I Hate DRM: Active Threads

How To Bypass Vitrium ProtectedPDF DRM

lizard — Mon, 06 Oct 2008 14:47:13 GMT

Did you ever heard about the funniest DRM Joke : Protectedpdf provides publishers of e-books, research reports, educational texts and other electronic content with an innovative approach to PDF security. The protectedpdf technology empowers companies to secure their PDF documents against misuse, piracy and unauthorized sharing. With protectedpdf's innovative DRM technology, publishers can * prevent unauthorized readers from accessing content * define and modify reader access permissions – even after distribution website : http://www.protectedpdf.com , http://www.vitrium.com How to bypass ProtectedPDF innovative DRM technology : http://i37.tinypic.com/2061jz4.gif

Protectedpdf crack - unprotect protectedpdf files

berniewinters567 — Tue, 28 Apr 2009 22:00:28 GMT

I guess most people know how to do this because it is so simple, but I have not seen it mentioned in the forum so far, so here it is. To remove protection from a protectedpdf file - 1. Use a pdf password cracker (search for pdf password cracker on google) to remove the underlying password protection 2. open the unprotected pdf file using a pdf editor program (eg foxit pdf editor) 3. place your mouse over the black overlay and press the delete button. hey presto you now have an unprotected pdf document with ALL the security removed.

RealNetworks Doesn't Offer Real Freedom of Choice

DRM Buster — Sat, 31 Jan 2009 00:24:41 GMT

Songs sold at the Real Music Store can not be transferred to Apple's iPod. Real's "Freedom of Choice" campaign says that consumers should be able to play their music using the device of their choice. However that's not what you'll get from Real or any other service that sells songs wrapped in DRM. Real's customers are chained to the narrow set of software and devices licensed to unlock Real's proprietary DRM or Microsoft's Windows Media Audio (WMA) DRM.. - Read more HERE.

My satire site.

Chimptron — Sun, 19 Oct 2008 16:57:54 GMT

No other sites here yet? Oh well. I just launched a satire site with an anti-drm post if you're interested it's here: Chimptron

Firefox DRM error??

blueskies888 — Fri, 01 Aug 2008 17:44:22 GMT

Hi, I wonder if anyone else has had this problem: I used WMP v.10 to play a video. I get a popup window to acquire a license from a site. After connecting for a few secs, the popup window then displays the error message that I need to have Firefox installed to play the movie. The problem is, I already have FF installed, and it's even my primary browser. On Google, I have seen some stuff about Win XP and WMP10 having compatibility problems with DRM, and installing a program called drm10fix.exe may fix the problem. I wonder if it is WMP10 that is causing the weird FF error msg, but I don't want to install anything on my PC until I am sure. Does anyone have any suggestions to what I should do? Thank you.

DRM Charter

talkjack — Sat, 09 Aug 2008 16:41:07 GMT

Having suffered far too much grief with aggressive DRM on computer games I have bought, I have written a DRM Charter which has been by far the most popular entry on my blog. It can be found here: http://talkjack.wordpress.com/2008/06/22/is-drm-killing-pc-games-part-1/ I am in the process of writing a series of articles about the negative effetc DRM is having on PC games. So far there are two l-o-n-g articles, the next is in progress. I envisage approx 5 articles in the series. These will be added to this page http://talkjack.wordpress.com/drm/ when they become available. Enjoy! If you agree with what I am saying, please link to the articles. They are like me, pro-consumer, and I would appreciate the publicity.

