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Sony Music CD's Contain Mac DRM Software Too
brjndr writes "A MacInTouch poster has found that certain Sony CD's also contain a smaller extra partition for 'enhanced' content. Running one of the applications found within this partition installs kernel extensions containing DRM software by SunnComm. In Sony's defense you're told what is being installed within a EULA which pops up when the program is loaded. Thankfully we all read our EULAs completely."
[See my journal entry for my previous comments on this]
To summarise: it's impossible to protect against truly clueless users without severely inconveniencing everyone else, but Mac OS X at least lets you know something dodgy is going on (a request for administration rights, just to play a CD, say what ? No *other* CD's needed that!) I guess it helps to have gorms, though...
THM: It's a difference in attitude. It *does* make a difference.
Simon
Physicists get Hadrons!
I think the fact that it asks for your password on install should throw up *some* sort of red flag. And tosses in a rather easy way to get past the DRM.
It sounds like the CD can be played without installing the DRM, so why bother to include it anyway?
a request for administration rights Oh, yeah I love to have to be root to play a CD...
According to the comments on the linked page, you have to type in your name/password after agreeing to the EULA. This is really non-standard and hopefully will set off alarms in people's heads when they wonder why they have to do that (OS X doesn't ask for your password often). But something tells me most users will just go ahead and give the app free reign anyway. Not that I blame them, you'd expect to be able to trust Sony, a freaking huge "legitimate" corporation for Pete's sake.
WARNING: If accidentally read, induce vomiting.
Business idea:
Customers buy DRM CDs and hand them over to you. You give them back a copy of the CD with the DRM removed, for the cost of the blank CD and a small service fee. Hold onto the original CD with customer records as evidence that the customer bought the CD and has the right to copy for personal use.
Not workable?
Jesus saved me from my past. He can save you as well.
are sony that determined to bury themselves?
Surely, they realise that its only going to create a backlash against DRM if they continue this nonsense?
Man, actually buying online music is starting to look more and more like S&M. I can hardly wait 'till they come out with CDs that come with shackles that have to be worn while listening to the CD.
I'm sorry. The number you have reached is imaginary. Please rotate your phone 90 degrees and try again.
Why yes, I give my admin password out on request!
You would be amazed at what most users will do for music, porn, wallpapers, or screensavers.
Mac OS isn't immune to this kind of crapola - at least not for the average user.
Boy it seems like sony is just running around pissing everybody off...
Well, I for one pledge to no longer purchase any sony products. Nor will I buy online music from sony, purchase any games, or watch any sony movies until they stop being overbearing assholes with their stuff.
Who knows how evil the DRM is, once the install is made, but jeebus... talk about an issue of trust (just for the installer)!
Make sure everyone's vote counts: Verified Voting
I know it's off topic but google isn't helping any.
Is there any DRM on the Star wars : episode 3 DVD? I know the movie files are encoded but i mean rootkit type DRM bullshit.
Thanks.
I like muppets.
Autorun is turned off by default on Macs, and there's never a good reason to turn it on. There's no way this could interfere with the usual insert/launch iTunes/click Rip method most people use.
This is a sign that Mac OS X has a large enough userbase for Sony to worry about Mac users stealing music.
Anyone have a list, so i know which labels to boycott.
A client of mine once got an email instructing telling her that a virus had been installed on her system. She was to immediately locate a file (I think it was COMMAND.COM) and delete it, which would remove the hazard.
She forwarded it on to me (just in case I needed it, you see) and then sent me a second email because the person who sent her the message had trashed their system, and she thought I was about to do same.
When it comes to stupidity among users, I will believe anything
http://michaelsmith.id.au
Fuck 'em. Really. In the ass. With a chili pepper.
In the past I've made a point of buying stuff I liked, either on CD or from an online retailer (iTunes).
Well, Sony just lost my business. And fuck them if they think I am going to subsidize this bullshit.
Goodbye Sony. Hello allofmp3.com.
If you walk the corridors of Sony Music right now all you can hear is the sound of a toilet flushing.
I'm not wrong. You haven't thought about it hard enough.
Windows is like decaf - it tastes like the real thing, but it won't get you through the day.
So, in effect, your computer is at less risk if you download Sony published music from peer to peer networks than if you try to play your Sony CD on your computer. Where's the value proposition?
the summary fails to mention that OSX has no autorun. There is no way it can install something behind your back like windows does.
The war with islam is a war on the beast
The war on terror is a war for peace
It will not only bury Sony, but also the DMCA (which actually prohibits you from de-installing the DRM code or even detecting that it's there) and will possibly cripple the credibility of the RIAA, who have been the main driving-force for DRM and the DMCA.
It's a small world and it smells funny; I'd buy another if it wasn't for the money; Take back what I paid (SoM)
We may not all read our EULA's. However I have found the following software EULAlyzer really handy in highlighting important items in the EULA.
Its not a substitute for truelly reading the whole EULA, however I find it good at helping me and my customers identify 'dodgy' software.
DSLIP Web Design and Content Management Australia.
Just look for the "Sony" or "Microsoft" on the packaging....
Why not find the names of the individual programmers who coded these rootkits, and make sure they're unable to ever get a job ever again? It was perfectly reasonable to keep Communist sympathizers out of Hollywood and government when Senator McCarthy went on his crusade -- why not keep DRM sympathizers out of the programming industry? Treat them like shit, refuse to hire them anywhere, and make them unable to ever afford food and shelter ever again without humiliating welfare subsidies.
Of course, criminals will always hire criminals; a thief will always have a chance at getting hired by the Mafia, so I don't expect this will completely work. Computer companies that have overgrown beyond their event horizon of personal responsibility such as Sony and Microsoft will always be a haven for crooks and guttersnipes. But every responsible company still around should outright refuse to hire anyone who's ever knowingly developed anything related to DRM; conduct background checks on every potential employee's employment history and slam the door in the face of any DRM sympathizer looking for a job.
Windows is like decaf - it tastes like the real thing, but it won't get you through the day.
When can we expect Linux support? I'd like to think that Linux is big enough now to demand proper support from Sony, just like Windows and OSX.
Oh christ, you just reminded me of something-- a great recollection....
//e had some lame-ass program to "meet the machine", it had routines to deal with typists who cheated by using l's for ones s and o's for zeros... if you did this, it went into this little diatrabe about how "to a computer, a 0 and an o are very different things"
My original
Snort...
every day http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:Random
I was wondering when we will have our daily Sony DRM story!
There's a hidden treasure in Python 3.x: __prepare__()
Ummm..."Ha ha, it doesn't affect us!" At least, none of us who don't type in the administrator password without understanding why we're doing it.
