Sony BMG Pulling Controversial DRM
Following a week of consumer pressure, Sony BMG is backing away from its controversial CD copy-protection software, which installs a rootkit to prevent the DRM from being removed and potentially opens the door for security vulnerabilities. The label will stop making CDs that use the technology, known as XCP.
"As a precautionary measure, Sony BMG is temporarily suspending the manufacture of CDs containing XCP technology," the company said in a statement. "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."
Microsoft Korea Raps Visual Studio 2k5
Microsoft may have plugged in Cheap Trick for its Visual Studio 2005 launch, but five Microsoft Korea programmers have just one-upped their Stateside developers with music of their own. The group raps in Korean about Visual Studio 2005 Team System, complete with an animation that rivals Hitachi's Get Perpendicular.
English lyrics below the Flash music video reveal choice phrases such as, "We developers who keep living a hard life all the time...I will arm myself, because that is the only way to put an end to this boring life." But the outro says it all: "Are you done for the day? Then, how about have some beer? / Which program do you use, sir? Visual Studio Team System."
Microsoft Warns of Flash Vulnerability
Microsoft this week notified customers regarding vulnerabilities in Macromedia Flash, the first time the company has ever issued a security advisory for a third party product. Redmond officials say the step was taken because Flash ships with Windows XP SP1 and SP2, along with older Windows versions.
The advisory comes two days after Macromedia warned of the "critical" problem, which affects certain versions of Flash Player 7 and earlier. According to the company, the vulnerability could allow a hacker to inject code that the player would then execute, resulting in the compromising of a user's system.
Office 12 Beta 1 Coming in '2-3 Weeks'
Microsoft has sent out the first wave of Office 12 acceptance letters to those who applied for the beta program. The company says it expects to ship Beta 1 in the next few weeks, which, for the first time, will be available via download. In the past, Microsoft has only issued CDs for major Office betas.
"You will be provided with access to the Office "12" Beta software, documentation, and support within the next 2-3 weeks," Microsoft wrote in an e-mail. "But we wanted to let you know now that you have been accepted, so that you can make any preparations that you need."
Antivirus Firms Take On Sony DRM
With the recent discovery of Sony's "rootkit" DRM shipping on over 20 CDs and the surrounding backlash from consumers online and off, antivirus vendors must now answer a delicate question: should Sony's software be considered malware and forcibly removed? Some say yes.
Technically, Sony's application, which was actually created by First 4 Internet, is not a virus and was not designed with malicious intent. However, the copy protection installs a low-level Windows driver that hides the DRM files and prevents their removal - a technique used by rookits.
Trojan Horse Hides Using Sony Rootkit
What security experts have warned about Sony's DRM has come to pass, with a new trojan horse attempting to hide itself using techniques enabled by the company's anti-piracy software. Dubbed "Troj/Stinx-E" by Sophos, the application copies itself to a file called: $sys$drv.exe, which is hidden by Sony's copy protection.
F-Secure has named the malware "Breplibot.b," but says a code mistake will limit its damage. "Luckily, the bot has a design flaw. If the Sony DRM rootkit is active (hiding) in the system during infection, the bot will not run at all. Moreover, the bot cannot survive a reboot because of a programming error," explained F-Secure's Mika Pehkonen in a blog posting.
Yahoo Passes on Possible AOL Deal
Yahoo on Thursday acknowledged that CEO Terry Semel sat down with Time Warner Chairman Richard Parsons about orchestrating a deal with America Online, but said it walked away from the table once it learned of the terms. Google and Microsoft, however, are continuing their discussions.
Yahoo claims it didn't make an offer for AOL and "never looked back" after passing on the deal in October. Microsoft has been talking with AOL the longest, reportedly trying to convince AOL to drop Google and begin using MSN's search engine across its dial-up service and Web properties. Although AOL's subscriber business is slowly dying, it still holds a large chunk of the lucrative Internet advertising market.
Lawsuit Fights Back Against Sony DRM
Sony BMG's CD anti-piracy technology that sparked an outcry for its rootkit-like tactics has now entered the court system. A class-action lawsuit was filed on November 1 in California by consumers who say their computers were harmed by the hidden software, and a second suit was to be filed this week in New York.
