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drm
EA Allows 3 "Activations" Of Mass Effect And That's It? Period?
Reader jk writes in to let us know that EA's sci-fi epic Mass Effect is still having DRM issues on the PC platform. This time, instead of requiring gamers to maintain an internet connection and activate their game every few weeks, paying customers (allegedly) get three "activations" of the game and that's it. Uninstalling the game doesn't "give back" an activation. More »
copyright
Leaked ACTA Treaty Will Outlaw P2P
ACTA—the misleadingly named "Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement"—is the worldwide copyright treaty that's being negotiated behind closed doors, and that will create a sort of global DMCA if continues in its current state. Now Wikileaks has posted a draft of the treaty, and Boing Boing's Cory Doctorow gives his take:
More »Among other things, ACTA will outlaw P2P (even when used to share works that are legally available, like my books), and crack down on things like region-free DVD players. All of this is taking place out of the public eye, presumably with the intention of presenting it as a fait accompli just as the ink is drying on the treaty.
drm
Microsoft: Replace Your XBOX 360? "Sorry, We Can't Help You. Buy All Of Your Content A Second Time"
Reader Mac's XBOX 360 was out of warranty when it broke, so he decided to buy a new one thinking he could just transfer his old hard drive to the new XBOX. Sadly, no matter what he tries he can't get his content to work properly on the new machine. He called Microsoft to see if they could help him out (after all they do this sort of transfer all the time for people whose boxes are replaced under warranty), but Microsoft's only answer was "buy all your content a second time." More »
backlash
UPDATE: Electronic Arts And Bioware Back Down On Mass Effect DRM
The backlash against Bioware/EA's Mass Effect DRM has resulted in a successful conclusion, it seems. Bioware has announced that they have reworked the DRM and will no longer require reauthorization every 10 days. More »
backlash
Mass Effect DRM Causing Backlash Among PC Gamers
If you'd like to play the PC version of Bioware/EA's hit XBOX 360 title "Mass Effect," you'd better have an internet connection. Why? Because in order to remain "activated" the game will need to reauthorize itself via the internet every 10 days. Go 11 days without checking in and your game won't work until you do. Some gamers are saying that this requirement makes them feel like criminals, and doesn't make a lot of sense for a game that otherwise doesn't require an internet connection. More »
drm
Microsoft Stops Supporting MSN Music DRM, Tells You To Hurry Up And Transfer Your Songs
David says:Yet another reason not to buy DRM music. They are telling us that we have to burn our music to CD format since no additional computers or devices can be authorized after August 31, 2008. So let's see. Burn to CD, then rip said CD to MP3. Couldn't they just give us a tool to do it for us, just this once?David forwarded a copy of the email Microsoft sent him about the expiring DRM. Reading it gives us a headache. More »
Thanks to the demands of movie studios, as of April 15th any pay-per-view movies you record to your DirecTV DVR will disappear after 24 hours. [DirecTV] Thanks to Mark!
frustration
UPDATE: Microsoft May Slowly Be Fixing Their Broken XBOX DRM
A ray of hope from reader James—Microsoft was able to fix his broken XBOX Live account. Are they getting their act together? Maybe?Evening, Consumerist Editors (and hopefully readers)!More »
fair use
When Dean recorded HBO's new Tom Hanks-produced miniseries "John Adams"—which is not a pay-per-view or on-demand program—he was surprised to see it was flagged by Tivo's Macrovision software, which controls how many times you may watch a program and how long you can store it before it's automatically deleted. Now the question is, was this a mistake on the part of HBO or Dean's cable provider Comcast? Or—considering HBO's infamous anti-consumer stance on time-shifted programming—is it the beginning of a sneaky "back-door" approach to locking down all their content, something Tivo's own people said would probably not happen when they added Macrovision to their recorders in 2004?
More »
HBO Using Tivo's Macrovision DRM To Restrict "John Adams" Miniseries?
When Dean recorded HBO's new Tom Hanks-produced miniseries "John Adams"—which is not a pay-per-view or on-demand program—he was surprised to see it was flagged by Tivo's Macrovision software, which controls how many times you may watch a program and how long you can store it before it's automatically deleted. Now the question is, was this a mistake on the part of HBO or Dean's cable provider Comcast? Or—considering HBO's infamous anti-consumer stance on time-shifted programming—is it the beginning of a sneaky "back-door" approach to locking down all their content, something Tivo's own people said would probably not happen when they added Macrovision to their recorders in 2004?
More »
drm
Microsoft Has No Answer For Their Broken XBOX Live DRM
Reader Kevin's XBOX 360 suffered the usual Red Ring of Death, so he sent it in to be repaired. He got back a different XBOX 360 with a different serial number. That would be no big deal, except Kevin has purchased a bunch of content through XBOX Live... content that is no longer fully functional due to Microsoft's broken DRM. More »
drm
Adobe Won't Fix DRM Screw-Up Rendering E-Books Unreadable
If you use Leopard on a Mac and plan on buying e-books, be very careful—according to the various complaints on this thread, Adobe's Digital Editions still doesn't work on Leopard, and yet most places selling Digital Editions e-books won't warn you of this, leaving you with activated books you can't return but also can't read. More »
Sony has agreed to sell its songs DRM-free on the Amazon MP3 store, completing the set—now all four big record companies are on board. It's amazing how a little iTunes competitiveness will bring a bunch of executives together. [New York Times]
Inspired by Radiohead's recent digital experiment, British violinist Tasmin Little is releasing her next album online for free, sans DRM shackles. "I've done this with no intention of making money... I want to make [classical music] more accessible." We think Radiohead should borrow a page from Little in return and put hilarious Glamour Shots on their "In Rainbows" website. [Reuters]
drm
Napster Drops DRM, Will (Finally) Sell MP3s
Napster, once a file-sharing service that famously drug the RIAA kicking and litigating into the digital music era, will finally drop DRM and start selling mp3s, says Ars Technica. More »
riaa
Sony BMG Will Drop DRM
BusinessWeek says that Sony BMG will join us here in the 21st century when they become the last of the top 4 big record companies to drop DRM.More »
In a move that would mark the end of a digital music era, Sony BMG Music Entertainment is finalizing plans to sell songs without the copyright protection software that has long restricted the use of music downloaded from the Internet, BusinessWeek.com has learned. Sony BMG, a joint venture of Sony (SNE) and Bertelsmann, will make at least part of its collection available without so-called digital rights management, or DRM, software some time in the first quarter, according to people familiar with the matter.
error
Adobe's DRM Fails "Catastrophically."
In a stunning bout of honesty, Adobe's licensing subsystem would like you to know that it has managed to fail "catastrophically." More »
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