Ha ha, only serious. Seriously, this isn't an "any computer" issue. This is an issue with the only "modern" OS that have been specifically engineered to run arbitrary binaries with privileges without challenging the user. It's isn't a matter of Mac OS X or Linux (or VMS or Solaris or SunOS or VM/CMS) being better, it's a matter of Windows being worse .
This isn't even a matter of Windows' original design, as Dave Cutler's original security model was solid and included a good separation of privileges away from the desktop user, drawing on the last half a century of computing experience. This is a matter of Microsoft Management specifically and intentionally deciding to screw you. They will say it was necessary to make a desktop OS usable by novices - Mac OS X does give the lie to such horseshit (and that is the only place Mac OS X specifically figures in this topic).
Yes, Sony deserves a lot of the blame. But Microsoft deserves just as much. You can start to "fight this stupidity" by not using Windows.
"It is our blasphemy which has made us great, and will sustain us, and which the gods secretly admire in us." - Zelazny
Because of OS X default security, even when running as the administrator, you still need to click to run the program, then type in your password. Deceptive, but not really secretive or automatic, thanks to the default Mac security.
;)
In Windows, you just insert the CD. Maybe into someone else's system when their back is turned. Windows OS trusts external content much more than the user sitting at the desk. "Do me", it says.
Unfortunately, people are still stupid enough to follow these ludicrous steps. Remember the teddy bear "virus" in Windows? Consisted only of an email, the instructions to delete a standard Windows exe file, and a directive to resend the email to all of your friends.
PS. Join us... you know you want to.
Everyone is entitled to his own opinions, but not his own facts.
...then I will be able to rip it. I'm willing to bet money that just plonking that disc in (on my mac) will automatically open iTunes up nicely (NOT autorun, by the way- it's a preference set in system preferences to 'Open all Audio CDs with ...') and then automatically rip and eject. Considering Start.app doesn't seem to do anything other than install two kexts (kextunload, anyone? Tad easier than removing XCP!) I really don't think people would open it by default....
My UID is prime. Is yours?
Yeah, Sony definitely wants to support all the 30+ platforms outthere.
/dev/null or something.
See, it's that sort of naivete that I'm talking about. If Sony put all their information through their Supercalculamotron 4000(TM) and somehow came to the conclusion that it would be in their own interests to invest millions upon millions on fundamentally flawed DRM methods using dubious moral standards, what makes you think that they won't suddenly wake up one morning and think, "Holy shit! Linux users are getting a free lunch! Let's fuck them over somehow! Get First4Internet on the phone, I'm sure they'll be able to come up with something!" If that happened, then the very best you could expect would be a putrid aborted foetus of a DRM clusterfuck. Heaven forbid that a company like First4Internet actually do the job right. Knowing their competency, they'd just manage to send your mp3s to
Obviously *nix is a much more difficult problem for them to deal with... but you're just asking for it by sitting around lazily thinking it could never happen to you.
I just renewed my living-room home-entertainment system for almost 5000 euros. The two finalists were a all Sony set vs. Panasonic + Harman Kardon + Infinity. Guess which finalist got my money after reading up on the Sony DRM scheme... Yep, I'm a happy Panasonic+HK+Infinty owner. Added a One-for-All remote and the functionality is pretty much the same as using a complete set from the same vendor.
And this was definitely the last time I even consider Sony. Forget the new Playstation, if I have to choose from the two bad options M$ vs. Sony my money goes to M$ in this case.
As big a fan as I am of the Van Zant brothers, I just can't think of buying the album after all this. Luckily it was available without DRM somewhere else. It's a shame for the artists though, they didn't get thei $0.50 or whatever they make per sold CD.
I know my 5000 doesn't bankrupt Sony but if more of us start voting with our wallets maybe they will realize they can't keep on shafting customers every chance they get.
You would be amazed at what most users will do for music, porn, wallpapers, or screensavers.
I don't know if I agree with the "most". I'd definitely go with "some", especially new switchers who don't know Mac's standard operating procedure. But if you've put in 50 CDs and never had a prompt, this might give you pause, especially because for some people giving anything but Software Update this sort of power is very scary.
Regardless, even "most" is better than "all, because they were never asked"...
That hoax with windows and removing the teddy bear file (some java component IIRC) has made rounds around the office at least twice and not within a short time span either, even the old hoaxes get a new life now and again... Larry
"Enjoy what you're doing! If it becomes drudgery, you're doing it wrong!" - Jim Butterfield
How was she able to send you that email?
Even if that day arrives, it's still a user problem, and can hardly be solved by software, apart from not running anything without the user's consent, sandboxing, and maybe trying to analyse the expected behaviour of the software to run.
Unix already does the job of inhibiting software from automatically running, or doing bad things. If you have more ideas to protect the user from malware, then make them public.
Windows is like decaf - it tastes like the real thing, but it won't get you through the day.
It may sound paranoid, but once they start messing with the kernel, you really don't know what they're going to do...
The CB App. What's your 20?
Yes, Sony deserves a lot of the blame. But Microsoft deserves just as much. You can start to "fight this stupidity" by not using Windows.
What does the engineering of Windows have anything to do with this?
Does a defenseless girl excuse the actions of a rapist too?
Like Sony assaults Windows because it let them to, doesn't make it more right to assault someone just because you could, not even slightly.
Beware: In C++, your friends can see your privates!
"November 8, 2005 - This Service Pack removes the cloaking technology component that has been recently discussed in a number of articles published regarding the XCP Technology used on SONY BMG content protected CDs. This component is not malicious and does not compromise security. However to alleviate any concerns that users may have about the program posing potential security vulnerabilities, this update has been released to enable users to remove this component from their computers. Please note, Service Pack 2a is a maintenance release designed to reduce the file size of Service Pack 2. It includes all previous fixes found in Service Pack 1 and Service Pack 2."
http://cp.sonybmg.com/xcp/english/updates.htmlHMM it does not compromise security? It installs a root kit, then it lets people hide a trojan on your computer. Who needs sony anyway, I have my game cube and X-box.
It's more like, does someone leaving their front door wide open and placing a sign out front reading "premises not monitored and we'll be back in a week" bear some blame if their house is looted?
And the answer to that is, "Yes. Yes, they do."
"It is our blasphemy which has made us great, and will sustain us, and which the gods secretly admire in us." - Zelazny
You can start to "fight this stupidity" by not using Windows.
