getting past. There will always be exceptions. *shrug*
...and how is this going to stop me from jacking the sound out to the sound in on my sound card, recording a wav file, then compressing it to mp3?
A valid point. The death of the CD has been predicted for years, but with growth in music downloads it's a matter of time before physical distribution of music AND movies becomes a relic of history. Of course, DRM bolted onto everything, by Microsoft's design, could rather play havoc with Open Source.
A feeling of having made the same mistake before: Deja Foobar
Since copy-protected discs are not standard CDs, Apple Computer says they are not meant to be played on its products. In addition, repairs required to undo damage caused by such discs may not be covered by its warranties.
Apple designs its CD drives to support media that conforms to (published Compact Disc) standards. Therefore, any attempt to use nonstandard discs with Apple CD drives will be considered a misapplication of the product. Under the terms of Apple's one-year limited warranty, AppleCare Protection Plan, or other Apple Care agreements, any misapplication of the product is excluded from Apple's repair coverage.
Some copy-protected audio discs are causing Mac OS computers to start to a gray screen. In some cases, the discs will not easily eject from the computer.
Yes, I have RTFA. Yes, I have a girlfriend. Yes, I'm new here. And no, I don't want a free iPod.
I think the submitter is confused--they're supposed to have to give us something extra for the DRM, which means they admit that it's cumbersome.
Now then, the part I object to is that we don't have much choice about whether this bargain is agreeable or not--it's take it or leave it, with probably no way for us to choose no DRM at all.
Of course, I would expect that it will be swiftly cracked, and I doubt they'll be able to fix it any more than they can with CSS, DMCA be damned.
The CDs are still going to have regular audio tracks, so they can play in regular CD players. Longhorn will still read regular audio tracks, so it can still play old CDs that don't have a DRMed copy of their content. Even if Longhorn checks for a mixed-mode CD and restricts access to the music portion, that breaks older mixed-mode CDs that have the music on the audio portion only, and other content on the data portion. Bottom line, it sounds to me like I'll still be able to just hold shift.
Thank you M$ you just gave me the "final straw" to migrate to Linux.
"If any question why we died, Tell them because our fathers lied."
...the more star systems will slip through your fingers.
Reading Package Lists... Done
Building Dependency Tree... Done
E: Couldn't find package longhorn
Still not out yet huh?
For someone who has no problem with MS, this is really arrogant. I don't care how much the music industry wants copy protection, I bet this letter did not go over well. On September 2nd, you give me a letter that gives me 18 whole days to make a decision that has major implications on the future of the entire industry. I bet this must leave even the most jaded observers questioning MS sanity and arrogance.
...I'll be using Linux permanently - but not before, Win2K r0xx0r5 for me. Hopefully Linux will mature over the next few years enough for people like my mum to be able to use it too. Cheers M$ nice knowing you!
I've noticed that everyone who is for abortion has already been born - Ronald Reagan
What if a country who cares about it's citizen's rights (like Germany, where Macrovision is illegal, because it prevents backups) and decides to OUTLAW the copy-protection scheme?
I figure in 2006 (when Longhorn is supposed to ship) I won't be buying CD's anymore; I barely do as it is now. I really enjoy ITunes and the pricing for a full album's material is almost always better than any retailer's (including Amazon) price.
ITunes restrictions are reasonable enough that they don't get in my way...and it's cheaper. I don't need a physical CD anymore. Music on demand. I like it.
blenderking.com over 50,000 blenders can't be wrong
This'll be like DiVX and TurboTax. Oh, and Windows XP.
Face it: people without longhorn won't suffer, people with it will, all previous generations of appliance-level devices won't work with the item, and we'll still be able to make perfect copies of an almost-perfect first-generation analog copy. No upside, a zillion downsides.
I can't wait for this show...
the age old argument that if you can play a piece of multimedia then it can be recorded using a microphone, unless they are outlawed by these new DMCAalikes, which, to be honest, wouldn't surprise me in the least, after all they can be used as 'Circumvention Devices' or whatever
You see, if the old way doesn't work, CD players around the world are going to be unable to play CDs. If CDs are only playable in computers, CD sales would go drastically down as people will now be forced to rip their own CD, getting the music from another source, ala, kazaa, and probably pirating would go up.
There is always another way to rip the audio from CDs. So Microsoft builds copy protection into their OS. Who cares. It wont stop me from making backups of my CDs.
-=Prock=-
nor so I speak Latin, so I didn't know that Quid Pro Quo means "An equal exchange or substitution." ( American Heritage )
Sola Deo Gloria!
Well M$ will play monoply with the RIAA the same as they play it with everything else.
isn't this how the patriot act was passed? wait until the last minute so it has to be agreed upon OR ELSE.
If a music disk can be played on a computer, it is completely posible to record the music into ogg/mp3 ... even if it's through analog wires, it's still possible.
The only way to protect music is to make the disks NOT playable.
Trying to push something at the last second never works. There will be mistakes, a need for new patches, who knows.
I would think as long as a CD-Rom can read a disk as a data disk, then this will all be meaningless. Someone will write an application which will skip over the "bonus" track. The only way this can work is if MS decides their windows media player is the only player they will allow. But didn't the courts tell MS they could not do that?
Come and say hi. http://forum.penpals.com/index.php
-
Many independent labels are rumoured to be terrified by the proposal, our sources suggest, which could grant Microsoft the mandate on CD copy protection and, if it is accepted by the industry, potentially increase the costs of CD production.
While here onI don't know about you but that thought's pretty scary. I don't like copy protection at all (I bought the damn thing, I want to do what I want to with it, and no that doesn't include sharing it illegally) if it's going to happen I don't think Microsoft is a trustworthy steward to have in control of it. Based on their past actions the whole music industry would probably get worse than the current corrupt and abusive (to artists and fans) system.
If you are using a plural verb, shouldn't it be Microsofts or Microsoftii? Or is it both singular and plural, like moose and deer?
This is really good news for Linux vendors.
Microsoft got to be the dominant OS vendor by lowering the barriers for acquisition of its products. No copy protection (mostly), and it came on every box.
I guess they learned their lesson. If you leave off the copy protection, those silly consumers will start using the stuff right and left and then where will you be?
Market share is everything.
