Sony Pulls Controversial Anti-Piracy Software 389
An anonymous reader writes "Bowing to public outrage, Sony BMG has temporarily halted the use of its controversial anti-piracy software in all of its music CDs, the company said in a statement today. The move comes just a day after a top Bush administration official chided Sony and the entertainment industry for going too far: according to this story over at Washingtonpost.com, Stewart Baker, the Department of Homeland Security's policy czar warned would-be DRM makers: 'It's very important to remember that it's your intellectual property -- it's not your computer. And in the pursuit of protection of intellectual property, it's important not to defeat or undermine the security measures that people need to adopt in these days.' The Post has the full text and video of his commentary." We've reported on this story previously.
They'll still be liable though (Score:3, Insightful)
I forsee big lawsuits.
Re:They'll still be liable though (Score:5, Funny)
Re:They'll still be liable though (Score:2)
Re:They'll still be liable though (Score:2)
Re:They'll still be liable though (Score:4, Insightful)
What you may get is a discount of 1$ on an already overpriced 20$ CD.
Sony made a stupid PR mistake, but they are too big a company to really suffer from it so badly, so to completely give up DRM. Come release date of PS3, and all those who critisize sony now, will line up before stall drooling...
Like it or not, fair use will be a thing of past, in the years to come.
It's not about who gets the money. (Score:3, Insightful)
Re: (Score:3, Interesting)
Why can't they go to jail? (Score:5, Insightful)
It always strikes me as odd that you can fuck up thousands of people's lives (in this case, their computers), knowingly and deliberately, and the only outcome is that some lawyers get rich and a few overpaid *might* have to use their golden parachutes.
Why isn't this thousands of counts of unauthorized use of a computer? I know that "throw 'em in jail" really isn't a large-scale social solution, but there needs to be a way for our corporate leaders to understand that not only can they not steal and get away with it (cf various corporate thefts), if they abuse their corporate power and mess with people lives, you know what, you might go to jail, too.
Re:Why can't they go to jail? (Score:4, Insightful)
Re:Why can't they go to jail? (Score:3, Informative)
Re:Why can't they go to jail? (Score:4, Informative)
http://www.usdoj.gov/criminal/cybercrime/1030_new
Sentences ranging from fines up to 20 years imprisonment.
Re:Why can't they go to jail? (Score:4, Informative)
Perhaps we should consider the actual damage done. Is the damage so severe and widespread that someone needs to (essentially) pay with their life? I believe that many of the felons convicted for computer crimes probably shouldn't have been felony convictions in the first place. Most of these (in the early days, especially) were just kids trying to prove a point (or proof of concept). When caught, they were usually to make an example of by a DA or judge. However, just because it happened to one group of people, making the same thing happen to another group doesn't make it right.
Do you really believe that it's fair to interpret these new laws so broadly and liberally hand out prison sentences?
Is this really a terrible abuse of power? It didn't take long for the information about the rootkit to become publicly available, and those who care decided not to buy any of the Sony CD's. In this case, I don't think that there is some executive sitting in his huge leather chair manicly laughing about owning another PC every time that a user inserts a CD. This sounds more like a company (Sony) made an uninformed decision to purchase a bad technology. Microsoft is just as culpible for their administrator-rights-for-everyone and allowing autorun by default. Further, the end users should know better and turn autorun off, as well as not using superuser level rights for day-to-day use. Should Steve Ballmer be thrown into jail, or the users for making the 'net a less safe place? These could all be constrewed as negligent acts, especially by the standards that you're holding these businesses to.
Before we get into this any further, I'll suggest reading up on Sarbanes Oxley [wikipedia.org]. It was put in place to hold senior management responsible for their financial indiscretions...mostly for financial record keeping, but really -- it was set up so that company officers couldn't claim igorance of their company's misdoings. So to answer your question, what you've asked for has been done. Perhaps you could give the law a chance to work. It does take a while. There will also be class action suits filed against the company. This will hurt management, as well as the shareholders.
Re:Why can't they go to jail? (Score:3, Insightful)
However, just because it happened to one group of people, making the same thing happen to another group doesn't make it right.
While this is true, I would argue that if you let some Corporate Executives off with a slap of the wrist after throwing some punk kid in jail for essentially the same crime, you are playing favorites and perpetuate the notion that the rich can buy their way out of jail more easily than the poor (which is sadly more true than not).
