Anyone know where I can find a list of artists signed with Sony so I can make sure to avoid their CDs?
(Which sucks, if Fiona Apple’s latest CD is finally released. Dammit)
Surprisingly enough, you can find the list of artists at the Sony Music website. 
And Fiona Apple is indeed among them.
D’oh. I probably should have guessed.
I notice that Sony Music website does NOT mention Van Zant, the artists whose CD installed the DRM that led to its discovery. So just because it’s not on the list, does not mean it won’t this particular malware.
…won’t have this particular malware.
Dammit, the SW soundtracks go through Sony. (Although I only saw one of them there).
I’m just seeing red by now. Even though I usually don’t play my CDs on my computer, sometimes I like to.
(What happens for students using a computer lab who want to play their cds?)
More to the economic point: what happens for people who want to listen to ANY of the Sony/BMG catalog on their shiny new iPods?
…or other commercially available hard-drive-based compressed-music listening devices?
Sony released some kind of patch who’s stated purpose is to reveal the cloaked files (not even unistall them…) and there’s reason to believe the patch does more that they aren’t telling:
Turn off autorun, as described in my link in post #3. The computer should then treat the disc like any other CD, and be rippable to any player or to standard mp3 files.
If it’s too late and they already allowed the malware to be installed, then I dunno. They might have to wipe their Windows and re-install it to get rid of that shit.
Right, obviously - or even CD-drive-based, as I have a CD-mp3 player, myself.
I said “iPods” because that seems to be one good solid chunk of buffed-up demographic ready to go - larger (or, at least, more visible) than owners of the Zen, Nomad, Sony, iRiver, etc.
Next question, how long will it be before they piggyback this fricken’ program into any digital downloads from places like I-tunes? :mad:
I should have used a winking smiley. I was just making a silly comment on how “iPod” seems to have become the generic term for this sort of device.
The constant barrage of uncritical handjobs that the media gives to Apple is probably part of the reason for this, but that’s a subject for a different rant.
here’s the problem GaWd, how many people do you know actually read those things cover to cover? Yes, I know it’s on us to know what we’re agreeing to, but these things are almost to a T so mundane and standard that if you read one you read them all. In a nutshell you agree to not copy the program without permission, you agree to not somehow reverse-engineer the program to build on the code, you agree to not use the program for illegal activities and you agree to not use the disk to slice the throats of starving kittens.
I was thinking along the lines of holmes. If a company is going to do something as intrusive as infect and change the root system of my OS (that includes in the EULA a disclaimer the kernel won’t be messed with), they damn well better fucking say so up front, loudly and in plain English.
THAT FUCKING WARNING BETTER JUMP OUT AND BITE ME ON THE NOSE!
Along with that warning is a clear declaration that:
THIS PRODUCT WILL ATTACH TO THE DEEPEST LEVELS OF YOUR OPERATING SYSTEM AND MAY CAUSE CATASTROPHIC FAILURE IN ONE OF MORE OF YOUR DEVICES!
At least then we’d know what we’re facing if we decide we no longer want any of the changes on our system. Of course this would require something along the lines of:
YOU WILL NOT BE ABLE TO REMOVE THE CHANGES WE MAKE TO YOUR ENTIRE SYSTEM AFTER LISTENING TO YANNI’S GREATEST HITS. AND IF YOU DO TRY TO REMOVE THESE CHANGES, WELL, YOU’RE FUCKED!
Of course, they could temper this with an option to actually remove any changes made and clear instructions on how to do so. Maybe worded:
IF YOU SHOULD DECIDE YOU NO LONGER WANT ANY OF THESE CHANGES TO AFFECT YOUR SYSTEM THAT YOU BOUGHT WITH YOUR OWN MONEY, CALL 1-800-EAT-SHIT. THAT WAY WE’LL KNOW YOU’RE OBVIOUSLY OUT TO RIP US OFF AND WE CAN CONTACT YOUR ISP PROVIDER TO MONITOR YOUR EVERY KEYSTROKE. BECAUSE YOU ARE A PILE OF SHIT AND WE KNOW THAT YOU’RE JUST DYING TO BANKRUPT US BY DOWNLOADING VANILLA ICE’S GREATEST HITS. NOW FUCK OFF WHILE WE SCHEME A NEW WAY TO GET YOU TO PAY US FOR FUCKING YOU.
Now that’s an EULA we could all understand. That’s why you’ll never see one spelling it out that explicitly.
P2P has a long while before being abandoned for iTunes or Rhapsody. And this bullshit is the reason why.
Incidentally, reading the EULA might not be much help in any case. From Freedom To Tinker (which has more useful info on this issue)
Good grief. These guys can really lie through their teeth.