And Microsoft pushing around the RIAA -- that's wonderful stuff.
sigs, as if you care.
The post is out of order? Hell no, the MODERATORS are out of order!
It would be nice if a requirement for moderating was having a clue about the issues around the issue. It's not even my post, but it gets under my skin to see such clueless moderating. When did Slashdot get so dumb?
Just wait until that next great game comes out, and you *surprise* can't play it on Linux.
Where does Microsoft expect us to install that long horn?
I don't see where I'm getting any kind of benefit from their plan.
Forget about lower prices and increased innovation, the real benefit of having an alternative in Linux IMO is the protection of our rights as consumers. MS will simply speed the migration to Linux if it tries to cram DRM down our throats.
What if Digg added local news and a Slashdot inspired comment karma system? ---
http://houndwire.com
Well, it's certainly more of a short term soluition to the problem of playing this new DRM'd media on Apple machines, but you can always download Windows Media Player for Mac OS X.
Certainly I'd prefer as much as anyone here that this DRM madness will not come to pass, but I'm not nuts either, and it will, but at least you'll still be able to play such files on non-Longhorn based systems, even if it is just Macs...
It's bad news, period:
For their part, Levy and Munns have allegedly provided a "strawman" proposed framework, which covers familiar ground such as the ability for CD buyers "to make a specified number of protected copies of the disc". But there are also some more ambitious requests, such as "when copying the files to the hard drive the consumer can use any protected music file format of their choice". We imagine Apple won't be willing to play ball on this front.
In other words: 'You can copy your files in any format, as long as it's got the right kind of DRM.'
I can't begin to contemplate what would happen to the music industry if it were to accept Microsoft's offer. In fact, I can't begin to contemplate the possibility that it would accept such a mad proposal.
Protecting CDs with a new scheme that's built into Longhorn will mean, as far as I can see, that these CDs will be unplayable on any standalone CD player that's currently out there. So what are people supposed to do; upgrade their players alongside their Windows? Also, as has been pointed out already - what about Apple and other computer platforms?
This is simply ridiculous. I'm at loss for words.
I hear there's rumors on the Slashdots
this is starting to bend towards the copy protect bios on the Motherboard. come on, how hard would it be for MS to follow Apple's lead and now copy protect, just put out great software that ppl dont' mind buying? with all the blue screens you can see why ppl don't feel winders isn't worth buying.
How many coopys of winders get sold =vs= how many versions of winders are just 'bought' preinstalled on a computer?
CBNSDUFGHK*(((&*&*
free ipod and free gmail!
they'll jump on it just because it will cause problems to your average low-tech user.
The music industry/hollywood are trying to kill-off CD and DVD as fast as they can because they are copyable.
I bet it won't be long before the only way to buy movies/music will be over the net via a DRM mechanism and traditional store-bought media (and all non-DRM players ) have a very limited time left to run.
Hopefully in the next few years your mom will also be mature enough to use it too :)
End users bitch because they can't install their old MS-DOS cribbage games on XP for crying out loud.
09 F9 11 02 9D 74 E3 5B D8 41 56 C5 63 56 88 C0
Unless the MS encryption scheme was given to all music media players (including rival OSs), a music industry crushing fair use lawsuit should be brought. Music has always been (by design) a portable genre. Old example - I buy an LP and make a tape (or mix tape if it's for m'Lady) so I can play it in the car. When CD burners came along I pulled the LP into the PC, split tracks and cleaned the audio - then made a CD. I also ripped these tracks into my MP3 player to go jogging (like I jog!).
Movies are less portable, but I should be allowed a backup, and I used to be able to 'cut' a scene and make it my desktop wallpaper. Those should also be 'fair use'.
All your digital rights are belong to us...
Busy aligning my non-linear thoughts.
Pretty much everywhere but the U.S. a company name is a plural noun.
I for one welcome our new copy protection overlords.
This sig does not contain any SCO code.
Microsoft is just plain EVIL.
(Or maybe "weevil"...my cat lisps sometimes)
(and my dog programs in C++)
...I don't think I've ever really said it, but I hate Microsoft. Not in a flaming way, I just plain hate them.
The preceding message was based on actual events. Only the names, locations and events have been changed.
or a track, which would otherwise be there already, that is unlockable only on a computer with Windows Longhorn installed?
are these so called secure cds going to have drm that works in *nix oses, cause if they don't it has no affect on me really (other than making me hate micrsoft and riaa more).
lose != loose
No kidding... as long as there's an option to purchase a CD sans-bonus-track (or whatever it is), I'll take it if it has no freedom sacrificing protections on it.
I was thinking Longhorn looked pretty nice, and I'm one of those Slashdotters that spends a fair amount of time in Windows (I dual boot, honest!). I'm *not* going to give up freedoms I currently have now though, which means buying only non-encumbered software, including my OS.
I'll buy the non-encumbered CD's, and pirate the bonus tracks. Unless the non-encumbered discs are cheaper, then I when I pay the same price as the next guy, I want the same content he gets.
It's BS, and I won't have it.
Hopefully soon we'll see recording companies springing up whose philosophy is to allow users access to their fair use rights. Or recording companies who make their money from live concerts or the like, rather than from album sales. Give the albums away for free, and I guarantee I'm more likely to show up at a concert.
Slay a dragon... over lunch!
All they are doing is stealing SunnComm's idea. So has Macrovision, Sony, and a few others I don't want ot name...
The track record of consumer unfriendly products/services that have succeeded is very impressive. I'm sure Microsoft will be able to add this new "feature" to that list as well.
So does this mean MS will be held liable for anyone recieving pirated software sold as authentic? They should if they are touting copy protection of this magnitude.
What specification is Microsoft (or one of their buddies) going to push at the last minute?
I'm not aware of any wide arrangement of competing formats for this niche. (But then, I have been hiding in a hole for the past few weeks.)
tasks(723) drafts(105) languages(484) examples(29106)
Like neocons, some mod's can't take criticism and need to silence dissent. Q.E.D.
Smart move for Microsoft. They're trying to move into all media markets. By offering to build a DRM spec into the OS this makes them look good in RIAA eyes, even though it looks forced. Once this phase is completed and they've buddied up with the MPAA using a similar tactic, then when both organizations look for new media spec and DRM, MS will be right there and be able to give them a new protection scheme. They could protect it pretty well too. All they'd have to do is get the orgs to agree to have MS proprietary DRM on it. movies and music will only play on windows machines. Makes it plenty difficult to copy on linux and illegal, and since new media will not work on other operating systems, that effectively takes them out of the desktop race for good.
