Nice idea, i thought, i may do it, but i need better directions, so i left this sincere comment:

This looks like a fun activity, and i may try doing it at my local Apple store, but there are a few problems that i'd like to clear out before i embark on the mission.

1. I am in Israel. This questionnaire is quite US-centric. While Apple products may be more familiar to people in the US, where they are common in some schools and workplaces, it is not so in Israel. Here, until recently Apple computers were used only by a few graphic designers, and only recently Apple started marketing them to the general public. iPods are quite common here, and so are iPhones, but none of them are marketed half as heavily as they are in the US. Also, the last question is completely US-centric. Can you please improve it by making it more generic and international?

2. All of this questionnaire assumes that i must trust FSF's claims blindly. I do trust the FSF and i strongly believe that it acts for a good cause and i assume that it doesn't try to lie to me. Nevertheless, a few links to sources that prove the claims about the restrictions imposed by iPhone would strongly improve my point and my confidence when talking to the "genius". For example: a direct link to a Nokia website that proves that any developer can upload their programs to a Nokia phone, a direct link to a website with Steve Jobs' speech against DRM, a direct link to an Apple website that outlines the restrictions on software that can be used on the iPhone, a direct link to a website that proves that it is indeed impossible to play Ogg Vorbis-encoded music on the iPhone etc. Also, i don't even know what does it mean to "activate" an iPhone.

3. The FSF expects people to refuse non-free software, and all Apple products have it, so it would be a healthy assumption that Free Software activists would not be familiar with Apple products, style, lingo, etc. This questionnaire, however, assumes that i am familiar with these things. I have never used any Apple product at all, so i would feel quite awkward discussing them with an Apple-style person, who are also rumored to be rather arrogant about their stylishness. So could you please improve on that point and give a few tips on talking to Apple people?

Thanks in advance.

Talking like this to employees who represent the company is a very sobering experience. Asking them non-trivial questions often frustrates them badly. It's not my fault. They must take responsibility for their workplace.

From Gizmodo:

A firmware update scheduled to drop later this week will allow Sony Readers to use the .epub format, an open standard (with DRM support) that has the backing of several major book publishers. This means you'll be able to get books from sources other than Sony's own Connect store, which currently only has one third the titles of Amazon's Kindle store. The Kindle, however, currently uses the Mobipocket format for its Kindle Store books, and does not yet support .epub.

More from PCWorld:

...EPUB. It is known more technically as "the International Digital Publishing Forum’s XML-based standard format for reflowable digital books and publications." Many book publishers apparently are already publishing upcoming ebooks in this format and this is something Sony wants to capitalize on by making the Reader the first device of its type to support this. The Reader model PRS-505, starting next month, will be able to let users access ebooks in the EPUB format. It will also support, said Sony, Adobe ebooks with DRM protection as well as "the capability to reflow standard text-based Portable Document Format (PDF) eBooks for improved flexibility and readability." These Adobe updates will be possible with the use of Adobe Digital Editions 1.5 software.

To paraphrase another, admittedly more significant milestone, that took place nearly forty years ago this week, "That's one small step for a reader, one giant leap for e-books."

Adopting an open format can only help accelerate the range of choices for readers, which in turn will help drive demand for more titles, and other documents that could be stored on an e-reader. Note that the E-pub standard allows for DRM to be applied after the conversion process, which makes it up to the publisher whether the content is protected or not.

It remains to be seen whether Amazon's rumored Kindle 2.0 will support this standard. One piece of information was notably absent from all the hoopla around the Sony announcement this week. Sony recently made a major announcement about their corporate strategy and it contained the following quote:

Ensure that 90% of our electronics product categories are network-enabled and wireless-capable by the fiscal year ending March 31, 2011 (“FY2010”)

No mention this week about when the Sony Reader will have this capability. To my mind, this is the feature that most differentiates Sony's reader from the Kindle. Despite Kindle's less than elegant form factor and interface, the ability to download content wirelessly, at no extra cost, puts it miles ahead of anything else in the category. When does Sony plan to incorporate the wireless feature into their reader? (The PSP already has it, and so do a couple of their TVs.) Until they do, they will remain a distant second in the e-reader world, despite their adoption of a more open format of e-books.

(Andrea Borgnino, DRM Radio Software Forums via Media Network Blog)

avex dream2000オーディションからスタートした私たちdreamは、
様々に形を変えて活動をしてきました。
avex20周年となる今年、メンバー全員が成人した私たちは、
さらに大きな夢を追い続けるという意味を込め、
「Dream」という名のもとエンターテインメントを追求していくことに決めました。
これから発信し続ける「Dream」の様々なエンターテインメントを楽しみにしていてください！

また、長谷部優は、本人のかねてからの夢「女優」を目指し、個人で活動していくことになりました。
Dreamとなる6人も長谷部優の夢を応援し続けていきたいと思っています!!

今後も私たちは感謝の気持ち、初心を忘れることなく、ひたむきに夢を追い続けていきます。
そんな私たちを今後も温かく見守っていただけたら嬉しいです。

FROM dream

７年零７個月，先後經歷過數次隊員變更和一次改名，在近月無甚動作的情況下，終於發出了這樣的聲明：DRM (原 dream) 將會改名為「Dream」。除此之外，元老之一的長谷部優將會離開 dream 作獨立發展。

新的官網：http://www.dream-ldh.jp/ (將於８月１日開啟)

迷之聲: 直接解散不就好了嘛...然後 Yu 繼續個人活動，Sayaka 繼續跟長尾大去唱山歌 d@0@b

-John

Wer tatsächlich so dämlich ist und sich im Internet bei diversen Shops Musikstücke kauft, die per DRM geschützt sind, dem ist dann auch nicht mehr zu helfen.

