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Sony Settlement Start of DRM Protection Act?
An anonymous reader writes "Sony BMG and a group of class action lawyers have reached a provisional
settlement in the U.S. Sony rootkit class actions. Sony will
pay cash compensation and give away free downloads from a choice of
music download services including Apple iTunes as part of the
deal. The settlement includes a host of restrictions on future
Sony DRM use, which Michael
Geist argues provides the starting point for a future Digital
Rights Management Protection Act."
entire concept of a "EULA," for those few who don't know, is largely an obnoxious legal fiction - sans UCITA, anyway)
This is a love letter to Sony, and a "go ahead" signal to expand "open season on your computer" into the entire market. It is a shocking, audacious outrage, and I have no doubt Sony et al would love to see it made the basis for future statute.
Ladies and gentlemen, this is it. We have to immediately mobilize and derail this "settlement."
This is not settled until Sony repairs each vandalized computer... and then we can talk punitive damages...
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Free legal downloads and I didn't even have a root kit....
Slashdot...home of the hackers
Sony wins again.
What a lousy settlement.
Some compresses music and $7.50. Don't go spend it all in one place now.
"Everything worth innovating today will go to court tomorrow."
Once again the big company gets a slap on the wrist and everyone effected gets the peace of mind of knowing that the cd they bought still has the DRM on it and will still act the same way the next time they put it in a computer. Thanks for the great customer service Sony.
This just in! 3 out of 4 people make up 75% of the population.
This is for the New York case only. What about the Texas case brought by the Attorney General of TX?
There are lots of cases against Sony. This is only one of them.
A new computer to replace the infected one that I have now.
Any of these will work great!
http://alienware.com/alx_pages/main_alx.aspx
This just in! 3 out of 4 people make up 75% of the population.
No, this means that companies like Sony can trample your rights (i.e. sell you a rootkit you didn't know about) and get away with it if they pay enough. How many retards out there won't get the incremental-cost-to-sony "free" downloads or rebates? How many people will stop buying their stuff? None. Its a trial balloon - and Sony now knows what the market will bear. Like MS continuing to violate monopoly laws, or the famous exploding Ford Pinto, companies will break the laws of the land and of decency when it makes them money. note that you don't have a "right" NOT to be rooted, or a "right" to free music, or a "right" to much else other than "this product is exactly what is advertised, no more, no less, and since it is a product, I have right of First Sale".
I want to delete my account but Slashdot doesn't allow it.
"cash settlement and free downloads?" How much do you want to bet that the lawyers will get the cash settment, and the much buyers (aka victims) will get the free downloads?
-russ
p.s. yes, I AM that cynical.
Don't piss off The Angry Economist
Just put some Sony guys in jail and everyone will be happy!
Number 3 probably interests me most. Anybody in the know will be able to download the uninstaller at any time and get that filth off their hard drive (or likely: not put it on there to be begin with). But what about those who are not tech-savvy at all?
It seems to me that the main result of copy protection so far has been to punish the honest and control the meek. Smarter, savvier people get around it and are privy to software and music unencumbered by the DRM that works quite well against those foolish enough to uniwittingly install it. So what's the point? Are the DRM-proponents trying to drive a wedge between power users and the techno-illterate? Do they plan to blame the foul side-effects of DRM on the pirates who are not encumbered by it? "We only put DRM on our products because pirates like Joe Blow download it. Blame him!"
I'd bet that 90% of the population doesn't know what the heck DRM is. We'd better be damn sure to educate the masses or the cartels will do it for us - by smearing the savvy.
Electric Monkey Pants
1. Contrition
/. Good corporate citizen Sony gets back to DRM'ing and nothing changes. Nothing!
Sony Corp. says "sorry" for something they didn't really do with malice. After all, it's our music, not the consumers so there's nothing wrong with the steps we took.
2. Negotiate Good Deal
Sony gives away stuff that costs me little to nothing over a long period of time, that no one likely wants and put our version of "market value" on them. The States will like it or they'll see you in court until Sony gets your Administration voted out of office.
3. Profit
The PHB's get their bonuses for proper crisis management and get back to business.
I'm sick and tired of all of the clamor surrounding this stuff. Especially on
http://www.maxineudall.com/2010/02/should-economists-be-sued-for-malpractice.html
Haha! Michael Geist is a cut-up. When I first read the topic I thought, "Damn straight it does, Michael! You tell 'em." Then I RTFA'ed and I realized he's saying this opens the door for a law protecting us from corporations.