See, that's the thing. It's easy to say those three words, "Don't use Windows." But it's just not that simple. Hell, it's not even practical. Perhaps it's a bad analogy but it would be like saying to people who are complaining about gas prices, "Don't drive cars that run on gas." It's not as simple as just flicking a fucking switch and bam, you're home free. A lot of people know a thing or two about internal combustion engines and like to tinker around under the hood, but who would know the first fucking thing about a hybrid engine or a hydrogen-powered engine? If you have a problem with your car, you take it to your local friendly mechanic; how far do you have to go to find a mechanic who knows how a hydrogen fuel cell works? Perhaps you need your car to drive to work; what if your workplace doesn't allow you to drive a hybrid car onto the grounds? I used to be a manager at a shipping port and the only vehicles that were allowed on the premises ran on diesel. If your car wasn't a diesel, you weren't allowed within a hundred yards of the port due to safety concerns (tanker refuelling and the transportation of dangerous chemicals were common).
Perhaps I may have gone overboard, but the purpose of the analogy was to demonstrate that there are a plethora of reasons why "not using Windows" just isn't a very likely option. A lot of people find it hard enough trying to understand that there are different browser options out there other than "the blue 'e'", yet alone that they could replace their entire operating system. I've played around with a dozen flavors of Linux, UNIX, IRIX and all those others and I'd like to think I'm fairly competent in the field, but that doesn't mean I *like* having to dick around with the stuff. Most people don't look at computers the same way we do and I don't blame them for not wanting to be 'adventurous' when it comes to their PC. Unless you actually enjoying the tinkering, it can seem like a colossal waste of time.
And even if they did, trying to find a good quality source of support for insert-name-of-nix-platform-here is nowhere near as likely as Windows support. Sure, that nephew of the neighbor next door or your friend Bob's brother who's the assistant manager at Costco might not be the greatest person to turn to for Windows advice, but at least it's something tangible to lean on; not just a link to a FAQ from some obscure no-name blog.
Sometimes the environment dictates what OS to use. I've liaised with countless businesses that maintain a Windows-only environment for numerous justifiable reasons. Employees have to use company computers because connecting non-company PCs can cause a security issue, a compliancy issue, even a legal issue. Sometimes such a rule is enforced because management got stuck with the bill of having to hire contractors to provide support for additional platforms. Why pay someone else a premium rate just because you have a couple of cowboys who want to use their G4 Powerbooks at work? Fact is, a LOT of people spend a LOT of their time in front of computers which they DON'T own and therefore do not have the final say in how it is configured. They might be allowed to install iTunes or Winamp or maybe even their own choice of email client... but it's wishful thinking if you think that the operating system could be considered a variable.
Don't get me wrong, I agree with pretty much everything you say... but you had me until the final sentence. Sometimes it's just not that simple.
As with all this DRM crap they must be running out of room for music! At this rate soon your be buying an album to discover that it's a single with lots of DRM !!! People should sue any company that illegally installs software without your permission and without warning. In the UK installing rootkits/spyware without permission is ILLEGAL under the computer misuse act.
So if you live in the UK and have had software illegally installed without your permission please sue to make to help ensure companies realise that they can not continue to invade private computing property without our permission.
And that is why fighting this stupidity is difficult with market forces, and probably a doomed effort from the start. It'll take serious, measurable damage and legal action.
Most people don't care enough to make the substantial effort. And just as most people won't make the effort required to not run Windows, most people will still buy that CD from the band they really really like even if it's from Sony. Just like I, even though I don't do anything serious on Windows (and I take my music seriously), still do keep Windows around as a boot loader.
So that's the hell of it - because of the Windows monopoly, we can't even choose not to play their game when they screw us. And we're supposed to hate Sony more than Microsoft for that?
"It is our blasphemy which has made us great, and will sustain us, and which the gods secretly admire in us." - Zelazny
Isn't this the kicker that makes it time to reconsider the purchase of ANY Sony Products. I think it is. Sony's name is a four letter word in new ways now.
This latest incident just compounds their continued series of anti-consumer actions. Time to say ENOUGH.
It is interesting that in order to obtain Sony's "free" "correction" one has to give them a lot of personal information, yet they didn't even think enough of us, their customers, to treat us with any respect let alone identify what they were doing.
This is DISGUSTING... Sony you've lost my $ now.
...and it runs much snappier!
Do not be alarmed. This is only a test.
Because two wrongs don't make a right?
Hey, that one was easty!
If you want to punish someone / something, don't buy Sony products and tell everybody about this, but don't take it personal, you'll only hurt yourself in the end..
http://www.debunkingskeptics.com/
Do you remember the Lindows founder saying
Lindows users should be logged in as root
by default...?
I think the person who sent her the original email trashed their system, and called her before she figured out how to use explorer to wreck her system./p.
http://michaelsmith.id.au
I wonder if Sony including DRM for the Mac has anything to do with the fact they make Windows PC clones, since most record companies are ignoring platforms smaller than 90% of the marketplace. I suppose the last thing they want to hear is "Ditch you Vaio and get a Powerbook, it will let you use copy the Sony CD's".
Windows runs code automatically from the CD without any user interaction, other than sticking the CD in.
It is poor engineering.
This is more like sending that little girl (windows) into a maximum security prison (the internet) nude.
I'm a big PlayStation fan too... mostly for it's awesome games... Wonder what I'm gonna do now... The Revolution sounds great though, I'll be happy with that =P
What if that movie file is flawed?
The Windows OS only opens a autorun file too; which is linked to a executable; but the principles are just the same, only the practical side is much more exploitable in Windows with its flawed autorun system...
--- I am known for the ones who want to find me on the net. Is that a privacy risk or a privilege? One might wonder..
You think that's bad.. I've never told this story before, but it tops my stupidity pile.
A long, established customer of mine (had been with me for several years) came to me and said a domain company approached them, saying that one of their 'other clients' was about to purchase a domain name similar to my client's business name, and would they like the first option to buy the name first? (for a heavily inflated fee, of course)
My client, being well taught, came to me first. I checked up on the domain. The domain was not registered at all, so I said I'd register it for them for the usual $20 or whatever. For some reason my client kept bouncing around and said these people kept insisting someone else was going to take the domain, yet they wouldn't let me simply register it.
A week later I call up the client and they said they caved in to this other company's domains, and paid for 10 years' registration at a cost of about $1000. However, the other company wouldn't give them DNS access, etc.. so they wanted to transfer it over to me. I sorted out the transfer and, well, turns out it'd only been registered for two years. Client didn't really care, and now I charge it on an annual basis anyway.
[Fuck Beta]
o0t!