Convert music to DRM, sadly yes

HerbMan — Tue, 08 Jan 2008 06:59:07 GMT

Is it possible to convert music files like mp3 to an DRM format? Or that would be illegal because of the "rights" on the DRM formats. I was wondering because the new phone i bought only accepts DRM files (and of course i have to download them $$$ and buy them $$$ from my wireless phone provider..). I don't understand why i should literally give money to get the music i already own.... This is horrible, i feel like i'm the victim of a "legal" scam. Herbman

Are there any Government regulates the market price of MP3 music in Our Planet?

kwang315 — Thu, 10 Jan 2008 04:45:18 GMT

Are there any Government regulates the market price of MP3 music in Our Planet? I work at ‘Soribada’, Korea’s #1 P2P Music service. We are now serving legally as Korea’s copyright law changed. We cleared all kinds of legal issue with copyright holders (Except only S wirless carrier and their related companies). Korean digital music market is keep evolving for bright future after the hard work on complicated matters. But Korean Government is forcing to fix the retail price of digital music with their own measure. Korean Government is forcing to use DRM. The Greatest things on recommended DRM are It is not compatible DRM. It works only specified device, like ‘iPod’ . It is monthly rental DRM. Korean Government is forcing their people to use inconvenient and unfair tool for digital music. We all know the digital music is the most powerful killer contents for the next step of business. We all know the power of digital music contents. Under are the brief summary of what Korean Government hope to happen in Korea. What will happen when Korean Government and S WIRELESS CARRIER win? Retail price of digital music service will change as follow, Current maket price of wireless carrier S*T, K*F, L*T is 5,000KRW and will change to 4,080KRW. Current market price of Big Group company *net is 10,000KRW and will change to 5,100KRW. Soribada's membership price will change to 6,000KRW from 4,000KRW. ** What is your choice since they all have same list of music? Won’t you go for the low price? Can’t you see clearly what Korean Government and S wirless carrier want to do? What will happen with the table of new price set.  Only giant player will survive. - S WIRELESS CARRIER is a huge wireless carrier. Once the market is in their hand, no one knows what will happen. Korean fair trade commission already claimed S WIRELESS CARRIER for the use of non-compatible DRM, but fair trade commission lost their claim at Korean court.  Users of digital music must buy giant player’s device and/or their services. - Even I have to buy music from S WIRELESS CARRIER if I want to listen through my mobile phone. (It is happening now) - Once I buy, I can’t use at other devices even with my own device.  S WIRELESS CARRIER and Korean Government will smile - It is all about money for them. S WIRELESS CARRIER’S mobile phone sales will increase. - No other service will appear in Korean market. This is what is happening in Korea. I ask YOU. Are there any other government that is forcing and fixing the retail price of digital music or any other digital contents? If there is, Please let me know. I am really wonder…… Am I right?

DRM and Vista: Say NO to Digital Oppression THE VIDEO

breckstewart — Mon, 17 Dec 2007 02:27:59 GMT

It's been a rather hectic week for me, a bit more than usual. The reason is that while my team and I are still working on the "Be Integrated" video which will be the next single featured in a clip from my album Utopia, we also just finished editing another one we decided to shoot at the beginning of this week. And this one is very special to me. It's called "DRM and Vista: Say No to Digital Oppression".

It allowed me to share my views on DRM techology incorporated into Vista, Blu-Ray and HD-DVD. We shot the video as a way to promote the fight against DRM so we could have a useful tool to inform people about what is going on right now in their computers. This video can be embedded or linked on any other web sites without restrictions as my team at MoonDaze Productions and I decided to release it to public domain. The clip was posted on many sites and here are some of the direct links where you can view it:

http://video.yahoo.com/video/play?vid=1577469

http://youtube.com/watch?v=RvT6Ghe98mM

http://revver.com/video/512370/drm-and-vista-say-no-to-digital-oppression/

http://breckstewart.buzznet.com/user/video/

Our goal was never to make money off this but rather find a way to get people informed. I am very proud of this video even if it was done on the spur of the moment as I am very busy shooting and producing my next video Be Integrated. But the energy spent on it was totally worth it. We don't expect miracles from this but even if one person gets informed about the evil of DRM technology, we will be very satisfied. I must admit it was fun to speak about a subject dear to my heart and inform people. We shot 30 minutes of footage and reduced it to a 10 min 50s. uncut version and a 9 min. 53 sec. that was cut to accomodate the length limit imposed on youtube.com I didn't rehearse what I was going to say, I just talked and talked and tried not to sound too much like an idiot. lol

The thing is that I am rather well informed about DRM so it was easy to just speak from my heart and also, I admit I am a talking machine so all you have to do is press the on button and I can dish it out all day long, must be from my television host days I guess. It is so important to get the information out there because many people are not even aware of DRM or how it can really cause them major headaches in a not so distant future as most new computers are already sold with Vista installed on it as the default operating system.

