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Sony, Amazon Detail Rootkit CD Buybacks

Posted by Zonk on from the finally-some-customer-service dept.

An anonymous reader writes "Washingtonpost.com is reporting that Sony BMG today detailed a program that should allow customers who bought one of the 52 titles known to be tainted with the company's deeply flawed anti-piracy software to exchange them for CDs of the same title, sans rootkit of course. Oddly enough, Sony is offering those who want to return the CDs the chance to download MP3 versions of the discs, but only after Sony has received the returned discs. Amazon.com also is sending out e-mails to customers who bought the discs, offering to replace or refund them at no cost."

7 of 240 comments (clear)

  1. MP3 files by arth1 · · Score: 4, Interesting

    I bet that the MP3's will be watermarked with the individual downloader's unique ID, so Sony/RIAA can later sue their customers...

    That said, what bitrate, frequency and codec is used for the MP3s?

    Regards,
    --
    *Art

  2. I am INCREDIBLY offended by Sony's actions by Work+Account · · Score: 4, Interesting

    I have owned Sony Walkmen, Playstation, Playstation 2, etc.

    I have owned dozens of Sony CDs.

    I have 6 Sony audio components.

    I will NEVER buy another Sony product ever again, and I urge ALL of you to do the same.

    --

    If you "get" pointers add me as a friend (116)!
    1. Re:I am INCREDIBLY offended by Sony's actions by trudyscousin · · Score: 4, Interesting

      ...and where BMG were the ones who brought DRM into the picture."

      Is that so?

      Sony pulled the same crap with Celine Dion's album A New Day Has Come in 2002 using their key2audio DRM--the scheme that could be defeated with a felt-tip marker.

      As far as I'm concerned, there should have been the same degree of outrage then as there is now.

      --
      Those who can, do. Those who can't, write technology blogs.
  3. Turn of the tide? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Nice of Amazon to do this, since it wasn't really their rootkit (or maybe they're thinking about potential liability, doesn't really matter).

    It'd be great if Amazon and other big vendors refused to carry discs with this sort of horrible DRM. That'd probably get the music company's attention a little better than a few geeks organizing a boycott.

  4. Merely a slap on the wrist, but the future is bad by Coopjust · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Recalling the CD's is merely a slap on the wrist. It doesn't cost Sony as nearly as much money as a lawsuit, costs Amazon money, and it does not repair the damage to numerous artists names by this rootkit.

    If Sony actually would own up to their stupid mistake, the artists wouldn't be impacted so much. Look at Van Dant's CD on Amazon. 1.5 stars, 300 reviews, most mentioning the rootkit. Do you think that he'll fare so well in the future.

    I have lost faith in Sony. Propietary formats and other things were a little odd, but I accepted them. But rootkits, a patent for games that only play on the console they were originally put in...seems like a ridiculous infringement on user rights.

    Rather than losing money to pirates, people will turn to better solutions and Sony will be the loser.

  5. Who would buy these? by affliction · · Score: 3, Interesting

    6. Bette Midler - Sings the Peggy Lee Songbook

    Who in their right mind would subject themselves to such torture. And, what's more, someone paid for the privlege.

  6. Covers XCP, but what about MediaMax? by SpammersAreScum · · Score: 3, Interesting

    The article seems to indicate the offers cover CDs with First4Internet's XCP crap, but that's it. There's apparently similar ugliness with CDs using Sunncomm's MediaMaz copy protection (see http://www.freedom-to-tinker.com/?p=925) which is not covered. I guess that one hasn't gotten enough mainstream media coverage yet...