Since all mac users drink the iTunes Kool-Aid we have no need for music CD's except the ones we mix and burn for ourselves. I can't see this being a big problem for a lot of people.
If it is maybe they can be told to trash that application, just drag the thing to the trash.
Oh well, Sony can say goodbye to that Playstation 2 I was thinking of buying after Christmas.. I'm disgusted by all this crap that Sony is bundling with CDs now.
I spend most of my time on a Mac (at work) but have a PC at home. If I had the money for a new computer I'd buy a Mac, but everytime I think of ditching my PC altogether I have to stop and think...
well, I won't be able to play most of the games I bought anymore...and there's an application or two that's Windows only that I need occasionally...
It pisses me off because I don't want to use Windows. I guess I could live without the old games, but there have been many times where I think, well, at least I can just open that in windows and re-save it.
The best situation I can see is that OS X and/or Linux gets enough market share so that it's common for certain businesses/people to have a PC for occasional compatibility purposes only, which will lead to Mac/Linux converters that will eliminate the need for a PC, so that 100% Mac/Linux shops will have to be a consideration at least.
If I may go on a tangent here...
I used to work at a pre-press company (my title was "Mac Operator" which I always thought would be a cool 80's rap name. I'd change it to "Mac O" in the 90's [a la P. Diddy], then to "MOpe" around 2003). Anyway, we had one WinNT machine we kept around for the clients who were too low-scale to realize that all print work was done on Macs.
Any Windows job was a guaranteed pain-in-the-ass, mostly for compatibility reasons, but also because WinNT was stupid about networking and printing issues. It always seemed stupid to me that, while we printed to million dollar imagesetters and had clients like the Dell computer catalog, we had to keep this red-deaded stepchiled to run a Windows version of Quark (or for the real low-rent clients who submitted Windows Pagemaker files).
I'm a video editor now, and I still get annoyed when someone wants a non-Quicktime movie file. Some of the blame surely lies with Apple who won't even let you import an MP3 into Final Cut Pro unless you convert it into a Quicktime file first, but for the most part Apple tries to be universal, whereas Microsoft's attitude is "Fuck everyone else. If you're not using .avis and Word .docs you can go screw yourself."
Thank god that blu-ray won out so we don't have do deal with even more forced-incompatibility issues. I just want shit to work. I'm not totally computer-illiterate (I know enough to install a new OS, or random expansion card, or hard drive. I've used Linux a bit on my personal computer), but when there's work to be done I don't want to have to use Google to search for the best way to convert a file or get a random piece of PC hardware to work on a Mac.
Well.. Let see... I will NOT be buying the following:
1. Sony music CD's
2. Sony HD TV
3. Sony Playstation 3 and games
4. Sony Bluray DVD player
5. Sony Ericson phones
6. Sony VAIO laptop
7. Sony DVD burner
8. Sony digital camera
9. Sony video recorder
The only way Sony will regain my trust is if they were to:
1. publically admit that what they did was wrong
2. put a link on sony.com to a page explaining what exactly happened and provide software to uninstall the rootkit
3. recall all CD's on the shelf containing rootkit DRM
4. offer replacement CD's to all customers
> You think someone who doesn't read Slashdot will have heard of Sony's rootkit?
No I don't. Therefor I think it's my mission to inform people about it. I post messages on forums that I'm a member of, and which aren't about IT. I give them a clear explanation of what's going on (without judging Sony, just giving the facts), with links to non-IT news sites for verification that it's not a hoax. Furthermore I've mailed friends and family about this with the same warning. And I won't mind if this mail is making rounds around the world.
http://www.pledgebank.com/BoycottSony
There are a couple you forgot
IRC: Spend a few hours once looking for a few good channels and download all you want with almost no risk of being sued since you don't share what you download. Selection is somewhat limited.
Usenet: Download just about any song you want in mp3, mp3pro, or flac format once you find the right newsgroup (fairly easy) but you often have to post a request and wait a few days. Also has movies, TV episodes, console games (need a modchip or flash cart), computer games, and computer software like MS Office, Cedega, and Crossover Office. A subscription to a provider like Usenetserver.com or Easynews (usually $10-$20 for unlimited broadband usage) as most ISP Usenet servers aren't very good.
Trey Anastasio, Shine (Columbia)
Celine Dion, On ne Change Pas (Epic)
Neil Diamond, 12 Songs (Columbia)
Our Lady Peace, Healthy in Paranoid Times (Columbia)
Chris Botti, To Love Again (Columbia)
Van Zant, Get Right with the Man (Columbia)
Switchfoot, Nothing is Sound (Columbia)
The Coral, The Invisible Invasion (Columbia)
Acceptance, Phantoms (Columbia)
Susie Suh, Susie Suh (Epic)
Amerie, Touch (Columbia)
Life of Agony, Broken Valley (Epic)
Horace Silver Quintet, Silver's Blue (Epic Legacy)
Gerry Mulligan, Jeru (Columbia Legacy)
Dexter Gordon, Manhattan Symphonie (Columbia Legacy)
The Bad Plus, Suspicious Activity (Columbia)
The Dead 60s, The Dead 60s (Epic)
Dion, The Essential Dion (Columbia Legacy)
Natasha Bedingfield, Unwritten (Epic)
Ricky Martin, Life (Columbia)
from the eff
Perhaps this DRM is your punishment for listening to Ricky Martin and Celine Dion?
Sorry, but sonys rootkit is actually causing damage to machines - that damage results in lost productivity and that loss in productivity ultimately costs money.
Add to that Viruses and compromised security, and you have a problem that probably COSTS the economy far more than it benefits Sony. What, pray, gives them the right to blithely inflict that kind of damage and then BLAME THEIR CUSTOMERS FOR IT?
It's also worth mentioning that while piracy is a crime, the numbers that the RIAA keep giving for the economic damage are known to be false.
Final question - how does stopping piracy (something known to be fruitless anyway) give Sony the right to break the law itself? That's like saying that I can wreck your car because you might have used it to speed, or shoot your kid because he/she might be a graffiti artist.
There are limits.
Oh,I get it,I thought you were really serious for a second.
Fooled me,who on the planet besides Michael Jackpedo cares what happens to SONY?
If they disappeared from the face of the planet tomorrow,It would pass unoticed(except to stockholders rich enough to have bought other stock anyway)Other companies would fill the void,probably better.
Music industry is outdated and unnecessary.Clear out the deadwood and wait for the new to grow.
We all benefit from reducing the power of the music industry.
*Repent!Quit Your Job!Slack Off!The World Ends Tomorrow and You May Die!