Holy Dudley Do-Right, Michael! What country do you live in -- Canada?
This certainly does open up the door for a Digital Rights Management Protection Act. Here's how: Sony goes crying crocodile tears straight to Congress. It petitions every congressional representative in its pocket to draft a new law that indemnifies corporations from any damages resulting from software that gets installed on a customer's computer when he/she makes use of a company's product. Those same representatives, wiping their mouths, will get up on TV and proclaim to the world how this new legislation will protect us all from the frivolous lawsuits that are driving up the costs of everything, depriving Americans of their God-given low low prices.
Because this lawsuit against Sony only serves to point out the failures of our legal system, don't you see? Sony was trying to innovate with new technology and got slapped down by evil, profiteering lawyers. The corporations must be protected!
Breakfast served all day!
"The settlement includes a host of restrictions on future Sony DRM use"...
Sony DRM use? Why only Sony? Are all other companies guaranteed to maintain ethical & reasonable DRM implementations?
If they're going to come up with some big guidelines on DRM usage they should apply to any/all DRM implementations. Maybe such stuff can stop maniacal levels of DRM before it's too late..?
For real protection against egregious DRM, fair use rights must be protected. DRM isn't really about piracy prevention, after all - it's merely a red herring. If content companies were only interested in piracy prevention, the Blu-Ray spec would be finalized by now.
The real reason for DRM is control over the consumer, ranging from hardware or software lock-in to captive audience advertising. Fair use lets us escape such abuses by allowing us to time- and space-shift content, allowing us to move legally-purchased content to other playback devices and to skip unwanted advertising. The DMCRA would be a good start - if anything, this proposed DRMPA should be added to that legislation.
Besides, the complaints regarding Sony's DRM are the same as the complaints surrounding a lot of spyware and viruses. Why should Sony's status as a multibillion dollar corporation cause it to be painted with a different brush (and have different laws applied to it) than, say, Claria?
This is why I just download all the music I get from the Internet.
Fuck the RIAA.
its a backdoor way to get more DRM integrated into our lives.. This time we "agree" with it..
---- Booth was a patriot ----
These companies ASSUME that file sharing is evil...and therefore a proper punishment would be to post free files on those networks. That is completely bogus! Actually, it is great advertising for Sony and their products. It is not a punishment at all...it's an incentive.
Perhaps ENRON should have been forced to provide free ENRON bumper stickers at gas stations as a penalty for their coroporate wrong-doings. Maybe Microsoft should be forced to give free software to students as a penalty for abusing their monopoly. Oh yeah...they almost got that deal, remember.
Even though Washington is usually in thrall to big business, sometimes they do have the backbone to do what is right.
If people demand it enough, and let our voices be heart, it can happen.
Look at the no call list, anti spam, and anti trust laws as proof of this.
No matter how much money you can get from a corporation, you'll get you butt booted out of office in short order if your opponent can say you voted against such popular ideas.
Remember folks, slashdot doesn't have a -1 "disagree" moderation!
(above said in tone of voice of kid who just had a spoonfull of brussel sprouts plopped on his plate)
Why couldn't the settlement be a prepaid 3 month DSL account and two cakeboxes of blank DVD-R media?
resigned
But how average Joe will know they have a hidden rootkit in a CD from trusty Sony/BMG?
I bet theyll never know, at least until their machine starts to behave strange, so no compensantion for them.
A better compensation would be to Sony publicize the problems of DRM.
penis HAHAHAHAHAHA! PENIS! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA fire fire fire penis fire-penis bird HAHA!
After reading the linked document, there are a lot of interesting points. While none of these points are watershed moments in consumer rights, I think that they are really going to make Sony grit their teeth. Consider:
1) Sony now has to release "clean" CDs with NO content protection...which means that they are effectly out of the DRM business for at least two years. That's going to make their music execs hopping mad.
2) Not only do consumers get their DRM CD replaced at no charge with a non-DRM CD (something they could not have gotten before anyway), they also get either a) $7.50 b) a free CD from a list of at least 200 or c) three free albums from a downloadable service. That certainly better than the whopping $5 coupon I got back from the RIAA settlement. This is probably the least offensive section.