Therefore, they will simply accept it and it's only when they start to experience problems that they will realize that something might be working against them underneath the hood of that shiny new machine they just bought for a small fortune I might add. This is why I can't just sit idle and do nothing while so many consumers can be taken advantage of because they are not aware of what is going on. I just hope that in my tiny little way, I might make a difference. Right now, I am knee-deep into shooting my next single. Since I also do a lot of work behind the scenes as well, it helps me stay focused on the whole chain of events that have to happen in order for a video to be made. Every task is important and I am not one to downplay the importance of every person in my organization.

We simply have no money so everything is a challenge to say the least and we are still looking for other people to help us but I am lucky in having found 2 friends who have been with me for a long while and can be trusted totally. Be Integrated also revolves around DRM technology as the storyline's main focus but takes a lot longer to shoot and edit because of all the post-production needed to build the animation and special effects. We still haven't found the right girl or any other person willing to appear in the clip.

And since the deadline is rapidly approaching, I might end up being the only featured in the video. This is not my first choice of course but without money, we simply can't afford to pay people much and most of them have unrealistic expectations about the money they can earn by appearing in a video production. It's always been my main problem through all my projects, finding people to either help me do the tasks or appear in the video with me. Money is always the issue and my cie MoonDaze Productions is very low on cash so it's a challenge which we have had to face head on since beginning. I can't even afford to pay my 2 associates so they do this out of their beliefs in my art and that one day, we might actually start to earn some money.

This is why everytime they do something to help me, I am so grateful. I have no idea still if and when I will earn enough to pay all those mounting debts. But suffice it to say that I believe in what I do so much that even if I have to work at en endless array of other jobs to earn a living, I still spend every waking moment thinking about this as my main focus in life.

And now with this battle against DRM, I admit it gave me a new strength and kicked me in the rear just when I needed it. I was yearning for something more than just dishing out songs and shooting videos. I wanted to make a difference and this cause is perfect for me because it affects me personally yes but also, it can potentially hurt any customer out there who simply trust a corporation that might end up taking advantage of them.

So please, get informed and pass the word around, it's for the greater good to preserve our ability to use our computers as we please.

We all deserve it.

No DRM
No Vista
No Blu-Ray
Say no to Digital Oppression

How DRM affects me as an artist

breckstewart — Mon, 20 Aug 2007 11:20:08 GMT

Hello, my name is Breck Stewart and I just wanted to inform you that I joined the cause against DRM and your campaign here on "I hate DRM". I'm a singer, producer and songwriter and I just released an album of 15 tracks. To promote it I decided to offer 4 free songs that I posted all over the net as well as a video clip for one of the tracks. Of course, the MP3 offered are all DRM-free and available to anyone who wishes to download them.

Main web site:
http://www.breckstewart.com

I have written a special page about "Evil DRM" on the site because I truly feel like our digital freedom is at stake. Here is the page in question:

http://www.breckstewart.com/general/book/EvilDRM

I also plan to shoot my next video-clip about the DRM theme, with a giant DRM sign constanly trying to shut me down while I sing my new single. That video once completed will be available to anyone who wishes to use it as a tool to inform the public about DRM because let's face it, most people have no idea what those letters mean and how it can affect them.

I really believe in this cause and even though some people might be surprised that an artist would fight against DRM which are "supposed" to help us earn money, the opposite is true as you know. It comes in the way of art and everything I believe in and people who buy music and any other digital file have the right of fair use and DRM takes that away.

