Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

Microsoft DRM To Get Even Tighter

Posted by ryuzaki0 on from the schmair-use dept.

Toreo asesino writes, "Microsoft is tightening the screws on their up & coming DRM platform. First, Windows Media Player 11 removes the right to move music from one machine to another. According to their website, WMP11 'does not permit you to back up your media usage rights (previously known as licenses).' Worse, if you rip your own CDs and the 'Copy protect music' option is turned on, WMP11 will require you to 'connect to a Microsoft Web page that explains how to restore your rights a limited number of times.'" The Inquirer has an even more jaundiced take on Microsoft's turn of the thumbscrew.

10 of 536 comments (clear)

  1. Ahem... by tomstdenis · · Score: 5, Informative

    You don't have to use WMP to rip CDs you know?

    This is really a moot issue. I mean I hate Microsoft and all that they are, but seriously, just don't use WMP.

    Tom

    --
    Someday, I'll have a real sig.
    1. Re:Ahem... by omeg · · Score: 5, Informative

      I don't think that it's really an option to say to the users of WMP that they should switch. Afterall, most people who do are casual users who would simply like things to work without thinking about "better alternatives". The kind that uses Internet Explorer.

      If Microsoft can get their DRM in with those people, it won't be long before it'll be used on an even larger scale. Instead of fighting to stop DRM from ever seeing the light of day (already a lost cause), you will be fighting to get its large scale usage abolished. And these people who use WMP: they're not going to switch. Ever. Microsoft should just stop using these tactics.

    2. Re:Ahem... by Deathlizard · · Score: 4, Informative

      Also, it would be nice if one could use WMP to rip CDs without crippling DRM.

      You can rip CD's in WMP10 without DRM. In Fact, DRM is turned off by Default.

      go to Tools -> Options -> Rip Music to see the settings. It also Does MP3.

      I've never used WMP for ripping but I know the college students use it on their PC's all the time, and when their hard drive crashes we simply copy the music over to their new drive with no problem.

      As for WMP11, On the Vista RC1 machine I'm testing here, it looks like their adopting the same default settings as 10: WMA, 128KB's, DRM OFF. They also finally support ripping to wav files as well, so now you can convert to your favorite alternate format in a lossless state. The full ripping support is WMA 48-192, WMA Pro 32-192, WMA (VBR) 40-355, WMA (Mathematically Lossless) 470-940, MP3 128-320, and Wav. Of course ths could change by final build, but this is how it's currently setup.

      --
      In Soviet Russia, Trojan exploits YOU!
    3. Re:Ahem... by jZnat · · Score: 4, Informative

      Just adding to the consensus that MPlayer owns. I use it to rip DVDs (mplayer -dumpstream -dumpfile movie.vob dvd://) for instance. MEncoder is great as well, but I find myself using external codecs (e.g. XviD, LAME, Vorbis) rather than lavc, although if I put more effort into researching lavc options (they're "tersely documented in the source code" according to the man page, so I'll have to check that out sometime), I'd probably use it instead.

      Did you know that many of the developers for MPlayer are also developers for xine and VLC?

      --
      'Yes, firefox is indeed greater than women. Can women block pops up for you? No. Can Firefox show you naked women? Yes.'
    4. Re:Ahem... by makomk · · Score: 4, Informative

      For Windows CD ripping, I always used CDex (rips using cdparanoia, automatically grabs titles from FreeDB, and encodes using an included version of LAME).

    5. Re:Ahem... by IDontAgreeWithYou · · Score: 3, Informative

      Actually, washing them probably wouldn't have helped unless you really scrubbed each leaf very carefully. Just rinsing off a handful of spinach under the sink wouldn't get rid of the eColi. Also, most bags of fresh spinach are sold as ready to eat so most people wouldn't wash them anyway.

      --
      Finding other idiots on /. that agree with your opinion doesn't make it any less stupid.
    6. Re:Ahem... by ncc74656 · · Score: 5, Informative
      It's Called MdiaPlayerClassic but it's not M$ And when it's installed with the K-Lite codec pack it rocks !

      Codec packs can be dangerous. ffdshow handles nearly everything all by itself, is just one codec to install, and is free-as-in-speech.

      --
      20 January 2017: the End of an Error.
  2. nice by gEvil+(beta) · · Score: 4, Informative

    This is beautiful. Microsoft goes even further in restricting your rights for material you already own (god knows what purchases will be like). Meanwhile, Apple has been going in the other direction, finally adding a "transfer purchases from iPod" menu option in iTunes 7.

    --
    This guy's the limit!
    1. Re:nice by GORby_ · · Score: 3, Informative

      I like the DRM on eMusic better: there is none.
      So far I've mostly succeeded in staying away from DRM infected music (having never bought it, but I have/had a few files I got for free), and I hope to keep it that way.

  3. Workarounds by Peter+Trepan · · Score: 3, Informative

    Workarounds can be found here and here.

    --

    Step into a huge movement. Don't Tread In Me.