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The Register's Andrew Orlowski has posted an excellent outline of the issues and particulars pertaining to the so-called " 4-C Entity's (IBM, Intel, Matsushita, and Toshiba) scheme to incorporate Content Protection for Recordable Media (CPRM) copy protection into the ATA computer hard drive standard by next summer. This would mean that every CPRM-compliant ATA hard would be individually identified, and would authenticate playback and movement of files on the device against a central server using CPRM-compliant software. The practical consequences of this innovation for users are well-detailed in Mr. Orlowski's article. In terms of why these companies are doing this, he explains that: "According to Intel, the entertainment distributors [that is the Big 5 music recording conglomerates and the Hollywood movie industry] wanted to exclude the personal computer industry from playback of digital entertainment content, and the computer industry - keen to see the PC as a playback device for DVD and audio - was obliged to meet them half-way." Mr. Orlowski's analysis of potential compliance on the part of computer hardware manufacturers is especially interesting. He notes that while the 4C Entity is currently assuring folks that CPRM on ATA will be "optional," the only way the industry will utimately be able to ignore it is if "there's a sufficient number of non-compliant refuseniks out there to make it worth while." Which is where John Gilmore, co-founder of the Electronic Frontier Foundation, and more importantly -- YOU -- come in. Gilmore is urging computer users to boycott hardware containing CPRM copy-control mechanisms, both pre-emptively and after the fact if it comes to that. According to a letter published by The Register, Gilmore notes that under the CPPRM scheme, "you wouldn't be able to copy data from your own hard drive to another drive, or back it up, without permission from some third party. Every drive would have a unique ID and unique keys, and would encrypt the data it stores -- not to protect YOU, the drive's owner, but to protect unnamed third parties AGAINST you." Stopping this misbegotten scheme really depends on technically literate consumers getting the word out to the larger masses who are likely to find the particulars of this issue confusingly arcane, and who will be dangerously vulnerable to the well-oiled propaganda machine that the entertainment and hardware industries will be running overtime to manage the spin on this development. Don't let them get away with it! Get the word out. For more information on these issues, visit: http://www.dvdcca.org/4centity/ The T-13 Committee (responsible for establishing the new ATA standard) Chairman and Vice Chairman Secretary are: Pete McLean of Maxtor Corporation
and Kent Pryor of Quantum Corporation
The Committee's parent body is: NCITS Secretariat
Since IBM seems to be in the vanguard of this iniative, here is their feedback page URL:
And please folks, no flaming. A polite, well reasoned critique is much more likely to be read and seriously considered.
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