3) Sony has to make "all resonable commericial efforts" to allow the above downlodable albums from iTunes. Youch. That's pretty much an admission that Sony's own music service is crap and iTunes is the definitive standard for downloadable music. Boy, what fun Apple's PR group could have with that! This has really god to piss Sony off. Now they essentially HAVE to crawl to Apple and negotiate some deal to offer Sony customers the ability to download Sony music...for free...in UNENCRYPTED MP3 FORM...from Apple's music service.
The final part is that Sony has to restore people's computers back to the pre-rootkit way. Of course, we have to assume they can do this properly. If this part of the settlement gets screwed up, then all the free downloads in the world won't make up the cost of repairing or reloading a PC. So, potentially, this settlement might be letting Sony off. But really, what could we expect? While it's possible that there are some people out there who had their computer crash or die because of this software, let them opt out and get a settlement in small claims or some other method. The vast majority of the people would be happy just to have all traces of the software removed (safely) and some bonus music for their troubles.
So, I have to say...of all the settlement offers, I think this one by far is the best one I can remember. Especially from the standpoint of sending a message. You can damn well bet that Sony (who will I'm sure accept this because they publicity of this issue going to trial is their worst nightmare) is going to have some heads roll over this, and combined with pressure from upset Sony artists, might actually usher in a new crop of executives who are more willing to listen to the pro-consumer voices in their hardware divisions instead of heeding the horrible advice from their content divisions.
-JoeShmoe
.
-- I wonder which will go down in history as the bigger failure: the War on Drugs or the War on Filesharing
There is much more information available at SonySuit.com, including information on how you can pursue your own litigation against Sony BMG.
-- Mark Lyon http://www.marklyon.org
A new computer to replace the infected one that I have now. Any of these will work great! http://alienware.com/alx_pages/main_alx.aspx
It's more likely they get you a Sony Vaio.
There's one problem at the root of all of this. And Sony's rootkit hijinx and crappy advertising techniques, Microsoft's monopolistic practices, and the despicable actions of dozens of other megalithic companies are all symptoms of it. Look at the common factor among all cases (size), and you'll see:
Modern justice lacks scalability.
Think about it. We have these immature, almost psychopathic corporate constructs wandering the landscape. They're greedy like children, live in their own world like children, and have an unnatural knack for breaking things like children. They're gigantic, amoral, know only enough to get into trouble, and don't think much about consequences. And why should they? In this case, it's taking a whole gaggle of government lawyers bearing class action suits to spank them, and even then they're doing a poor job of it. Admittedly, it might help if the government didn't dote over them so, tsking at them for running roughshod over their toys (customers), but ever so happy with them when they perform vital household duties like collecting information and marketing government policies.
The death penalty exists for individuals who are convicted of crimes. (Note: guilt never enters into it; the only important aspect is the conviction.) For corporations, legal contrivances that they are, the best the government can do is dissolution. The last time they did that was the breakup of Ma Bell, and we know what happened there: the individual enterprises have each grown up in their own special, horrid ways.
And the mallet needed to properly smack them down and make them stay down we can't trust in the government's hands. So how do you spank a toddler that big?
You cannot truly appreciate Dilbert until you read it in the original Klingon.
switch to linux.oh dear, rootkit ineffective.
"The final part is that Sony has to restore people's computers back to the pre-rootkit way. Of course, we have to assume they can do this properly."
That's easy, it's called format and re-install. Use Powermax to do a complete low level format of the hard drive, re-install Windows and all drivers, and then re-install all of your applications. I've had to do two so far at the white box store I'm a tech at. Pain in the ass - yes. I will save mydocs and pictures, but no music files. Cost? $75 - $85 for Windows, $10/app, $35 for data backup. It's a sorry ass way to have to do things, but anything else takes too much time, and time = $.
Professional Politicians are not the solution, they ARE the problem.
Wonder if the iTunes downloads will be made free of Fairplay DRM .
Caveat Emptor. Though I disagree and Sony should do something more, but the politics of the situation allowed them to stomped on the consumer.
Can we all just focus for a minute on the real issue here.... The canadians are getting jack squat. Outrageous!!!!
Maybe by the end of the two years, they will have figured out that non-DRMed music sells better than DRMed music. Maybe this settlement forces them to run the experiment that shows them that they can make more money if they don't act like the other music companies.
Think they're bright enough to see the trend in their data?
I wouldn't call them retards. I'd say uninformed... anyway the key is on page 17 of the settlement.
