On 11/18/05, paddy <paddy@ij.net> wrote:
>
> Hey gang, here is Bruce Schneier's answer to the Sony rootkit saga;
>
>
> http://www.wired.com/news/privacy/0,1848,69601,00.html
Call me old fashioned, call me a relic, call me what you will.
But whatever happened to playing a *music* cd on a CD PLAYER, and leaving
the computer to running what it was made to run? You can blame Sony-BMG for
surreptitiously sliding this one under the radar and also for allowing bad
code to be distributed on one of their products, but you cannot blame them
for the underlying reasoning behind it. They are distributing a product
(music) that has become a goldmine for other people to make money off of.
This is all because of the technology that is available to the home user. I
am not advocating reducing the progress of technology, but Sony-BMG is
attempting (and I stress, ATTEMPTING) to control the profits from THEIR
product, and IMO they have the right to do that. For example, if you wrote a
national bestseller and made a truckload of cash, you would do everything in
your power to stop others from going to the local Kinko's and copying YOUR
work to sell it for their profit. I know it is a simplistic comparison, but
you get the gist.
It can be assumed (with a fairly high degree of confidence) that if one is
going to rip/copy a *music* cd to a computer, the intention is to (most
likely) reproduce it in some way, shape or form. The majority of us will use
this reproduction for our own personal use, but it is the shady minority
whose sole intention is to make money off of these reproductions that are
causing this course of action on the part of Sony-BMG and others.
I know this will most likely cause a firestorm of controversy, and is
slightly OT (however, actions by the media bigs and the technology sector
include DRM, which *is* technical), but regardless of they way anyone feels
about it on a moral/political level, copyright infringement is ILLEGAL in
this country. If you don't like the law, write your congressman, not a blog
where you rant and rave about the social and economic injustices thrust upon
you by the "bourgeois elite". You cannot blame companies for trying to
protect their assets, only the methods by which they go about it.
If anyone of us were in the same position, I hardly think that we would act
any differently. I say this because as noble as it seems, you can't put food
on the table by giving your product away for free. Sure, there is the OSS
movement, but these people are hobbyists. They make a living doing other
things where products/services are distributed and SOLD. This is American
economics 101 and this country would cease to be the greatest country on
earth if it weren't for capitalism. Like it or not, that's the way it is.
And if you don't, Cuba is just a short boat ride away. Happy trails.
Stepping down now, and thanks for listening. I'll be here all night.
Maverick
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