MICHAEL

I don't give two ****es about Apple- what Microsoft does
has an impact on 95% of those who use computers.

Of course, the entertainment companies push this
DRM crap hard. However, Microsoft is really the
company that developed and created this- it's their
OS. And, no one forced Microsoft to take the backup
and restore function out of WMP 11. That is my
biggest problem with the whole scheme.

I should have a right to make a backup and keep
it *locally*. With WMP 11, you don't have that right.
If something mucks up the licenses or your computer-
you are SOL. I should also have the right to play
any music I pay for on any computer that I own-
I'm not talking about those subscription service downloads-
I mean music I paid for outright. Playing that music
any place I want, should be as easy as taking a CD
with you and playing it anywhere you want.

I knew some shill would speak up, just didn't think
it would take only 7 minutes.


-Michael

"Test Man" <testman@test.org> wrote in message news:O$aFP1k3GHA.4900@TK2MSFTNGP03.phx.gbl...
> Only problem is your argument is majorly one-sided, as if Microsoft are the
> only ones doing it (*coughcoughApplecoughcough!*). Besides, obviously you
> haven't done your research or you would've known that it's the music
> companies that are pushing for DRM or they wouldn't allow their artist's
> songs to be sold online.
>
> So if you want to blame anyone, blame the music companies.
>
> "MICHAEL" <u158627_emr@dslr.net> wrote in message
> news:ezgQhxk3GHA.2152@TK2MSFTNGP06.phx.gbl...
>>I experienced the dark force of WMP 11 very recently.
>> Much, much money spent on music legally downloaded
>> from various music sites, mostly MSN Music. On any
>> machine that you update to WMP 11- you can no longer
>> backup or restore your licenses for the .wma files you legally
>> downloaded and paid for. On two of my machines- I learned
>> a very hard lesson about trying to play music I *paid* for.
>> Something I never thought I would say- thank you lawd for
>> a hacker. This "hacker" wrote a program to strip the DRM
>> crap from "protected" files. Let's see- faced with having to
>> burn all my paid for .wma files to a CD and then ripping them
>> back to the computer I want them to play on, or using this fast
>> little program to rip that nonsense out of the files- hmm.... I
>> wonder which path I took. I'm talking, literally, over a 1,000
>> songs I paid for. There is one catch, a good one, to using
>> this program- you have to have at least one valid license that
>> matches the .wma file you are trying to rip the DRM protection from.
>>
>> My advice- if you are using WinXP, stay away from
>> WMP 11. Don't look at it, don't download it- pretend
>> it doesn't exist. You do not need it. Vista users
>> don't have a choice. So, do not download any media
>> "protected" by DRM.
>>
>> I'm sure there will be some shill that comes along and
>> says this is no big deal. Well, the erosion of usage rights
>> is a slow and methodical process. They, the media
>> companies and Microsoft, have been "testing the waters".
>> It is amazing what folks just sit back and take. I was sort
>> of like that before DRM pissed me off. Fair use rights are
>> becoming a thing of the past. The ironic thing, these measures
>> do absolutely nothing to stop the real pirates. All it did was
>> piss off this customer who tried to do the "right" thing.
>>
>> ------------------------------------------------------------------
>> Microsoft Media Player shreds your rights
>>
>> By Charlie Demerjian
>>
>> THINK DRM WAS bad already? Think I was joking when I said the plan was to
>> start with barely tolerable incursions on your rights, then turn the
>> thumbscrews? Welcome to Windows Media Player 11, and the rights get
>> chipped away a lot more. Get used to the feeling, if you buy DRM infected
>> media, you will only have this happen with increasing rapidity.
>> One of the problems with WiMP11 is licensing and backing it up. If you buy
>> media with DRM infections, you can't move the files from PC to PC, or at
>> least you can't and have them play on the new box. If you want the grand
>> privilege of moving that content, you need to get the approval of the
>> content mafia, sign your life away, and use the tools they give you. If
>> you want to do it in other ways, you are either a lawbreaker or following
>> the advice of J Allard. Wait, same thing.
>>
>> So, in WiMP10, you just backed up your licenses, and stored them in a safe
>> place. Buying DRM infections gets you a bunch of bits and a promise not to
>> sue, but really nothing more. The content mafia will do anything in its
>> power, from buying government to rootkitting you in order to protect those
>> bits, and backing them up leaves a minor loophole while affording the user
>> a whole lot of protection.
>>
>> Guess which one wins, minor loophole or major consumer rights? Yes, WiMP11
>> will no longer allow you the privilege of backing up your licenses, they
>> are tied to a single device, and if you lose it, you are really SOL.
>> Remember that feeling I mentioned earlier? This is nothing less than a
>> civil rights coup, and most people are dumb enough to let it happen.
>>
>> Read the links, the entire page is scary as hell, but the licensing part
>> takes the cake. "Windows Media Player 11 does not permit you to back up
>> your media usage rights (previously known as licenses)", Wow, new
>> terminology, old idea, you are a wallet with legs waiting to be raped.
>> "The store might limit the number of times that you can restore your
>> rights or limit the number of computers on which can use the songs or
>> videos that you obtain from them. Some stores do not permit you to restore
>> media usage rights at all." Translation, not our problem, and get bent, we
>> got your cash.
>>
>> But it gets worse. If you rip your own CDs, WiMP11 will take your rights
>> away too. If the 'Copy protect music' option is turned on, well, I can't
>> top their 1984 wording. "If the file is a song you ripped from a CD with
>> the Copy protect music option turned on, you might be able to restore your
>> usage rights by playing the file. You will be prompted to connect to a
>> Microsoft Web page that explains how to restore your rights a limited
>> number of times." This says to me it will keep track of your ripping
>> externally, and remove your rights whether or not you ask it to. Can you
>> think of a reason you would need to connect to MS for permission to play
>> the songs you ripped from you own CDs? How long do you think it will be
>> before a service pack, masquerading as a 'critical security patch' takes
>> away the optional part of the 'copy protection'? Now do you understand why
>> they have been testing the waters on WiMP phoning home? Think their
>> firewall will stop it even if you ask?
>>
>> Then when you go down on the page a bit, it goes on to show that it guts
>> Tivo capabilities. After three days, it kills your recordings for you, how
>> thoughtful of them. Going away for a week? Tough, your rights are
>> inconvenient to their profits, so they have to go. "Recorded TV shows that
>> are protected with media usage rights, such as some TV content recorded on
>> premium channels, will not play back after 3 days when Windows Media
>> Player 11 Beta 2 for Windows XP is installed on Windows XP Media Center
>> Edition 2005. No known workaround to resolve this issue exists at this
>> time." Workaround my *ss, this is wholesale rights removal by design.
>>
>> What WiMP11 represents is one of the biggest thefts of your rights that I
>> can think of. MS planned this, pushed the various pieces slowly, and this
>> is the first big hammer to drop. Your rights, the promises they made, and
>> anything else that gets in the way of the content mafia making yet more
>> money gets thrown out. Why? Greed. Your rights? History. You were dumb
>> enough to let it happen, don't say I didn't warn you.
>>
>> More:
>>
>> http://www.microsoft.com/windows/win...e.aspx#1608319
>>
>> Release Notes for Windows Media Player 11
>>
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