I would love to get comments, opinions and other links to sites that fight DRM so I can add them to my link list. Thanks and let's spread the word out there that any device infested with DRM is a danger to us all in the long run and if we do nothing, we will all get "assimilated" into a system that takes away our digital freedom.

Thank you!

NO DRM
NO Vista
NO Blu-Ray
Say NO to Digital Oppression

DRM and Information Control in general

nekorbin — Tue, 28 Aug 2007 23:12:25 GMT

So here's my suggestion. Lets band together and begin posting what you can contribute to cripple the efforts of the DRM entities out there. Do you know a good, non-malware crack site? Do you know any anonymous contact information for a modder? Do you know of a known good source for modded firmware? How about a good alternative to google, something that searches the net well but does not filter results based off corporate interest. These are the types of things we need to band together and share with each other. To start things off here's a link to a zip file of a decent torrent database program. The guy updates torrent sites periodically so as old ones get shut down or whatever, based off user input it gets updated. I like that idea. http://home.comcast.net/~nekorbin/Torrent_Database.zip Also, checkout torrentscan.com if you haven't used it. Just a tad more convenient than individual torrent searches. Please send me any known good crack/warez sites if you can. Anything to circumvent information control. Much appreciated. - Nekorbin

... Bill Gates?

Dr.M — Sat, 30 Jun 2007 10:12:56 GMT

Well, I'm not really buying this. OK I'm not buying this AT ALL. A bit of old news that thought I'd post: http://www.techcrunch.com/2006/12/14/bill-gates-on-the-future-of-drm/

So, my mother bought a new HP PC.

Sorrow — Wed, 20 Jun 2007 19:39:30 GMT

And I'm installing software on it. The first thing I have to do is to install Win XP. Sadly, a total moron that created that system thinks that it's a great idea to have the user instert the Win XP install CD and then confirm validate the stupid system by inserting a stupid Restore Something CD, and then insert the stupid Win XP install CD to start the stupid system. While the whole idea is annoying by itself, I had some technical problems - I couldn't format the HDD. So, I had to restart the comp instert, the Win XP install CD and then confirm validate the damned system by inserting a damned Restore Something CD, and then insert the damned Win XP install CD to start the damned system. I've noticed that the install program proposed me to install SCSI drivers, but before I could react the opportunity have passed and the damned install program said that it can't detect the damned HDD. So, I had to restart the comp, insert the fucking Win XP install CD and then confirm validate the fucking system by inserting a fucking Restore Something CD, and then insert the fucking Win XP install CD to start the fucking system again. So, it seemed that the problems ended, in the middle of the install the installer wanted me to write the moronic CD-Key. For some reason the CD-key wasn't on the CD envelope and I had to search it for a half of a hour. It turned out that some moron put the CD-key and certificate of authenticity on the PC Box. CD-Keys are annoying even without putting them in weird places. I understand that the band of morons has trouble with pirates, but, I don't care. I don't want to have anything to do with their stupid little wars. I'm buying my software, so I want to be treated with respect, which means no fucking with CD checks, CD-Keys (unless it's shareware), spying with internet and other moronic shit that they invent. I hate DRM. I hope they will all die. Slowly and painfully.

trusted computing

suffolk — Thu, 30 Mar 2006 20:28:14 GMT

nice one for starting this site, the more people that come together to resist the DRM infections being foisted on us the better...

the DRM technologies today are easily avoided, there is still some degree of choice and sensible content providers - http://www.bleep.com - for example, are prepared to sell infection free media. but there is a new threat that will not be so easily avoided and once widely adopted could drive non approved (read 'free') file formats from existence entirely.

trusted computing basically means 'a computer microsoft/sony/intel/*insert major media or technology multinational here* can trust'. the user/owner of that computer is no longer in full control of what s/he can do with the machine that they legally own. the technology involves adding a trusted platform module (TPM) to the motherboard of a pc. this module stores an encrypted key which must be verified on boot of the operating system, or else the machine will not start. once approved and booted, the machine is in a 'trusted state' and other software can utilise the TPM and a system of public private keys to verify any program is genuine or that the user has (paid for) the right to run the file. imagine a music file which requires a key in order to play - much like existing DRM technology - except the key is not verified by software (easily cracked) but by the key stored in the hardware and by the computer's operating system. the user never has access to this hardware key - but microsoft and other content providers will.