I think it's a great business move and it's not really in violation of the antitrust laws; because other companies are the ones requiring windows.
Just too bad i'm a consumer and not an MS share holder.
IF they were so bold to try and do something like this, there would be a crack within hours to strip this "feature".
Isn't there already DRM removal code floating around?
The law can state it's illegal all it wants, but really now, who cares what the law says?
We have secretly replaced these Slashdot mods' sense of humor with a rusty nail. Let's see if they notice!!
in place of all the features they have been promising for ages but cant complete.
Not impressed
...And stop buying. Seriously. A major company is catering to another major companies needs. Film at 11.
This is one of many cases that I think the free market will work. If people don't think the quid pro quo value is in their favor, than the RIAA loses because people will stop buying their product.
There is no longer anything that can be done with computers that is nontrivial and clearly legal. -- Paul Phillips
I agree about mainstream-marketed music. I do still find new music that I like, but mainly through other sources. I'll sound like an Amazon-shill for saying this, but after rating a few of my favorite CDs at Amazon, they've been pretty good at finding other stuff that I like and sometimes end up buying.
Also, the NPR radio station KCRW in Santa Monica, California, plays some interesting new music during their Morning Becomes Eclectic program. Certainly not everyone's taste, but new, fairly diverse, and generally not mainstream. If you're not lucky enough to live within range of their antennae, they broadcast on the web in MP3, RealAudio and Windows Media formats. There's a simulcast, a news-only stream, and a music-only stream.
God I hope so! I was worried for a second!
Ascalante: Your bride is over 3,000 years old.
Kull: She told me she was 19!
I hope they can see this because I'm doing it harder than I ever have before.
But seriously, does anyone else see this as a trojan virus style tactic from M$? Get into the music industry through the lucrative promise of widespread effective DRM, then pull the puppet strings to steer their giant lawsuit machine. This follows their 'embrace and extend' strategy but could take it one step further:
1) embrace
2) extend
3) ??? profit!
4) use the RIAA law juggernaut to sue everyone not just for copyright infringement but patent infringement and DMCA infractions.
-- I'm not a pessimist, I'm a realist. It's not my fault that life sucks so much. --
Old Bill needs to learn to stop playing Monopoly with the market. He's going to get slapped down for this in Europe again and again.
If only he read slashdot, he'd understand how pathetic all this crap is. If you want to protect your copyright then make it so we're better off buying them DLing. Other wise STFU and accept no one wants to support corrupt companies/corps/groups like Microsoft anf the RIAA because we just end up being screwed.
I like muppets.
It's never bothered Microsoft to come up with their own ways of doing things regardless of what everyone else is doing, why should they all of a sudden want the music industry to follow them on a CD protection scheme?
And block/(make unusable) previous versions of windows, to use an old copy of window's you'll have to make your own patches (without source code)... CD's wont run on non-longhorn Computers, all new MS software probably wont run on previous versions of windows...
:-P M$ sucks
basically you upgrade or you can't use your computer (due to viri and such)...
Then again, even if you do upgrade, you still wont be able to use your computer
From what I understand, the product will not be allowed to be called a CD if it includes DRM.
Also, what ever happened to the 'fair use' clause that legally allows me to make a copy of my CD? Which brings me to a reasonable question. If you circumvent DRM to make a legal copy of music then are you really in violation of the DMCA because you have already been given the rights to make the copy. Am I correct in assuming that the RIAA is not complying with that law?
Luckily, there isn't too much new music that I enjoy so I only purchase maybe 1 CD a month and always return CD's that are copy protected because they usually won't play in my computer or car stereo.
Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law - Aleister Crowley
Sounds about as enticing as losing a dental plan for a keg of beer.
Dental plan.
Lisa needs braces.
Dental plan.
Lisa needs braces.
Dental plan.
Lisa needs braces.
Bonus track.
Lisa need fair use.
Bonus track.
Lisa need fair use.
Bonus track.
Lisa need fair use.
RIAA: We like to screw customers?
M$: How so?
RIAA: We used to enforce $20 a music CD throughout the entire 90s.
M$: That's nothing. We make people pay subscriptions for life.
RIAA: Yes, but we enforce $20 over products we don't produce.
M$: Damn that's good. But ours include holes for viruses and spyware. So people will spend more money.
RIAA: Well, our music CDs will soon be unlistenable because we will change format. They will have to buy the music again.
M$: Yes, we can arrest people for stealing our software.
RIAA: Please, we have already arrested a grandmother, a single parent on welfare, and a 5 year old.
M$: You are my idol.
Is anybody actually buying a CD anymore ? Last CD I bought was a gift to a 4 years old son of my friend and this was about 7 years ago. I think the CD thing will go wayside soon and this point of adding DRM to the plastic will be moot.
Also, how is this different from DRM on downloaded tracks ? It is either microsoft or apple or real media or some other entity protecting the tracks against piracy.
If you complain about not being able to crack the DRM, well, you may have to use and alternative OS to look into the DRM techology to circumvent it and this does not make a big showstopper for anybody who had this idea in mind.
Just my opinion.
__________
The more I know people, the more I love animals
You must be new here, most people here on /. do hate M$, RIAA, and DRM.
Or anything that takes their rights away...go figure.
Since when is it the job of an operating system to manage digital media rights? This is absolutely asanine... knowing Micro$oft it will likely be integrated into IE, the NT Kernal, Media Player, MSN Passport... and Windows Messanger...
How many security holes is this going to create on my system?
Windows isn't an operating system... its big brother...
Longhorn seems less appealing than ever.
The power of Christ compiles you!
You seem to really need to bash it into the skulls of Microsoft and RIAA that copy protection won't help much. They just aren't getting it.
Beware: In C++, your friends can see your privates!
Boycott RIAA products, if you disagree with their approach. Here's an alternative.
if music is only made on CD now, then how can it be a bonus track? i would assume the companies signing on to this stuff do not press vinyl anymore, and everyone knows the vinyl is supposed to have the bonus track because it cost about 3x as much to manufacture.
