Hello World

Let the record show that I was way ahead on this Sony DRM fiasco–like, 9 months ahead. Writing about the most recent Kings of Leon album, I wrote this 1-star review (note: it seems to have disappeared from the site, but it was there before, I swear^*):

Due to Sony’s idiotic copy-protection scheme this cd can’t even be listened to directly from the CD via a media player program (not even Windows Media Player). Nor can its tracks be ripped to mp3 format, so they can’t be used with your mp3 player or iTunes. You have to agree to Terms of Service when you put the CD in, or it is automatically ejected! All you can do is store Windows Media Player files that are heavily crippled by digital rights management.

I’m extremely disappointed by Sony’s decision to succumb to the entreaties of a greasy and conscience-free music industry at the expense of its actual customers’ listening experience, and will be sure to avoid buying any CDs they sell from now on.

Sorry, Kings of Leon–I’m sure this is a spectacular album, but your label screwed us both.

Man, imagine if I had known that Sony was using that stupid copy-protection scheme to install an unwanted program that could be used maliciously to infect my computer.

Anyway, Sony’s offering refunds on the CDs. Here’s the list of CDs infected with the spyware.

While we’re on the subject, Sony’s EULA (the license agreement you have to agree to to install the software) is absolutely absurd. From that site:

1. If your house gets burgled, you have to delete all your music from your laptop when you get home. That’s because the EULA says that your rights to any copies terminate as soon as you no longer possess the original CD.
2. You can’t keep your music on any computers at work. The EULA only gives you the right to put copies on a “personal home computer system owned by you.”
3. If you move out of the country, you have to delete all your music. The EULA specifically forbids “export” outside the country where you reside.
4. You must install any and all updates, or else lose the music on your computer. The EULA immediately terminates if you fail to install any update. No more holding out on those hobble-ware downgrades masquerading as updates.
5. Sony-BMG can install and use backdoors in the copy protection software or media player to “enforce their rights” against you, at any time, without notice. And Sony-BMG disclaims any liability if this “self help” crashes your computer, exposes you to security risks, or any other harm.
6. The EULA says Sony-BMG will never be liable to you for more than $5.00. That’s right, no matter what happens, you can’t even get back what you paid for the CD.
7. If you file for bankruptcy, you have to delete all the music on your computer. Seriously.
8. You have no right to transfer the music on your computer, even along with the original CD.
9. Forget about using the music as a soundtrack for your latest family photo slideshow, or mash-ups, or sampling. The EULA forbids changing, altering, or make derivative works from the music on your computer.

Sony makes great hardware, but their understanding of appropriate use of DRM is appalling. They used to set up their music players so that you had to convert all of your music into their a proprietary format (ATRAC3), which would only play on their players and their programs. This is even worse than Apple, whose iPod will at least play mp3s (and whose iTunes will convert unencrypted WMA so that it is playable, also). I’m pretty much done with Sony at this point–I already stopped buying music and audio players from them, but I’m pretty sure I’m done buying anything else from them. On the other hand, that pretty much commits me to the X-Box 360 over the Playstation 3. It’s hard to pick Microsoft over anyone, where respect for the consumer’s rights are concerned, but they’re clearly the relative good guy in this fight.

^* Okay, here it is.