Yahoo schließt seinen Musikstore und zeigt den Kunden den Finger: "Der Yahoo Musikstore schließt und stellt die Unterstützung seines DRMs ein, Kunden, die nach dem 30. September ihr System updaten, können ihre (legal heruntergeladenen, bezahlten) Songs nicht mehr hören. Stattdessen empfiehlt Yahoo, die Dateien als Audio-CDs zu sichern, ein Vorgang, der in Deutschland nach dem neuen Urheberrechtskorb soweit ich weiß illegal wäre."

(Via Nerdcore.)

Wann verklagt eigentlich die Musikmafia Yahoo wegen Anstiftung zur Urheberrechtsverletzung?

Ich kann nur sagen: Leute, klaut Musik im Internet, wo ihr sie finden könnt! Und dann geht auf Konzerte! Damit tut ihr den Musikern mit Sicherheit einen grösseren gefallen, als wenn ihr euer Geld den Musikmafia-Arschlöchern in den Arsch schiebt!

(Bild: DryIcons und lalala.)

To the discerning eye, it'll be noticed that the number-one priority in all big stores is preventing theft, particularly in the case of media. Wal-Mart and Zellers lock their games behind glass cases, EB/GameStop removes the boxed contents of every game, new or used, and we all know and hate the impenetrable plastic cases of doom of any product that hangs on a shelf.

Also, don't forget about the stickers. In some cases it's for security, some for cost-benefit, but in every case, it's the customer who pays for a policy that benefits only the business. Every DVD now comes with a sticker seal on the top of the case, Blockbuster video places a barcode sticker on the back and price sticker on the front of every DVD and game, and there's not a gamer in the world who doesn't despise the EB/GameStop price and barcode stickers on all games, again new or used.

Oh, but we're not done. Digital media is arguably worse. While the above mentioned are annoyances, they aren't hinderances; in the digital market, the prevention techniques are not only limiting to your enjoyment and use of the product you bought, but sometimes damaging to your computer. End-User License Agreements (EULA) are only prevented from making every customer a pirate by the fair-use laws, which are heavily lobbied to be removed entirely. Digital Rights Management (DRM) software in games, music and DVDs prevent playing without the disc, making back-ups, moving to alternate mediums or editing for the previously mentioned fair use; worse yet, DRM has occasionally installed monitoring programs that are both an invasion of privacy and a strain on computer systems.

If you ran your own business, would your focus be on locking down your products, or pleasing you, the customer? I think the customer would choose the latter; is he right?

If for example you buy music at the iTunes store you cannot play it on some devices because they use a different DRM technology, and the same story is repeated when you buy digital content at other outlets. A few years ago I invented a solution which I believe is viable, although it will require cooperation between all publishers of content and all manufacturers of devices to play the content (e.g. all consumer electronics companies as well as computer manufacturers).

It will also require the creation of a standards body/organization to act as a point of contact between the industry players, as well as between the industry and the consumer. Due to these requirements, and the sheer size of the undertaking, I have not taken this invention further and decided to post it here now that I have the blog online. Similar inventions may exist or may not - I have not done research. Obviously, as you will see after reading the entire text, the invention will need to be worked out in more detail.

The solution is this: a small device containing a microchip along the lines of a mobile phone SIM-card (however in a different shape: shaped like a small stick most likely, about two centimeters long and half a centimeter wide; a few millimeters thick). Instead of buying a SIM-card at a mobile phone outlet, you buy this DRMstick (perhaps to be called "drumstick" in daily use) at any consumer appliance/electronics store, computer outlet, department store, etc. When you buy it, you get a card with five identical sticks sealed to it in a tamper-evident way, and instructions on how to use the system printed on the card. There will be a way to personalize the sticks after purchase so you can tell them apart from those of friends and family members (colour bands supplied, or using an online application to print off labels at time of registration - see below).

The stick will fit in a slot (DRM Slot), to be designed for it, which will be present in each new appliance that hits the market (much like a memory card reader on a digital camera, printer or laptop, this slot will be present on every device on the market including TV's, computers, car stereo's, home theatre systems, MP3 player, cellphone, etc.). The software to read the sticks will be part of the firmware of these devices (which should be upgradeable).

Upon purchasing, the owner of the set of five DRMsticks pops one of them into the DRM Slot on his or her computer and "registers" the stick online with the central database.

Once registered, music and other digital content is, at the time of purchase, "matched" to the DRMstick present in the device used to purchase the content and "locked" to this particular set of five DRMsticks (the set of sticks the owner purchased, which should be globally unique). The locking mechanism most likely uses an encryption algorithm that uses the unique electronic signature of the DRMstick as the key to encrypt the content (plus additional safety features a hacker cannot know, such as some data that may have been entered by the owner at time of registration or other not publicly available information). Bit length of the key should be sufficient to thwart brute-force attacks (perhaps 512 or 1024).

The sticks can be freely moved between any devices the owner owns, or any other devices (say he or she goes to a party and wants to play content there). During normal use, the owner will probably leave several sticks in place in devices he or she often uses: one will stay in the car stereo, another in the computer, yet another in the home theatre system, for example. The remaining one or two could then be used to "roam" between devices.

The system is to be fitted with a checking routine that should someone try to play content without the (correct) DRMstick present, a reminder window will pop up (or for audio devices, a reminder message played) stating the owner of the content (as entered during registration), so that the appropriate DRMstick can be found and entered into the device to enable the content to be played.

The DRMstick should be fitted with a small hole (the way digital cameras and some cellphones have) to attach a strap, so that the DRMstick is easier to find when not inside a device.

There should be a system that can ensure replacement DRMsticks to be provided to the rightful owner in case of loss of a number of sticks from the original set. There would be a limit to this, for example three sets of sticks in total, with the third set not being available until for example three years after the original set was purchased.

The system could be enhanced by making the DRMstick "smart" and enabling its chip to be updated over the internet, remotely disabled in case of theft of devices, etc. etc. The central administrative body would need a well designed setup to allow most actions and requirements to be executed by computers, with only the minimum human intervention, to reduce overheads.