Well, I hate to break it to you then, but this does show how OS X is better. ;-) Note how a window popped up before the DRM was able to be installed, and required user input. That is the default under OS X, and it's such a simple thing that is baffles to no end why MS hasn't implemented it. It's basically "thou shalt not install ANYTHING without user approval in the form of their password".
Where do 15.99 CDs come from?
- $0.17 Musicians' unions
- $0.80 Packaging/manufacturing
- $0.82 Publishing royalties
- $0.80 Retail profit
- $0.90 Distribution
- $1.60 Artists' royalties
- $1.70 Label profit
- $2.40 Marketing/promotion
- $2.91 Label overhead
- $3.89 Retail overhead
-Almighty Institute of Music RetailThat's not exactly stupidity. Maybe ignorance or just being uninformed is a better term to use. A LONG time back, my dad was trying to free up disk space on our DOS machine, which basically meant going through the drive deleting files we didn't use or that we didn't need, etc. It all went pretty good, until he looked in c:\ and saw command.com, thought "we never run THAT program!", and deleted it.
Do not read this sig!
Windows: The OS runs an arbitrary executable specified by the author of the disc, which can write to C:\WINDOWS without any further user interaction. This behavior is by design.
/System without prompting the user for their password or discovering and exploiting a privilege escalation vulnerability.
Mac: The OS recognizes a CD-DA, Photo CD, Picture CD, or DVD Video filesystem and starts a previously installed application. If the filesystem is "flawed", the OS won't launch the application, the application will throw an error, or the application will crash. Assuming for the sake of argument an arbitrary execution vulnerability in one of these applications and a disc maliciously crafted to exploit it, an attacker still wouldn't have privileges to write to
Good on you for being cautious, but the two scenarios aren't equivalent.
If that girl were a Microsoft user she would be nude with spread legs and a "Fuck me" message tattoed on her belly.
Sony has really stepped on their dick with golf shoes this time. I can't wait to see thie quarterly report for this quarter. Profits will take a hit, we can just hope it's big enough to get their attention, they, like most big corporations, don't seem to car about bad press.
Professional Politicians are not the solution, they ARE the problem.
When can I expect Sony to provide secretly installed DRM spyware and a rootkit for the various AMD Athlon 64 versions of Linux? Surely 64-bit Linux users also deserve that? I hope they offer a version that is compatible with the Slamd 64 version of Linux that I use. It will need to be compatible with the more or less BSD style initialization that Slamed 64 uses instead of the more common System V style initialization that most other distros use.
My computer triple boots between Slackware 10.2, Slamd 64 10.2 and the AMD 64 version of Kubuntu 5.10. Will they eventually have a correct procedure for having rootkits on all of those partitions at once? Every once in a while I download a new version of the Linux kernel and custom compile it the way I want. I hope Sony will offer software will be able to automatically adapt to the new kernel and kernel modules?
Will they have a pop-up box that asks me for my root password when installing their software? Surley the average Linux user will not mind giving out their root password so that spyware and a rootkit can be installed? As a Linux user, I also miss getting to read the more threatening bullying style EULAs that come with most Windows software. The EULAs that come with the various free Linux software packages sound so much more easy going, friendy and straight forward. I am sure that Linux users would get that same "warm fuzzy" feeling when reading the Sonly EULA.
I use a dial-up Internet connection, so will I get to experience the thrill of seeing the lights on my external modem light up as their software calls home? With Linux I kind of miss the way that lights on the external modem would frequently flash at unexpected times like they did when running spyware under Windows. At least, I suspected that it might have been spyare calling home (not really sure). I have missed not seeing that happen under Linux? Will Sony soon provide me with spyware that makes my external modem's LEDs light up as it calls home? I have been so dissapointed by the lack of spyware available for Linux?
Play the CD into a Windows PC, and that shit gets installed without you even knowing.
On the Mac, you have to seek out and launch the DRM installer app on the CD (and why would you run it, other than curiosity?), and provide your password for the install to actually do its work.
And so it shall be with any attempts to create self-propagating malware for the Mac. Drive-by/unannounced installs of system-level shit is an utter impossibility. If a DRM purveyor funded by Sony can't figure out how to stealthily get their shit installed on the Mac, what hope do Windows script kiddies have of finding a way to do it? They'll just stick to the fertile grounds of Windows, no matter how big the Mac's marketshare gets.
Installers can install a lot of things without asking for a password. This is a *good* thing, otherwise you'd always have to enter your password to do anything, and hence it would lose all meaning. For example, an installer can add files to /Applications without a password, but if it wants to delete anything in /Applications, it needs the password to work. Of course most Mac apps install by drag-and-drop, but there you go.
Well sadly I can't seem to be able to email Sony by using their site - I've had a small try but it's a circular process whereby clicking on "contact us" takes me to a "select a category" page and clicking on a category takes me back to a Flash home page (Sorry I won't install Flash on my computers)
But a quick google did turn up the following feedback form which would appear to be for Sony UK
http://www2.sony.co.uk/feedback/feedbackform.asp
So if anoyone has a better contact email address for a Sony "bigwig" ? I think a few milllion irate emails from Slashdotters will show them what we think of their evil schemes.
Presonally I'm now boycotting all Sony products 'cause they're "Evil, incompetent, bastards".
Sky subscribers are morons. They pay to be advertised at !
.... are belong to us!
So who exactly sits around and says "Hey guys, lets start a band. Then we can make CD's and sell them to people... but not let them listen to the music!"
Way to go Sony
Cheesy Movie Night
A mate installs a Windows XP OEM version onto a PC. Activates it and everything is sweet. A few days later his pc is stolen. So he buys a new PC, because he still has the Windows XP CD, the manual, the license and all the little stickers, he goes to install it on the new PC. It wont activate. He rings Microsoft. They refuse to activate the software since its been activated on another pc, and that violates the OEM license. They suggest he reports it to his insurance company as stolen and they can pay for a new license.
So they encourage him to commit insurance fraud as the software has not been stolen, because he has all the software and the licenses to run it.
In Soviet Russia the insensitive clod is YOU!
Yeah, offtopic articles regarding those zealots is one of those few things in this world that are more annoying than they are. In any case the Mac is not "vulnerable" to such DRM software. The user is asked the admin login and password for the installation, and if the user just gives it out whenever asked then there is nothing the system can do to protect him.
Now why it's a problem fo you to hear that Macs have better built-in security that Windows is a mistery to me. It seems to bother you way more than it should.
Does the DRM that Sony includes for the Mac also come with a rootkit as well??? If so, then this may throw Apple into a frenzy as well, and get them to start litigating against Sony.