the implications of this technology are massive - from censorship, to software lock-in and an end to reverse engineering, to companies like microsoft deciding that mp3 files are no longer valid and locking users out of those files on their own machines.

this technology is already shipping. intel's viiv has it, intel's highend chipsets have it, AMD's new AM2 motherboard will have it, the new mac's use it. most importantly microsoft's Vista operating system is designed entirely around the 'trusted' computing specification, and with the big media and film companies in mind.

once enough people have the requisite hardware and are running Vista (maybe in 5 years time) do you think microsoft will act in your interest or sony's?

only technically savvy consumers have any idea about trusted computing. it really is important that ordinary people, people like my parents who can just about burn a CD or send an email, are made aware of the dangers of TC and what these huge companies plan to do with it.

an excellent FAQ here, written by Professor Ross Anderson of Cambridge University:

http://www.cl.cam.ac.uk/~rja14/tcpa-faq.html

Zero point one two three ... it is all 4 free!

ItsAllinThatNumber — Fri, 06 Apr 2007 04:45:53 GMT

My computer showed a sign of residual rootkit infection from a SONY disc which installed AOL and a remote control application, and was labeled "SPECIFIC HARM MUSIC". Since the initial "SFH" infection (not officially recognized, and neither XCP nor SUNNCOMM, thus there is no legal remedy) Windows has been unrunnable and the computer has been running Harvard Architecture type software (programs are write protected, wicked MS abandoned this technique). The initial attack was against research and development of a copyless playback and memoryless data retrieval system best explained by the fact that by counting you can generate every possible data combination, but don't need to because the number 0 point 123 is instantly infinite and instantly calculable in any part of it. I think that understanding this is the bomb that nukes DRM once and for all, but unfortunately most people don't even know how to watch TV for free with an antenna, the phone company doesn't know dollars from cents on the bill, so if you can't add you get no free tunes. There are kit projects now posted on the internet which play the number and show the potential for what you might describe as an ipod with no need for a hard drive, or an intangible mind that remembers everything, the way a calculator knows math. I don't have an ipod, I have a walkman. It's legal and it "downloads songs for free off the radio". I also have another kind called a boombox, which does the same thing. Forget about sound quality, MP3 is a compression, and if you are listening to so much music then you can't hear the difference. Even digital is lossy, such as if you play at 8kbps vs. 128kbps or the 44100 Bps of a CD. I bring this up maybe pointlessly vain since many of you can not figure out or somehow forgot how to watch television for free with antennas. Today my computer acted up because I hooked an mp3 player up to it, full of songs and noise which either I made, or was made under a non (C) license, or was extracted from that number. The number itself is melodious as demoed by the now public designs of Number Players which don't even have memory, discs, NOR PROCESSORS! Because my computer acted up when I conneected the mp3 player, I believe that there is a possibility that part of the rootkit is still there, and SONY is quite arrogant, but I'm telling you all they have nothing. You don't have to use DRM and if you don't then having it means you've been hacked. I honestly contribute The Number and affirm it was public domain before the recognized invention of digital sound and that it provably contains all digital data to be calculated by those who can calculate large numbers. I tell you the truth, four million 1's makes a number bigger than all the songs, and if you play many smaller numbers you will hear every song, and these numbers will certainly not be copies, and this I have proven. For those of you who are concerned about games, let me tell you I used to make my own. Now can you do that with your console? Probably not unless it is a Hydra Console, and then it's so easy you may be able to make a game a night for fun and for free and pass it around to your friends on the net! If the game bites you, don't buy it. Get yourself a tape deck while they still exist. They aren't DRMable. My number is not DRMable. I have certain IP rights with which I demand the stopping of DRM and refusal to buy it, and to consider it a crime to use it against me. And don't forget, all you need is to know the math that creates a bitstream, and it's simple arithmetic, and you have full rights to everything because Its All in That Number! I hereby claim to be either the inventor or a pre-CD pioneer in the field of digital sound! Thus I have more outrage at computer damage, because of the computers being designed to be vulnerable to viruses. Does a calculator get a virus? This is ridiculous foolishness! It's easier for MYSELF to build one that can't get a virus, as I truly have, than to waste billions and hire thousands to make one that does, and all the other crap that's been made since 1995! I've got good computers that have worked since 1983!!! With 5 inch floppies that boot and play the equivalent of 45 RPM vinyl! Use your coasters to make groovy vinyl - build a gramophone! The rights have expired! Put rust on scotch tape and make a tape recorder! Smash the ... Digital Robbery Menace. Start a band, play a synth, make some good music and to heck with the piriaates! Be careful about playing music on a ship, they will come and rob you of your college education! Unless you study the math. Build an automatic composing synthesizer ... because all the music ... Its All in That Number!

