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Texas Sues Sony BMG over Rootkit
Mr. Sketch writes "According to Yahoo!, Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott 'filed a civil lawsuit on Monday against Sony BMG Music Entertainment for including "spyware" software on its media player designed to thwart music copying. [...] Texas is seeking civil penalties of $100,000 per violation of the state's Consumer Protection Against Computer Spyware Act, which was enacted earlier this year. "Sony has engaged in a technological version of cloak and dagger deceit against consumers by hiding secret files on their computers," Abbott said in a statement.'"
You're a God damned idiot.
Since the CD will (apparently) only play on Windows-crippled (in the sense that it allows such an intrusive action) machines, then anyone who purchased the "device" (used in the sense of a threat), under the good faith that it will simply provide music, has been compromised. I believe Microsoft is complicit, from a legal perspective, because they provide an operating system that sanctions and facilitates installation of such debilitating software without informed consent - and no, Microsoft's gross distortion of an EULA is not informed consent - one needs to understand what one is signing - hiding it in the verbage doesn't cut it. The lawyers smell blood in the water - and it's gushing.
To be fair, we don't execute everybody down here. Only poor, black, or mentaly ill people.
Side note: As a closet native Texan, I'm not actualy sure how to react to my state government doing something right...
It can also be bypassed by just using Linux.
"Nine times out of ten, starting a fire is not the best way to solve the problem." - my wife
Yeah, it's okay to bash Texas, but god forbid we say anything bad about the stupid frenchy frogs.
Feel free to mod me "-1 - Angry Jerk".
Well it takes an idiot to know an idiot I'm told. So hi - nice to meet you.
As per my post - the states and federal government sometimes retains a PRIVATE PRACTICE LAWYER(s) for lawsuits in certain cases. (As in my example of the Federal Government taking the Cigarette Industry to court.) These PRIVATE PRACTICE LAWYERS are paid just as if any client had come to them with a problem they wanted taken to court.
Therefore - IF THE STATE RETAINS A PRIVATE PRACTICE LAWYER - then they will have to pay them just like any other private practice lawyer gets paid. Which, true, doesn't mean an automatic 33% - but that is what it usually works out to be because of all of the money the private practice lawyers have to spend. Sometimes it is put (since we are idiots here) as a 14% PLUS EXPENSES. Those expenses can get to be pretty high. Sometimes as high as *gasp* 33%!
Even in the case where just the AG takes on the case and the state pays for everything - it is THE STATE who gets the lion's portion of the money because they are trying to recoup their investment in taking the company to court. Thus, and therefore, they may still take 33% before diviing out the rest to John Q. Public.
SO - THE GUY SPOKE THE TRUTH! The lawyers - whether they be of/by/for the state or private practice lawyers - will get most of the money.
Why do you think, in all of these types of lawsuits, you only get a $1.00, $0.50, or maybe something else along a similar vein? It's because, when the money is handed out, the lawyers get their take first, then you get some of what is left. Not the other way around unless they are doing it Pro-Bono and they haven't said they are doing it like that. So the lawyers - no matter who they are - take their share first; THEN the rest is given out.
And here's a shock for you! Sometimes you get NOTHING! Like Yeah! We win! Eh? What do you mean I get a hearty handshake and that's all? - that kind of a thing. Warm fuzzies are nice - but seeing some lawyer walk off with a lot of money and you get nothing really sucks. Been there - done that!
Gah! Talk about idiots!
Someone put a black hole in my pocket and now I'm broke.