Another feature could allow protected content to be copied to a device such as an external harddisk or a USB key and be played for a certain maximum period (such as 24 or 48 hours) without a DRMstick being required, which could be useful for presentations, parties, etc. The number of times this could be executed would need to be restricted to a specific number of times per timeframe in order to avoid abuse.

All the above details to be fine-tuned depending on eventual requirements.

That's it for this quick writeup. If you work in the digital content industry and would like to brainstorm about the details of the above invention, or have any questions, you can contact me via the email address on my LinkedIn profile (sorry not posted here, to reduce spam).

George Spark

Disclaimer: Any trademarks mentioned herein are the property of their respective owners.
All usage of this site is entirely at users risk.

Tekijänoikeudet: Yes, goodigood, tarvitaan internet-ajallakin, ei voida romuttaa
DRM: über-bs, kauheaa, turhaa, ihmisten elämää vaikeuttavaa, aina kierrettävissä

Tänään sain sitten sähköpostiini taas loistavan esimerkkitapauksen siitä, miksi ja miten DRM haittaa musiikkibisnestä, aiheuttaa harmia rehellisille kuluttajille ja sitä kautta on vahingollista muusikoille ja kaikille luoville taiteilijoille. Ja elämälle! Maailmalle! Verenpaineelle!

Tyttöystäväni äiti soitti ja kertoi, että hän oli päättänyt ostaa "musiikkia verkosta" "kun sitä niin suositellaan".

Oli valinnut Hesarin Musalataamosta viisi kipaletta. Maksanut ne, ladannut koneelleen ja koettanut soittaa. Ei toimi. Yhteys asiakaspalveluun. (Pisteet asiakaspalvelulle nopeista ja ystävällisistä vastauksista, jotka ovat mielestäni myös selkeitä. Propsit Musalataamolle myös siitä, että sieltä voi (levy-yhtiöstä riippuen) ladata mp3-tiedostoja, joissa näitä ongelmia ei ole.)

Hei,

Harmillista, että näin on päässyt tapahtumaan.

Ensimmäiseksi tahtoisin kysyä oletteko ladanneet ilmaisen testikappale
"Classic Spacen"?
(http://musiikkilataamo.hs.fi/Magellan/pages/main.jsp?storeId=11801&pageId=collectionDisplay&viewId=63601)
Jos saitte sen vaivatta ladattua ja pystytte sitä soittamaan, teillä
pitäisi olla kaikki kunnossa järjestelmävaatimusten osalta.

Jos "Classic Space” ei toimi, on teillä luultavasti jotain asetuksia
väärin. Toimikaa seuraavasti:

Asentakaa uudelleen Windows Media Player ja poistakaa "Classic Space"
kovalevyltänne. Löydätte viimeisimmän version Windows Media Playeristä
tämän linkin kautta:
http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windowsmedia/download/AllDownloads.aspx?displang=en&qstechnology=

Windows Media Playerin uudelleenasentamisen jälkeen teidän tulisi
päivittää vielä Windows. Tarvittavat Windowsin päivitykset löytyvät
täältä: http://update.microsoft.com

On tärkeää, että valitset "Custom Installation" ladataksesi kaikki
tarvittavat päivitykset. Tarkistakaa myös soittimenne päivitykset
painamalla "Help" --> "Search for updates..." Windows Media Playeristä.

Kun olette tehneet tämän, kokeilkaa ladata "Classic Space" uudelleen.

Jos "Classic Space" toimii nyt, olette asentaneet kaiken oikein.

Saatteko ilmaiskappaleen toimimaan? Jos, ette niin minkälaisia
virheilmoituksia tulee?

Ystävällisin terveisin,
Asiakaspalvelu / Musiikkilataamo

No, ei alkanut toimimaan näillä ohjeilla, tuli vain uusia virheilmoituksia. Uusi yhteydenotto.

Hei,

Kokeilkaa vielä päivittää DRM uudelleen.

Tässä siis linkki tuohon DRM:n uudelleen asentamiseen:
http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windowsmedia/player/webhelp/default.aspx?&mpver=11.0.5721.5230&id=C00D11E2&contextid=71&originalid=C00D2781

Valitkaa sivun alaosasta " To Reset Windows Media DRM system" ja
seuratkaa ohjeita.

Älkää käyttäkö tätä jos teillä on paljon DRM-suojattua musiikkia
koneella? Keksitään sitten jotain muuta.

Auttaako mitään?

Ystävällisin terveisin,
Asiakaspalvelu / Musiikkilataamo

*kiroilua*

Tässä on niin monta seikkaa väärin. Musiikin soittamisen pc:llä pitäisi olla suurinpiirtein maailman yksinkertaisin asia. Se on toiminut tietokoneissa jo 90-luvun puolivälistä lähtien.

Miksi sitten herran vuonna 2008 rehellinen kuluttaja joutuu ottamaan "vävypoikaansa" yhteyttä, jotta voisi kuunnella musiikkia koneellaan? Miksi? Onko kenelläkään hyvää vastausta?

Huonoja vastauksia on useita:
- Musalataamon käyttämä Microsoftin DRM-suojattu formaatti on susi
- Windows Media Player on susi
- Windows Media Playerin asennusohjelma on susi
- Windowsin Updater on legendaarisen susi
- Windowsin DRM on susi
- Windows on susi

Kaikki nuo edellä mainitut hypyt ovat täysin turhia! Mitään noista asiakaspalvelun neuvoista ei tarvittaisi, jos kaikkien levy-yhtiöiden käyttämä formaatti olisi esim. mp3, jossa digitaalista "tekijänoikeus-teknologiaa" ei ole. Ja puoliskon äiti voisi vapaasti valita alustan, millä laillisesti ostamiaan tiedostoja käyttää. Kyllä internet-bisnekselle näin keskeisten perusasioiden pitäisi olla niin helppoja, että ne eivät aiheuta ongelmia edes Pihtiputaan mummolle. Koskaan. Missään. Miten paljon rahaa firmat säästäisivät ihan jo sillä, että asiakaspalvelut voisivat ratkoa todellisia ongelmia itseaiheutettujen sijaan.

