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Microsoft Acknowledges NBC's Wish is Its Command
theodp writes "Responding to questions about why some users of Windows Vista Media Center were prevented from recording the NBC Universal TV shows 'American Gladiator' and 'Medium,' Microsoft has acknowledged that Windows Media Centers will block users from recording TV shows at the request of a broadcaster. 'Microsoft included technologies in Windows based on rules set forth by the (Federal Communications Commission),' wrote a Microsoft spokeswoman, apparently referring to an FCC proposal that the courts struck down in 2005. 'Microsoft has put the requirements of broadcasters above what consumers want,' said the EFF's Danny O'Brien. 'They've imposed restrictions way beyond what the law requires. Customers need to know who Microsoft is listening to and how that affects their equipment. Right now, the only way customers know what Microsoft has agreed to is when the technology they've bought suddenly stops working. Microsoft needs to come clean and tell its customers what deals it has made.'"
Last I checked... Tivo supports the broadcast flag as well, yet those of us (I have 2) with Tivo's had no issues... So I guess the question is, why is Tivo ignoring the broadcast flag (not that I am complaining mind you, I hate the broadcast flag), but I am curious..
I came, I conquered, I coredumped
I just want it to work!
shows just who the real "customer" here is... not you... you are the product, delivered to the media conglomerates...
Donald 'Duck' Dunn: We had a band powerful enough to turn goat piss into gasoline.
If Microsoft doesn't disclose what is going on, customers will be angry that they can't do what they thought they paid to be able to do, and in the future, will not give them anymore money If they do disclose upfront, many customers will not give them money in the first place. Damned if you do, damned if you don't when it comes to our friend DRM.
This is great news. Look, Microsoft has a vendor first / user second approach. The more stupid shit like this they do the more the users will catch on that they are simply taken for granted.
I'm all about multinational billion dollar corporates deciding for me about what I can and can't record legally. It's hell sweet! Before you know it, we'll have pay-per-view on every single broadcast!
I used to think MSNBC meant Must See NBC, as part of their "Must See" advertising. Thank you for unlocking this mysterious tie to Microsoft.
I say let them drag each other into the ground. I can't recall the last time I watched any of the NBC networks. OK, I briefly watched some of the Olympics last time around, but that was about all. Even if there were anything decent to watch when I was away, I always have my VCR.
As for Microsoft, they do make some darn good keyboards and mice.
What is it with Microsoft and the word "technologies"?
Heeding a fucking bit is "technologies"?
[Clicks fingers] Oh, sorry, that's marketdoublespeak to hide the fact that they're selling stuff that takes its orders from someone other than the customer who bought it.
I don't think so. People are not so apathetic as you seem to think. They will take notice as soon as it impacts on their ability and their freedom to do things they have been able to do since they bought their first VCR recorder 25 years ago.
Microsoft has been putting too much faith into its monopoly position. The more people this affects, the more people WILL move to alternative systems, and the more those alternative systems will improve.
DRM will never survive.
Microsoft has never been about the customer. Microsoft will gladly screw over their customers to get a few bucks or gain marketshare.
Here's an old but great example. Back when Win95 was released you could not natively use long file names with 16-bit apps. However, there was a product called "Name-It!" which did allow that function. In other words it was possible and quite easy to enable the function, but Microsoft chose NOT to implement it. Why? Because long file names was a well liked feature among customers and denying it to customers would give incentive to upgrade to new 32-bit programs.
Another great example is Messenger, the chat program not the service. Microsoft originally made it nearly impossible to get rid of. Even if you edited your sysoc.inf file and uninstalled Messenger, it'll suddenly come back. Even if you deleted the subfolder under Program Files, it would mysteriously come back. Obviously Microsoft considered its chat war against AOL more important than ease of use for its customers.
And of course there's product activation. We were told it was to stop piracy, but that was bull-shit. You can easy obtain pirated copies of XP and Vista. Let's face it, if piracy has been decreased, then why is Vista Microsoft's most expensive OS? Why aren't they passing the savings back to us? Clearly product activation is not stopping piracy at all. Once again, the real purpose of product activation is to screw over the paying customer who wants to install the OS he paid for on both of his systems.
