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SunnComm - Bomb or DRM Success Story?

pacopico writes "The Register has one of best tech feature stories done in a long time on SunnComm - the infamous Shift key problem DRM makers. The story charts the awesome path SunnComm took from being an Elvis impersonator company eventually to creating CD protection technology almost out of thin air. Great read!"

13 of 164 comments (clear)

  1. You gave us how much to make this? by MustardMan · · Score: 5, Funny

    You gave us how much money to make a DRM technology that's able to be over-ridden with a single key press?

    Well thank ya, thank ya very much

    Sincerely,

    SunnComm

    LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, SUNNCOMM HAS LEFT THE BUILDING

    1. Re:You gave us how much to make this? by Xentax · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Considering that the shift key is an OS feature - disable autoplay for *whatever* CD/DVD is being inserted - I (in my very personal opinion) don't think this could successfully be argued as copyright circumvention. After all, the shift-key-bypass predates the technology being "circumvented" using it...

      Xentax

      --
      You shouldn't verb words.
  2. Amazing story by Marxist+Hacker+42 · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Of Parasites taken over by Parasites- and searching for a business plan *after* creating the business and selling stock. Amazing that they were allowed to survive at all.

    --
    SJW: a person who perceives an injustice, and while correcting it, commits a greater injustice.
  3. Shift Key, Magic Marker, Bic Pens... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

    It's amazing how apt Leia's "the more you tighten your grip..." prediction is coming true for DRM: That DRM systems don't work.

  4. Holy conspiracy theories by BobTheLawyer · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Jacobs' theory that the complaining Internet posters are motivated by making money from shorting SunnComm's stock is nonsense - it's very difficult to sell "short" (i.e. bet that a share goes down) when the share is obscure and rarely traded.

    A professional trader *might* be able to find someone willing to go "long" (take the other side of the bet) but it's pretty unlikely. Joe Public has no chance.

  5. Re:kudos to the register by Rude+Turnip · · Score: 5, Insightful

    "Hey, I think I'll invest in a company (Suncomm) that tries to install software behind the user's back and cripple their computer!"

    Anyone that invests in such a company deserves to lose the shirt off their back.

  6. Comment removed by account_deleted · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Comment removed based on user account deletion

  7. I'd say it failed... by el-spectre · · Score: 4, Funny

    given that I'm listening to a mp3 rip of Velvet Revolver right now...

    --
    "Faith: Belief without evidence in what is told by one who speaks without knowledge, of things without parallel." - A.B.
  8. SunnComm have responded by doodlelogic · · Score: 4, Insightful

    And they are not happy.

    I don't know what American libel laws are like, but here in Britain, what was said about the Register's journalistic practices would, if unprovable, cause SunnComm some trouble...

    'Its funny. No one in the legitimate news community would touch the OurStreet dirt package with a 10-foot pole. Theyve been trying to find such a dupe for a year. Our Oregon friend from OurStreet must be jumping up and down with glee that finally he found his "patsy."'

    ' Mr. Vance proceeded to mischaracterize the source purposely in the article even after being told otherwise. In other words, Mr. Vance purposely made a decision to carry the water for OurStreet.Com even after knowing of the possibility that his source had lied to him about his standing.'

    'he didnt bother to fact-check his single main source'

    Needless to say, from a regular reader of the Register's perspective, these allegations seem extreme. However, I must say, the SunnComm director is very reassuring: "SunnComm is NOT a get rich quick scheme" - a Nigerian friend of mine told me the same thing the other week.

  9. DRM? by The-Bus · · Score: 4, Interesting

    I have yet to find any DRM which (even on Windows!) can circumvent the following:

    1. Turn off auto-run on all CD drives.
    2. While the computer is off, put in a CD in the drive.
    3. Upon boot, retrieve the music you paid for using a program like EAC.

    Most DRM relies on #1 to begin with.

    Now once Longhorn comes about, that's a different story (for Windows users).

    --

    Small potatoes make the steak look bigger.

    1. Re:DRM? by Malc · · Score: 4, Informative

      And for those who want to disable auto run in the most effective manner, toggle the AutoRun REG_DWORD value to 0 in this key:

      HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Serv ic es\Cdrom

      Then reboot.

  10. Why companies speak through prof. PR reps by mcmonkey · · Score: 4, Funny
    "I came into the company like Harvey Keitel came into Pulp Fiction - to fix the deal," Jacobs said.

    Um...didn't Harvey Keitel come into Pulp Fiction to hide the bodies and help the gangsters get away with the loot?

  11. Re:Not About DRM... by Grishnakh · · Score: 4, Interesting

    So if you live in a country where it's legal to torture and murder certain people, and your employer tells you to do so, would you do it? Sounds like you would.

    Legal doesn't mean ethical.

    I don't care what someone's "job" is, if their job requires them to do something unethical, then their only way of not being complete scum is to resign their job. The investors would be better off losing their money, so they'll learn not to invest in stupid scams again. Rewarding this behavior does not result in a healthy society.