Your software doesn't work - that's right, sue the fucking person who showed you.

[Misery_Loves_Co]

for those of us who don’t do a lot with gaming consoles, please elaborate, stick monkey

[E-Sabbath]

It’s a unusually sized disc that is not commercially available. Also, I think it spins backwards. I know the X-Box does.

[Mr2001]

*Originally posted by E-Sabbath *
**It’s a unusually sized disc that is not commercially available. Also, I think it spins backwards. I know the X-Box does. **

IIRC, it doesn’t spin backwards on the GC or the Xbox. It just uses the second layer.

The outer layer of a dual-layer DVD is recorded from the inside out, just like a CD, but the inner layer can be recorded either from the inside out (easier to manufacture) or from the outside in (easier to change layers without a pause, because the laser is already at the outer edge when it hits the end of the first layer). The disc still spins in the same direction - if the drive had to stop the disc and spin it the other way, it wouldn’t be any faster than moving the laser back to the inside.

The anti-piracy effect doesn’t come from the direction used to record the disc, though. It comes from the fact that there are no dual-layer DVD burners or blank dual-layer media.

[stick_monkey]

What Mr2001 said, except that I will correct that I have seen both the right sized, and double layer dvd writable disks available, but that the printers/burners are expensive, and the media is over 2/3 (if you don’t buy in bulk) what you would pay for the game (used at blockbuster) anyway.

It would be possible for someone to go through the trouble expense, and make copies of any game they rent for the GC. But they would pay almost as much as they would to buy the game used. If they upped the bulk and made many copies, they could do so cost/effectively, and make a profit if sold, but that then ups the risk a great deal, as I am sure it would be really easy to track down any asshole stupid enough to by 10,000 double-layer writable mini-format DVDs. It’s not like you can run down to costco and buy a case the way you could with VHS cassettes or CD-RWs.

The X-Box is much easier to crack because a mod chip or a couple exploits, and you can just copy games to the harddrive built into the X-box itself. Heck, if you feel like buying a bigger hardrive you can quite easily store several games at once on it.

[smoke]

Four questions from a person who knows more about computers than the average bear, but clearly not as much as you all.

1. Is this Trojan picked up by Spybot or Adaware?

2. How can I go about finding out if it’s on my computer? I haven’t actually been asked to install any drivers from CDs I have put in, but I guess it’s possible that my wife has. (If this question is an SDMB no-no, please disregard)

3. I am unclear about one point: are all BMG CDs now in this “enhanced” format? This one bothers me, because a huge amount of my CD collection comes from them. I will be cancelling if this is the case.

4. Now for the big dummy question: how do I disable autorun on Win ME? 2000?
   Thanks in advance,

-j

[Mr2001]

*Originally posted by stick monkey *
What Mr2001 said, except that I will correct that I have seen both the right sized, and double layer dvd writable disks available, but that the printers/burners are expensive, and the media is over 2/3 (if you don’t buy in bulk) what you would pay for the game (used at blockbuster) anyway.

I don’t think dual-layer DVD recorders are available yet… here’s an announcement from October 3rd that dual layer DVD+RW will be available next year. Perhaps you’re thinking of double-sided discs?

[stick_monkey]

I might be, or I might just be going crazy. I could have sworn when I did my search on pricewatch they had dual layer writables available. It may have been just DVD-R or DVD-R+ and not RW and that’s where the confusion is, or it could just be that I am crazy.

to Smoke:

1. I don’t know, but I doubt it.

2. I don’t think they want the answers posted here, but I found how-to’s on find and removes with a quick-and-dirty on google. Just try various combos of Windows, CD, DRM, Removal, etc until you get what you need (probably first try).

3. Don’t know, haven’t bought a CD in years. And personally wouldn’t buy from BMG because if the record companies are known for screwing musicians, BMG does so with a sandpaper condom.

4. Here is a link for XP pro and home (they are different). and here is microsofts answer for winNT/2k.

[smoke]

Thanks, stick monkey.

[Lizard]

*Originally posted by LordVor *
**From what I’ve read, Cheesesteak, the “extra software” that they install, they ask you before they install it. If you say “no”, they eject the CD. What it is is a filter driver that sits on top of the CD-ROM driver, and then when you put in a CD, it senses if the disk employs the copy-protection mechanism, and if it does, then it only allows read requests to the DRM versions of the songs.

What the shift key does is keep the driver from installing, after it’s installed you need to delete the driver to keep it from working. They were suing primarily because the guy released the driver name, and the file to delete to make it stop working.
**

Couldn’t you just play back the CD on a $30 portable CD player, with a wire connecting the headphone jack to the microphone jack on your computer?

[Mr2001]

*Originally posted by Lizard *
**Couldn’t you just play back the CD on a $30 portable CD player, with a wire connecting the headphone jack to the microphone jack on your computer? **

Shh, that’s a circumvention method! Keep it to yourself or this place is gonna be crawling with feds!

[Uncommon_Sense]

I don`t know how many of you know this, but holding the shift key down while inserting a CD into the CD-ROM drive will prevent the CD from automatically playing.

This is a standard windows shortcut key-stroke.

This circumvention of the driver was already accidentily being performed by countless shortcut users. It was just a matter of time before it became common knowledge.