Dude, if I shoved a steaming pile of SHIT into my computer, I wouldn't expect to work.
And that's exactly what shit like this is. It ain't bad news for apple, it's bad news for the fuckwits who get suckered into buying trojan horse bullshit GARBAGE.
This is a classic marketing move on Microsoft's part. First, you hit them with the down side. You will have to include this information on all of the CD's you produce. Before anyone can think of the potential options, Microsoft gives an example that the music industry is ok with, "bonus tracks".
Not so bad on its surface, but what "bonus tracks" could Microsoft possible what to add? The obvious answer is commercials! Just like DVD's. Microsoft will control, and license, the area that will play to every user before they listen to there music. Each time they play the CD.
It's a brilliant move, but one that is very scary at the same time.
2 points first with something this big every hacker / hacker group in the world be trying to crack it so i'm not all that worried. And second whats to prevent us from using an older version of windows to rip the cds to mp3 and then put them on our new computers.
"the "Secure Audio Path" concept (which would protect content all the way to a computer's speakers, making it impossible to make digital copies by recording from the soundcard"
do you really mean all the way to the *speakers*, or is it all the way to the *(pre)amp*?
I'd think the digital-to-analog conversion would have to occur before the amp -- which means there's a place to tap and re-digitize.
Microsoft appears to have offered DRM to the music industry, in exchange for which the music industry must include additional content over unprotected media. This appears to be a move by Microsoft to spread the winnings around the table, if only a little. Here's how I see it:
. Microsoft gets its own DRM technology approved by the industry, and with control of the main PC platform establishes it as the de-facto standard.
. The music industry gets a widely-deployed DRM technology to stem what it sees as an erosion of its marketplace.
. Consumers who purchase DRM-enabled media instead of standard media would get additional content not available elsewhere.
I think this move should be acknowledged by the digirati as a small step towards a real solution, though not the final one. It appears Microsoft is attempting to exact a concession from the music industry on behalf of consumers. (Of course, it would be more heroic to suffer a cost themselves, but Microsoft is anything but financially stupid.)
Now for some problems with the alleged proposal:
. DRM is DRM, and some of us don't want any of it.
. If you must have DRM, an open standard would be preferred.
. It's likely only a matter of time before the DRM is broken, bringing the music industry back to square one.
. Additional content for our troubles is a nice touch - make it worthwhile (like videos of all the tracks, lyrics, Bio's, discographies, Lo-Fi non-DRM MP3's for portable devices, etc.).
But let's not just hammer the participants out of reflex. Slashdot may be a mob, but we're supposed to be a smart mob.
you can always download Windows Media Player for Mac OS X.
No, that won't help. DRM'd Windows Media files are not supported by the most recent version of Windows Media Player for Mac OS X.
(And yet Microsoft wants Apple to open up their DRM to everyone. Fucking hypocrites.)
Why don't you give Magnatune a try? They have a decent selection of music, you can download the albums as many times as you like in quite a few formats (including FLAC and straight up WAV), and best of all...they're not the RIAA.
Sounds like a great reason to stick with XP to me.
I hate to be anti-change but let's not remove all the good features, add some DRM crud and call it an 'upgrade'. Who is Microsoft kidding? And they probably want us to *pay* for the privledge.
My G4 powerbook's got an eject button on the very top-right of the keyboard. Ok, it's a software one, but the machine's mounted and happily ripped every copy-protected CD I own, including one that locked up an old G3 iMac.
I don't know when this becomes critical mass, but I find the trend in media disturbing. But, before it does, and I don't suggest the time, place, or mechanism, I wouldn't mind seeing a mass customer revolt. It wouldn't take long for the RIAA to raise eyebrows if virtually everyone stopped purchasing music until the future of "owning" music looked less draconian. I know much of this is driven by the fear of pirating, etc., but the future does more than assure less piracy and seems more to ensure beaucoups des revenues (pardon the butchered French) for RIAA and cohorts.
If we can organize flash-mobs, we should be able to organize flash-boycotts (assuming there are others who see the trend in media control as untenable).
If this ends up being windows only DRM (i.e. not for OS X, not for *nix), it won't work on anything but a Windows box... nice! They don't really have to do anything to hold up their end of the deal and they get to stick a thumb in Apple's eye all at the same time. (You know they'd like to do that!)
I wonder if the "one good song" on every CD will now be the "bonus" track. If I were MS, that's what I'd be pushing for.
If you never make mistakes, it's probably because you're not doing anything.
What color Magic Marker will defeat this round of copy-protection?
As both a programmer and a musician, I've been thinking it might be a good idea to write and record music with the deliberate purpose of it being free / open source / whatever.
That is, allow people to copy it on purpose. Will it make any money? Maybe. But more importantly, the folks at the RIAA couldn't do anything to mess it up.
Music is something that many people do because they ENJOY it. I have written quite a bit of music, and play music frequently. So far, I have rarely been paid to do so, but I have absolutely no intention of stopping.
Wonderful, now we get arithmetic FUD.
"95% of all windows boxes must contain 100% pirated software."
And I'll call bull on that. Except maybe if you're talking China or ex-USSR where they can't even afford to pay hundreds of bucks for a text editor or 40 bucks for a game. (If a game costs as much as your monthly salary, or more, and you also have to eat out of that salary... well, moral decisions just get a lot easier.)
Even by the BSA's BS statistics, about the highest software piracy rate in the USA is in North Dakota, at almost 40%. And in some states it's in the low teens.
That's a bloody far cry from your 95% bullshit.
And bear in mind that there's a reason there's BS in BSA. Their statistics are inflated beyond belief. If some chinese kid downloads 3DS Max to toy around with making models for a game (e.g., "X2: The Threat" only supports 3DS Max models), the BSA counts it as $6000 lost sales. On account that surely every single kid, even in china, would have paid $6000 to make mods for a $40 game.
Yeah, right. Dunno in which country kids get $6000 as pocket change.
I.e., again, in practice, the real piracy rate is actually lower than that.
The reason why a majority of Americans or Europeans pay for their software isn't that we're more stupid than the Chinese and just can't find a crack. It's because we're not the kind of cheapskate whose only options are free beer or stolen beer. Because it's the morally right thing to do.