And lets not forget how Microsoft's Office products are constantly screwing with file formats to make the later versions incompatible with earlier versions. Once again, this is NOT done to make it easier for paying customers. It's merely leverage to get those customer paying again and again.
It'd be really hard to be passionate for Microsoft's products. It's hard to be passionate for anything that nickel and dimes you at every turn. That treats you like a criminal. And sees you merely as a cash cow to be milked at every chance.
If someone says he and his monkey have nothing to hide, they almost certainly do.
Sooo, it seems Microsoft has set itself up for a PR disaster and given the remote control to any content-provider that knows how to use the broadcast flags.
There is no better way to illustrate what restrictions DRM will have on the users day-to-day life, and Vista users will not like these demonstrations of Microsofts built-in Big Brother TM.
---
"The chances of a demonic possession spreading are remote -- relax."
Is this the place where those of us who loathe Vista as a bloated, DRM-ridden piece of crap that just can't wait to rat on its owners come for an apology from all those people who accused us of spreading FUD about it?
Just wondering...
I've calculated my velocity with such exquisite precision that I have no idea where I am.
...you tried to record American Gladiators.
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Let's see, how many different competing sources of videos are there today? And NBC thinks it's got the best ones out there and wants to restrict their dissemination with the broadcast flag?
I don't really care if Vista respects the flag or not. NBC, by putting it in the stream, thwarts its use, legitimate or not. In the YouTube/Tube world, they have *so* scratched themselves off the list.
Let's see-- was that good for marketshare, branding, asset value, shareholder value, or compennsation? Hullo?
---- Teach Peace. It's Cheaper Than War.
I am starting to think that the customer is about to decide.
Why buy MS when you can get something that works. The reason MS is not working for the consumer is because it's not getting its money from the consumer.
Computers are becoming a commodity. By the time, if not already, the next windows/office comes out computers will be so cheap there will be little room for MS. Solid state multi capable CPUs should dramatically drop the cost.
I'd say paradigm shift to the rescue.
G
Nice one by MS, but this won't have much of an impact on Windows I think. What else are people going to use?
Huh? That is the absolutely dumbest question I've heard all week (but it's Monday). There are a lot of flavors of Linux, there's Sun, there's Be, there's Apple. or did I misunderastand the question?
Are you a Microsoft employee, did you get to slashdot by mistake somehow. or are you just trolling?
-mcgrew
mcgrew's razor: Never attribute to stupidity that which can be explained by greedy self-interest
It would help the argument a lot if people would stop posting the link to Peter Gutman's first paper. He already has acknowledged that some facts were based on pre-release versions of Vista, and Microsoft trial-balloons.
The newer slideshow addresses much the same issues, without the minor holes the MS astroturfers can use to misdirect attention away from the main points.
Mart"I know I will be modded down for this": where's the option '-1, Asking for it'?
Actually, Mythtv is pretty easy to set up now, if you use one of the distro versions (knoppmyth, mythdora or mythbuntu).
I add a nice pchdtv video card, which does not detect the broadcast flag, and I have nothing to worry about. Plus, I can burn dvd's of my recordings, and many other things.
Windows media center has a number of problems, and crashes too. However, because it is windows, people ignore it. Myth is just as stable. And can be tested before buying (since mythbuntu at least has a livecd)
I just glanced over the channel lineup for my area (I honestly didn't know what NBC was offering), and I'm in favor crappy TV networks self regulating themselves further out of my view.
/half-joking, half-not
It isn't much a surprise, given the lack of NBC on the chart.
Has anyone using Tivo ever been able to go back to regular TV? If they took a look at the viewing habits of Tivo-ed users, they would be forced to remove the flag if Tivo had enforced it.
Ever since I got Tivo, I *never* watch programs in real-time. If I can't record it, I am not watching it.