I, personally, believe that Sony Executives acted
Re:Why can't they go to jail? (Score:5, Interesting)
Yes, they DAMN WELL SHOULD GO TO JAIL FOR THIS!! You know why? Because these aren't teenage script-kiddies trying to prove a point, these are high-ranking executives of multinational corporations, who are doing it on purpose , and should FUCKING KNOW BETTER!
They KNOW what they're doing is illegal and wrong, but they're DOING IT ANYWAY, BECAUSE THEY THINK THEY'RE ABOVE THE LAW. They really need to be made an example, in order to stop the fucking huge corporations from running amok!
In fact, not only should the executives go to jail, the entire company should be barred from doing business in the United States for some period of time (i.e., the equivalent of jail for a corporation). That's the kind of message we need to send!
The purpose of a class action (Score:5, Insightful)
The reason you put together a class action is to consolidate thousands of small claims, and in doing so come up with a total liability that Sony has to pay for. A class action against Sony would cost them a nice chunck of change, "helping them manage their access" to consumers' computers. In other words, a class action, which will almost certainly be settled, is how hundreds of little guys get together to punish the big guy for infringing on their rights.
I don't think any other western democracy allows U.S.-style class actions, and that's because the class action fulfills a role in the U.S. that the government fills in other countries. Specifically, the class action allows private parties to regulate and enforce the laws via large monetary damages, e.g., environmental laws and consumer protection laws. In other countries, the national government would be more involved in enforcing these laws.
Re:They'll still be liable though (Score:5, Interesting)
> really suffer from it so badly...
They will suffer a substantial loss of CD sales. All that the twentysomethings will remember from the newsblips they saw on ABC is that Sony CDs break your computer.
Re:They'll still be liable though (Score:2, Interesting)
It would be sweet to give big corps a taste of their own legislation.
Re:They'll still be liable though (Score:2)
Re:They'll still be liable though (Score:5, Informative)
Among other things, Sony is specifically accused of fraud, false advertising, trespass and violation of state and federal statues prohibiting malware, and unauthorized computer tampering,
Re:They'll still be liable though (Score:5, Insightful)
How hollow those words ring now, let me paraphrase in light of what Sony is accused of.
The unauthorised tampering with users computers is against the law. It infringes the legal rights of customers. And it's bad for music.
If there is one thing I'm sick of it's being preached to in this manner by corrupt, self serving sleazy corporate fat cats.
Re:They'll still be liable though (Score:2)
Hurry, get your Sony/BMG CD so you can sue!
Re:They'll still be liable though (Score:5, Interesting)
They're not going to recall their CDs... (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:They're not going to recall their CDs... (Score:2, Insightful)
Thinking about that though, does it matter if they recall the CD's if the DRM rootkits are already out there installed on computers?
Re:They're not going to recall their CDs... (Score:5, Funny)
Don't worry - I'm sure if it comes to that, Sony will take the opportunity to continue to spin shit into PR gold:
Dept of Homeland Security? (Score:2, Insightful)
Other than the concern that a nation filled with Spears, Timberlake and Dion worshippers would be unable to defend the nation against an invasion by Canada or Luxembourg I fail to grasp the connecti
Re:Dept of Homeland Security? (Score:2)
Re:Dept of Homeland Security? (Score:5, Funny)
Re:Dept of Homeland Security? (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:Dept of Homeland Security? (Score:2, Funny)
They have some tough flying squirrels.
In other news.. (Score:4, Funny)
After the exchange rates, it came out to 4 canoes, 3 flying squirrels, and a 2 Canadian mounties.
Re:In other news.. (Score:3, Funny)
President Bush has authorized the Joint Chiefs to begin drawing up a battle plan to pull France's ass out of the fire again. Facing an apparent overwhelming force of up to 400 pissed off teenagers Mr. Bush doubts France's ability to hold off the little pissants. "Hell, if the last two world wars are any indication, I would expect France to surrender any day now", said Bush.
Joint Chiefs head, Gen. Peter Pace, warned the President that it might be n
Well, go ahead. Finish it. (Score:3, Funny)
(Sorry. I had to, particularly with Christmas rapidly approaching. I now prepare myself for the humorless mods and their dreaded "Off-topic" mod points since they don't have the humor to use +1 Funny. Bah. It's only karma.)
Re:Dept of Homeland Security? (Score:3, Informative)
Homeland Security (Score:5, Informative)
So now, can Sony be pursued for violation of the USA/Patriot act?