Some of us actually paid for Windows. Yes, go figure. I went and bought the Win2K copy I'm writing this on. Retail. And for Linux too, for that matter. The SuSE 9.0 I use at work, I've actually went and bought the funny green box. And for a ton of other software, copy-protected stuff included.
In fact, I'll tell you what: if Microsoft could actually come up with a copy-protection scheme that actually _works_ and actually stops pirates, Microsoft would have my heartfelt gratitude. Speaking as a consumer, and no, I don't work for MS. I'm sick and tired of seeing good games companies going bankrupt, while freeloading cheapskates (some driving SUVs and sports cars) leech their games on P2P.
(On the other hand, crap that only inconveniences the paying customer and doesn't actually do anything to pirates, I've still had enough of.)
A polar bear is a cartesian bear after a coordinate transform.
Microsoft controls the secure format
IRONY - 2. A sort of humor, ridicule, or light sarcasm, which adopts a mode of speech the meaning of which is contrary to the literal sense of the words.
They are just giving audiophile hackers the chance to show their stuff. If everything is open and free people will let their l33t reverse engineering skills fade. un1xl0ser
v4sw6PU$hw6ln6pr4F$ck 4/6$ma3+6u7LNS$w2m4l7U$i2e4+7en6a2X h
1. A blatant attempt to leverage their OS market share into a monopoly in music DRM is going to cause a legal headache that'll take many million euros to cure (even if the US looks the other way).
2. If Windows builds in copy controls on CDs, every single college student in the world will download and install a copy of Linux. Can't see billg signing off on anything that raises the spectre of that.
I'm a skeptic. No, seriously, you have to believe me....
Hit record.
I don't hear a difference. But then maybe it's my tired old ears?
Si vis pacem, para bellum! For evil to succeed good men need only do nothing!
And even if it were conquered the native population would make the life of the invaders miserable. Even Iraqis manage to do that.
This sounds like good news to me. If this succeeds, it's just another nail in the coffin for RIAA and their overpriced, bullshit CDs. Hopefully once MS and Apple kill off the RIAA by burdening them with DRM and outcompeting them with online sales, I'll be able to get real music at decent prices without having to import it from russia.
using namespace slashdot;
troll::post();
I say we start a movement against the purchasing of music from any label associated with the RIAA. to Quote /. "There's small choice in rotten apples. -- William Shakespeare, "The Taming of the Shrew"
-This whole mess mkes me really mad, whatever happened to the Consumers Rights, or did those die in the 80's? It seems that everything today is geared at protecting the Big Companies. perfect example Grandmas and 12year olds get sued, and it's ok. This is a sick world we live in. Money is not everything, information is everything.
Enough said. Damn straight!
If those pirating jackasses would just realize how many great products DON'T exist because of the companies that they've driven out of business...
Comment of the year
-
do you really mean all the way to the *speakers*, or is it all the way to the *(pre)amp*?
I honestly don't know, that's a quote from the article and that's how they worded it.as another poster said, "liberating" the Axis of Evil countries that would not comply with such Free Market scheme... oboy.
It's better to be the foot on the boot than the face on the pavement. ~~ tkx Kadin2048
let me get this straight.. microsoft are ramming some hastily conceived and rush-designed security format down their partner's throats, and will be locking themselves and said partners to it.
and then they're giving us *how* many years to come up with workarounds or outright cracks?
heh. hehehehehehe.
We will have to develope better methods of disassembling any softwre MS produces and hack out the usefull bits and implement those in open source software or else develop those features scratch built and ignore the induce act and ditribute these features, etc, through P2P. Besides with MS stealing all sorts of features out of the open source world and implementing them in longhorn, so might as well return the favour.
Mooooooooooo!
Microsoft is moving their monopoly control onto the CD music industry? Will these copy-protected CDs be able to work on any other platforms other than Longhorn? What about Linux and Mac users? Will we be locked out?
I find it so infuriating that the moronic recording industry is implementing these sorts of things. If a CD is copy protected, someone is going to get copies of the tracks onto P2P networks somehow anyway, and they will be accessible only through illegal means. They are forcing legitimate customers to resort to music piracy as their only avenue to get the latest albums.
I'm honestly one of those people that used to buy a lot of CDs. I have no qualms about paying for it legitimately, so I find it offensive that I have to be subjected to copy protection to prevent me from getting it onto my computer, which is my stereo as well. Not only can't the SuperDrive on my Titanium PowerBook rip the CDs, but it can't even play them as regular audio CDs either. I no longer buy CDs anymore, because my laptop can't read them and I can't play them, because they are all copy protected. I was a good customer and now I don't buy their products!
Doesn't that say something about the shit-for-brains strategy they're implementing? I don't share my ripped tracks on P2P networks. I actually find it useful to own CDs because they serve as backup copies. And since they are uncompressed, you can re-rip them using different algorithms, like if you choose decide to switch from the default 128 kbps to 192 kbps or higher for better quality, or if you decide to start using the Apple Lossless audio codec.
They are actually stopping me from buying their product. They are such fucking unbelievable idiots. And guess what? Music from the recording industries isn't necessary in one's life as much as their marketing would like you to think. I'm fine with the music I already have. Like I said, I was a good customer- a really good customer- so I already acquired a decent collection of CDs before this copyright crap came along. They are locking out honest paying customers. That is the dumbest thing ever.
Except its industry? I would certianly prefer no DRM, i certianly understand why the riaa would want it. Its in their best interests. Unfortuantly, there are many stupid people that don't understand the consequences of file sharing of copyrighted works. Of course, the industry is going to react. If everyone would freekin apply some common sence we wouldn't be in this pickle. Now we all have to pay for the sins of the few. I just hope that the restrictions aren't more severe then they are now for digital music stores.
Well.. maybe. Or Maybe not. But Definitely not sort of.
Someone will just play the cd using their super-linear ultra high fidelity audiophile 28 bit audio card, and plug the output into their ultra linear ultra high fidelity audiophile 28 bit digitizer, and then downsample the whole audiophile quality album into a very non-audiophile 128kbps MP3. If you can hear it or see, there's a way to copy it. Even if you have to whip out the ole' cam-corder.
