Settec Alpha-DVD protection used on German Mr.& Mrs.Smith

Lets see if this makes it to he States.

http://srs.targetpoint.com/external.htm?url=http%3A//www.cdfreaks.com/news/13038&nw=0&uid=230806$26&cid=851&tp=1&ps=2!1!8$$3! 1!%23FF9900$$3!4!11$$3!5!2$$4!1!1$$5!1!33$$6!3!3$$ 6!4!%23D8ECEA$$6!6!16$$7!1!1$$7!4!11$$8!1!3$$&wd=7 60&hg=74&lo=http%3A//www.cdcovers.cc/&tpq=settec%20alpha%20dvd%20protection%20used%20on %20german%20mr%20%26%20mrs%20smith#exit

The link doesn't work.

link works fine for me, and if they are smart, they wont bring it to the states, or the state of texas will sue the bejesus out of them, too.........

As long as users are prompted before ANY software is installed on thier PCs, not after.

They have no right installing ANY software on a individuals PC without permission.

And dont forget, most copy protections require AutoRun enabled. If this is disabled, well then...

true, but waheed, you and i BOTH know a few things the general public doesnt really know (by that i mean the massive masses of people that own pc's but dont visit videohelp.com on a regular basis.....) first off we know about turning off autorun to begin with...there's still people that barely know how to turn a pc on....and some that know how to run a software dvd player and that's about it........we also realize exactly how much harm this can potentially do...i dont think it would fly on ANY level if they started throwing software out that wrecked people's dvd burners.......so even IF it's all stated in the EULA, they still have no right at all to damage people's pc's........thats almost as bad (if not worse on some levels!!!) as sony's whole rootkit......i somehow doubt that after that, they would be dumb enough to try and release something that potentially damaging in the states...........

link works fine for me using firefox.

Originally Posted by waheed

link works fine for me using firefox.

Yep, first link worked fine for me also using firefox

On the other hand the deinstallation routine reports a successful run on clean systems, although Alpha-DVD has never been installed on them.

Ya gotta love that
So in other words if you do have it installed on a system you can't trust that it has been removed

I do hope Sony is watching this closely in order to realize how to bring strong protection systems online properly instead of the fiasco they found themselves in last year. From what I've read on this and what I know from personal experience with the Sony Rootkit this all sounds very very familiar. To correct some people though, the burners aren't damaged in any way, the OS and thus the software is no longer able to access them properly in order to burn. A simple format of the OS drive brings everything back into working order. No damage done. I've seen more people damage their OS or their equipment then the damage done by this.

As has been said though, simply disable autorun and hold the shift key whenever inserting pressed media to avoid these types of intellectual property protections.

A simple format of the OS drive brings everything back into working order. No damage done.

That is damage. For me that is four hours work even after applying drive images. I assisted a small business put in a claim to a utility company for re-installation damages after an electrical interruption in the street. Despite all the disclaimers and contract protections on their side, the utility co. paid up 2/3rds of the claim. They knew it was not worth their while to let it go to court. The funny thing was, we never intended to.

Sorry I meant no physical damages. If the company or utility you sued understood software and licensing agreement they'd have realized that full responsibility for any problems you have with the software, it's function, or lack thereof, is the sole responsibility of the end user. You will notice that disclaimer in virtually every piece of software installed.

Sony's rootkit and software included such a disclaimer too.

Privity of contract does not apply to unassociated parties. ( Adam!? ) In other words, ROF, there was no implied protection for the utility in the case I mentioned. Only the parties to the contract can make claims against it. The utility is not a party to the contract. This is a fundmental principle of contract law. Furthermore, Sony have tried twice to back up their greed in our courts and have failed twice. Since then they have gone back to threats and intimidation as well as making whining noises to anyone who will listen.

Warner Bros. is another company that tried to step on peoples freedoms and got knocked over in court.

While it took only a few years for Pioneer to win back their reputation, it will take Sony decades imo.

I'm glad I live in country where a utility is not responsible for a product inside a residential, commercial, or industrial bulding, unless if the utility or one of their representatives dropped a pole on the building, drove a truck through the building, or other similiar negligent action. In america your case you pointed out would be considered what we call a frivilous lawsuit.

Do you know how much equipment my current and past utility companies would owe me in compensation and loss? During the summer months I always seem to lose a part or two when we have strong storm power outages. Forunately it's usually just the cable box or my rented modem. But sometimes I've had meters go bad or out of calibration, hard drives not work, even a USB hub die.

Should a utility be liable for a broken or downed power line? Should a utility be liable for you losing water pressure? Should a be liable for your loss of communication service? I don't think so, but they should be responsible enough to attempt as soon as possible to restore whatever utility service they provide.

That doesn't mean the utility is responsible for lightbulbs that no longer illuminate in my house, brown water in my pipes for a few hours, a boil water order, no communication service for a few hours, or the very cruel fact that I had to format and restore my hard drive so I could continue with my business.

But for the record Sony lost my trust long ago. I own a betamax, enough said.

ROF, you live in a land that is oblivious to the salient points in an argument.

I helped write a letter of claim (not a suit) because I believed the utility was negligent within the bounds of the contract. Not because of an act of god, direct damage to equipment or any other factor covered in the terms of agreement with that utility.

You however argued that a software agreement somehow entitled a third party to disclaim liability for negligence. That is ridiculous. Consider a public car park. You park your car at your own risk. There are disclaimer signs stating as such. Now a redneck arrives who does not like your choice of Japanese non-American transport; so he scratches your duco with his false tooth while stuffing your tailpipe with TV dinners. He can't then turn around and say he is not responsible as you parked at your own risk.

yep...the companies should take responsibility for WRECKING PEOPLE'S PC'S...wether it's fixable with a "simple reformat" (btw, with my computer, just for example, even with restore discs and such, it can still take anywhere from a few hours to a day or even two to get my computer running exactly how i want it.....regain programs ive recently found out about, ect.......) or not...it's still damaging people's personal property..........and contrary to popular belief, not everyone that's throwing a dvd into a computer is intending to copy it...think about buisness people who move around the country a lot...they take a few dvd's with them, and hop on an airplane or whatever..........one of these dvd's causes the company's laptop to not be able to write a data dvd and they have to set it up again from scratch...who should be held liable? the movie company or the buisness company who owns the laptops (just for argument's sake, some buisnesses dont mind if the employee uses their laptops for playing movies......)

now if that was someone sending a virus, they would be done, but they can cook your pc's and get away with it. Fair play i say