Re:Homeland Security (Score:5, Insightful)
Fair enough, but the millions of zombies hosted by comcast, bellsouth.net, or SBC doesn't interest them, the massive security flaws that allow any Microsoft machine to become a zombie just by connecting it to the internet and going for a pizza don't interest them, but a Van Zant (and other) CDs elicit a response from the tier 1 level?
Pardon my cynicism but I suspect that -this- received the attention because no matter what people will always buy broadband internet and people will always buy Microsoft but the paranoid with the amplifying tinfoil hats just might start to demand oversight of DRM technologies to the point where the major congressional donors of the RIAA/MPAA might suffer an induced case of the fidgets.
(Not that there's much danger of that... at this moment the #1 selling album on amazon is 12 Songs [Content/Copy-Protected CD] by Neil Diamond).
Re:Homeland Security (Score:4, Insightful)
Fair enough, but the millions of zombies hosted by comcast, bellsouth.net, or SBC doesn't interest them, the massive security flaws that allow any Microsoft machine to become a zombie just by connecting it to the internet and going for a pizza don't interest them, but a Van Zant (and other) CDs elicit a response from the tier 1 level?
There's a difference. Microsoft's security model is an existing threat, with no easy solution. This type of DRM is a new threat, with the easy solution of "don't start doing this". The DHS is simply advocating this easy solution.
That's not to say that the problems you mentioned aren't getting tier 1 attention. But they aren't a simple, sound-bitable public statement.
Re:Homeland Security (Score:4, Insightful)
Re:Homeland Security (Score:3, Interesting)
Ok, I understand why the massive botnets used by spammers don't count (because most of them are americans), but what about the 'nets you can buy cheaply (a few cents per machine) in russia, poland, heck all over the world?
I mean, possibility? Either you are the department is plain crazy. That's like saying air is possibly breathable.
Wake up. We have massive botnets already, many of them a
Re:Dept of Homeland Security? (Score:5, Informative)
"If we have an avian flu outbreak here and it is even half as bad as the 1918 flu epidemic, we will be enormously dependent on being able to get remote access for a large number of people, and keeping the infrastructure functioning is a matter of life and death and we take it very seriously."
Makes reasonable sense to me.
Keep up the pressure (Score:5, Insightful)
This is why punative damages for "bad behaviour" exist, to make the company take notice and change their behaviour.
Don't let them get off easy.
Re:Keep up the pressure (Score:5, Insightful)
This is a quote you should save for coming years.
"It's very important to remember that it's your intellectual property -- it's not your computer."
Drag this quote out out when Trusted Computing, Vista and its successors come out and Microsoft and Intel really do seize control of your computer and everything on it and get away with it.
I think most of this backlash is just due to the fact Sony, a non U.S. corporation did it, and it was done as an add on. If in the future Microsoft does more or less the same thing, though better integrated and implemented, and ships it bundled in the OS it might well get forced on the world without a peep from the U.S. government.
In particular Microsoft just need to sell Trusted Computing and DRM as a defense against terrorism, as pro democracy, freedom and capitalism and the Federal government will be cheering it on.
To put it another way Sony's effort was just badly marketed and marketing is everything in this sorry world we live in.
Re:Keep up the pressure (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:Keep up the pressure (Score:4, Informative)
I heard Sony might ship the PS3 infected with DRM [playstation.com] that will only allow the games to be played a set number of times before the license expires. I for one will not be upgrading my PS2 to the PS3, the risk is too great.
Bush Administration (Score:3, Insightful)
$sys$Here's the reason: (Score:5, Funny)
Re:$sys$Here's the reason: (Score:3, Funny)
Re:$sys$Here's the reason: (Score:5, Funny)
Re:$sys$Here's the reason: (Score:3, Funny)
Only to people who have listened to SONY CD's.
Who will "trust" them next time? (Score:4, Interesting)
The most talented musicians I know are waiters, bus boys and taxi drivers, thanks to the recording industry.
Can't wait for someone to shake it all apart by releasing their works without the industry influences (and the industry taking their piece of the pie).