Prkl! Älyttömintähän tässä on se, että helpommalla pääsisi jos laittomasti lataisi! Rehellisyydestä sakotetaan!

Helppo vastaus ongelmaan olisi: osta anoppi Mac, niin ongelmat loppuvat, mutta ei se ihan niinkään ole. Myös Applen käyttämät teknologiat vaikeuttavat ihmisten elämää tarpeettomasti. Minulle on eräs ihan kaikinpuolin fiksu ihminen (kansanedustaja ammatiltaan) selvittänyt, miten sen iTunesin kopiosuojan voi kätevästi kiertää polttamalla kappaleet ensin CD-R levylle ja sitten kääntämällä ne levyltä taasen iTunesilla mp3-muotoon ja sitten siitä voi "helposti" siirtää fileet ei-iPod mp3-soittimeen. Ihan hemmetin näppärää todellakin. Ja nuo peräkkäiset säästökoodaukset tekevät varmaan vain kauniita asioita musiikin äänenlaadulle.

Epätodellista!

Toinen hyvä esimerkki DRM:n aiheuttamista ääliömäisyyksistä on se, että vielä anno domini 2008 ei ole mahdollista "vuokrata" leffoja verkon kautta Macilla (Suomessa). Kun ei ole sitä Windows Media Player X (avec le DRM) -softaa ei. Kaiken muun voi hoitaa verkon kautta, ihmissuhteetkin osin, mutta leffat täytyy noutaa vuokraamosta. Ja kuitenkin p2p- ja torrent-verkkojen kautta filkkoja on voinut imuttaa kohta jo kymmenen vuotta. Eivätkö elokuva-puljut ymmärrä miten paljon bisnestä heiltä menee sivu suun oman typeryytensä vuoksi? Musabisnes on asioiden laidan jo pitkälti ymmärtänyt. (Ei näemmä siis kokonaan hekään.)

Olen täynnä pyhää vihaa kaikkia niitä tahoja kohtaan, joiden mielestä DRM (sisältäen myös kaikenlaiset aluekoodit) on hyvä idea.

Tekijänoikeuksia puolustan verissä päin viimeiseen saakka, mutta tiedostojen vapaan käytön puolesta olen myös valmis barrikadeille. Nykyinen tilanne ei ole kenenkään etu.

Als erstes Mitglied der Musikindustrie hat sich Universal der Plattform angeschlossen.

Preise und Starttermin sind noch keine bekannt. ("later this year" habe ich auch schon bei anderen Projekten gehört)

Allerdings wird das Angebot wohl nur in England und Irland verfügbar sein. (mal sehen, ob daraus noch ein "vorerst" wird oder ob das dauerhaft so sein wird)

Quelle: Heise, Golem, Pressemitteilung

Universal Music and UK-based satellite TV broadcaster Sky are preparing to launch a new DRM-free music with hopes of competing with Apple's iTunes.

The new and as of yet unnamed service will be of the subscription variety, meaning instead of having to pay for each track or album, you'll pay one flat fee each month and have access to as much or as little music as you'd like.

By being free of DRM, the service hopes to succeed where others, such as Napster, have struggled.

No word on exactly how the pricing will be other than to say that it will be "competitively priced" against their rivals.

[Via Electronista and The Guardian]

if Microsoft made a music format that would only play on their music players. Microsoft would have anti competitiveness lawsuits from every nation in the world. They are not even allowed to bundle media player with windows because its anti competitive. how have apple managed it?

Itunes pricing also means that songs are 50p in america 74p in Europe and 99p in the UK - but I cant buy from any other store but the UK.

again how ?

just another reason why I hate apple - they get away with anything it seems

My original idea: a phone that is useful to the home office or small business owner and has the same power as a large corporation's answer system plus a ton of more features and personalization options.

Features:

• Usability as a normal, run of the mill, house phone
• Ability to hook up with any computer with installed software and a USB port
• All phone features are also capable of being accessed on computer including answering (which enables phone's speakerphone), holding calls, forwarding calls, call waiting switch, switching lines, sending to answering machine, turning off phone's ring or switching volume levels 
• Caller ID LCD screen and the power to save a list of all calls with time stamp on your computer (and a list of most recent calls on phone itself if not connected).  List viewable on computer and phone.  Caller ID can show on computer itself.
• Phone is capable of making calls through Skype
• Can use a non-DRM protected MP3 as phone's ringer as well as several built-in rings
• Can be connected to other Smart Phones through LAN
• Can use computer software for several answering options including: regular answering machine that plays recorded message and stores messages on phone or on computer, a text-to-speech translated "robotic" answering machine that reads from a text file off your computer that can then forward the call to another line, a touch-tone enabled phone answering system, or a combination of any of the above ideas.
• Waiting music comes from a set playlist if enabled
• Call forwarding easy for transferring a call to cell for when you need to leave
• Dialing gets easier with keyboard shortcuts
• Finding numbers gets easier with phone company Caller ID lists and on line directories both integrated
• Of course, phone still functions when computer is off

Now you can see why I added the Creative Commons license yesterday.  I'd be honored if someone actually made this phone, though.  If you take the challenge, let me know first.

The report sadly speaks of digital rights management quite positively (although they deviously disguise the term as "technological protection measures"), but even they could not ignore the fact that it does hinder the development of new technology in some cases:

Anti-circumvention laws ban certain technologies. As a result, these laws may impact on – and inhibit – both innovation, and competition in technology markets.

