The Null Device

Every Mistake Imaginable

A Rocknerd article looking at what the "copy control" thing on EMI CDs is, how it works, how it fails and why it is likely to backfire.

There are 8 comments on "Every Mistake Imaginable":

Posted by: janaki
http://kerfuffle.org/headphones
Wed Apr 30 20:36:38 2003

interesting article, although they didn't mention the fact that even if that particular New World Order scenario occurred, there would always be people with knowledge and will to fix the few remaining ones until the couldn't be fixed any longer. for a price, of course, but the fact remains. not to mention the unearthing of Great Uncle Bob's old musty computer with requisite matching musty old CD-ROM drive in some forgotten corner of somebody's basement. i've got friends who have got REALLY old VCRs that still work---which date back to the days before Macrovision was implemented, and so they are "dumb" and don't recognise it as a result.

the whole copy-protection idea is really just stupid and a waste of money for everyone concerned, really. this will lose them far more than they stand to gain.

Posted by: acb
http://dev.null.org
Thu May 1 06:53:31 2003

Well, the NWO scenario is so unlikely, that it doesn't merit discussion. Though if it were to happen, the same situation would undoubtedly arise as has with DVD players (i.e., under-the-counter modchips, "factory"/"testing" codes for disabling RPC, hacked firmware, &c.)

Posted by: Graham
http://grudnuk.com/
Thu May 1 10:37:51 2003

Yeah, I saw another "Don't Buy Me" sticker on the Goldfrapp newie. Although the cover itself (bizarro oom-pah-punk hybrid thingy) seemed to be saying "Don't Buy Me" as well.

Posted by: acb
http://dev.null.org
Thu May 1 11:15:35 2003

Bugger. Oh well; not sure if I can be arsed ordering it from the US. (Radiohead, maybe...)

Rough Trade is part of Mute, isn't it? So the next Morrissey and Belle & Sebastian albums will be fux0red too then. Though apparently they're not putting it on Modular titles, so the upcoming New Buffalo may be clear.

Posted by: Graham
http://grudnuk.com/
Thu May 1 13:24:18 2003

Hmm. Strangely, the Nick Cave album which came out the same week as 100th Window but didn't have any labels on it, so I thought that Mute might've been outside the scheme.

Posted by: Ben
http://rocknerd.org
Fri May 2 00:34:05 2003

Is region coding over? We bought a $200 DVD player from the shop the other day that comes straight from the factory able to play all regions.

Posted by: acb
http://dev.null.org
Fri May 2 08:04:54 2003

The Chinese brands are better than "respectable" name brands in this respect. (My mum's Hiteker AD-660 is multi-region; my dad's Hyundai VCD/DVD combo, however, is not multi-region, despite the fact that the salesweasel told him it was.)

Posted by: Ben
http://rocknerd.org
Fri May 2 13:04:44 2003

Hmmm. Mine's a Hyundai... but made in China.

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