Re:Who will "trust" them next time? (Score:5, Informative)
"The [music] industry will take whatever steps it needs to protect itself and protect its revenue streams. It will not lose that revenue stream, no matter what. Sony is going to take aggressive steps to stop this. We will develop technology that transcends the individual user. We will firewall Napster at source - we will block it at your cable company, we will block it at your phone company, we will block it at your [ISP]. We will firewall it at your PC. These strategies are being aggressively pursued because there is simply too much at stake." --Steve Heckler, Sony senior VP, 2000
Re:Who will "trust" them next time? (Score:3, Insightful)
"Right now it would be possible for us, and I've often thought it would cheer me up to do it, you could dispatch a virus to anybody whose files contain us or Columbia records, and make them listen to four hours of Yanni" (Source [washingtonpost.com]) )
I wonder . . . (Score:5, Interesting)
Re:I wonder . . . (Score:3, Funny)
Byeee DRM? (Score:5, Interesting)
I particularly enjoyed this quote from First4Internet's website from their director of Sales & Marketing:
"We're not denying people access to the music," Macdonald said. "We're just trying to help them manage their access."
http://www.xcp-aurora.com/press_article.aspx?art=
Please! Please, Mr. MacDonald! Help me manage my access to my media by installing a rootkit!
Exactly - the same way jail is "managing freedom" (Score:2)
One day people will wake up and realise that DRM, DeActivation, Treacherous Computing - are all entirely concerned with taking things away.
Re:Byeee DRM? (Score:4, Funny)
Hmmm... Anyone wanna surreptitiously install software on Sony's office PCs to help them manage access to their corporate bank accounts?
Sony's anti-piracy software in violation of LGPL? (Score:5, Informative)
http://www.webwereld.nl/articles/38285 [webwereld.nl]
Someone in the Netherlands claims to have found certain strings from Lame's source code in Sony's app. Did Sony steal LGPL'd code?
Re:Sony's anti-piracy software in violation of LGP (Score:5, Informative)
http://dewinter.com/modules.php?name=News&file=ar
"A computerexpert, whose name is known by the redaction, discovered that the cd "Get Right With The Man" by "Van Zant" contains strings from the library version.c of Lame. This can be conluded from the string: "http://www.mp3dev.org/", "0.90", "LAME3.95", "3.95", "3.95 ".
But the expert has more proof. For example, the executable program go.exe contains a so called array largetbl. This is a part used in the module tables.c of libmp3lame."
Re:Sony's anti-piracy software in violation of LGP (Score:3, Informative)
Re:Sony's anti-piracy software in violation of LGP (Score:3, Interesting)
I mean, why would they look for a *specific* version of LAME if they want to rule out mp3 encoding software running on the machine?
Also check this post: http://slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=167537&cid=139 69409 [slashdot.org]
"Go and check it yourself, and compare to lame sources. The data from tables.c is included in the executable in identical form (several large tables), also all the
Still no word on Sony's Mac DRM (Score:5, Insightful)
According to the Macintouch article, the Mac DRM is on Imogen Heap's Speak for Yourself, an RCA CD distributed by Sony/BMG.
I suspect that CD-makers won't be able to keep a stunt like this secret for 8 months next time, because their customers will be watching for such shenannigans.
Now we wait for Sony to issue a recall.
"All your replacement CDs are belong to us" - Sony's customers.
Re:Still no word on Sony's Mac DRM (Score:3)
Even if macs have (or had) auto-run, you'd be prompted for a password when it tried to install those kernel extensions. I would not let any music CD install software *anywhere*, and I'
"iTMS, I stab at thee!!" - Sony (RIAA Member) (Score:3)
Why would Sony package DRM that intentionally interferes with CD ripping in general. I'm not just talking about the DRMed CD. This stuff borks your ability to rip ANY CD. Why is that? Could it have something to do with the iTunes Music Store/iTunes.app place in online music? It's public knowledge that
Big lawsuit series should follow (Score:2, Interesting)
On the other hand, I also hope that the DMCA will be really shaken by this event. After all, according to DMCA, Sony rootkit is protected software. Hit them in the wallet, me says!
Re:Big lawsuit series should follow (Score:2)
If a class action lawsuit appeared, I'd buy one of those tainted CD's just to join in on it. Nevermind that I'd probably spend $16 for the CD and get back $0.02 on the settlement.
I'm Sony's bitch. (Score:5, Funny)
Actually, I use a Vaio [sony.com], so it actually is their computer. I feel _so_ f*cking pwned right now.
What? (Score:2, Interesting)
Stop making or recall from stores? (Score:4, Interesting)
I have afeeling they are doing neither though, I'd love to see a class action suit that demands all CD's sold are to be replaced with DRM-free versions on Sony's dime. Then perhaps it would sink home they'd done something a little wrong.