The above quote, interestingly, was referenced in a footnote as being quoted from Kimberlee Weatherall, an Australian intellectual property lawyer who was the recipient of the 2007 Rusty Wrench award.

Sorry to anyone who was expecting me to come to some sort of conclusion or argue a point at the end of this post. I just wanted to say what I'd been doing, and felt this was too big for Twitter, so I posted it in my blog instead.

What brought StarForce to my attention?

I first became aware of StarForce a few years ago, when my old PC developed a technical fault. The fault was unusual, and took a lot of effort to resolve. My computer would intermittently fail to detect the presence of the CD drive in Windows. It would always find it at the boot screen and in the BIOS, but randomly Windows would not show the D drive, meaning that I could not use the PC.

An odd problem! The BIOS always detected the CD drive on boot up, but Windows would sometimes be unable to recognise it. Opening up the case and refitting the cables etc. made no difference. Rebooting Windows once or twice in a row would fix the problem, but it came back again and again, every few days. Very annoying, and wasted a lot of my time. I tried everything to fix the problem, and was on the verge of wiping my computer and doing a full reinstallation of Windows. As luck would have it, I stumbled upon some online information about StarForce DRM.

The online information explained what StarForce was, how to see if StarForce is installed on your PC and more importantly, how to remove it. I followed the instructions and found to my surprise that StarForce was installed on my PC without my knowledge. I followed the instructions for manually removing StarForce. I rebooted. The CD fault never came back after I uninstalled StarForce, ever again. I suppose this could be a coincidence, but what do you think?

How did StarForce get on my PC in the first place?

Well, I never did find out which game first installed StarForce. I have purchased a lot of PC games over the years, and have subsequently discovered that some of the come with StarForce. I can say for certain however that:

1. I have never taken a conscious decision to install StarForce on my PC.
2. I have never noticed a StarForce logo prominently displayed on the packaging of a game.
3. At the time of purchase I have never been aware that StarForce was included with a game.
4. There was no Uninstall option in Windows Control Panel to cleanly remove StarForce.
5. I have never been aware that a StarForce setup program was running on Windows; it has always installed covertly. The only exception to this is when I was forced to manually download a StarForce update in a futile attempt to get Spellforce 2: Shadow Wars DRM to work - see below for more information.

Later support problems

Sometime later I was asked to fix another computer in order to get a child’s game to work on a family PC. I get this sort of thing a lot because people think I am ‘good with computers’. I must be a sucker for a compliment. I took a look at the machine, and found that the game had StarForce protection.  I did some more research. I found some home DVD editing software on the machine. I think it was called DVD Lab, but it has been a few years so forgive my memory. Anyway, the point is that it was perfectly legal home DVD authoring software and not PC game or DVD copying software.

I emailed the company support address and waited a few days for an answer. The problem turned out to be this. The DVD authoring software had used something called a VSO driver I read online that VSO is an alternative to Adaptec’s ASPI driver for talking to the DVD drive. This seems fair and reasonable. The problem turned out to be that StarForce identified that a VSO driver was installed on the machine, and blocked the game from running.

Why on earth did StarForce do this, I wondered? I did some googling and found out that some DVD copying software such as Blindwrite also used a VSO driver. So in effect this was a false positive on the part of StarForce, which decided to block the gamer from playing the game they had purchased because it detected a driver on the machine which had the potential for being used for piracy. The truth is that no piracy was involved, but the game would not work anyway.

A solution was offered by tech support. Go into Windows Device Manager, select the option to display hidden Windows devices, and disable the VSO driver. I did this, it worked. StarForce DRM no longer blocked the game, which then ran OK.

Of course the DVD authoring software no longer worked. It turned out this solution was unacceptable, so the game was returned to the shop and exchanged for a different game that the kids wanted. Effectively StarForce DRM cost a sale on this occasion, and wasted my time.

A lesson learned

I made the mistake of buying Spellforce 2 as a Christmas present. I really regret this. I wasted two evenings trying and failing to get this to work. JoWood tech support did not respond to any of my support questions in trying to make the game start.

Had I known that the game used StarForce DRM I would have chosen a different game, due to my past experiences. Again, the StarForce DRM software had been installed covertly on the PC. There was no DRM information supplied on the packaging. I really do think that the DRM system included should be listed alongside the other info in the technical details section on PC games packaging for all games.

I installed the Spellforce 2, but it refused to start and kept insisting that I insert the disk into the drive. The disk was inserted, but the game still did not work. The DRM software failed to recognise that the original game disk was in the drive. No amount of reinstalling would do the trick. Of course there were no piracy tools on the PC, but from past experience I looked for VSO drivers regardless, and found none.

The only support I could find at the time was on the game forums. It seemed I was that I was not alone; other people had the same problem. The only practical information I could find was that I had to download and install a StarForce update in order to make the game compatible with more machines. I tried this, it still did not work. I gave it several attempts but I could not get the game to recognise that the disk was in the drive, despite the StarForce update.

In the end I received no personal support whatsoever from JoWood. The Christmas present was totally wasted, all due to a DRM system that refused to let the customer play a game. After two ruined evenings trying to update StarForce so that it would allow the game to run, I gave up, dismayed. Admittedly I later found a website called GameCopyWorld which contains all manner of patches to let people play their game without a CD in the drive, but I am not sure of the legality of this in the UK. To this day Spellforce2 sits on a shelf in its original packaging, unplayed and gathering dust. What a waste of my money, all due to a DRM error.

From my experiences with StarForce I learned a valuable lesson. To this day I have learned never to impulse buy PC games again, but to check the DRM system online before deciding to purchase a PC game. If I see that StarForce is included with a game then I choose not to make a purchase. Despite the official StarForce website using phrases like, ‘guaranteeing high reliability’ and ‘technologically perfect products’, I prefer to use my own judgement based on personal experience with this product.

