Sony, Amazon Detail Rootkit CD Buybacks 240
An anonymous reader writes "Washingtonpost.com is reporting that Sony BMG today detailed a program that should allow customers who bought one of the 52 titles known to be tainted with the company's deeply flawed anti-piracy software to exchange them for CDs of the same title, sans rootkit of course. Oddly enough, Sony is offering those who want to return the CDs the chance to download MP3 versions of the discs, but only after Sony has received the returned discs. Amazon.com also is sending out e-mails to customers who bought the discs, offering to replace or refund them at no cost."
MP3 files (Score:5, Interesting)
That said, what bitrate, frequency and codec is used for the MP3s?
Regards,
--
*Art
I am INCREDIBLY offended by Sony's actions (Score:4, Interesting)
I have owned dozens of Sony CDs.
I have 6 Sony audio components.
I will NEVER buy another Sony product ever again, and I urge ALL of you to do the same.
Turn of the tide? (Score:5, Interesting)
It'd be great if Amazon and other big vendors refused to carry discs with this sort of horrible DRM. That'd probably get the music company's attention a little better than a few geeks organizing a boycott.
Merely a slap on the wrist, but the future is bad (Score:5, Interesting)
If Sony actually would own up to their stupid mistake, the artists wouldn't be impacted so much. Look at Van Dant's CD on Amazon. 1.5 stars, 300 reviews, most mentioning the rootkit. Do you think that he'll fare so well in the future.
I have lost faith in Sony. Propietary formats and other things were a little odd, but I accepted them. But rootkits, a patent for games that only play on the console they were originally put in...seems like a ridiculous infringement on user rights.
Rather than losing money to pirates, people will turn to better solutions and Sony will be the loser.
Who would buy these? (Score:3, Interesting)
Who in their right mind would subject themselves to such torture. And, what's more, someone paid for the privlege.
Seems to me they are afraid... (Score:3, Interesting)
Covers XCP, but what about MediaMax? (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:I am INCREDIBLY offended by Sony's actions (Score:3, Interesting)
Perhaps Sony has become so big that it's time for a split. Sony BMG is obviously not part of Sony itself (they own half of it), and appears to work too independent of the parent company.
As for Sony's history, remember that they started out as Sonitape, making tapes enabling people to copy music. That's been part of their core business for a LONG time, even though it doesn't fit with the business model of some of their new veeps.
Regards,
--
*Art
Re:I am INCREDIBLY offended by Sony's actions (Score:3, Interesting)
Ah, the irony (Score:2, Interesting)
I really wanted to buy the NW-A3000 [engadget.com] MP3 player when it's released here (everyone and their mom has an iPod... literally). iPods are nice and all, but I'd like something a bit different. Now that I don't know if I can trust Sony, where am I to turn? That thing was so cool looking too.
Re:No Cash? (Score:1, Interesting)
I would offer to sell the disk(s) to Sony for twice the original price, plus (if one of them infected my computer) the cost of a complete professionally-done system and software re-install, plus $5-100/hour for my time.
Re:I am INCREDIBLY offended by Sony's actions (Score:3, Interesting)
Maybe they could regain some trust from me. If I saw (1) a disavowal of their subsidiary's actions, (2) an unequivocal admission and apology, (3) a couple of executives fired without parachutes, and (4) a lawsuit against First4Internet sufficient to bankrupt them, I might start. But right now, I'm left feeling that Sony thinks they have a PR problem, not that they think they did something deeply wrong.
Amazon and Sony (Score:1, Interesting)
As bad as this incident has been the response and comments of the Sony-BMG execs just added fuel to the fire. Their response was arrogant and clueless, rivaled only by the Bush administration for sheer gall and contempt of the average person.
If Sony is reflective of the attitude of big business toward their customers, then this rootkit business is only the warm up act. The captain has turned on the fasten seat belt sign, please return to your seats and hang on.
F4i takes protection into new areas with XCP (Score:2, Interesting)
http://www.xcp-aurora.com/press_article.aspx?art=
Re:Hmm (Score:2, Interesting)
"Step 3: Download free MP3s."
Why do I have to download them? Can't the rootkit just go fetch 'em?
Re:I am INCREDIBLY offended by Sony's actions (Score:5, Interesting)
Is that so?
Sony pulled the same crap [newscientist.com] with Celine Dion's album A New Day Has Come in 2002 using their key2audio DRM--the scheme that could be defeated with a felt-tip marker.
As far as I'm concerned, there should have been the same degree of outrage then as there is now.
A little OT, but... (Score:3, Interesting)
No offense, but here is an idea: how about you go out and try some of the MP3 players and just choose the one you like or you think works best for you, rather than choosing one because everyone is (or is not, in your case) using it? I understand the desire to feel like a non-conformist, but don't let conformity or non-conformity get in the way of function. If an iPod works best for you, then don't worry about who else has one. If an iPod doesn't work best for you, then get whatever else you want, as long as you are willing to support the company that produces it.
I will grant you that the Sony player does indeed look pretty cool, but being Sony, one has to wonder how well the software is designed and how easy it is to use over all. Of course, being Sony, I (like you) will never buy one after all of this crap they are pulling.
Disclaimer: I am a proud iPod owner, and I recommend it to a LOT of people, but not because it is "cool". I recommend it because it is REALLY easy and comfortable to use. However, if you do get one, the first thing to do is get rid of the Apple Ear Buds and plug in some real headphones. I personally use a set of Technics RP-DJ1200s. :D
Re:Whew... (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:Sony. Where do you want to go today? (Score:1, Interesting)
The defect is not about a second session containing a data track with a ISO9660 filesystem containing a rootkit and autorun.inf - the defect is about the audio part being defective, which they also declare as "copy protection" but is nothing more than a defective TOC, intentional short defects on CRC data, bad 8/14 encoding and some other nonsense which all violate the Redbook specification.
Or maybe a Time Warner CD? (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:Who would buy these? (Score:2, Interesting)