Sony apologizes, withdraws uninstaller, not before shooting self in foot
I am starting to know what it must feel like to be in Sony’s PR department. Every time I think that this colossal shambling nightmare of Sony DRM has gone away, and that I can afford to take a morning without monitoring Google News for new developments, a half dozen things pop up.
Today it’s the following items:
- Sony withdrew its web-based uninstaller, but not before
- actual exploits surfaced on the web for the holes that the web-based uninstaller left on users’ machines, and after
- finally publishing a list of 52 (not 20) titles they publish that are infected with XCP
- The Department of Homeland Security is advising customers never to install any software from an unexpected source (such as audio CDs)
- Reports are coming in of businesses, schools, and government agencies who are prohibiting their users from playing Sony BMG–or all–audio discs in their PCs
- Bruce Schneier (at Wired) accuses some anti-virus companies of being complicit with Sony BMG in allowing the DRM to be installed in the first place
Last, I want to give props to “Sory Electronics” for taking what I wanted to do with this site–give it a proper design and a catchy tagline–and running with it.
November 17th, 2005 at 3:05 pm
Sony promotes XCP not recalling it
http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/051116/nyw143.html?.v=31
Press Release Source: Columbia Records
Neil Diamond’s ‘12 Songs’ Makes Chart History as Artist’s First-Ever Top 10 Debut & First Top 10 Album in 13 YearsWednesday Nove…
November 17th, 2005 at 3:08 pm
Let’s face it, multinational companies the size of Sony have the financial power to control a government or governments let alone a bunch of insignificant plebs, oh sorry ‘customers’…This has certainly been apparent with the lack of mainsteam media coverage of an internet security event such as this! A little hacker from the backwoods invading 20,000 pc’s would have got more publicity & headlines, I dare say they would also have been ‘fast tracked’ through the legal system, had all equipment confiscated, would be banned from owning or using a computer for years & would now be doing some time in jail…Right now I think Sony are despicable for not doing much more to make the ‘customers’ more aware of this problem they created & feel governments are not doing enough to make them do it!…I also find it a concern that First 4 internet are still advertising their crap product too! as they seem to be nothing more than legalized hackers, malicious software & virus writers!
November 17th, 2005 at 3:19 pm
Sony promotes XCP not recalling it
November 18th, 2005
http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/051116/nyw143.html?.v=31
Press Release Source: Columbia Records
Neil Diamond’s ‘12 Songs’ Makes Chart History as Artist’s First-Ever Top 10 Debut & First Top 10 Album in 13 Years
Wednesday November 16, 2:45 pm ET
Released on November 8, with first true week’s sales of 92,705, according to SoundScan, 12 Songs is providing the strongest opening week’s numbers of Neil’s career.
I put this very simple question to SonyBMG:
Why are you still selling the Number 4 chart album on Billboard on your own web site?
Who is speaking for the 92,705 customers (Less 4,057 Digital Purchases) who have purchased this CD.? Why do you continue even on your own website to still be offering this CD for sale from these locations?
My full 1750 post of the above and everything else is at
http://netweb.wordpress.com/2005/11/18/sony-promotes-xcp-not-recalling-it/
November 17th, 2005 at 3:31 pm
The Wired article stated that Sony would probably not be prosecuted. Who can we write to to try to get them brought to justice?
November 21st, 2005 at 6:33 am
I would love to see Sony brought to justice for their behaviour in the market. There are things even before this that I think warrants some kind of reprimand.
They are a moraless company.
November 21st, 2005 at 2:48 pm
It was about time for Sony to release the complete list.
http://cp.sonybmg.com/xcp/english/titles.html
My favorite is #5 : a CD called “Suspicious Activity?” by a group called “The Bad Plus”.
Google it and see cover art for this CD.
November 21st, 2005 at 3:04 pm
Luckily most of the artists in the list are shit!
Seriously though, Sony needs to go back to basics. I have been harping on for yonks now about Sony cutting corners over the years. They have the ability to “make” good products and they have a history of a good brand that generally people used to really like (Walkman/Playstation/etc).
Recent Sony actions seem to be a bit of a WTF. I have been keeping a public log of Sony’s MP3 player debarkle, “The Cracking Buttons” issue, on my website. The list keeps growing!
Regarding this latest faux pas, Sony BMG’s mistakes bring home just how desperate traditional music distribution is getting (across the board), and how hard “they” (with RIAA as their rotweiler) are prepared to clasp onto their dwindling market, that just will not refuse to keep slipping away from them. They need to learn, as do the artists and consumers, that we don’t need them anymore. Traditional marketing sells “pop-pap” only to little kids - no names mentioned….”cough…. Spice..G…Girls… Boy…Zzzone… cough”. Quality music sells itself. CDs can always be copied. Analogue output to soundcard - No Autorun and no rootkits in that configuration people.
I hope there share price hits them where it hurts. Boy you gotta love free market economics.
Live by the sword, die by the sword.
November 22nd, 2005 at 11:36 am
Strange. Why is it that most of the artist are minor “Adult” artist. Things that make you go MMMMMM.
I would wonder why that are so intentent on “protecting” the low volume titles with an older audience which would anyway be less likely to “share” the music. Was it a dry run? Was it tried here because the target users would be less likely to notice? Was it because the targets would be less likely to have things worth seeing on their computers?
December 5th, 2005 at 9:06 am
OK, boycotting Sony is a good idea, but it’s not enough.
As many have noted, Sony can just wipe the 55 titles,
ignore the complaints (apparently from less than 1% of
it’s customers) and carry on developing new dirty tricks.
This is apparently what is happening.
However, there’s a better (more effective) way to operate
in this fast-wired world. Boycott organizations which are
responsive, e.g., Amazon. Yeah, strange idea, but read on.
Simply send an e-mail to Amazon (comment/suggestion
page) saying that you will not purchase anything through
Amazon until they stop carrying *any* Sony products.
Then do that. It’s a bitter pill to swallow, since Amazon is
very convenient … but there are always alternatives. This
is a great time to do it, right in the middle of the Xmas
buying season. If a lot of folks did this, Amazon would
have to comply with our demand or suffer greatly … and
this could happen in just a week or two! Having Amazon
drop all Sony products would be something that Sony
might actually feel [or maybe not, is Sony so big that they
can ignore the loss of Amazon outlet?]
BTW, there are other rationalizations for boycotting
Amazon over the Sony CD issue. For one, we (I, anyway)
was sold a poisoned product, and Amazon is the entity
who sold it to me. Granted, Amazon is not legally
responsible, and they are treating the CDs as “defective”
products. But they sold the poison. Also BTW, I’m not
personally against Amazon (or historically, Sony), and I
will miss using their services/products. But I do not trust
Sony any longer and it’s not just a boycott issue … I do
not want products from a manufacturer that treats it’s
customers as adversaries. Their products are not welcome
in my house (or computer) any longer. Same sort of thing
goes for Amazon, except that dropping the customer-
adversarial Sony brand from their catalog would restore
my trust in Amazon, i.e., convince me that they are on
my side, and I’d be happy to return as a loyal customer.
Well, that’s my solution.
Dave.
January 17th, 2006 at 3:25 pm
Keep it up my underlings, thanks for helping bring down Sony so my Xbox will be successful.
You’ll receive a discount on Windows in the mail.
September 2nd, 2007 at 10:29 am
Runescape Money Blog
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