In fact I would be surprised that the hack is already out there
It is, the fix is here.
mcgrew's razor: Never attribute to stupidity that which can be explained by greedy self-interest
Be? Is this a copy-pasta response from 5 years ago? If someone needs to record American Gladiator, they'll find something else to record it with (or watch it on hulu or nbc.com), not switch to linux.
Do you even lift?
These aren't the 'roids you're looking for.
I think we should be grateful to Microsoft in a way. By fully exposing people to the whim of the content mafiaa (in this case NBC) it will finally become clear to a large enough crowd that DRM and like measures, like this 'broadcast flag', are taking away rights we took for granted.
Hopefully with awareness finally spreading beyond the minority of hobbyists, enough of a voice can be made to stop the big companies before it is too late.
As long as there is analog out, I'll be able to record my favorite shows. Just retarded you have to go through all that.
Is it really any surprise MSFT puts business interests ahead of user interests? It's been that way a long time.
That's our life, the big wheel of shit. - The Fat Man, Blue Tango Salvage
15 July 1996: Microsoft and NBC form MSNBC.
31 Aug 2007: NBC pulls all content from iTunes Store.
6 May 2008: NBC puts content on Zune Store.
Now: NBC has Microsoft block Windows Media Center from recording certain shows.
What other wonderful developments can we expect?
"Empathise with stupidity, and you're halfway to thinking like an idiot." - Iain M. Banks
Wow, I really wanted to buy Vista before, what with all the glitches and problems. Now I REALLY want it.
SJW: Someone who has run out of real oppression, and has to fake it.
"things they have been able to do since they bought their first VCR recorder 25 years ago."
MacroVision ACP, anyone?
Yes, you can easily filter that out with a little box you buy for a couple of bucks if you're affected by it, but you're definitely viewing things a bit too rose-colored on the whole copy-protection front if you think that this sort of thing is new.
I've been a pretty loyal Microsoft user since Win3.1, and I'm a senior I.T. professional. I'm not particularly radical, I use Vista, and its OK.
.... - you're our customers after all. Being an IT professional, I can see perhaps there might be an issue keeping it going through system upgrades, or server upgrades? Well, how hard would it be supply music on the current store? Or perhaps there aren't enough customers to make this cost effective? I don't know, then you don't have to keep many DRM servers running to keep them happy.
.... after they made them bend over to develop new hardware for the Vista Capable logo, and then redefined the conditions so HP wasted their time and money. And then they were surprised when Vendors weren't developing drivers for Vista. To quote the MS executives, the hardware vendors 'didn't trust us'.
However, Microsofts recent performance has been pretty disgraceful, enough to force change for me. I point to three incidents - This one with the broadcast flag, the recent shutdown of the Microsoft Music Validation servers, and the release of the emails where it showed that senior management had no idea how to treat customers or partners during the months leading up to the release of Vista.
How hard is it for Microsoft to treat their customers OK? I mean, the broadcast flag incident shows they bend over for the broadcast networks, even though the networks business model doesn't even require this. Why do they do this to their customers? Obviously, the networks are paying Microsoft, but surely they can't be paying as much as customers pay for licenses to use Vista/XP. Why treat your greatest revenue stream like a POS - like they're stupid?
With regard to the Music Server incident, a number of customers have paid for music, these are valuable customers again, and they are having their servers shut down so they can't play their music beyond their next upgrade/reinstall. How low is that. I mean, how much more poorly can you treat your customers. How hard is it for Microsoft to keep a few servers running to validate that music, to say to the customers, look, we'll keep this going as a sign that we give a
As for the emails, I don't know where to begin. They treated HP like
It really pains me to use Vista after reading this stuff. This isn't a complaint about Vista or whatever, its an OK operating system, its a lot easier to use than any Linux variant, and I find it stable now. But I can't keep using it beyond my current hardware iteration. I'll keep using it at work, but from a moral point of view, I just can't keep using it personally. You just can't keep treating people like that, and I feel like a gullible fool giving Microsoft more money. I am pleased that there are alternatives at last, be it Apple or a future Linux that will be more innovative and user friendly by the time my current hardware dies.