The problem is that the consumer’s and Sony’s interests are diametrically opposed. Sony wants to have the DRM software on the computer. The user does not. Penis ensues.
I have a question for the teeming millions. If I walk into my local record store, plonk down $18.00 cash for a CD and walk away with it, how on earth am I consenting to a EULA? My name isn’t on a piece of paper associated with the product anywhere. There’s technically no evidence I even bought the thing, let alone agreed to do something specific with it or not to do something specific with it.
I assume the EULA comes into play when I put the CD into my computer. On the other hand, if there’s no notification on the packaging that when I buy it I can only listen to it on the CD player built into my computer if I agree to a EULA, I’ve bought a pig in a poke, especially if that’s the only CD player I have. It’s not, but the CD player built into my stereo was fried, apparently by a power surge which took place while I was at a Dopefest. The CD player was the only component of the stereo which was affected, and the stereo was built by, you guessed it, Sony. As far as I’m concerned, the CD is defective merchandise.
What we need now are people, lawyers, and judges willing to stand up to big business. I just wish I were more sure that would happen.
CJ
The problem is and what SONY’s counting on, is the majority of people will never know about their “protection” and they’re right. This was a fluke. They happened to come up against a guy who was savvy enough to catch it AND was savvy enough to write about it. The majority of users, buy a Dell or Gateway or whatever and never touch their box. They don’t load new software, except for the automatic updates they’re given. They don’t make copies, they don’t P2P and they certainly don’t alter their registry.
It’s going to be a matter of harm and I hate to admit it, they’re only “harming” those of us who know better. Mr. Smith might never, ever know it’s there or be effected by it.
It’s sucks, but I don’t know how that’s going to stand up in court.
I wonder about the outrage expressed, given that iPod software makes itself the default digital player on your computer, and it will not let you use anything else.
I have come across those who even removed it, but still can’t use winamp, seems to me that maybe Apple has some way of getting its hooks deep into your registry.
Why is there no outrage about this ?
If I may answer your question, Seige.
When you buy the product, you are buying a piece of plastic. The first thing you must realise is that the copyright is different from the physical product (CD).
When you pay the shopkeeper for the CD, you are “buying” the CD, i.e. the piece of plastic. You are not buying the copyright. If the copyright owner does not grant you a licence or assign the right of viewing, copying etc, you are infringing copyright if you access the copyrighted material. You CAN, however, do what you want with the physical product (CD). You can throw it away, write on it, sell it, whatever.
Therefore, after you buy the CD, by virtue of your opening the shrinkwrap or being in possession of the CD, Sony grants (under their terms) you a licence to view the copyrighted content. IF you do not agree to the terms under which you may be granted the licence, you are infringing copyright. You still legally own the physical product, but you may not view the copyrighted content.
When you play the CD, you have agreed to the EULA. It does not matter if you click “yes” or not, in fact, because the fact that you are playing it already implies consent. Now, it fuxx0rs your computer, yes, but that’s not their problem. If you buy a DVD when you have no DVD player, it’s a “pig in a poke” as well, but that’s not Hollywood’s problem.
The lack of your name on paper means nothing. When you buy a coffee from Starbucks, you agree to a contract, to give Starbucks money in exchange for them giving you a coffee. When you buy a railway ticket, you give the railway money in exchange for a promise to allow you to travel on the train. Evidentiary problems do not affect the existence of a contract, even though it may cause problems if a contract needs to be proven.
Essentially, what a copyright is, is the right of “control” of “material”. It does not simply cover copying, but also broadcast rights, viewing rights, creation of derivative works etc. If you infringe on one of these rights, you are liable to be sued by the copyright owner. Think of them like “property rights”, you may own your house, but there may be seperate rights of way, rights of development etc. When you buy a piece of land, you may not own the exclusive right of way, there may be other rights of way over your land that belong to your neighbour, for example.
People usually conflate the right in physical property with the other “less concrete” rights, but there are totally seperate things. An artist may sell the physical painting, but retain the copyright, such that he gets to decide who gets to print the painting on Tshirts etc. They must be kept seperate.
That said.
In the UK, at least, we went to my copyright professor and asked her her opinion about this issue, and she’s of a rather more liberal bent, and feels that copyright is totally out of control. Even worse, in the UK, copyright owners and copyright infringement prevention technology manufacturers (in this case “First4Internet”) can sue of you remove the technological protection. She suspects that it may be possible to sue if you remove this malware from your system, or prevent it from installing.
Woah. Are we allowed to say “Dooooom” yet?
Awha? I’ve got iTunes installed. I’m exclusively using Winamp.
Methings you need to fiddle with your “File Associations”.