1000 requests for exclusion is a pretty low bar guys. If only those qualified reading slashdot filed for exclusion, you could pull this off. Sony should be in a lot deeper shit that this settlement provides. Filing a request for exclusion from the settlement class should send a message to these people... I'm as mad as Hell, and I'm not going to take this anymore! If the settlement is approved by the court, everyone here should file for exclusion. Don't let them get away with a slap on the wrist this time. I personally would not be happy until someone responsible for this at Sony was facing criminal charges.
Why does everyone talk about doing a low-level format these days. Since I'm not the best at explaining things... from wikipedia:
Physical formatting, or low-level formatting, is the division of hard disk platters into tracks, sectors, and cylinders. Tracks, sectors, and cylinders define the divisions in which a hard disk accesses a data from a hard disk platter. This was considered to be a dangerous task to be performed on older discs for possible surface damage, but should be safe on modern drives.
Basicly a low level format reinitalizes the hardware level methods of splitting up the drive into various addressable spaces. If you have a virus/spyware/malware/etc and you want to get rid of it, a low level format is completely wasteful, instead you want a high-level format which wipes all the data, writes the boot record, file allocation tables, and etc.
The goal of computer science is to build something that will last at least until we've finished building it.
What's needed is a DRM Prevention Act.
This sig left unintentionally blank.
The school is making me give MS money, along with the money that they get from our tech fee, what can I do? how can one in my position tell MS that I hate their shenanigans without flunking a class for not buying the book?
The settlement *I* want with Sony is unlimited backdoor access to all the computers in their entire corporation and total indemnity for any illegal actions I might use them to commit. I will also need to get files with the personal information of all their employees to be used in "customizing" my software.
In Australia you do ! (hint: check the meaning of rooted :-))
The initial points for a Digital Rights Management Protection Act proposed by Geist seem like a nice starting point. However, as it says in the article Sony is only required to abide by it until 2008. In the meantime the corporate influence that is taking hold of our legislative entities will fight harder to shift all possible advantages to the corporations. It's only with continued publicity and pestering of politicians that the consumer will ever make any headway. That and not ever buying anything from companies like sony. Whenever a friend of mine tells me that he bought a sony product, I tell her that she made a mistake. Then I proceed to explain why.
http://www.stockmarketgarden.com/
No, they just have to "stop manufacturing SONY BMG CDs with XCP software ("XCP CDs") and SONY BMG CDs with MediaMax software ("MediaMax CDs")." The settlement doesn't seem to say anything about no content protection. I'd wager those products will undergo a namechange, a 6 month retool, and then be back to being installed the first time Timmy puts his new [insert corporate rock band here] "CD" in his computer.
There is not a chance in hell these will be mp3s. I will eat my hat if people can download Sony's music as mp3s from iTunes. No, consumers will get to trade the "bad" DRM-laden files for some other DRM-laden music files. Lucky them.
Yeah. They have to release a fix for their rootkit (already done), trade real CDs for the rootkit installers (which they've already been doing), and they have to send out some gift certificates to iTMS which can only buy Sony music (which, if I remember correctly, of the $1 75 cents goes to the label). Yep, they're really hurting now. Doing what they were already forced to do, and keep consumers using DRM'd files.
Bwaaaaaahahahah! Oh man, that was a good one. "Pro-consumer." Hahahhaa.
Cthulhu loves you.
Let's just write him in, kicking and screaming if necessary.
Get thee glass eyes, and, like a scurvy politician, seem to see things thou dost not.--King Lear
They wouldn't like that.
If you want your life to be different, live it differently.
It's really worth looking at a specific case like Step-Saver Data Systems, Inc. v. Wyse Technology. Again, from the reference:
Step-Saver Data Systems, Inc. v. Wyse Technology, 939 F.2d 91 (3rd Cir. 1991) was case in which the legality and history of computer EULAs was explored. The court noted, "When these form licenses were first developed for software, it was, in large part, to avoid the federal copyright law first sale doctrine" thus the intent of EULAs after 1990 were to preempt federal statutes using contract law and that they serve no purpose besides attempts to preempt consumer rights in other statutes.