Long ago when cable TV was new, part of the draw of cable TV was "commercial free!" and signal clarity. Well, there was nothing wrong with the signals we got over the air until cable lobbied to have the RF power of TV stations lowered and the commercial-free thing didn't last long either.
Of course, the internet was not created to be yet another form of advertising media, but that is what it has become and somehow people actually believe that is what it's there for -- they don't see it as a corruption of its original intent.
I bought some DVDs over the weekend only to find that the first 5, unskippable, minutes were advertisements for other things.
Why should I have to pay for advertisements being shoved in my face?
I once worked for a weekly news rag and we fought spam hard. Meanwhile, our own sales people were constantly pushing and stepping over the line when it came to their own email behaviors. As a company that is all about advertisement, you'd think they'd be more sympathetic to the "needs of the other marketers" out there. But in their defense, I suppose, they published a paper and didn't shove it down anyone's throat... and it was a free paper too, so no one actually paid to see these ads. (This is about as legitimate as it can get) Eve so, I couldn't stand working there any longer so I don't. I hate marketing. It simply corrupts everything it touches.
...they'll find something else to record it with
You spend over a hundred dollars to upgrade a product, it won't work as advertised, and than just just say "oh well I'll download it?" That's not how I would react.
No, if you bought Vista because of the commercials that tell you how it's a "mddia center" and you find out that your "media center" won't work, you're going to be pissed.
And "something else to record it with" includes Linux (or other UNIX clone like Apple or Be) and MythTV.
mcgrew's razor: Never attribute to stupidity that which can be explained by greedy self-interest
I could see Tivo in the past implementing it as they thought it was inevitable, but probably once it was determined as not inevitable, a company in a competitive marketplace can't afford to screw their customers. The networks probably offered Tivo some money to honor the flag and Tivo may have decided the better business move would be that the money wouldn't be worth the lost sales.
Meanwhile MS is not accustomed to such a situation. To them, the end-users have been a foregone conclusion, MS expects to get that money no matter how crappy they treat those users. So when the networks come to them with an offer, it's a no-brainer. This is what a monopolistic viewpoint does. In the DVR space, you would think they would realize they are not a monopoly and not act this way, but until this incident, they hadn't had their situation tested.
It's an interesting thing showing users the reality of where they stand. They are not customers to NBC, they are a necessary evil for NBC to deal with indirectly to please their customers, advertisers. Advertisers desires trump viewer desires. To MS, the end-users are to an extent customers, but again they are assumed to be guaranteed customers. MS has to pander a bit more to OEMs, but not much. MS therefore views deals with other entities (like studios) for abusing their users as the place where they can grow.
I will say I like how this has played out in general compared to the alternative. The networks tried to get the FCC to enforce it on their behalf and failed. Now, they must pay every DVR vendor and every DVR vendor gets to choose whether or not the lost sales are worth it. Allow the broadcast flag, and specify a standard path for it, but don't mandate enforcement and let capitalism work it out. Of course, I know which way this would go, obeying the broadcast flag is dvr market suicide.
XML is like violence. If it doesn't solve the problem, use more.
Here is a good place to start.
This issue has already been settled in SONY CORP. OF AMER. v. UNIVERSAL CITY STUDIOS, INC., 464 U.S. 417 (1984) (http://www.law.cornell.edu/copyright/cases/464_US_417.htm). Fred Rogers made a profound and compelling argument for the personal recording of television programs:
"Some public stations, as well as commercial stations, program the 'Neighborhood' at hours when some children cannot use it. I think that it's a real service to families to be able to record such programs and show them at appropriate times. I have always felt that with the advent of all of this new technology that allows people to tape the 'Neighborhood' off-the-air, and I'm speaking for the 'Neighborhood' because that's what I produce, that they then become much more active in the programming of their family's television life. Very frankly, I am opposed to people being programmed by others. My whole approach in broadcasting has always been 'You are an important person just the way you are. You can make healthy decisions.' Maybe I'm going on too long, but I just feel that anything that allows a person to be more active in the control of his or her life, in a healthy way, is important."