I have suffered so much nuisance at the hands of StarForce DRM that I prefer to avoid the product. After all, it’s my money I’m spending. I just wish PC games companies were more honest on their packaging so that honest customers can make an informed decision at the time of purchase.

Other gamers' reactions to StarForce

So much for my personal stress with this product, what about other people’s experience with StarForce?
Well, it would seem I am far from alone in suffering stress caused by StarForce. Here is a list of relevant websites.

Please note, I am not affiliated with any of the following sites, we can only judge for ourselves whether they are accurate or reliable. However, there does seem to be some consistency between these sites and other online resources. I have just picked out a few to highlight. As always, I encourage you to form your own opinion. Do you think StarForce DRM is benign to gamers?

http://www.onlinesecurity-on.com/
An official removal tool to take StarForce off your computer.  If you scroll past all the unhelpful rhetoric criticising other companies drive emulation products, there is a link to an official download for the removal tool buried near the end of the page. I wish this tool had been available when I first had to uninstall StarForce while fixing PCs all those years ago.

Seems like an odd technique for software though – to fail to uninstall the DRM when you uninstall the game it came with. To fail to provide an uninstall option in Windows control panel. To put an uninstaller online for download, but on a different website and not on the StarForce official support pages. In my opinion there is scope here for StarForce to be more helpful to game buying customers.

Actually, think about that for a minute. From the perspective of StarForce the company, members of the public are not paying customers are they? I think they are actually end users. The ‘paying customers’ would be big software companies who license StarForce DRM to protect their games. Am I right? If so, who then is actually responsible for paying for the provision of support to PC gamers?

http://www.glop.org/starforce/

I stumbled upon a public ‘Boycott StarForce’ campaign!  Wow, it looks like I am far from alone at having experienced problems with StarForce. There are allegations of StarForce damaging CDs and  DVDs – both the media and the drives. Some people are complaining that having StarForce installed on their PC caused their DVD writers to malfunction (they use the phrase ‘irreversible hardware failures’).

There is even a movie recording of a PC being forcibly restarted in the middle of a game, allegedly due to the StarForce DRM software.

Something that might prove useful is the page showing how to detect whether your PC has had StarForce installed without your knowledge. If you have had problems with your PC then it might be worth checking.

http://www.cdfreaks.com/news/Starforce-enforces-DRM-by-instant-reboot-without-warning.html
Well worth a look. Provides some information about what StarForce is programmed to do to your PC. It might explain the video on www.glop.org showing a PC rebooting itself in the middle of a game.
Just a thought.. In my experience Windows PCs have a shutdown routine to ensure that all data is saved and Windows closes in a clean fashion. This avoids data loss and the possibility of file corruption on the hard disk. I would be distressed if a DRM system made my PC repeatedly reset in the way shown on the video; it seems to me to be potentially damaging.
Several of the published comments on this StarForce related page are worth a read, such as shaolin007 quoting a definition of a computer virus, or dvdfaetter reporting serious technical problems with his PC which he thinks may be related to StarForce.

http://wiki.boycottstarforce.net/index.php/Game_list
A list of games which use StarForce DRM. If you have found StarForce on your PC and are wondering where it came from, this list may help.

From browsing online forums and other web sources, I found several mentions of the StarForce games list. It seems as though PC game buyers are checking the list before purchasing a game. Reassuring that I am not alone in my buying preferences!

http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20060313-6365.html
The publishers of Galactic Civilizations II had decided not to impose a DRM system on their customers, and released the game accordingly. Reports have it that the game sold very well indeed, and generated a lot of good will from customers. It seems this provoked a reaction from StarForce.

Check out the final paragraph of the ars technica article. This refers to a news story that you can read about elsewhere too.  It says that StarForce published on their own website forum a working link to download a pirated version of Galactic Civilizations II, via torrents. Thereby encouraging and facilitating piracy of the game because it did not use the StarForce DRM system. Shocking!

http://www.boingboing.net/2006/01/30/anticopying-malware-.html and
http://www.boingboing.net/2006/01/31/starforce-threatens-.html
First  the a short web article provides a screenshot showing hidden StarForce drivers installed on a PC, and information about the behaviour of StarForce. There is some encouragement for  people to join the boycott, and the blog has been given a provocative headline.

In response to this article, it says that the PR Manager from StarForce wrote back with an email that is very enlightening. The site published the email in January 2006. Would you feel intimidated to receive an email such as this? Please take a look and judge for yourself. I have no idea whether or not Cory Doctorow’s article does violate approx eleven un-named international laws as stated, but the response from StarForce is very clear: their company’s corporate lawyer is going after this guy because of what he said. Oh, and the email said that the FBI will also be involved.

If you have read some of my other articles, you may have seen my definition of bullying: the act of intimidating others, especially weaker people.  I must confess to feeling somewhat intimidated when writing online about my own honest experiences with StarForce, in the light what I read in Cory Doctorow’s article. According to http://gamepolitics.livejournal.com/193154.html  other people have received similar correspondence from StarForce.

Conclusion

Let’s wrap up part two of my investigation into affect of DRM on computer games, ‘Is DRM killing PC games?’ Well done if you made it this far!

I have recounted my own personal experiences with StarForce, and looked briefly at reports from other people. You can read these accounts online for yourself.

I had never taken issue with older copy protection schemes on computer games. From the annoying Lenslok that came with Elite on the Spectrum, the colour coded card from Jet Set Willy, the spinning Code wheels that came with Pool Of Radiance, even the occasional ‘now type in the word found on page x of the manual’ type of protection on the Amiga and PC. These were minor inconveniences, and as a paying customer I tolerated them because I understood the need to protect the company’s revenue from piracy.

On the Amiga and on the PC I was dimly aware that games were using copy protection techniques such as formatting floppy disks and CDs in unusual ways. These never noticeably interfered with my computer, and I blissfully ignored them and played the games I had purchased.