I wonder how liable the company that came up with the DRM in the first place is, perhaps Sony can shift all blame to them.
You know you've gone to far... (Score:5, Funny)
OMG... Overload!!! (Score:5, Funny)
segmentation fault (core dump).
Re: (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:OMG... Overload!!! (Score:3, Informative)
Hmm.. was that the one where he ordered the missle bombardment of an aspirin factory
Re: (Score:3)
Re:OMG... Overload!!! (Score:3, Insightful)
Thank God It's Temporary (Score:2, Funny)
Why am I not surprised? (Score:5, Insightful)
A day after someone in the government goes, "Naughty, naughty," Sony's suddenly pulling their DRM, if even "temporarily".
It can't be anymore obvious what Sony thinks of their customers...
I don't think it was the government... (Score:3, Insightful)
Virus Writers using it already according to BBC (Score:2, Interesting)
Flu epidemic - warning to malware writers (Score:4, Insightful)
[Stewart Baker, Homeland Security's assistant secretary for policy, said:]
"If we have an avian flu outbreak here and it is even half as bad as the 1918 flu epidemic, we will be enormously dependent on being able to get remote access for a large number of people, and keeping the infrastructure functioning is a matter of life and death and we take it very seriously."
Does this mean if malware keeps people from getting medical help the authors can be convicted of manslaughter?
Jury: We find the defendant guilty on each of the 100 million counts of computer tampering and 2 million counts of involuntary manslaughter.
Judge: I hereby sentence you to 10 million sentences of 2 years of probation and 2 million sentences of 6 months in jail followed by 5 years probation. Due to the outrageous nature of your conduct, sentences are to be served consecutively. You should be out in time to watch the sun swallow the earth.
Delicious!!!!!!!
What about removal? (Score:3, Insightful)
Why DRM won't work (Score:5, Informative)
"DRM punishes honest people!"
Using Sony and Apple as examples of companies that are using DRM to *punish* consumers, he suggests Microsoft use the opportunity to once again champion users' rights. To follow our current path, Cory argues, is to stifle innovation and contradict the purpose of American copyright law: to promote the useful arts and sciences."
I always find it very remarkable that the content industry treats the people who pay for their products -- in other industries also known as customers -- as criminals. People don't buy cd's because they want to screw the people who made them and make a zillion copies. Those people buy the damn things because they do *not* want to wast their time on copying!
And I also don't think the way customers are treated is in the interest of the artists, in whose name this whole mess is being created. Take a look at an excellent article by Janis Ian, a respectable musician:
http://www.janisian.com/article-internet_debacle.
"They told me downloads were "destroying sales", "ruining the music industry", and "costing you money".
Costing me money? I don't pretend to be an expert on intellectual property law, but I do know one thing. If a music industry executive claims I should agree with their agenda because it will make me more money, I put my hand on my wallet...and check it after they leave, just to make sure nothing's missing."
For what it's worth: this is a women who made more then 25 albums and wrote some very well known songs for other artists. One of her most known songs is "At seventeen", which can be downloaded for free, just like some other songs of her:
http://www.individualidade.com.br/janisian/mp3/ja
http://www.janisian.com/mp3_downloads.html [janisian.com]
Re:Why DRM won't work (Score:3, Insightful)
And MS is going to save the world? How exactly?
MS lead the push for unreasonable DRM in their WMA products, and looked certain to foist "subscription services" that nobody wanted and that the market has since largely ignored. WMA promised to deliver DiviX style CDs that crap out after a play and other consumer-hateful services.
All companies are trying to make money; its just that Microsoft
Re:Why DRM won't work (Score:3, Insightful)
And if I read Janis' articles, I get the feeling that it is not in the artists interests to ban downloading, because with every download there is a benefit for t
It's not Sony's computer (Score:5, Funny)
Wait a minute... (Score:5, Informative)
Re:Wait a minute... (Score:5, Informative)
The old /. article is misleading.
Assuming there is Mac DRM software on the CD, a user still has to (1) explicitly start the installer (no autorun on Mac), and (2) type in a password to authorize the installation of root-priviledged software. Thus, for once Sony is correct and only mildly spinning.
Already product in the channel (Score:5, Insightful)
So why aren't they recalling the product that's already in the channel? There are thousands (millions?) of discs sitting on retailers shelves that are just waiting to install the rootkit. Oh yeah, that would hurt their bottom line.
Until it costs them, they're not going to learn.
