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SonyBMG apologizes for DRM brouhaha

By Nick, November 17, 2005

In an attempt to remove the egg on their faces, SonyBMG has eaten a slice of humble pie (mmm) and posted an apology to customers for any trouble the XPC DRM software used on some music CDs has caused. Several issues have risen over the use of this particular DRM scheme, ranging from security issues to privacy to whether or not the buyer actually owns the music they purchased.

The SonyBMG apology release closes with the following: “Ultimately, the experience of consumers is our primary concern, and our goal is to help bring our artists’ music to as broad an audience as possible. Going forward, we will continue to identify new ways to meet demands for flexibility in how you and other consumers listen to music.”

An FAQ has also been posted online.

Deep Thought’s take: Sony, I hope you learned your lesson. Don’t do it again!

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A way out of the music mess

By Nick, November 14, 2005

What a disaster.

Music piracy has been a hot topic for the last few years. As such, it’s no wonder that the blogosphere is burning hot after it came to light that SonyBMG began using rootkits as part of its DRM scheme on some CDs (which opens up users’ computers to malware—yeah, smooth move guys). Many feel the RIAA has made some pretty objectionable moves the last few years, and I agree. Somehow suing 14-year-old kids doesn’t quite endear you to your customers. But if you were looking for a piece ripping the RIAA to shreads, well, you’ll have to look elsewhere. Yes, we know how short-sighted they are and all that. But I’m not here to rant; enough people are doing that.

Instead, let’s talk about solutions. Where to start? There’s a lot of work to do! Here are some ideas I came up with.

What consumers can do

As the sticker on a new iPod says, “Don’t steal music.” Even if you want to stick It to the Man (RIAA), avoid the temptation. All you’d end up doing is giving the RIAA an excuse to use DRM. It’s a vicious cycle: some people pirate music, RIAA reacts with copy-protection on CDs, more people pirate to avoid DRM and copy protection, RIAA does something more draconian, and around and around it goes. Break the cycle and don’t resort to piracy.

Speak with your wallet. Either cut back how much music you buy or stop buying altogether. Alternately, buy indie (San…
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SGS International releases DeskBrowse beta

By Pilky, November 14, 2005

SGS International has released DeskBrowse 1.0 Beta, a new lightweight web browser for Mac OS X. One of DeskBrowse’s main features is that its window behaves as a sliding drawer attached to the side of the screen or, in Websposé mode, a full-screen kiosk. According to SGS, DeskBrowse was developed entirely by teens. DeskBrowse costs $10, and you can download a free trial version from deskbrowse.com now.

DeskBrowse is the 86th web browser for the Mac.

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The Search For The Long Lost Software

By Pilky, November 13, 2005

I need your help…

I write music. A simple enough statement to make, but composing takes a lot of thought. And then you have to write it down. Now this is where I find a huge pit fall. I have used notation applications such as Sibelius and Melody Assistant to try and get my scores down but I have yet to find one that works as well as my very first music application.

One day in 1994, a van pulled up in front of my house. There was a knock on the door. A few minutes later I sat in the living room staring at a big white box with a huge multi-coloured Apple on the side. It was a Performa 5200. That night, when my dad came home, we unpacked it and set it up. In the wide array of included software was an application, ConcertWare by Jump! Software. It was so much fun to use, because it was simple. I was 7 at the time and I managed to use it to make simple songs.

Now, compared to today’s applications it falls far behind, feature-wise. But in terms of how easy it was to do stuff it was one of the best applications I have ever used. Unfortunately, Jump! Software have vanished and ConcertWare is buried in the graveyard of Classic apps never to be updated to OS X. It doesn’t work correctly in Classic, as the sound is all messed up.

This is why I need your help.…
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Sony pulls DRM technology [UPDATED]

By Nick, November 11, 2005

But wait--there’s more! The Inquirer reports that Sony may use a copy protection scheme on PlayStation 3 games, effectively locking the game to one console.

A PATENT may allow…
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