In this case, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit held that a EULA disclaimer waiving all express and implied warranties, printed on the outside of the box, was not binding. Step-Saver repeatedly bought Multilink Advanced, an allegedly MS-DOS compatible operating system, from The Software Link (TSL). On each box was a shrink wrap license disclaimer; "software sold AS IS, without warranty; TSL disclaims all express and implied warranties; if you don't agree to this disclaimer return the product, unopened, to TSL for a refund.". Step-Saver sued TSL, claiming that Multilink Advanced was not MS-DOS compatible. The court ruled that the EULA was not enforceable and that the sole reason of the EULA after 1990 was to preempt federal statutory and constitional laws. This matter, however, involved a negotiated transaction between two businesses, and the licenses varied terms between the shrink wrap license and the sale terms which were already negotiated, over the telephone.
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Number 9 is by far the most important. In fact, I would say a "DRM protection act" needs NOTHING MORE than a clear set of labeling requirements.
... you're probably familiar with it.. the exact same warning is on tobacco for instance. This is useless label, because I don't know which compound, which part of the product, how much is present, or how dangerous it is!
Then an informed consumer (like me) will simply avoid the product and get it off P2P or from a friend instead. Pretty simple.
They have every right to sell that kind of garbage, but they don't have the right to hide it from me.
And they have to be GOOD labelling requirements. I bought a power strip the other day that says "This product contains something known in the state of California to cause cancer".
A DRM label should state at least: what operating system will run it, how it will present itself to the user, and what limitations it implements.
Or even better, create a "contains no DRM" label and regulate its use.. yes that would be good.
"Empathise with stupidity, and you're halfway to thinking like an idiot." - Iain M. Banks
Shouldn't Sony at least have to compensate purchasers with the amount those purchasers would have to pay if an infringement judgement was issued against them? The maximum penalty for copyright infringement is, I believe, $150,000 per song. If someone buys a rootkit CD with 10 songs on it, that person should be entitled to a maximum of $150,000 per song, for a total of $1,500,000.
I mean, isn't the crime Sony has committed at least as serious as infringement? Why should the penalty be any less?
"No live organism can continue for long to exist sanely under conditions of absolute reality;..."
and you need to low-level format because ________?
Really. I want to know. What will a low-level format accomplish in this case? Does Sony's DRM somehow mess up the defect map on the hard drive? Or, more likely, is this a snake-oil service you're selling to your customers? You know, throw some geek speak at them so that they'll think "oh shit" and then fork over more dough.
Trust me when I tell you that there is nothing Sony's or anyone else's rootkit/virus/trojan horse does which will necessitate a low-level format. You MIGHT need to run a fixmbr or dd if=/dev/zero of=/dev/hd(x) bs=512 count=1 if the MBR gets sufficiently corrupt that the Windows installer chokes on it, but you do not have to low-level format a drive, particularly not an ATAPI drive.
Also note: Powermax does not technically perform a low-level format, it just checks for bad block and updates the SmART tables' defect map.
The Christian Right is Neither (Christian nor right). See: Matthew 23, Matthew 25, Ezekiel 16:48-50
I work at a computer repair shop. Time- about 3 weeks ago. Customer brings in a shiney new Dell desktop. "boot volume unmountable." Hard drive's partition is lost, data unrecoverable (i've never before seen that level of data loss that wasn't due to HDD failure). Run various hardware tests, find no problems. Partition/format/reinstall it is.
"What happened?" I ask, expecting the usual "I dunno, it just stopped working"
"I bought a Sony DVD burner to upgrade my system. The system didn't recognize it at first, cause i forgot to enable the primary slave in BIOS, but it was running fine after that. I put in the software CD to install their software, since a friend of mine told me media player needed the codecs so it could play DVDs. About a minute into the install process, the computer gave me a blue screen, and restarted, and hasn't worked since. I think it was that goddamn Sony software."
I told him about Sony's music CD rootkit fiasco, and told him that although I wasn't aware of any cases of Sony putting DRM software on anything other than CDs, he might want to search around on the internet to see if anyone else had had a similar experience.
A few days later he pickes up his computer. "Yeah, i found out it was that Sony CD that did it," he informed me while i charged our redicilous fee to his credit card.
"Oh?" 'Whatever, llama,' i thought. I know my Google-fu isn't that strong, but i had spent a signifigant part of yesterday's slow work day looking, and hadn't found a singe web page/article linking Sony DVDROMs and Sony rootkits.
"Yeah, got a friend who does computer stuff for the FBI. He says Sony's putting their copy protection on other things besides music CDs. The government is pissed."
DISCLAIMER--- I don't know if any of what this guy says his friend said is true (I still haven't found anything on the net to back this up), and I'm posting AC because I can't afford a libel lawsuit.