Still waiting on Serviscope_minor to wake up to fucking reality and realize that Jessica Price isn't going to fuck him.
kthxbye
The problem with these EULAs are that they are so verbose that any important facts are lost and I believe that is the intention.
That is how these Spyware companies gain "permission" and certainly how Sony has gained "permission" to install anything they want. Most users aren't able to read a 5 page legal document squeezed into a tiny little box very effectively.
We need to write our Congressmen and Senators and tell them that EULAs should be simplified, even standardized. I'd even suggest that some sort of color coding be required to indicate the severity of changes to be made. Unlike Homeland Security's approach, I suggest three simple colors: GREEN, YELLOW, RED (You might recognize these colors from your local STOPLIGHT).
GREEN - This EULA just contains standard legal protections of the company for their software.
YELLOW - This application will install some components to run at the same permission level as the user.
RED - This application will install SYSTEM-LEVEL COMPONENTS.
This may not be perfect, but the 10-pages of legal mumbo-jumbo is hard for even the paranoid to go through. For example, I installed several updates to my Mac OS X system (10.4.3, Java, Quicktime, iTunes, Airport) and EACH ONE contained an EULA that was extremely long.
The current system is broken and, unfortunately, we need to change the law to fix it because I know that the large companies with their lawyers have no intention of fixing it.
SHHHHHHHHHHHHH! Quiet down or the **AA will hear you and start invading our turf!
This is my sig. There are many like it but this one is mine.
And this was definitely the last time I even consider Sony. Forget the new Playstation, if I have to choose from the two bad options M$ vs. Sony my money goes to M$ in this case.
Flawed logic, much? "Hey, I'll give my money to the company that enables DRM like this to be created over the company who used their software that allows DRM to be easily installed!"
"Nonetheless, the spokesmen of Sony BMG Nederland says that Xcp will be introduced in Europe, and therefore also in the Netherlands, in 2006."
The article further contains no less then 17 dubious features of the Sony software, basically the same ones as circulated the news lately. However, number 15 is interesting. Blankesteijn claims he received spam after entering his e-mail adres in the request form for the Xcp removal software:
"15. Not only is this [filling in a form] in-necessary complicated and time consuming, Beet (the magazine) immediately received spam from Sony BMG containing an advertisement for their multimedia software. It turns out somewhere along the road you could have clicked on a link to Sony MBG's privacy policy. There it says your mail address can be added to marketing lists. But is very well possible that the user will not notice this link. In any way, nowhere is asked for permission to do this, which will make this way of handling illegal in many countries."
Another interesting Dutch headline involves the discovery that the rootkit contains parts of LAME, a LGPLed mp3 encoder. A translation can be found here.
I posted an anonymous comment which was labelled flamebait - so much for any form of discussion.
The reason I posted anonymously was that to do otherwise would lead to abuse given the seeming unwillingness of people to allow different views to the accepted norm of slashdot.
I stand by the view that piracy is a crime and that Sony is only acting in the best interests of the wider consumer by trying to limit such piracy.
Like it or not, piracy of copyrighted material increases the cost of that material to the rest of us.
Like it or not, most parents are far too busy to supervise their children's time on the internet.
Like it or not, the internet allows for the easy distribution and copying of copyrighted material.
Like it or not, ordinary people are unwittingly committing a crime which costs the rest of us.
Yes, the DRM system is an inconvenience and concern to the smaller technically savvy community, but to the wider public it isn't.
You might fight against it, but the wider audience understand the benefit it brings to the wider public and parents to which this matter is of concern.
DRM is a necessity, if we wish to live in a world where companies can invest heavily in new products and the public can freely use the internet.
As for boycotting Sony, well I'm for one are glad that they are trying to bring such systems in. I don't want to have to constantly supervise my children or be concerned that they might be committing criminal acts.
Did I notice that the CD installed software on my system - No. Do I care about protecting my family - Yes.
I won't be signing your pledge, and though I can understand the nuisance caused to the technical community - I don't think you will get anywhere near 1 million pledges. Why? Because the wider public doesn't care that software is installed by Sony to stop copyright theft, but we do care that we get good products.
Of course I expect this to be called flamebait or whatever else. God forbid we should allow any other viewpoints on slashdot, other than Sony is evil.
Apple should change the pop-up dialog which happens when software tries to install itself with admin privs so it says something like
"WARNING!!If you are installing software it may be trying to gain administrative access to your system files! If this is NOT what you want (think HARD!) then do NOT put in your userid and password"
Make the pop-up a RED box and chime a siren through the speakers (brief but annoying).
This way people don't get used to unconciously putting in their userid/password whenever it pops up.
And if you are the bookish type, here's something to keep you company as you take your first simple steps outside of your playpen.
Evolution is a fact. Darwinism is a joke.
For several years now, my kee-jerk reaction when presented with a EULA after inserting a CD or DVD into my computr has been to decline. In every case, the CD or DVD still functions when being accessed by my media player.
It just makese sense--why agree to the EULA (and whatever software stands behind it), when all I want to do is listen to music or watch a movie?
-- yawn. --
Maybe the word of a well-established artist can show you that there really is no problem with downloading and private copying, because that gives free exposure to an artist. The real problem is that most of the money goes into the pockets of the greedy industry, instead of to the artists that make the music in the first place:
h tml
http://www.janisian.com/article-internet_debacle.
"in 37 years as a recording artist, I've created 25+ albums for major labels, and I've *never once* received a royalty check that didn't show I owed *them* money."
More then 25 albums and still owing *them* money...
"I am not saying copyrights are meaningless. I am objecting to the RIAA spin that they are doing this to protect "the artists", and make us more money. I am annoyed that so many records I once owned are out of print, and the only place I could find them was Napster. Most of all, I'd like to see an end to the hysteria that causes a group like RIAA to spend over 45 million dollars in 2001 lobbying "on our behalf", when every record company out there is complaining that they have no money."
And, not unimportant
"Additionally, we've started putting our money where my mouth is. We will be offering one song a week in mp3 format for free downloading..."
http://www.janisian.com/mp3_downloads.html
Thankfully we all read our EULAs completely.
I agree.
Yep. that's why my wife isn't an admin on her own computer...
Awesome furniture, accessories and cabinetry in Santa Rosa, CA: http://humanity-home.com/
The player is also really sloppy in how it handles dropped frames when streaming, and user feedback on what it is doing. It needs a lot of work.
This is a good example of how many applications break the OS X, drag and drop application install model.