Support the record labels that aren't a part of the RIAA. Last I checked, Century Media is one of them. So is Projekt. Century Media also had a number of its bands present at Ozzfest this year, the best one IMO, being Lacuna Coil. I normally get tired of a band after a year or two of heavy listening, but I find myself still coming back to Lacuna Coil if that gives you any perspective on Century Media's taste.
The best part about CM, IMO, is that they have officially declared in an interview with IIRC Revolver, that the fastest way to not get your band signed to them is to be "the next Lacuna Coil, Shadows Fall or Arch Enemy." They don't like formulas because they want bands that know how to be creative. Those are the bands that if they continue to grow after after their first one or two releases will be good investments. I can't wait until Lacuna Coil releases the successor to Comalies next year.
But as far as garage bands go, there is something about indy bands that many people can't deal with. It's that the record labels sign anything with a modicum of talent. Hell, they might even sign me if I got into a band and I have almost no guitar or bass experience. If your band hasn't been "discovered" chances are it very well may have been and not even the most tasteless label(s) would sign your band. 90% of indy bands are that way because they would be obvious money holes, it's that rare 5-10% that are victims of the market passing them over for the wrong reasons.
Click here or a puppy gets stomped!
I think the DOJ just might have another case for collusion and abuse of monopoly power in the works, here.
NO matter WHAT DRM is implemented. Somebody will make a high quality first generation rip from taking a cable and going from line out -----> to line in on their sound card and then the cat is out of the bag.
Quality wise....the fact that it's not a straight digital copy will only bother the purists.
I would bet my house that this "secure format" will do little to nothing to stop the music piracy you all love so much. I wouldn't worry about it.
Hikery.net - The best hiking site ever. Made by yours truly.
Microsoft controls the secure format, the RIAA gets a secure format
There is no such thing as a secure format. If it is digital it can be copied. At the very best you might be able to attach some additional pieces of information to the music, which might not easilly be removed without causing a loss of quality. But that doesn't prevent copying. And when the copies are floating, you still have a hard time proving how they got out there. Besides the CD is already standardized (not that anyone follow it anymore).
Do you care about the security of your wireless mouse?
Only outlaws will provide CD copies..
Good ol' digital prohibition.
4Ghz email checkers..
So instead of there being 9 out of 10 tracks on the CD that I'd never think of paying for, there will be 10 out of 11. I'm thrilled.
"that's not encryption - it's a new perl script that I'm working on..." - from some Matrix parody
I don't know about the US, but in other countries, the biggest threat to recording and film industries is not your average Joe Homeuser. The "losses" these groups have due to these users copying stuff are pennies, compared to the losses generated by REAL pirates: people who mass produce copies to sell on street stalls, flea markets and such.
And of course, criminals, being the innovative and clever people they are, will give a damn about Longhorn. They will switch to Linux, Mac OS X, older versions of DRM-less Windows or any other OS / device that allows them to stay on business.
Don't buy it. The whole reason copy protection hasn't taken place all over the music market is that consumers are watching out for CDs that have these "features" and they are not selling well because of incompatibilities. Back when DVD first came out it was incompatibilities like that which kept some movies from being high sellers given the limited amount of movies available at the time.
"Beware of he who would deny you access to information, for in his heart, he dreams himself your master."
What's going to happen here is plain and simple that the industry is going to lose their rights to my money!
I'm not going to spend money on music I can't play on my Mac, Xbox, PS/2 or car stereo. If that's the choice I'm faced with, I'll just wait for somebody to crack it and download a copy instead.
... to Rule Them All
I can only see this as another nail in Longhorn's coffin. Now if they'd only ship their proprietary SQL filesystem that would make my day as I'm convinced that no-one with a clue would think of using it. This will fail as surely as did Intel's Fritz chip.
(*FOSS Office suites/OSes is not yet a viable option for the general public)
Yeah, right.
...sometimes picking up CD's directly from bands' websites (fuck you, RIAA, no cut for you)...
Um, what makes you think the RIAA doesn't get a cut just because you buy it from the band's site? Do you really expect RIAA soul-sucking contracts to contain such a gaping hole?
If the band in question is published by an RIAA label, those CDs belong to the label (even though the label fucks the band over to recoup the manufacturing costs), and the label isn't going to let the band or anyone else sell them without taking a cut. See Steve Albini, et al.
(Of course, if the band is indy, the RIAA isn't involved in the first place, but your statement implies we're talking about major-label bands.)
I think sometimes we forget that hardware is evolving too just as we don't use 286's and 386's is there any guarantee present versions of windows will run on a dual or quad processor PC
well not win98SE 32 bit processors are its finish. Maybe WinXP to a degree and that already contains a lot of DRM already. lockhorn however may be the only Microsoft choice.
But theres still Linux,yes but how is it going to be developed for these new systems if everything keeps infringing on microsoft patents?
It's not quite a monopoly if open source will not pay for using microsofts patents or agree to the liciencing terms.
Perhaps it will not happen, but it is a possibilty that needs to be thought about now and blocked from ever becoming a reality.
Blarney Quality Restaurant, Plants
I win on this too. I'm not buying CDs/DVDs with DRM included. If enough people refuse to buy, they change what they are offering for sale, or they die and other companyies offer something different. Brutal, clean, efficient.
I ain't buying. Try again.
MS probably won't be knocking on my door any time soon. :o)
But still...My good old SMP machine will have to switch to Linux or FreeBSD soon. I miss Unix way too much (personal laptop = iBook, running OS X... at work often Sun Solaris over ssh)
Ahhh...the great dumpster continuum. Many a free computer will be found there. -- sowth (748135)
Given Microsoft's record with security, if I were the RIAA, they're the last ones I would ask to design my security standard.
"Who controls the past controls the future. Who controls the present controls the past." -- George Orwell
It'd be interesting to see what the console hacking community could come up with to address this.
8==8 Bones 8==8
Many day jobs pay more than $45,000 a year which is what some of the most successful musicians are paid. That's what happens when there are only 4 music publishers in the world.
Your views of what M$ actually does for people are similarly detached from reality.
People who screw people never do anything good for anyone. That's what DRM is all about.
Friends don't help friends install M$ junk.
To Start Using Linux!
Any other industry- Computers, cars, home electronics, food, sports equipment, etc. distributes their own damned products. The prices are set based on quality of product, features of product, and many times the brand name - but almost never by a controlling body such as OPEC or the RIAA.