Any chance we can get a list of these CD's? I'm thinking of making a trip down to the used CD store, buying the cheapest CD's on the list and getting a new CD, $7.50 and download another legitimate album. Then I just sell the NEW CD back to the store! Not a bad gig!
One of the terms of the settlement is that if more than 1000 people opt out of it, the deal goes bust. There's going to be an opt out form soon. Check it out, and take the opt-out option.
mac os x version of the rootkit?
i guess it's ok if you type in your password and get a trojan.
of course no one would suggest to boycott apple products...
if someone came and burned down your house... you wouldn't blame lumber manufacturers or the home owners for not having a fire-proof house. sure M$ security sucks more than any M$ shill would ever admit but to shift the blame off $ony even a tiny bit is quite absurd.
blame the assholes who think it's a good idea to fuck their customers and take control of their property just to listen to their goddamn music. (or what can be construed to be music).
You know, the lawyers address and telephone number is on the settlement papers. Is anyone going to call them tomorrow morning?
I don't think the correct tactic here is to harrass, but rather instead to chear these guys on and show them the good old ancient thumbs down gesture.
"Finish Them!"
I've done both and Windows re-installs better on a low level. The bottom line is that to get rid of the root kit completely, you need to format. As soon a root kit revealer or another utility shows capable of removing all traces of this one I will use it instead. I have always used the format as a last resort and would prefer to do anything else that works.
Professional Politicians are not the solution, they ARE the problem.
I would still like to see a resolution for Mac users.
On the David Gray Life in Slow Motion CD
- Sunncomm software can be installed from the CD
- after removing all "visible" files, including the kernel extensions, the system still behaves differently if a CD with SunnComm is put into the system (the setup.app runs automatically)
- Sunncomm has NO softwre to uninstall or rectify this problem.
This is on Tiger. Yes, you have to approve the installation.
A filesystem format ("high-level" format) of a hard drive is much different than a low-level format.
http://www.seagate.com/support/kb/disc/faq/ata_llhttp://www.pcguide.com/ref/hdd/geom/formatUtiliti
http://www.pcguide.com/ref/hdd/geom/formatHigh-c.
http://www.webopedia.com/TERM/L/LLF.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Low-level_formatting
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disk_formatting
Even a worthless A+ certification will teach you that much.
You do not even need to zero-fill the hard drive (which is NOT a low-level format) to wipe out a virus. If you reformat it at the OS level (again, a "high level" format) you're removing the FAT/MFT/inodes/btree pointers to the files on the disk, and without those pointers the data is pretty much inaccessible by the operating system, unless there is software in place to specifically go to each sector and read it - and because you've removed the pointers to the files that can kickstart that process when you do the reformat/reinstall, there is no way in hell that any such hidden virus code is going to be executed - you've removed the possibility.
Also: resorting to reformat/reinstall at the drop of a hat is a sure sign of incompetence. $.02 and then some. SOME spyware or viruses which include rootkits or other exploits are so intrusive that a reformat/reinstall may be recommended but it's not going to be every case. Hell, even Windows' "System Volume Information" (restore points) can be purged of infection by changing permissions on the directory and then scanning them- or you can even turn off System Restore to simply blow away the restore points and prevent automatic reinstallation of the scumware
Read. Learn. Stop scamming customers with technical terms you don't understand.
The Christian Right is Neither (Christian nor right). See: Matthew 23, Matthew 25, Ezekiel 16:48-50
This post is certainly NOT insightful. Parent's author is just another overzealous slashdot user who transcribes the sentiments of his/her own anus hoping it will pass for a "post".
The author clearly hasn't taken the ten minutes to read the relevant sections of the settlement document. (or may be illiterate...)
The document contains a settlement consideration that explicitly states on page eleven that the software update/uninstaller will remove the cloaking mechanism and eliminate any security vulnerabilities created by the software.
EULA's are legal agreements, despite how the public may regard them, software providers are required to lay out certain facts about the software the user is about to install. Sony/BMG failed to do this and is expected to rectify this in future software EULAs. This is to protect the end user, because the end user is basically required by law to be well informed by the EULA.
It would be a waste of my time to cite everything about this settlement that downright SUCKS for Sony/BMG
If you'd go ahead and bother to read it before you listen to the chump above you'd see that the settlement is definitely NOT in favor of Sony/BMG and the "victims" will benefit from it. The fucking thing ensures that customers have a choice about whether they're subjected to DRM for fucks sake. They're ensured a clear warning, and they'll be able to get rid of it easily. On top of that, Sony/BMG must agree to never use anything as sneaky or damaging as XCP or MediaMax again.