I've seen this but only on the Selectric I, and only on certain models -- the keyboard has the same number of keys as the later versions I believe, but the caps are labeled differently and the top row goes "~ 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9" and then some special keys which vary. The one I've seen that was set up this way had some special keys on the one to the right of the numeral nine, for typing Library of Congress index card special characters that I've never seen on anything else. (A special type-ball was required also.)
I've never been able to figure out if the eight-number top row was standard on all of the very first generation of Selectrics, or was something they only did on special models, in order to squeeze special characters onto the keyboard that otherwise would have been left off.
"Ladies and gentlemen, my killbot features Lotus Notes and a machine gun. It is the finest available."
Or Magnetbox.
Man, you really need that seminar!
This should work in most homes, where the parents are the only one who know the master password. That way the kids can't so easily mess up the whole computer. ALL games even work just fine without the master password, once they are properly set up.
I realize that since you are in IT, you probably do some kind of drugs, but this statement seems over the top. Maybe you accidentally reversed it, because on the last informal survey I've done, it's often kids who need to keep their parents away from trying to "improve" anything.
Never confuse volume with power.
This kind of thing really illustrates Mac OS X's malware resiliency. There is no CD auto-run, so there is no way for these extensions to even be installed without the user manually double-clicking on this Start.app thing. From there, the user has to enter his administrator password, assuming he's an administrator on the machine. Only then will this DRM software get installed. So I don't expect this to cause too much trouble.
And even after that, it's not the gigantic pain in the ass to remove that the Windows stuff is. Removal is a simple matter of unloading the kernel extensions and deleting them with administrator privileges. For some reason, Windows seems to facilitate the development of software that installs silently and is utterly impossible to remove.
This is why it's not just the popularity factor that keeps OS X malware-free. It's a solid design based around the idea of minimal automation and least privileges needed. Even if OS X was twice as popular, any malware would still have the same hurdles to jump through.
In the course of investigating how Sony's misguided DRM works (disclaimer - yes, IAAL) I put the Van Zant disk into my Powerbook both under native OSX (10.4.2) and Vitual PC (7.0.2, XP Pro). In BOTH instances the DRM was ignored. OSX launched iTunes and played without fuss. XP auto-launched WMP, which was willing to both play and rip the album. I then took the disk down the hall to an HP desktop/XP Pro and inserted it - up popped the DRM EULA, and when I clcked "NO" the disk was immediately spat out. Under OSX, I could see two sessions on the disk: Get Right WIth The Man, identified as a "CD Audio File System", and Get Right WIth T", idendified as "ISO 9660 File System (Joliet)). That second session contins the AUTORUN.EXE file, but I don't see any native OSX files. So...I'm not convinced there is an OSX DRM app on this copy of the disk, and I'm rather amused that the DRM is ignored completely under Virtual PC!
Anyone want to get a petition going for a Linux version?
Or is someone going to have to reverse-engineer the binary and produce a OpenRootkit that can automatically compile and execute itself on all POSIX-compliant systems?
"Ladies and gentlemen, my killbot features Lotus Notes and a machine gun. It is the finest available."
Does a defenseless girl excuse the actions of a rapist too?
No but she can sue the property that she was on at the time for not providing proper lighting at night. (actually happens on occasion)
"I am the king of the Romans, and am superior to rules of grammar!"
-Sigismund, Holy Roman Emperor (1368-1437)
.. I'd call it professionalism.
I've never been so hungry that I would write code like that. If the ethical situation of a job makes you uncomfortable, leave it. That actually plays pretty well while interviewing for your next job. At least for any job you actually want.
Speaking as someone who has actually done quite a bit of engineering hiring, I can say that I do filter people by where they have chosen to work before. I learned that lesson by bitter experience. People joke about "resume stains", but let me tell you as a hiring manager that they are very real.
Yes. Nice summary of Microsoft's culpability here. I can't understand why more people are not upset at MSFT over this.
But, living life Windows-free, well, that is hard. But I'm trying. I'm tired of cleaning up my wife's Windows system. Today, with luck, her Mac mini gets set up. Unfortunatly, there is one ap (the geneolgy ap) that she uses that is only available for windows and probably won't emulate very well. Fortunately, running that ap on a quarantined, off-net windows box is an adequate solution.
It was on the afternoon 'news in review' (Afternoon Edition?) a few days ago as well, plus there's been meta-coverage of the rootkit in stories about the amount of negative press Sony's received as a result of the rootkit and about the CA and NY lawsuits. I wouldn't be surprised if the stories about the lawsuits would have gotten coverage in business oriented publications (WSJ and others) although I don't subscribe to them so I can't check for sure.
"Ladies and gentlemen, my killbot features Lotus Notes and a machine gun. It is the finest available."
The sony eula says you must destroy any and all fair use copies of the music you possess, if you are no longer in possession of the actual cd.
I hope they don't mean actual physical "possession": if I contract with an organization to store the CD on my behalf (as described in the parent post) I still control/own the CD even if I cannot lay my hands on it instantly; the storage facility has no ownership rights [to my CD] whatsoever, even if they maintain control over the object itself. Think of a safety deposit box at a bank: you still own your contents, but the bank is storing them for you; the bank can't sell the contents if business is slow.
I want to drag this out as long as possible. Bring me my protractor.
It looks like the brouhaha has intimidated Sony enough to make them back off.
Sony to pull DRM
Sorry if I'm wrong about Windows Media Player having an installer, it seems from the microsoft.com site it's not the same drag and drop install model I know Real Player follows.
.app in a .sit/.zip file myself. I tend to bundle up a lot of apps like Real, WMV, VLC, GIMP, etc. and keep them on a WebDav share for easy access,and for sharing with new mac owning friends and coworkers to get them started (and I don't usually have the origional .sit/disk image/installer so compress them myself) - that or I'm using a really old crummy initial release or a version from some coverdisk.
I have a few Macs (two at home, one at work, and a PowerBook) so it's very possible I just put the
I've seen a lot of switchers/new adopters in the last year, which is why I started doing that (not least because if I make sure they have everything they need to start with, they bother me less).
I agree the player is horribly broken to the point of being unusable. The framerate is dire and it doesn't support quite a few WMV files that play fine on Windows systems, and IIRC the browser plug-in doesn't work at all.
IME, installers like this are really in the minority though (although I'm aware that some really commonly used software like Adobe packages behave like that - I think because they install shared frameworks).
I called SunnComm at 602 267 7500 (the number is on their website - no harassment, please) to inquire about what exactly their software installs on my Mac. They said they would have someone call me back. I hope they do - I'd like to know how bad this particular DRM is, whether it's removable, and I'd like to talk to them, politely and reasonably, about why I think this sort of thing is a bad idea.