The groups claim that Sony's digital rights management, which attempts to stop computer users from copying a CD's audio tracks to a hard drive, is invasive and damaging to computer systems. Sony employed technology from First 4 Internet that uses low-level Windows commands to hide the DRM and prevent its removal.
Microsoft Talks Up Visual Studio Future
Microsoft may have just shipped Visual Studio 2005, but the company is already starting to discuss its future plans for the development suite. Service Pack 1 is in the works for next summer, says Visual C# product manager Scott Wiltamuth, and Orcas -- the next VS release -- is being hashed out.
The first service pack for the older Visual Studio 2003 will also ship in the first half of next year, with Wiltamuth estimating an April release. Soma Somasegar, corporate vice president of Microsoft's Developer Division, echoed those timeframes, saying the company would provide hotfixes in the interim.
Napster Upgrades Music Service to 3.5
Napster on Wednesday rolled out version 3.5 of its digital music subscription service, upping the quality of song downloads and adding personalized recommendations through a "Playlist of the Day." Napster has also cleaned up its user interface with simplified navigation.
All songs in the Napster catalog will now be available in a 192kbps bitrate rather than 128kbps, following the lead of Yahoo's Music Unlimited service. Yahoo stormed onto the online music scene earlier this year with lower pricing and higher quality downloads than competitors Napster and Real.
Sony President: Rootkit of No Concern
In an interview with NPR late last week, Sony BMG's Global Digital Business President Thomas Hesse downplayed the recent DRM fiasco saying he objected to terms such as malware, spyware and rootkit. "Most people, I think, don't even know what a rootkit is, so why should they care about it?" he said.
Hesse acknowledged that the controversial First 4 Internet technology that installs and "cloaks" the DRM software without a user's permission shipped on about 20 CDs. But "no information ever gets gathered about the user behavior," he claimed. "This is purely about restricting the ability to burn MP3 files in an unprotected manner."
High Demand Expected for Xbox 360
Although a warning in October that initial Xbox 360 sales may not meet industry expectations sparked outlandish rumors claiming Microsoft would purposely stifle supplies to ensure inventory sold out, the Redmond company now says it expects to sell up to 3 million new consoles in the first three months.
Bryan Lee, Xbox Chief Financial Officer, disclosed the estimate at the Harris Nesbitt Media & Entertainment Conference in New York this week. Within 90 days, Microsoft has a target to sell between 2.75 million to 3 million Xbox 360s.
Grokster Shuts P2P Service, Owes $50m
UPDATED Grokster has become the latest casualty of the United States Supreme Court ruling that file sharing services can be held liable for actions of their users. The company reached a settlement with the recording and entertainment industries and shut down its P2P service on Monday.
As part of the agreement, Grokster will pay $50 million to settle music and movie piracy claims. Although Grokster has lost much of its user base to P2P newcomers following the backlash its bundled spyware, the RIAA trumpted the victory in a statement.
Google Gets More Cozy with Firefox
As the default start page and built-in search utility, it's no surprise that Google wants Firefox to succeed in a market dominated by Microsoft's Internet Explorer. But the company has recently pulled closer to the open source Web browser, funding usability testing and launching a Firefox affiliate program.
In a post to his Web log late last week, lead Firefox engineer Ben Goodger -- who began working at Google in January -- reported on efforts to improve the browser's tabs. Tabbed browsing makes it possible to open multiple Web sites in the same window, but the concept is still fairly young.
New Visual Studio, SQL Server Launch
With musical support from Cheap Trick, Microsoft heralded the arrival of Visual Studio 2005 and SQL Server 2005 at a special "Rock" event in San Francisco Monday. Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer took the stage looking uncharacteristic in a suit, and even apologized for his formal attire.
Both SQL Server, which was last updated five years ago, and Visual Studio 2005 are critical releases for Microsoft as it gears up for the debut of Windows Vista next year. The development tools, combined with .NET Framework 2.0, will usher in the next-generation of applications that focus on connectivity and streamlining business processes.
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