Learn to read you fuckers.
already own. Those SONY christmas gifts, perhaps a television, etc...
I'm going to do just that (got a coupla SONY products this year) and believe it will pack a nice punch compared to just avoiding SONY products in the future.
Blogging because I can...
Getting all the glory when I submitted an article of Sony's settlement hours before this one came out.
New all-time low.
My solution is keep pirating their movies, music, video games, and software. And giving them out to anyone I know who wants copies. It's not hard to do and it takes monetary support away from Sony without depriving me of the use of their products.
They weren't concerned about covering everyone's computers with their DRM bullshit so I'm not concerned about wiping my ass with their copyrights. If they don't like it, I'll buy them some iTunes songs and call it even.
The terms of the settlement leave the ultimate end-user with an amount which is less than the US minimum wage.
The end-user has suffered many hours of frustration, monetary loss, being a victim of criminal unauthorized entry which is a federal felony (Yes, US laws prohibit tampering with a computer without the owner's permission).
Ultimately, what do the end-users get for all their troubles? A puny $7.50 for their troubles, FREE albums (free for both user and Sony), and a non-DRM CD.
Also, the DRM XCD will not be manufactured by Sony only for 2 years. After 2 years they are free to do so.
Who gets all the rest of millions? Lawyers ! Damn Lawyers.
People should refuse the settlement and pursue the class-action until Sony's executives are put behind bars for grand larceny, unauthorized entry into property, and delibrate tampering.
The end-users may not get a single cent, but it will be real glad to see the so-called music executives serve some real time behind bars "serving" Bubba !
How come hackers are put behind bars, while RIAA goons like these are allowed to "settle"?
Man i wish i were a lawyer in US, i would definitely have filed federal felony charges against them and made the judge issue a non-bailable warrant against these idiots.
"Doing what i can, with what i have." ~ Burt Gummer
Ask yourself why the French had to test a nuclear weapon on the Mururoa Atoll, and you might change your mind. The Nuclear Test Ban Treaty was coming into effect, they had nowhere else to test, and the United States of America was sitting pretty on its computational edge.
Surprise. Where there is an equivalent product or service, I will never buy anything that's sourced from the United States of America. It's the most hypocrytical, lying, and cheating nation on the face of the earth, and has no problem culturally destroying other countries.
What about all this anti-Sony hot air that's been flowing around here? Slashdot is acting like a bunch of spoilt children in search of a scapegoat. Cluetrain - this DRM fiasco was caused by Sony BMG. Blame American market culture, not Sony, you damn racist pig.
Am I the only one sick of this? I'm a customer, not a 'consumer'. We are not open mouths gobbling up capitalism (at least I'm not). This label signifies what is wrong with capitalism at large today. Depersonification. We're an equation to be plugged into an economics spreadsheet, nothing more.
occultae nullus est respectus musicae - originally a Greek proverb
Wether you like it or not, the computerscene exists of cows-swearing-at-windows, devils-swearing-at-bsd, trees-swearing-at-apples and of penguins-swearing-at-unix; still; it's Microsoft dominating the position of the computermarket which means their products will be more known/used and of'course also more tutored to others. For example; there will be more books and also a bigger market for Microsoft Word instead of OpenOffice or others.
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It's what's generally accepted by people that do not know about closed formats and standards and all the secure cr*p (for them atleast) that involves computers. This will also mean the most general accepted solution will be the most given course to the universities/schools.
I as one, am against any-too-Microsoft-loaded-educational package, because it biases and hides the hunderds of other alternatives that can be (lots) cheaper and in most cases even more secure and reliable. Also, in our company we get lots of students, just done with their studies as "engineer in informatics" and who do not know shit about the real world; how deadlines are really being managed, how you program towards reliability, rendundancy and security.
To my opinion the current educational system is flawed and too politically challenged and should be focusing more on solving problems in the (programmers) real world instead of introducing new problems. If schools where politicians I wouldn't see the difference, lots of contributions but without solutions.
I too have been blinded in this, up to 15 years with full PC knowledge which has made me rusted and stuck for Windows and other X86 solutions. I've just bought an Apple (my first one) and I am thinking, how can life be so easy on this operating system and so complicated, aggressive and annoying on the other ?