The problem with stuff like MythTV is that it does not appeal to the average DVR user. Most people who use a Media Center PC and can set it up probably have no idea what a SVN is or how to operate something like MythTV.
This is not newbie friendly. It's easy to say "MythTV, MythTV" and espouse the benefits of it, but you're not going to get people to use it if it is not easy to set up.
When you have an installer that you can click on and get the program working without having to mess with Linux and command lines (like WinMyth), THEN it will have a chance in the consumer market. Until then, the average user will put up with it or just hook up the ol' VCR.
Random Thoughts From A Diseased Mind (Not For Dummies)
I add a nice pchdtv video card, which does not detect the broadcast flag, and I have nothing to worry about. Plus, I can burn dvd's of my recordings, and many other things. I wanted to give mythTV a try on my media center pc, but had a time trying to get an EPG to work with American networks, such as comedy central (I think the guide that came with myth-TV pretty much said, "find a web page and write your own html to XML converter"). Is there anything really convenient for newbies/casual users in the guide listing area?
That's not analogous. This was there to preclude copying content provided by the cartels via video tape. There's no MacroVision over the air waves (until now, that is...) and hasn't been for years. The GP poster wasn't stating that DRM hasn't been around or that an otherwise completely legit tool for cleaning up the video on dodgy VHS-C and Beta camcorder tapes would strip out the MacroVision crap. What he was referring to was the DRM that just got applied that precludes even RECORDING OTA television that just got inflicted on MS customers- something they've been able to do since the first consumer VCRs came out.
I am not merely a "consumer" or a "taxpayer". I am a Citizen of the State of Texas
I think you misunderstood the question, he meant, "what will they replace it with that is an actual possibility for adoption".
Pretending is fun, but there's only one answer in your list that currently fits that bill.
Never attribute to malice that which is adequately explained by incompetence. Apologies to Nick Diamos. So the proposed FCC rule was not enacted. At least M$ was leaning forward on something.
Invenio via vel creo
What do you want? To just not watch blu-ray movies?
No, I think most people here want(ed) MS to fight their battle for them, and got pissed when they didn't. Oddly enough MS weighed up a fight they couldn't have won (there's no way the media industry would have let them off with not implementing copy prevention measures and still enable Windows to play HD content) versus their customer's likely desire to play HD stuff on their PCs, and decided the only way they could have.
It's official. Most of you are morons.
Just bear in mind that the CPU requirements for playing HD on the frontend are pretty high....2.8 or 3 Ghz at least. You also need a lot of disk for the 6+ GB/hour of HD mpeg.
For anyone with a decent amount of linux experience it's not difficult on any decent distro. My frontend and backend are both Gentoo, and frankly I think it's ideal, as it's easy to build a system with only what's needed for myth and nothing more.
Oh yea...and this whole thing with M$ and the broadcast flag...I can't believe they're enforcing a rule that was struck down my the courts at the expense of their customers...that's pretty amazing even for them.
(apologies for the bad Indy joke)
I don't know how your post got modded to "5, Insightful" when it should have been "0, Flamebait".
Read a little and learn something Informative, junior:
The terms http://www.cablelabs.com/udcp/downloads/DFAST_Tech_License.pdf/ of just one of the licenses necessary for selling a Uni-Directional Cable Product (better known to you as "CableCard support") requires the vendors to obey these copy-control flags (including the flag that says not to make even an initial recording). TivoHD and Tivo Series 3 recorders as well as newer versions of Windows Media Center support CableCards and thus are contractually obligated to obey this flag even when the station or cable company screwed up and mis-set it; MythTV does not support CableCards and that is why it ignores the flags. Tivo Series 2 recorders do not support CableCards and, accordingly, continue pay no attention to the flags because there is no contractual obligation for them to do so.
This was not a result of MS stepping on end-users or Tivo having been paid off by broadcasters. This is a result of the FCC giving a broadcast-industry group final authority over the licenses a DVR needs to support digital-cable.