I had to return a good game to a store because it was infected with an invasive DRM

Sorrow — Thu, 22 Mar 2007 20:32:21 GMT

I bought the "Hammer & Sickle" two days ago. I played a demo and thought that it's a good and playable game. I have installed and tried to run it. It ran a "Starforce" program instead that told me to reboot my computer - I refused and googled in the "Starforce". I decided that I don't want malware to be installed on my computer (without any warning or my consent), I don't want any drivers and hidden virtual devices, so I returned it to store. I hate DRM now.

Why I hate CD checks

Sorrow — Thu, 22 Mar 2007 20:24:10 GMT

I hate having to have a CD in drive, because it's annoying and damages the CD. It's annoying because I have to change disks every time I want to play a different game. It damages my disks because they have to be in drive and they have to be put in/out of cd-case. When I do a full installation of game, I should be able to protect my CDs from damage by keeping them in cd-case/safe/cd-album, etc.

Why I hate CD Keys

IHateDRMAdmin — Sun, 26 Mar 2006 02:26:45 GMT

The most recent thing that has happened to me was with Bioware's Neverwinter Nights. I originally bought NWN when it first came out. Played it through and loved the game. I bought every Bioware expansion that came out. Recently, I wanted to reinstall the game but I couldn't find the CD Key for my last expansion. I have the media. I paid for it. It is completely useless now. So I searched the forums for ways to get around this, get a new key, etc. Turns out there is no way to get a new key and I wasn't about to download one of the keygen programs that load your system up with trojans and zombies. So I have spent about $100-150 USD on the games and accessories and they are completely useless and neither Atari nor Bioware will issue new keys. So I went out and bought the NWN "Diamond" edition with everything on it. This really sucks because I had to spend another $50 to get a CD Key to use the software that I already bought. I personally think CD Keys are designed to make paying, honest customers buy the same software over and over again, just like my case. I rather not spend the time and energy to pirate the game I already own because it is safer and easier to re-buy the exact same software. In fact, I am convinced that they bank on this behavior. This is why I hate CD Keys.

BTW, there are a ton of NWN cracks, keygens, iso images, etc out there. Once again, CD Keys have done little to nothing to stop, or even slow, piracy. Instead, it just pissed off a paying customer.

HDCP

vtdrmhater — Sun, 11 Mar 2007 11:24:46 GMT

Am I correct in assuming that the requirements of HDCP on new Blue Ray or HDDVD players means that many previously purchased HD TVs will not be able to play either of those two forms of content or will have that restricted in some way?

AOL.COM free cd listening parties

musuri1966 — Thu, 14 Dec 2006 12:50:49 GMT

I'm trying to find out why I'm unable to listen to the free cd listening parties that are available on AOL.COM. The last cd I was able to listen to was WOLFMOTHER'S cd released in May this year. At first I thought it may have been my old pc playing up (ActiveX/registry/too slow/too old etc) BUT I now have a new pc and I still have the same problem. When I try to download the ACTIVE X control (apparently) required, I notice that the title of the file is ' mozilla activex 1.5 + drm' (or similar). Can anybody help? Are there other sites available online where I can listen to new cds (fully)?

