Windows users check your task-list and disable this program.

Pretty slick NPGMC! .. wait til others find out that yo content is running this update.

This service enables Windows Media Player to support the SDMI protocol (Secure Digital Music Initiative) when copying CDs or packaging copyrighted downloaded music to SDMI compliant music players and storage devices.

SDMI is attempting to create a technical standard that will place a permanent watermark on digital content, starting with music, that will be used to strictly control its public use. At the core of SDMI's specifications is the requirement that SDMI-protected content can never exist in an unprotected state. Content containing an SDMI-compliant watermark will even retain its protection in an analog form, since the watermark is made part of the audio signal.

Under SDMI's specifications, content providers will have the power to code their content with a set of usage rules that will govern how consumers may use their music. These rules will then instruct the SDMI-compliant device as to the number of times content may be reproduced, if any.

This process takes at least 1.2Mb of memory, yet most users do not use any of the SDMI features of Windows Media Player. Therefore, if you are such a user, we advise that you disable this process with Startup Manager under Windows 9x/ME, or set this service to manual in Windows 2000/XP. If you are intending to transfer music to SDMI-compliant portable devices (I know of no such devices existing currently) then set this to Automatic, otherwise you may safely leave this set to Manual.

http://www.eff.org/IP/Aud...ycott.html

I tested some copied NPGMC content on 3 pcs without the WMP7 update and after I played the music.. it was running.

Sneaky.

Sorry...I don't mean to sound dumb, but is this a bad thing? Isn't it just protecting the material from being bootlegged? Or am I not understanding?

what about the MAC?

noticed
it
2..

thx

wendy said:

SDMI is bad.
DRM is bad.

(simply put)

We don't need no stinkin' hardware tellin' us what (not) to do. We can decide for ourselves.
Look at the DVD-situation: encrypted disks, region coding, macrovision. Three (3!!) ways to annoy the user (owner!) of a DVD disk. And still DVD's are ripped, copied, etc, etc, etc.
DRM is just a pain in the ; it costs a lot to implement and we (the consumers) must pay these investments and suffer from them, yet they aren't 100% effective (hence we have the DMCA and EUCD-derrived laws)...

udo

No matter what kind of crap copy protection methods they try to implement, if the sound passes through your sound card it can be recorded.

RomeoMustDie said:

No, don't put it on manual. Deactivate it if you're
running XP. Typical of Microsoft to screw up a good
media player with this SDMI crap.

Whats a better media player to use on XP these days?

yamomma said:

Burn away using iTunes with no fear of watchdogs -- Apple rocks. You go yamomma -- Mac user!

But without DRM and the like, creators won't let their work go out into the World in the near-perfect quality we want to apreciate them in. People will steal your stuff if you don't protect it. The argument goes both ways - we all have our rights...

HayesDays said:

So why did they in the previous years? (CD...)
Just make the price reasonable, let the media moguls give the creators a reasonable share and things should be OK.

udo

udo said:

Nowadays pretty much anyone can store / transfer music at whatever quality it comes in - back in previous years (CD...) this wasn't really true - sure you could copy it to a tape, but then you loose the quality. Now everyone can burn a CD or store music on their HD - times change.

I totally agree that prices are out of whack and that's the main cause for most of the trouble in sales, piracy, etc. But that doesn't really have anything to do with DRM - if anything they almost go hand-in-hand: if it only cost $1 per CD people might be less inclined to "borrow" CDs and copy them to their HD, so DRM would be less of an issue for them... same for the industry: if they can cut down on piracy maybe they'll stop ripping off the honest consumer.

Let's not forget that DRM can also open up a lot of doors - listen before you buy (the listening booth in your home), try an album for a week to see if you like it - then we consumers really get the power to choose. Paying $15 for a crappy CD is too easy these days, something has to give.

DRM could also (potentially) enable you to legally share music (25c for additional licences for friends), maybe you could make a cut if a friend borrows your time-limited version of a CD and decides to buy it (hey - you're doing their marketing and sales). It's not all about stopping people from stealing (let's be honest - can you ever really do that?). Good that not everyone is complacent though - every side of course has their own interest (profits) at the heart of their motivation.

Peace.