The fact that Microsoft will do this "to" its customers is proof that there is practically no competition in the market place.
If there were competition, a vendor would be terrified if their product did do what it was supposed to and would not side AGAINST the wishes of their paying customers. If there were laws that limited what their products would do, they would fight those laws to improve their products.
No, Microsoft has illegally protected its monopoly for too long. Almost all these abusive problems we see are a direct result of it. If there were real and thriving competition, none of this could happen because it would be the death of a vendor.
1. They don't need ads between the programmes. There are now BBC programmes which are basically nothing more than adverts (e.g. the Saturday evening reality shows which are nothing more than promotion for Andrew Lloyd-Webber's latest musical abomination).
2. BBC radio has adopted the format of 45-60 seconds of ads every two records. These are actually even more irritating than the ads on commercial radio as they repeat the same ones endlessly - which, if you're off work and have the radio on all day, slowly drives you insane (and these include ads for other BBC channels, not just the particular radio station). I understand that this has been done to make it easier for paid adverts to be dropped in for people listening on-line outside the UK, which is the eventual goal.
I guess you didn't RTFA or at least the summary. Consumers are already negatively affected when they are blocked from recording their shows from NBC. For some TV programs, there may be re-runs. For live TV shows, there may be no way to record them again.
It is up to MS whether or not to honor the broadcast flag. They have chosen to do so while Tivo does not. MythTV does not. The United States Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit has already ruled that the FCC could not force manufacturers to adhere to it.
Huh? Blu-ray has nothing to do with Windows. In fact, MS went against Blu-ray for HD-DVD. However, the point of the article is that MS is taking away the rights of consumer to record broadcast programs and play them back.
Again, this article is about people not being able to record their favorite programs on their Media Center. This is not about file sharing. You do not have rights to alter the media, however, you do have a right to record and store it. In Sony v. Universal, the Supreme Court ruled that consumers can record whole programs and watch them later (called time-shifting).
Well, there's spam egg sausage and spam, that's not got much spam in it.
You mean TOE the line, not TOW the line-- as in keep your toes on the line, not as in be sure you tow it from place to place.
Sorry but I love English and it bugs me to see it mangled.
Those are my principles, and if you don't like them... well, I have others.
Sony Corp. of America v. Universal City Studios, Inc., 464 U.S. 417 (1984)[1], also known as the "Betamax case", was a decision by the Supreme Court of the United States which ruled that the making of individual copies of complete television shows for purposes of time-shifting does not constitute copyright infringement, but is fair use.
Doesn't mean they have to allow you to do it, it just means that they can't use the courts to prevent you from doing so. This case also protects device manufacturers.
Again, it doesn't mean that the content producers and device manufacturers can't work together to come up with something if they choose. This is clearly what Microsoft has done.
So if you don't like it, use a Tivo and that's that. I don't see what the whining is for.
It does prevent people from watching American Gladiators ;P
Microsoft has come clean with its customers. Its customers are, of course, Dell, HP, NBC, and other computer and entertainment business plus the rest of the Fortune 500. Any home user is NOT a customer of Microsoft, or at least not one Microsoft wishes to have as a customer. Assuming the end user is Microsoft's customer leads to all kinds of logical dilemas. When you realize they are not then Microsoft's actions appear much more logical and customer focused and supporting.
Yes, MS says they will use the broadcast flag if asked, and as others pointed out, Tivo etc hasn't. It's probably because they haven't been asked. MythTv doesn't, but it is an open source project with no one commercial owner. If it was made by a company that made a distro and they were asked... they probably would. No one, not Jobs, not Gates and not Shuttleworth is going to do a perp walk so you can record shows. That's really between you and your government and the entertainment industry. I have media centre as part of my OS, but I use BeyondTV... They too would recognize the flag if they were told to, and an update would ensure it (I avoid a lot of updates after reading their notes). Maybe in some eyes, MS is the devil here, but I doubt you will ind many CEOs making a stand for you in such an instance.