You May have been misled

terminatingzero — Tue, 15 Aug 2006 07:14:17 GMT

It is far far worse than just how they will be distributing the content. See for yourselves. Who Owns Your Computer?: http://www.schneier.com/blog/archives/2006/05/who_owns_your_c.html and Helios has an excellent article putting things into perspective titled: "There is NO room for Microsoft DRM and Trusted Computing in Linux - None." go to the site and scroll about half way down to check it out http://www.lobby4linux.com/

DMCA Reform

terminatingzero — Tue, 15 Aug 2006 07:19:10 GMT

Check out the Electronic Frontier Foundation http://action.eff.org/site/PageServer?pagename=ADV_homepage Help lobby Congress to get the DMCA reform pushed through

MPAA Paid Someone to Infiltrate Systems

Phong — Wed, 31 May 2006 01:13:50 GMT

Pulled from a SANS newsletter: --Suit Alleges MPAA Paid Someone to Infiltrate Valence Media IT Systems (25 May 2006) TorrentSpy operator Valence Media has filed a lawsuit in the US District Court for the Central District of California alleging that the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) hired someone to gain unauthorized access to the company's IT systems to find evidence to use in its patent infringement suit against TorrentSpy, a file-sharing portal site. http://www.eweek.com/print_article2/0,1217,a=179329,00.asp

Is the new Springsteen disc DRM'd?

Preserved Killick — Fri, 28 Apr 2006 19:11:31 GMT

Hi. I bought Springsteen's new Dual Disc, (one side audio, one side video) "We Shall Overcome: The Seeger Sessions" and promptly popped it into my Linux cd drive to rip it to ogg vorbis. The computer would not read it. I got marker on the outside edge of the CD, the spot where computer code is often written, and then when I tried the disc again I was able to rip it just fine.

I'm afraid to put this disc in my kids' Window's pc to see if it has DRM on it because if it does, it might install something ugly (google sony rootkit). Anyone know if this disc is hobbled with DRM? There is no mention of DRM on the package, except the tiny caveat "The audio side of this disc does not conform to CD specifications and therefore will not play on some CD and DVD players."

Thanks,

-- Killick

Pay for play

ZeroBackup — Sat, 01 Apr 2006 18:06:29 GMT

What do big companies want more than anything? Money. So how can they squeeze more money out of a shrinking customer base? Improve the products to draw new users you say? Yeah that would only make sense but that costs THEM money, which is a no-no. I think we will see a "pay for play" system in the future, you won't ever own any media and you will have to pay a fee each time you watch/listen to it. Had to go out in the middle of that DVD? Well too bad for you, when you get home and turn your player back on it will charge you again for the movie. I'm just making this scenario up, I haven't heard anything that is actually like that.....but do you really think it's that far off the way they are working things right now?

Be prepared for them to demonize pirates more and more, and sue more and more people because through all of their efforts profits will keep dipping, I'm referring to the music industry specfically now. It is obvious they are currently grasping at straws because they have no idea what to do anymore. To think this ball all kinda got rolling with Napster. The only thing they should be thinking about is providing a better product to attract more users, not making existing ones pay over and over. But *sigh*, that doesn't seem to be the mindset.

Personally I feel it's sweet karma, the industry was made large and fat by screwing over every artist really hard in the early days, and not quite as hard (but still with no lube) now. I honestly don't feel bad for them. "Boo-hoo I can't buy a 6th mansion this year" says the record exec. Bands don't even get most of that $12.99 you spend on a CD, they make much much more touring. So if the industry as a whole takes a nose dive, I still see good bands making a good living playing live shows, and keeping the profits for themselves not handing them over to an already rich record company.