Author: Anders Monsen (Page 73 of 82)

This story adds a level to Sony’s sly metthod of loading various DRM software on user PC. All this focus on Sony does make me wonder what other companies are up to? Lately all the discussion has been about piracy and methods to protect intellectual rights, but subverting the customer’s computer system seems like a risky path, in my opinion. There are legal implications in Sony’s method, but more importantly, your computer and privacy end up compromised. The key is to simply avoid all infected CDs. Quarantine them. Ignore them. This won’t be the last we hear from Sony, nor the last attempt at intrusive DRM in CDs and DVDs.

From EFF, a list of Sony CDs with draconian copy protection keyed to infect and in some cases disable your computer (and liberty). Good thing none of these bands are on my list, but in addition, some photos of how to detect these CDs, and also how to disable the XCP software.

Vinge’s keynote address from Accelerating Change 2005 is available as an MP3 download. Recorded 9/17/05, the speech runs around 40 minutes. Very interesting stuff, and quite timely in terms of my discovery of this, as I’m currently working on a review of Ray Kurtzweil’s non-fiction book, The Singularity is Near.

Chris Hibbert reviews Prometheus Award nominated novel, RebelFire: Out of the Gray Zone. Perhaps too many spoilers in the second-to-last paragraph, but overall a positive review.

Sci Fi Wire reports on the announcement that Steve Gould’s novel, Jumper, will be adapted for the big screen. “Fight Club writer Jim Uhls will rewrite a script by David S. Goyer (TV’s Threshold). Production will begin in the spring.”

Indeed. This did not take long. Sony rootkit tehcnology opens the door to hackers.

In a previous post I mentioned the DRM that Sony installs on Windows PC. Now it appears Sony CDs also account for Mac OS X and installs some form of copy-protection. Now, I’m against piracy, but this move is not the right way to go, in my opinion.

Via Claire Wolfe’s blog, a link to a story about MPAA thuggery at a movie-plex. The author seems to think “movie studios are losing revenue because of the increasingly poor movie-going experience and general low-quality of the movies they are making.” Perhaps. In my case, I hate rude fellow patrons, and inevitably I have people right behind me talking through the movie. That makes me prefer viewing a DVD at home. The last movie I saw, Wallace & Gromit and the Curse of the Were-Rabbit, was a matinee. As the lights dimmed, I seemed to be the only person in the theatre. But then, a moment later, two older women hobble in, both talking. They proceeded to talk through-out the entire movie, despite loud comments and muttered curses from me, thereby ruining the movie. Yes, I probably could have alerted the manager, but would that have stopped them/ probably only for a few minutes, and I would have lost screen-time in the time it would have taken to find a person. No, I prefer to watch the movie on my own time, at home, although the screen is smaller, and I have to keep the volume down to not wake the infant.

From CNET News, an article about SonyBMG loading spyware on your PC. Turns out some copy protected CDs, such as Van Zant’s Get Right with the Man, will implant a copy-prevention utility on your Windows PC. I use a Mac, but just the same, once you buy a CD you should be able to copy this for you own use without any restrictions. Amazon does warn buyers: [CONTENT/COPY-PROTECTED CD]. I’m going to think twice before purchasing any SongBMG product from now on.