-ch
Baker doing what politicians do best- distracting (Score:3, Insightful)
How about: "it's not your computer. You do not have the right to install software components on someone's computer that spy on them, without their permission. That is computer trespassing and wiretapping. The FBI is currently investigating; in the meantime, here is a court order to remove any CDs with this software from shelves immediately, and we expect you to fully assist consumers with identifying whether a machine has the software installed, and the removal process."
What Baker is doing is trumpeting the Homeland Security line ("Won't someone PLEASE think of the Homeland Security?!"), and distracting us from the more important issue-that a corporation installed trojan programs that spy on people, and probably broke an number of laws doing so.
A trojan-trojan? (Score:3, Funny)
If so, this might be the first time we've ever seen a trojan-trojan: a program that seems to be useful, but actually turns out to be harmful, but then actually turns out to be useful. :-)
The hand, the right hand, and going too far (Score:3, Insightful)
Good to create DRM awareness on everybody (Score:5, Informative)
"We also intend to re-examine all aspects of our content protection initiative to be sure that it continues to meet our goals of security and ease of consumer use," Sony BMG added.
I really can't believe this clown is saying that. Did they ever have a security goal in mind??? Does this statement mean that they continue to do business as usual???
I went back to their FAQs [sonybmg.com], and found a few interesting lines:
- You must log on to your computer with Administrator rights or Power User rights to fully use the disc.
So I must be an admin just to listen to Ricky Martin??? Gimme a break.
- To date, Apple has not been willing to cooperate with our protection vendors to make ripping to iTunes and to the iPod a simple experience.
And hopefully it'll stay that way for a long, long, long time...
- the protection components are never installed without the consumer first accepting the End User License Agreement.
But nowhere in the EULA [sysinternals.com] it is mentioned what the user is in fact installing.
- If at some point you wish to remove the software from your machine simply contact customer service through this link. You will, though, be unable to use the disc on your computer once you uninstall the components.
Now this is another issue. Sony is marketing their discs as CDs [sonymusicstore.com], but their are not campatible with standard CD players??? They can't slap the CD [wikipedia.org] logo anywhere they want and get away with it. They have to follow the standards [wikipedia.org], or call their DRM discs something else and anounce in big bold letters that such disc may not be playable in all devices.
Let's take advantage of this whole mess with Sony. Right now is the perfect time to create some awareness on the average Joe about the implications of DRM and how the insdustry is going way too far with it.
Due to outrage? HAHAH yeah right... (Score:3, Insightful)
This has hurt sonys reputation badly. (Score:5, Interesting)
I'm positive this isn't the only company which has sent out similar notices.
So we DO own our own computers? (Score:3)
New Sony TV, DVD player, TiVo, etc with HDCP content protection? Sony ipod clone with more DRM that you can shake a stick at? Sony PSP with no way to play your own video at native resolution?
Are these exceptions in that they feel they still own these after your purchase them because it has their name on it?
Wonder if they'll be able to exclude the VAIO computers we bought from the class action suits.
Finally! (Score:3, Insightful)
It might be a slight overreaction, but I'm so happy to see somebody of importance say that.
Now if somebody would say "It's your IP, but it's not your DVD player" and got rid of those 'Pirating movies over Internet is akin to car theft or gang rape' that you can't bypass unless, of course, you pirated the movie.
The sad part is, it takes legislative action to get media distributors to stop them activly pissing off their paying customers.
Re:It's only a crime if you get caught (Score:2)
Take out the word "Sony" from that statement, and I'll be even more likely to agree it.
Having said that, DRM is *not* a crime.
It's just often stupid, abusive, and shortsighted.
No (Score:5, Insightful)
They're spinning this with all their might. Remember that the patch they so proudly trumpet (look how serious we are about protecting our customers!) doesn't remove the rootkit - it merely disables the cloaking feature. Also note that while they say they are suspending manufacture of these CDs, there is no mention of any effort to remove already manufactured copies from store shelves or the distribution network. Considering that CDs are stamped in large production runs and then kept in inventory, they really haven't committed to anything except to "re-examine all aspects of our content protection initiative to be sure that it continues to meet our goals of security and ease of consumer use." (and note how their goals do not include consumer privacy or control over their own electronic devices).
No, I don't think we forgive them for this for a long time yet.
Re:do we forgive sony now? (Score:5, Funny)
Do not forgive, do not forget. Boycott! (Score:3, Insightful)