Got any rootkit CD’s? If you do, you are in for a treat.
First read: Sony BMD Ends a Legal Nightmare
Then note:
Under terms of the settlement, consumers who purchased disks programmed with the rootkit can get a free replacement, $7.50 in cash, and a free download of one of 200 Sony BMG albums from one of three music-download sites, including Apple Computer's (AAPL) iTunes. Audiophiles who don't want to bother with a small check can forgo the cash in favor of three free album downloads. Consumers who bought CDs in 2003 and 2004, containing earlier versions of the copy-protection software, are offered free downloads of their disks' content.
I know you guys love to bash big companies like Sony, but it’s nice to see when they admit defeat. You see, your wallet is a big stick!
The part I liked best was the statement:
...the settlement could set the groundwork for a broader détente between creative content providers -- such as Hollywood, the recording studios, and software designers -- and the growing number of consumers rankled by the industry's attempts to control what people can do with their legally purchased CDs, DVDs, and other digitized material.
Let’s hope so. After all, that is the CORE of the issue. Trying to control what a consumer can do with a product they legally purchased is way out of line in my opinion. I bought it, I’ll listen to it when I want, in any format I want. It’s like a clothing manufacturer telling me I can’t wear their jacket in the rain so they post a guard at my front door to not let me out of the house. You can’t put those kinds of restrictions on customer’s purchases.
I hope this is the dawn of a new era in DRM. (maybe not, but I can dream can’t I?) ;-)
~jr
First read: Sony BMD Ends a Legal Nightmare
Then note:
Under terms of the settlement, consumers who purchased disks programmed with the rootkit can get a free replacement, $7.50 in cash, and a free download of one of 200 Sony BMG albums from one of three music-download sites, including Apple Computer's (AAPL) iTunes. Audiophiles who don't want to bother with a small check can forgo the cash in favor of three free album downloads. Consumers who bought CDs in 2003 and 2004, containing earlier versions of the copy-protection software, are offered free downloads of their disks' content.
I know you guys love to bash big companies like Sony, but it’s nice to see when they admit defeat. You see, your wallet is a big stick!
The part I liked best was the statement:
...the settlement could set the groundwork for a broader détente between creative content providers -- such as Hollywood, the recording studios, and software designers -- and the growing number of consumers rankled by the industry's attempts to control what people can do with their legally purchased CDs, DVDs, and other digitized material.
Let’s hope so. After all, that is the CORE of the issue. Trying to control what a consumer can do with a product they legally purchased is way out of line in my opinion. I bought it, I’ll listen to it when I want, in any format I want. It’s like a clothing manufacturer telling me I can’t wear their jacket in the rain so they post a guard at my front door to not let me out of the house. You can’t put those kinds of restrictions on customer’s purchases.
I hope this is the dawn of a new era in DRM. (maybe not, but I can dream can’t I?) ;-)
~jr