When StarForce DRM came out though, things changed. I only noticed these changes when I encountered computer problems which coincided with StarForce.

1. I found that this DRM system was invasively making changes to the way my computer worked, by installing hidden files and drivers which affected the way Windows and other applications run.
2. I became annoyed when a game required administrator privileges on my PC in order to secretly install a DRM system without my permission.
3. I began to suspect that the DRM system was leaving some aspects of its software running constantly on the PC in the form of drivers. I lacked sufficient technical knowledge to be certain of this, but I could certainly see hidden device drivers visible in Windows when I looked for them.
4. I realised that the DRM system was being left behind on the computer even when the game itself was removed, a practice I find unacceptable.
5. I found out that DRM software was now spying on what other software was installed on a PC, and then refusing to allow a purchased game to work. Even though there was no attempt at piracy. As a paying customer I find it unacceptable that a game does not work because of this invasive DRM practice.
   I found myself wasting hours of my time delving into the workings of hidden Windows drivers, system files and new registry keys that I previously new nothing about in order to get games to work.
6. I found myself for the first time being unable to get a game that I had paid for to even start.
7. I found myself for the first time having to download and install software updates to the DRM system itself in the hope that it would fix the game.
8. I found I had wasted time and money due to DRM when all I wanted to do was play games I had legally purchased.
9. I found that I wanted to avoid buying games which used StarForce DRM because of the risks to a computer costing hundreds of pounds, for the sake of installing a DRM system protecting a game worth a tiny fraction of that amount.

Therefore I found that my game buying habits had been changed by DRM such as StarForce, and from what I have read online, I am far from alone! People are saying ‘DRM is killing PC games’.  Well, I conclude that if DRM is changing people’s game buying habits, then there might be something to this complaint.

I will continue my report on DRM in computer games in Part three of ‘Is DRM killing PC games?’ coming soon, when I shall look more closely at another widely used DRM system called Securom.

... Talkjack

See also:

Is DRM killing PC games? (part one)

concept: Neil Patrick Harris as an evil genius, rejected from the Evil League of Evil, in love with a girl from the laundrymat, with a predisposition to breaking into song.  what could possibly go wrong?

before I get to that, more backstory.  during the writer's strike last year, some tv/movie writer (I know, he's a big shot and I could easily look it up, but this is a rant and not a piece of journalism) conceives of a web-based mini-series, supposedly to prove some kind of point about the crux of the writer's-strike issue.  the core issue there was how writer's would be compensated for TV work that was re-broadcast over the Internet.  really, that's what they were fighting for -- that's what kept me from new episodes of The Office for what seemed like forever.  so he would make the mini-series semi-professionally but on-the-cheap, and broadcast it over the Internet, and prove... something.

k, but here's the catch -- I can't watch the episodes.  and it's not just me, here's a list of people (scroll down to the Responses) who can't watch it over the net.  there is a one-week free period (started 7/15) before it moves to i-Tunes only; then there will be a DVD release.  but all these people can't view the free release.  apparently some people need to disable their firewalls in order to watch the video -- some even had to disable the firewall on their Wi-Fi/Broadband routers... hardly a reasonable expectation.

when I go to Act I, I'm told "The video is not available at this site."  the FAQ says some people have better luck when using Internet Explorer... great news for people who use Linux or Mac/OS X.  no, I'm not going to install Windows in order to watch this.  and yes, yes, there are plenty of good video web sites that work with Linux/Firefox.

some people said, 'fine, I'll pay the $4 on i-Tunes' ($1.99 per episode or $4 for a 'seasons pass'), but they can't get the video outside of US/Canada.  did anyone tell them that the Internet tends to be somewhat global?  somehow the incompatibilities, the proprietary video format/site that only works if you disable firewalls, the i-Tunes tie-in -- they all seem to fly in the face of the supposed "I'm going to skirt around the media establishment" motivation of the series creator.  instead of proving a point to the networks and studios that there are other viable options, they seem to be proving the opposite -- web-distribution is plagued with problems.  I'd be better off if this was on TV; there's no guesswork as to whether I'm going to be able to watch a show on NBC or AMC or SHOwtime (yes, yes, no).

so I turned to [uh] secondary markets (youtube and torrents) to see if I could view a copy of Acts I and II, but to no avail.

I understand, in a business-school kind of way, why they are going through hoops to lock down the video.  if it's on YouTube, people can save it or re-share it and a big part of their business model seems to be the i-Tunes and DVD sales.  ok, I get it -- if DVD-quality versions get shared now, you won't get DVD sales later.  but here's the thing -- they won't get DVD sales later if it doesn't get big enough hype now.  it reminds me of BMW's "The Hire" series years ago -- their videos were online (ie, Ambush, The Follow), and they were great, and I was probably one of the first to get them on DVD because I knew on a big TV with big sound they would be even better*.  if I had never seen the online videos, I wouldn't have bothered with the DVD.

and you won't get DVD sales later if the steps you've taken upfront only frustrate a significant chunk of your market.

I imagine this is similar -- who is going to buy the Doctor Horrible DVD without having first seen the video online?  how many more would possibly buy the DVD if they see the video online, through video services that work like YouTube, or streaming it from their own site (or partnering with Akamai or similar).  even if the video got loose on the torrents, I bet they'd net more DVD sales.

it doesn't have to be all or nothing.  here's my solution, and it's not rocket science:  release a low-quality version on all available channels -- youtube, torrents, whatever.  the video and audio quality should only be as good as is necessary to get the plot across.  anyone who wants to see it in glorious HD can get it on i-Tunes or the proprietary/DRM'd web site or DVD.  nobody is going to bother pirating/selling a crappy 640x480 version of the series, or more accurately, nobody is going to bother buying a crappy 640x480 version.  but people who see the low-res version might be compelled to buy a better-resolution version.

long story short (too late): was psyched, now very disillusioned.  prognosis: wait until the DVD's are released, then I'll be able to find it online.  and no, the producers will not get a dime.