Microsoft's products are primarily information products. Windows, Office, etc. Microsoft, therefore, benefits from the institution of information control, including well-enforced Intellectual Property laws and business practices.
So, Microsoft indirectly benefits from "playing ball," even if the information product in question isn't one of their own.
"The BBC is in the business to deliver TV programmes to people"
May true once, but lately it's been in the habit of regularly interrupting programs with pretend adverts for programs on its other channels. It's news has also gone the way of Faux News especially since X/XX. No attempt at analysis just various supposedly independent commentators regurgitating the official line.
"International police agency Interpol says Colombian officials did not tamper with computers which they claim provide proof Venezuela financed Farc rebels"
davecb5620@gmail.com
Because the FCC can't get in the way of the Internet, Media corporations can control what we can find on big name websites. NBC controlled by NBCUniversal and General Electric, now has Microsoft on their side. Why else would Yahoo! be next on the Microsoft To-Do list? News Corporation, owners of Fox, MySpace, and the Wall Stree Journal, was also vying for Yahoo! TimeWarner, owners of CNN, HBO, Warner Brothers, and Time magazine, own AOL. Disney owns ABC as well as the GO.com website. (Who uses GO.com anyway?) And of course last weeks merger with CNet and CBS.
Robert Smigel was right.
Now the mainstream media (MSM) is looking to control a large portion of Internet. If the MSM does not allow us to decide what we want, why should we give them what they want? Why does that last statement sound so familiar?
The Rapture is NOT an exit strategy.
I've avoided Vista like the plague. However with XP, I stopped using Windows Media Player long ago for the much more powerful VLC. Would VLC work as a replacement for Media Center on Vista?
Very interesting response. Certainly, I prefer things to "just work", but for stuff to "just work" it takes a lot of development. Where to place the blame when it doesn't "just work" is probably where you and I differ on our views of Linux as an OS platform.
I, for one, see the inability of a manufacturer to present drivers for a segment of the market as a failure on the manufacturer/developer. I don't care whether it is open or closed source, as long as it works well. If it is open source, all the better - more eyes to review and improve.
As you see it (they way I understand you), you think that Linux is only supposed to be for open source software and not closed source. Certainly the hairy-faced Linux evangelists will not want any closed source software, but they will prepare their environment for that purpose, it also limits their ability to do some stuff (such as load ATI drivers.)
It seems you would blame the Linux people for not developing drivers for a closed product. They could certainly try, but now there are laws in place that criminalize these activities. I don't understand why ATI would have such crappy Linux drivers. Perhaps that's why they had to be bought out by AMD. Perhaps this realization is driving AMD to release sources for their products.
I also purchased an ATI AIW. Nice card, except it limited me. I sold it to my brother-in-law who cares to only be in a Windows world and I picked up an Happauge. I prepared my environment for a linux system. Had I kept my ATI AIW, I would have stayed in the MS Windows system.
I believe we both agree on the end goal: a system that allows us to record TV shows to a PC for either later viewing, commercial-free tv, or live-rewind viewing. We want our system to be easy to setup and use. We want to use the hardware we have laying around to achieve our goal (a promise made by many in the Linux community that doesn't always work out because of closed source hardware vendors.) Just try to remember, a closed device does not mean an open driver can be created for it, even if it is 5 or 15 years later.
Welcome to "hotplug" (plus udev etc). Thanks to endless whining from users about "auto-detecting" stuff ("Look Windows does it!") we now too have the Plug-and-Pray subsystem, behaving pretty much like its Windows counterpart, i.e. randomly.
Why, you ask? Simple: various pieces of hardware have (for all practical purposes - randomly) changing times required for them to initialize. Which changes the order of detection depending on if you are warm booting, cold booting, if you turned some unrelated piece of hardware off, etc and so on, which combined with "dynamic" /dev subsystems cause the effects you described.
The UUID hack is an attempt to bring some sanity back into the Plug-and-Pray process, but it is just that, an after-thought hack. Desperate measures really.