RIAA claims to help by opening distribution channels and promoting material but it's not necessary these days. So, they instead attempt to make it more difficult for non-RIAA labels to distribute and sue 10 year olds for downloading a song - while screwing lots of people out of a lot of money.
All the while charging $19 for a damned CD when it costs even LESS now then it ever did to produce. (Can you say pennies?)
- It's not the Macs I hate. It's Digg users. -
Plan to welcome our new DRM-overlords with empty pockets.
You can't talk about Wikipedia's flaws on Wikipedia
I believe that this will backfire massively for both MS and the RIAA members... Just like SafeDisc3 is backfiring for companies like Activision. I bought, NHL 2004, I bought PainKiller and I bought Doom 3, brand new. There they sat all shiny in their boxes, with that nice new-game smell.... while I sat and downloaded NO-CD cracks from gamecopyworld.com because my CD drive was not compatible with their protection scheme. I wrote a letter to Activision. I told them they will never see another penny of my money. Not another penny.
The whole point is that every time they add more protection, more paying customers get screwed... and those formerly paying customers start turning to cracked and pirated copies. Nice irony... and not the Alanis Morisette kind, the real kind.
Does anyone else read "quid pro quo" as "throw us a bone"? Its good and all that Microsoft are fighting so that we can get abit of extra content but really, this is extra content thats probably not going to be included in the albums' rar torrents so it doesnt really apply to most of us! Also i don't like the way they call it "effective DRM" is that misleading advertising? can they back that up?
This comment does not represent the views or opinions of the user.
How can we continue to believe in a just universe and freedom to eat crackers if we have no ale?
I'd give it a try, if anyone can point me to a list of producers that are not affiliated with the RIAA.
Trying to use sarcasm in text-based forums does not work.
Yeah right.... Grandma's computer is getting slower and slower.
When one re-installs Win98SE ontop of Win98SE, it runs faster UNTIL you visit and perform Windows Update.
How come when one puts Windows 98 on a PC where WinXP was, it is SCREAMING and FRIGGIN' FAST?
How come when one puts Gnome 2.8 on a PC where Win2K was, the GUI becomes more responsive even under CD recording and MP3 playing simultaneously?
How come? What did we gain that Win98SE or Gnome/Linux cannot offer? Robustness? Security?
Or is this just a testimony that most of the I&T are sold on the MSFT marketing materials?
Please tell me....
--
Take out a useless industry and something better ALWAYS comes along. -- Unknown but unemployed philosopher/economist.
Remember when WalMart was supposed to push Linux into the mainstream consumer market?
Well, there are three remaining, pathetic, Microtel Linux/Linspire desktops being sold off Walmart.com and the link is like an afterthought. The Sun JDS is history. Open WMP 10 and you'll find Walmart.com added to the list of online stores.
Regional Music Encoding.
Trying to use sarcasm in text-based forums does not work.
In reality, it'll turn out to be that non-DRM'd albums will be missing a track...
If you disagree with me on social issues, then it's pretty clear that you are a narrow-minded bigot.
Just call it "Ye Olde Google News", or something. You know, with an English accent.
People want it because it's all they ever hear. The radio plays almost entirely the big label bands; so all most people know about are the big label bands. The biggest problem (from the RIAA standpoint) with P2P is not lost sales from people downloading new music; it's people discovering new music that they don't control. Then people can go to shows and buy CDs, and the RIAA doesn't get any money. The beauty of the Internet is that it is so distributed and anyone can publish information (attracting reader/listeners is the difficult part). I'd love to develop a website where fans can give tribute to band for their work, find new artists, hear about show, but I just don't have the time... I think the future of music is going to be independent artists making their own music and selling it/distributing it themselves, then they use live performances to make money, and if the songs are good enough, I think some people will buy them. I've heard that the average artist makes about 8 cents per album sold. If I can produce a CD and sell it myself for $8 + S&H I've increased my profit 100 fold (minus negligible production costs). That means instead of selling 100,000 I have to sell 1,000. In my opinion that is pretty doable if the album was good enough to make 100,000 by today's standards. Granted, there are a lot of upfront costs that labels cover, but recording equipment is getting cheaper, and computers are getting better at doing some of the technical work (I am talking out of my ass about equipment). As far as Linux gaining market share. I have to agree that 90%+ of all users don't want to do an OS install (Linux or Windows), and as long as Windows is the leading desktop OS most computers will come with it, and most people will know it, and most people will want to stick with it. The only way to get people to change is to show them the advantage of doing so (perhaps this is applicable). From the manufacture side, if I can pump out all of my machines with one OS that means I only have to make sure my hardware works with one OS (reduced costs), and I can reduce the complexity of my production line. As long as there isn't strong demand for alternative OSes there won't be many vendors really pushing the other OSes. I say this and know that it is possible to buy HP notebooks with SuSE and other machines with Linux flavors, but when I was on the HP website I couldn't actually get a price for the notebook with SuSE preinstalled. To give my own experience, I installed Red Hat 8.0 a few years ago on an old machine after building a new box to run Windows 2k. Now I'm at the point where I'd like to switch to entirely Linux, but there are a few things I use in Windows that I don't want to give up and can't switch (Quicken with automatic downloads from my banking sites). My next machine I'm going to build will be more powerful than my Windows box and I'm going to run Linux on it. I'm hoping that is another good stepping stone. So I like to think I have an open mindedness towards both OSes for the advantages they provide. I'd also like to add that I have ripped all of my CDs into MP3s and I rarely listen to my actual CDs. I find that most of the time I'm listening to music it is more convenient to just add a few tracks to my play-list than it is to find a CD to play. Plus I can add a few tracks from several albums and get a variety of music without having to constantly stop what I'm doing to change tracks. If M$ came in and said you can't transfer your MP3s to another computer, or listen to them over the network that is a SIGNIFICANT incentive for me to not use their operating system, and more than likely it would cause to not use Longhorn.
In other words, Microsoft is exploiting its current monopoly to prevent future competition, by manipulating worldwide standards. Just like the spam debacle a few days ago.
I suspect this is actually an anti-trust violation. Anyone know better? Does the court watching them know better?
