This thing is an old 500Mhz PIII I got for free. I ripped out the SCSI stuff that didn't seem to be working, put in a spare Hard Drive and CD-ROM and decided to play with Linux on it. Plus I didn't have a legal copy of Windows to put on it. Linux has come a long way since I had a Slackware machine many moons ago.

I gonna have to spring for a new mouse though, this mouse sucks. I can see why it was getting thrown out.

A follow-up on the first Sony DRM rootkit article: [link]

On the uninstaller:

...The uninstall question on Sony’s FAQ page directs you to another page that asks you to fill out a form requesting for uninstall directions to be emailed to you...There’s no way to access the uninstaller without providing this information, and clicking on the Sony privacy policy link at the bottom of the page takes you to a notice that your email address will be added to various Sony marketing lists.

On the patch:

...Sony’s uncloaking patch puts users systems at risk of a blue-screen crash and the associated chance of data loss. The risk is small, but I made the point in my last post that the type of cloaking performed by the Aries driver prohibits safely unloading the driver while Windows is running....

On EULAs and phoning-home:

...the EULA does not disclose the software’s use of cloaking or the fact that it comes with no uninstall facility. An end user is not only installing software when they agree to the EULA, they are losing control of part of the computer, which has both reliability and security implications. There's no way to ensure that you have up-to-date security patches for software you don't know you have and there's no way to remove, update or even identify hidden software that's crashing your computer....

...the Player is automatically checking to see if there are updates for the album art and lyrics for the album it’s displaying. This behavior would be welcome under most circumstances, but is not mentioned in the EULA, is refuted by Sony, and is not configurable in any way. I doubt Sony is doing anything with the data, but with this type of connection their servers could record each time a copy-protected CD is played and the IP address of the computer playing it.

I smell lawsuit.

If there is a lawsuit, it will be a class action one that will never have any teeth. At best it will result in something along the lines of a coupon for $5 off a Sony CD for anyone who purchased a copy protected CD.

You don't think that putting spyware on one's computer without telling the owner is a case that might be bigger than a $5 coupon? Hmm.

the EULA does not disclose the software’s use of cloaking or the fact that it comes with no uninstall facility. An end user is not only installing software when they agree to the EULA, they are losing control of part of the computer, which has both reliability and security implications.

This behavior would be welcome under most circumstances, but is not mentioned in the EULA, is refuted by Sony, and is not configurable in any way.

That sounds a bit more serious than the copy protection concept itself.

Instead of everyone affected getting $5 coupons, I'd rather see the Sony CEO and other executives responsible for this get public spankings.

I just wann buy music and play it on my computer and iPod. Is that too much to ask?

Can someone do me a quick favor? Go to [link] and tell me if you see the "Band of the Week" page or if you get a 404 error, or some other error. Thanks.

404

Thanks. It's weird because the page is there. In fact, if I change the extension to .htm from .html, it works.