iLounge iPod accessory shopping guide.

106 pages!

Has anyone posted anything recently about Sony's new CD DRM? [link]

Information Regarding Our Artists' Music, Copy-Protected CDs and your iPod
We at ATO Records are aware of the problems being experienced by certain fans due to the copy-protection of our distributor. Neither we nor our artists ever gave permission for the use of this technology, nor is it our distributor's opinion that they need our permission. Wherever it is our decision, we will forego use of copy-protection, just as we have in the past.

Huh. But we need DRM to protect musicians and labels, right?

As odd as the story is so far, its about to get a whole lot weirder: It turns out that all Engadget (quoting Variety) notes that this DRM is not at all about making the CD immune to piracy. Instead, its part of a pissing contest between Sony and Apple: Variety writes that "the new copy protection scheme — which makes it difficult to rip CDs and listen to them with an iPod — is designed to put pressure on Apple to open the iPod to other music services, rather than making it dependent on the iTunes Music Store for downloads."

You mean to tell me that this isn't even about P2P and unauthorized downloading? How annoying is that? Sony has their panties in a bunch cause Apple has been kicking their arses all over the innovation and digital music schoolyard? So the mature response from a major global conmsumer electronics corporation is to take their ball and go home?

Not quite mad enough at Sony yet? Well, it seems that running a Sony DRMed CD on your PC will result in a Sony rootkit being installed. [link]

The entire experience was frustrating and irritating. Not only had Sony put software on my system that uses techniques commonly used by malware to mask its presence, the software is poorly written and provides no means for uninstall. Worse, most users that stumble across the cloaked files with a RKR scan will cripple their computer if they attempt the obvious step of deleting the cloaked files.

More on the Sony rootkit: [link]

There's been some recent developments in digital rights management systems (DRM) that have security implications. Some DRM systems have started to use rootkit technology. Rootkits are normally associated with malware but in this case a rootkit is used to enforce the copy control policies of audio CDs!

Bastards....

Has anyone posted anything recently about Sony's new CD DRM?

Yup. Typo Boy "Buffistechnology 2: You Made Her So She Growls?" Nov 1, 2005 11:38:58 pm PST

Moral: Don't buy CDs with copy protection technology.

Knife, MP3 player and radio tuner in one! [link]

Yup.

Durn it.

I swear, my memory is going - once I saw that post I remembered it.

Is there a limitation on how often you can write over DVD-RW discs? I've just bought a DVD writer and got a stack of the rewritable discs fairly cheaply and don't want to finish them off too soon. Also, when you write over a disc, can you just delete what you have and use the entire space as you'd a blank disc, or are you limited to what's left over from the last time you put on a file(s) on the disc?

You can delete what you have and use the entire space. I haven't used my DVD-RW disk much, so I don't have a feel for how many times it can overwritten. It seems like RW media scratches up faster than R media, but maybe that's just me.

You can delete what you have and use the entire space.

Cool. I'll probably use it mostly to ferry large-sized media files back and forth different computers. Saves me the cumbersome aspect of hauling actual external hard-drives or having to YSI big files.

Anyone able to open an 800 kb .sit file for me and e back whatever it turns out to be? I suspect it is something I don't care about keeping but I would rather be sure and Alladin is giving me pissall trying to download anything to my PC...

Also a cluesticking on not naming things Archive.sit would not be amiss, cause nsm with the helpful it turns out...