Marx said, in the end we will have the people who own the production systems and the people who own nothing, except their existence and have no rights. Microsoft and the RIAA members own, consumers own nothing. Microsoft and the the RIAA members control, consumers adapt. The real question is for how long will people allow their rights to be taken, and when will the revolt be after which the whole 'game' starts over again.
I don't think that this is just about the "sins of the few."
I think that the RIAA is doing what is in their best interest regarding technologically forcing users to spend more and buy less. Almost every large business does this, so it is nothing new.
The consumer has already lost. The answer is to support alternative methods of music distributions (Gnuradio, sp?) etc. In this way, we can win again.
LedgerSMB: Open source Accounting/ERP
Please try to use paragraph breaks. It's difficult to read a huge and intimidating wall of text like that.
[eom]
the problem is that bypassing this system will require a well equipped science lab to extract your keys out of a tamper-resistant self-destructing microchip.
Or a pair of microphones, a pair of speakers, and a decently quiet environment.
When you have enough of it that is..
Something mere mortals cant comprehend..
---- Booth was a patriot ----
If this isnt an example of abuse by a monopoly, i dont know what is.
This is getting WAY out of hand here..
---- Booth was a patriot ----
Dont count on it, new formats do come along and slowly, in time, push other formats out..
Try buying an LP at your local 'super store', and you will see what i mean...
---- Booth was a patriot ----
ACDC
Does it go on forever?
Unless they are stopping any non DRM music files from being played on their platform (Not just by WMP but all media players) what is going to stop anyone hooking a CD player upto a computer mic socket?
Does it go on forever?
If you can *hear* it then you can rip it, simple mathematics. To make things even easier I bet cd companies will make cd players that can bypass the protection due to the demand (their impending profit) if everyone has this longhorn.
The question of whether a computer can think is no more interesting than the question of whether a submarine can swim.
I have been using Photoshop for years, every since I was in high school. I've also been using 3DStudioMax, Premier, AfterEffects, Final Cut Pro, QuickTime Pro, you name it. All of it is pirated.
As a matter of a fact, when I was in 10th grade, some friends and I got together and formed an amateur film group. We used the software that we had pirated to further our understanding of film.
I won't mention any names, but several of the members of that group have gone on to work with major directors on major films.
Adobe Photoshop costs a couple of hundred dollars - maybe more, now. Another poster said that 3DStudioMax cost $6000! At those prices, how can anyone who isn't already an expert afford to learn or experiment?
I understand that major corporations should have to pay for their software - I can even see how a professional who's livelyhood came from the software might be able to justify the price points on these exclusive software packages - but c'mon, 15 year-old-kids?
How dare anybody call innocent and curious kids making Counterstrike Sprays with Photoshop criminals! If anybody expects them to pay hundreds or thousands - forget it. We have to find another, better system.
Oh, so because some are criminals, everyone should pay for it? You can't control what your neighbor does, nor are you responsible for them. Its true we have the police as a result of criminals, but we certainly aren't putting everyone under surveillance or in handcuffs because they might become one.
Pay for the sins of the few my ass, this kind of logic is what they try to force into kids during grade school..fortunately, we have this thing called "rights" where you can't simply assume someone is a criminal.
If you write your own music (and hang on to your publishing, which is not hard to do on a major label--I've done it), you automatically get 8 cents per song per album sold. It's called mechanical royalties, and the majors all pay them. It is mandatory. Having been on a few indie labels, I can tell you honestly that they never get around to paying your mechanicals. At least they never paid me mine. Which kind of sucks.
" They want something easy, and formula - like Jessica Simpson"
Could be worse...they might listen to her uglier, less talented sister Ashley...oh...wait
I would switch to Linux in a heartbeat. But I play games so I am destined to use Windows forever or until game companys start writing games to support Linux. This is the final straw for me and I may just keep two boxes, one for games the other for serious computing.
The better system is not to lock customers into one product or file type. That kind of greed can raise the price of things too high. MS Office for $500? Hell, no.
The behind-the-scenes politics looks really interesting. MS makes contract with all sorts of online music resellers. MS then releases new media player with NEW DRM and opens OWN online store. MS announces "breakthru" in music DRM and tells RIAA they "must act now!"
Is this a race to see how fast they'll get slapped down or what...oh wait...they've got that HUGE dividend comming up real soon...maybe they're trying to pump the stock price before they cash out!!! The writing's on the wall. MS is planning SOMETHING anti-competitive and hostile to the market real-soon-now and wondering when the Justice Dept will get called in for the smack down
What's this crap about Office? I use notepad, and every once in a while I bust out Excel, but I don't remember ever paying for it.
It takes 7 less muscles to smile than to frown. The rest of you are just lazy.
In California $50 is about half I would spend in one day on groceries.
Yes my grocery tab up to $120 for simple shit.
Then again I really don't do this every day but almost every day, if not every other day!
It's easy: if you like the music you've downloaded, write a nice letter to the band, put it in an envelope along with a five dollar (or five euro, you get the picture) bill. Even with some insurance postage you'll pay a lot less than with buying a CD but the band will get a lot more than from royalty...
and you though someone would come out with a more appealing product.
"Call us when the New age is old enough to drink" Beck
Why do customers want to upgrade to Longhorn? I seem to keep losing reasons, or never had them in some cases.
The switch for SD(standard definition) to HD(high definition) +(DRM) that is appealing for some. For others it's being forced down our throat.
All I know is I do my show in SD , if forced to do it in HD , my show would not exist.
I guess I can thank the FCC, the DRM coders, the rest is irrelivant.
Microsoft telling the RIAA what to do is like watching Alien vs. Predator.
If aspiration is a virtue, achievement cannot be a vice.
If MS succeed there'll be plenty of quid pro Gates - he's a real pro.
Suggestion - an (anti) industry standard 'No DRM' logo for indie bands and lables to print on their CDs and CD boxes. Aware consumers then have a visible mark of righteousness that shows -
1 - the band or label respects their rights
2 - the band or label is not part of the RIAA/BMI Axis of Feeble
BTW - MSFT apparently wants to promote a Secure Audio Path all the way to the speakers - unless they also overnight convert every single pair of speakers and headphones in the world to digital, there's still an analog output to rip from. You might need to buy a couple of resistors...
--- Yx3 = Delilah ---
Umm, Macrovision isn't illegal in Germany.