Microsoft Easing Up On DVD Restrictions - Pushing Copy Protection Scheme

from the watch-out dept

So, Microsoft is acting as though they backed down, following consumer complaints, about their plans for DVD copying software which is part of their Media Center offering. The original plan had been to only allowing viewing a copied DVD on the machine that made the copy. This is, clearly, extremely limiting, and people let Microsoft know that. Instead, they'll now let it play on any computer that has the software, and eventually on certain DVD players. However, this might just be a ploy to show that they've "compromised" with consumers, because the system still installs some fairly onerous copy protection schemes. By getting this version out there, and used, though, they may be creating a de facto standard that could backdoor copy protection schemes into all sorts of technology, without consumers even realizing it. Update: David Coursey has more on this story.
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