My 5 cents
Schools should be thinking more about the future of their students instead the future of the companies (halfly) running them; only by teaching how to think open towards solutions, any problem could be solved.
Learn and embrace the solutions to the new world; don't close them out by using software depending on one company on the world
Greetz and a happy newyear to ya all
(ps: is there any way to change my nickname on
--- 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..
This comment is borderline offtopic, but the "power to the people" applies to SO many things other than this Sony incident, and many of which involve corporate abuse (the remaining part being government abuse).
More and more legislation is being made that protects corporations, which have grown so internationally massive that it's virtually impossible for any government to punish them. But why would they do so? I talked with a security head in DC a while back about what the gov't could do to make Microsoft and other vendors actually release secure code. His reply was that enforcing such rules would alienate them, and the corporations would just move their divisions outside the country and the US would suffer.
So, as you said, the power lies with the people. And I'm not sure if the people are just complacent, ignorant (corporations and politicians DO control the media), indifferent, or just flat-out stupid. My hope is that it's ignorance, and all we (the people) need is a voice (a well-connected, well-funded voice) to tell us the wrongs being wrought and how we CAN do something about it if we *big sigh* work together and work hard.
My fear is that, the world being so full of powerful multination corporations that own so much of what we need and governments quick to cater to their whim so that can get a piece of that fat money cake, it's too late to even rally the people to fight the good fight.
Apologies for spelling and grammatical errors.
-Eric
SJW: Someone who has run out of real oppression, and has to fake it.
Maybe by the end of the two years, they will have figured out that non-DRMed music sells better than DRMed music
While this may be true for you and me, it is not for the general population. Most consumers don't even have the slightest clue about what is going on. I don't see the market changing for their non-DRM'ed music more than a percentage point or two. And if they were to sell more, it wouldn't be because there is no DRM on there (according to them), but because they were simply promoting "better artists" that had "more to offer".
A community-oriented lyrics site
All the music "protected" by these technologies should have the copyright revoked. Make it public domain.
If the educated USian readers of /. (and I include myself in this group) got off their lazy asses and participated in the governing process...calling their Federal Representatives and Senators (email is generally ignored and/or dismissed), petitioning their State representatives, raise the hue and cry locally...the pressure on lawmakers not to be seen as 'in the corporation's pocket' would be sufficient to offset the 'purchasing power' of said corporations. Simplistic, yes, but I believe it could be quite effective. An educated populace is dangerous and those that would 'govern' know it.
Unfortunately, I don't forsee this happening.
Definitely this settlement is just a slap on the wrist for Sony. Perhaps I was a fool to expect something more. Only two years and they are FREE to do same again. Oops... I did forgot, they CAN do same, just now, if they remember say that at the EULA.
My boycott continues. See you after 2008 Sony BMG.
It literally makes my blood boil every time that I literally hear or read people literally misusing that word.
The next time that someone literally misuses that word, I am literally going to literally punch him/her so hard that his/her body will literally land on the Moon, and his/her head will literally fly away so fast that it will literally go back in time and literally bonk Pontius Pilate on the head, literally preventing him from figuratively condemning Jesus, and thus literally changing the course of human history for the last two thousand years.
Literally.
There's a difference between being trusted with admin privileges and being forced to run with them all the time.
Consider as an analogy my circular saw. It has a blade guard. The blade guard makes it harder to use the saw. It even makes it harder to cut a straight line.
I do not consider the manufacturer to be disrespectful or patronizing for putting on a blade guard. I know that I could take the blade guard off, and cut faster and more accurately. However, I never will take the blade guard off: I'm not careful enough, and I value my fingers.
No not so. The french own an incredibly percentage of a lot of markets. Ever heard of Vivendi? They are a big media corporation, and that includes a huge majority of computer game companies (almost every one of the big ones except EA). For instance they own Blizzard. They own Sierra (which is on the way down). You can google for more examples of who they own.s /u_games.cfm.htms /u_music.cfm.htm
"VU Games is the second-largest publisher of PC game software in North America and Europe"
http://www.vivendiuniversal.com/vu/en/subsidiarie
"Universal Music Group (UMG) is the world's largest music company. "
http://www.vivendiuniversal.com/vu/en/subsidiarie
They own almost 20% of NBC as well.
Vivendi/universal is just one example of a massive french company owning lots of others. It's sometimes surprising how much the french actually own.