Starforce does have a very clever way of preventing debugger to work.
To explain it requires some little background about how an OS like Windows handle the initialisation of a process that uses dynamic libraries.
Basically, Windows will create a process environment (virtual memory,...) and load the exe in it. It then check which dll is required by the exe and load them as well. Each dll as a usually small function that is called by the OS when the dll has been loaded, before the exe is even started, for initialisation purpose.
Windows debuggers usually use the same method for loading the process, they let Windows do everything that has been described above and only debug the executable itself, after each dll has initialized.
Starforce protected games come in the form of (at least) one exe and one dll. The exe is dependant on the dll. The big trick is that the function that initialize the dll contains the first part of the protection schemes. It probably check wether the process is being debugged there.
Debugging such a software require to rewrite the whole process initialization procedure which is something not very easy to do, and I as already said, not done by most debuggers. A kernel debugger is probably even required because Starforce use drivers, which is the main issue people in the mentionned forums have problem with.
BTW, What I find annoying about Starforce drivers is that they are loaded everytime the computer is running, It would make much more sense to only start the driver when a copy-protected game is launched and stopped when the game is stopped. Maybe this require administrative privilege and that's why they did not do it this way.
The CINEON file format, which is the standard for digital movie pictures, use a density-linear bitdepth of 10 (or 12, can't remember) bits per channel. Due to the fact that it is density linear (and not light linear), you get much more precise information of what the film stock captured.
One has to understand that the density of a negative film stock is not linear to the intensity of light it received, but linear to i^some_gamma_value, where i is the intensity and some_gamma_value is roughly a constant that is dependent on the type of the filmstock, the process used for development of the film stock, and the archiving environment.
Another standard format is DPX, which supports 16 bits density linear bitdepth. But AFAIK, it is not as much used as CINEON.
If I understand correctly, the idea behind this law has nothing to do with piracy.
The french law allows to make any number of copies of copyrighted material as long as it is used only for private purpose. This tax is a way to allow copyright owners to get some money from the people that sell appliances that permits to do theses copies.
The upload tax is against piracy via P2P networks. Clearly.
The tax does not allow you to pirate, or even copy your own music.
Another law allow you to make private copy of the music you bought. This one just allow the artists to get something from it.
Note that the tax is not directly paid by the user, but by the manufacturer.
Off course, in the end, that's the end user pocket that gets lighter, but the idea behind the law is that the manufacturer must pay a tax to be able to distribute a product that may be used as a storage of private copies of coprighted material.
It does say that the hard-drives integrated into TV, VCR or video decoders and hard-drives integrated into mp3 players (like the iPod) are eligible to the tax.
The law does not apply to hard-drives sold for use in computers.
So this law is not that stupid, if you think that the general law that pay back artists for the right of users to make private copies is a good thing.
BTW, another law (here) says that floppy-disk (3'5 inches only) are eligible for this tax. And this law is probably a lot more stupid.
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Starforce does have a very clever way of preventing debugger to work.
...) and load the exe in it. It then check which dll is required by the exe and load them as well. Each dll as a usually small function that is called by the OS when the dll has been loaded, before the exe is even started, for initialisation purpose.
To explain it requires some little background about how an OS like Windows handle the initialisation of a process that uses dynamic libraries.
Basically, Windows will create a process environment (virtual memory,
Windows debuggers usually use the same method for loading the process, they let Windows do everything that has been described above and only debug the executable itself, after each dll has initialized.
Starforce protected games come in the form of (at least) one exe and one dll. The exe is dependant on the dll. The big trick is that the function that initialize the dll contains the first part of the protection schemes. It probably check wether the process is being debugged there.
Debugging such a software require to rewrite the whole process initialization procedure which is something not very easy to do, and I as already said, not done by most debuggers. A kernel debugger is probably even required because Starforce use drivers, which is the main issue people in the mentionned forums have problem with.
BTW, What I find annoying about Starforce drivers is that they are loaded everytime the computer is running, It would make much more sense to only start the driver when a copy-protected game is launched and stopped when the game is stopped. Maybe this require administrative privilege and that's why they did not do it this way.
The CINEON file format, which is the standard for digital movie pictures, use a density-linear bitdepth of 10 (or 12, can't remember) bits per channel. Due to the fact that it is density linear (and not light linear), you get much more precise information of what the film stock captured.
One has to understand that the density of a negative film stock is not linear to the intensity of light it received, but linear to i^some_gamma_value, where i is the intensity and some_gamma_value is roughly a constant that is dependent on the type of the filmstock, the process used for development of the film stock, and the archiving environment.
Another standard format is DPX, which supports 16 bits density linear bitdepth. But AFAIK, it is not as much used as CINEON.
If I understand correctly, the idea behind this law has nothing to do with piracy.
The french law allows to make any number of copies of copyrighted material as long as it is used only for private purpose. This tax is a way to allow copyright owners to get some money from the people that sell appliances that permits to do theses copies.
The upload tax is against piracy via P2P networks. Clearly.
The tax does not allow you to pirate, or even copy your own music.
Another law allow you to make private copy of the music you bought. This one just allow the artists to get something from it.
Note that the tax is not directly paid by the user, but by the manufacturer.
Off course, in the end, that's the end user pocket that gets lighter, but the idea behind the law is that the manufacturer must pay a tax to be able to distribute a product that may be used as a storage of private copies of coprighted material.
Finally found the text (in french) Here
It does say that the hard-drives integrated into TV, VCR or video decoders and hard-drives integrated into mp3 players (like the iPod) are eligible to the tax.
The law does not apply to hard-drives sold for use in computers.
So this law is not that stupid, if you think that the general law that pay back artists for the right of users to make private copies is a good thing.
BTW, another law (here) says that floppy-disk (3'5 inches only) are eligible for this tax. And this law is probably a lot more stupid.
NB : The site http://www.legifrance.gouv.fr messes badly with cookies so the links above may not work at first.