I also think people should talk to Sony about this issue, as well. When the DRM story broke I called Thomas Hesse's office (212 833 8000 is the Sony BMG main line). I wanted to tell him two things: first, that there would be a 100% chance that a virus would exploit Sony's DRM technology, exposing Sony to massive lawsuits and incredibly bad publicity. Second, that it feels like Sony is angry at their customers. Sony's actions regarding DRM are bad for customers, but they're also bad for Sony.
Sony's DRM attitude is the number one reason the iPod is dominant, instead of a Sony-brand mp3 player. Sony had an edge on any portable music device just because of their history and brand--they squandered that advantage, and they'll continue to squander opportunities as they continue to fight their own customers. I hope this latest DRM scandal will wake Sony up. Damaging customers' computers is not the answer--obviously.
Yeah, RE: protecting the image/border I think in order for this to be effective they'd need to hack Quartz to perhaps make it impossible for any application to capture the screen - or that part of the screen - while the dialog was up (that is to say - any application that isn't already running as root or as the 'windowserver' user).
:-).
The approach of a dashboard-esq subtle fading out of the desktop, with a custom (animated) dialog approach (though nothing too OTT) could be really effective. Certainly focusing on a custom bordered and high impact dialog and dimming the rest of the screen (perhaps jus when dialog is at the top, an in such a way the user could still select other windows behind it) would really get people to pay attention to the dialog (and could be an easy to impliment and useful feature on it's own).
If desired, it would be possible to make this a user setting in the Preferences... Security pane, with a default of Muppet Alert Mode (complete with screen diming and big flaming window borders) but also with the option of the more subtle existing style of alert if the previous method is too intrusive for 'Power Users'.
In fact, I'd be surprised if it wasn't possible to do this as a hack (albeit one that would itself require root privilages to install and would take over your password management to some extent, so not necessarily a hack you'd want to trust
If you desire to grovel at the feet of Sony, and beg for permission to uninstall some software from your own PC, we new have a link:
http://cp.sonybmg.com/xcp/english/form14.html
Use this information in any mannor you see fit...
In Windows, you just insert the CD. Maybe into someone else's system when their back is turned. Windows OS trusts external content much more than the user sitting at the desk. "Do me", it says. So how come people hate this feature in Windows, but love that feature in hot chicks? Grinning, ducking and running.
So with what gets installed if you do install it, how much of a potential of a threat does it mean for the Mac?
"Thankfully we all read our EULAs.."
EULAScan is a site trying to address this. Free, open to all posters, it's a community project to watch over EULAs. We're trying to build on the wiki principle of distributed editorship.
after consumer protest, Sony's stopping producing this stuff.
i went out and purchased the disc that is talked about in the link (Imogen Heap's "Speak For Yourself") earlier this week, as someone told me i HAD to get it. with all the rootkit hubbub going on surrounding sony/bmg-distributed audio discs (technically they're NOT compact discs because they don't adhere to the standard -- you'll note that the Compact Disc logo is nowhere to be found on ANY of these sony/bmg-distributed releases), i wanted to see exactly how to get around it. since i use my main pc for music production and dj'ing, exposing my pc to a rootkit would be bad. so, upon further examination of the disc, the copy of the Imogen Heap disc i have is protected by the sunncomm drm protection and not the nasty XCP rootkit-based drm. the section of the back cover of the disc has information on the drm that's mildly interesting: Compatible With: Playback : CD/DVD/PC/Mac. PC: Windows 98SE / ME / 2000SP4 / XP, Pentium II, 128MB Ram, IE 5.5+. Mac: OK Ripping : PC: Windows Media Player 9.0. Mac: OK Portable Devices: Secure Windows Media Limited Copies ? www.sunncomm.com/support/sonybmg; README.HTML the interesting thing about this label is that for the Mac platform, it just has the "Mac: OK" information next to each section! since i didn't dare stick this disc in my pc, well, i have a mac mini, so i figured i'd try and rip it on that machine instead. my version of this disc doesn't seem to have the mac-based drm schtuff at all. when i stuck the disc in my mac mini, the only thing that came up was the 'audio cd' icon on the desktop. iTunes immediately opened and started playing the disc with no problems. since i think iTunes is a crappy app for ripping, i decided to seek out something else to rip the disc to wav files. ended up going out and grabbing a build of X-CD-Roast and ripped it on my mac without trouble. for fun, i decided to see if my consumer-grade philips home audio cd recorder would get around the drm, and sure enough, it did. no problems. i popped the disc into it, let it fly, and was able to get a dupe of the disc with no troubles, perfect sound quality and no drm. so while the sunncomm drm is pesky, it is easily defeatable. on another tip ...
the EULA isn't printed anywhere on the packaging for the audio disc. it is mentioned on the back of the disc ("CERTAIN COMPUTERS MAY NOT BE ABLE TO ACCESS THE DIGITAL FILE PORTION OF THIS DISC. USE SUBJECT TO APPLICABLE END USER LICENSE AGREEMENT."), but i don't think it would ever hold up in a court, since:
a) the EULA is never seen by those who use a consumer-grade disc recorder to make a fair-use backup
b) the EULA isn't seen by some mac users (at least, with some versions of the disc)
c) according to the statement on the back, the EULA doesn't apply to the audio playback portion of the disc, just the digital computer-based portion
cheers.
I don't know if I agree with the "most". I'd definitely go with "some", especially new switchers who don't know Mac's standard operating procedure. But if you've put in 50 CDs and never had a prompt, this might give you pause, especially because for some people giving anything but Software Update this sort of power is very scary.
Mac OS requires elevation for a lot of different changes - the more that users see the screen, the more that they get used to it. And, to them, allowing elevation is the "safe" choice.
The two scariest points about that list are that $1.60 is most definitely at the high end of negotiated royalties, and that half the items listed are the record label under various guises.
Quantum materiae materietur marmota monax si marmota monax materiam possit materiari?
Endless ideological warfare, but listen: does anybody know, for sure, that those "Enhanced" CDs won't play on the Mac, won't install the kexts without your permission, and best yet -- what do the kexts actually do? Do they limit the number of rips? Burns? Do they block the transfer to the iPod? Do they interact with the rest of the OS somehow? I cannot believe that my used-to-be-favorite electronics company is stooping this low. Power to the engineers!
That might be due to not using the proper installer ;-D
Although there are nicer ways they could have made sure the plugin was installed that didn't require admin access!