* also, I've had an obsession with BMWs since before I could drive.

Below are the detailed tutorial about how to burn WMA playlist to TuneClone's virtual CD drive with Windows Media Player:

Step 1. Download TuneClone from http://www.tuneclone.com/ and install it.

TuneClone is fully compatible with Windows XP, Vista. A virtual CD Burner will be installed. This virtual CD-RW will be used to convert music files.

Step2. Set Burn option at Windows Media Player.

Launch Windows Media Player and click Burn button in the main window to enable the burning function of Windows Media Player. From the drop-down list, please tick Audio CD option if it is currently unchecked.

Step 3. Select TuneClone's Virtual CD Burner.

Click the Next Drive button to select TuneClone's Virtual CD Burner.

Step 4. Start burning.

Drag your music files to the Burn List, and click the Start Burn button to burn the playlist.

After the burning gets started, TuneClone will automatically convert the music file to MP3. You can open the manager screen to show all the converted music files.

The most important step is to choose the CD burner. Then the software can convert the music files automatically. It is exceedingly easy when you want to batch convert lots of files.

Note: Under Windows Vista, Windows Media Player 11 may not be able to choose the TuneClone's virtual CD burner.

Read more about it here: L33tzone

Being an unexperienced new guy and having not had the chance to try out any eBook reader device, sometimes it is hard to fully understand what it is being said. The three of them are against the "evil" DRM, and I could share their reasons (and one has to be brave to try to convince the authors), though, as David Rothman points out:

But what is being done here in Spain? Are publishing companies investing in digitalization? Do they have digital departments? Any clue about Publishing On Demand? And a problem that I am particularly facing: How do you change senior editors' reluctancy to going digital, to technology, especially when they foolishly think what and how they do things cannot be improved upon or at least complemented?

I am afraid that will have to wait for another post.

Entonces como Eduardo Arcos informa, aparece 7digital una tienda que llega a acuerdos con algunas compañias para poner a la venta canciones en formato MP3 sin ninguna restricción.

¿ Y cual es el resultado? que cuadruplican las ventas.

Ce qu'on fait, c'est qu'on travaille avec les gens pour éliminer les délais, éliminer les processus inutiles. Et puis l'autre élément important, c'est que ça se fait sur le terrain

Le Système de Production Toyota est une des bases fondamentales du génie industriel, du lean manufacturing, du lean office... mais aussi du lean healthcare, connu depuis plusieurs années aux Etats-Unis.

Un projet pilote a été réalisé récemment à l'hôpital de Val-d'Or en collaboration avec Promaintech Novaxa (une division de DMR).

Grâce aux experts certifiés «ceinture noire» du Lean Six Sigma de Promaintech Novaxa, l'application de méthodes Lean au domaine de la santé est une réussite. En effet, quelques semaines seulement après le début du projet pilote, l'efficacité du Lean Healthcare est tangible : jusqu'à 3 interventions chirurgicales supplémentaires peuvent être exécutées chaque jour, des économies budgétaires sont réalisées et le délai d'attente à l'hôpital est réduit.

Pour terminer, voici un commentaire de Philippe Blondeau, ing., MBA, conseiller en Lean Enterprise et un des principaux collaborateurs de NSI Solution dans le domaine du Lean :

Suite à mon voyage récent au Japon pour visiter 2 usines Toyota et autres, il m'a été donné de constater le niveau de maturité exceptionnel des usines en Lean Manufacturing. Il n'est pas surprenant de constater que Toyota a déclassé GM à titre du plus grand fabriquant automobile au monde.

Les concepts du Lean Manufacturing sont génériques et sont maintenant appliqués sous le nom de Lean Enterprise ou Lean Transactionnel et ils s'appliquent très bien au domaine des services.

Le domaine hospitalier peut être, et doit être, perçu comme une entreprise qui doit gérer efficacement ses opérations. Mon point de vue est clair que le problème dans le milieu hospitalier n'en est pas un de financement, mais plutôt d'efficacité. Le milieu hospitalier peut grandement bénéficier des apprentissages et des techniques utilisées en usine. Il est encourageant que le nouveau ministre de la Santé et des Services sociaux, le Dr Yves Bolduc, ait cette vision.

La balle se retrouve maintenant dans les mains des consultants de continuer à obtenir des succès dans l'implantation du Lean Manufacturing en milieu hospitalier. Il s'agit d'un nouveau créneau qui amènera beaucoup de visibilité et ouvrira la porte à d'autres secteurs du domaine des services.

Naja, auf jeden Fall hat es dann ewig gedauert, bis der Manager fertig installiert und in irgendwelchen neu angelegten T-Online-Ordnern versteckt war. Als es dann irgendwann so weit war und ich den Manager gestartet habe, konnte ich noch deaktivieren, dass der ML-Manager Standard-Player für die ganzen verschiedenen Formate ist und danach ging gar nichts mehr. Das Programm musste leider vorzeitig beendet werden. Auch ein erneutes Starten des Programm führte zum gleichen Ergebnis: "Musicload Manager funktioniert nicht mehr". Starten, abstürzen, starten, absürzen, starten, abstürzen - mehr kann das Ding wohl nicht. Funktion = Null ... tolles Teil ... Da müssen sich einige T-Online-Programmiere wohl nochmal an die Arbeit machen

Dave W. makes quite a few good points in this piece.

I too like apple products but I wish they were a LOT more open. I quit supporting them in any way quite a while back due to their stupid attitude about DRM and as soon as I can get Skype (or some other voip system that will allow me to make phone calls to regular phones at a reasonable per month cost) to work correctly on the linux box here I'm gonna move the iBook over to linux and quit using the Apple os and apps completely. Just my $0.02 worth...