#!/usr/bin/perl -w
# 531-byte qrpff-fast, Keith Winstein and Marc Horowitz <sipb-iap-dvd@mit.edu>
# MPEG 2 PS VOB file on stdin -> descrambled output on stdout
# arguments: title key bytes in least to most-significant order
$_='while(read+STDIN,$_,2048){$a=29;$b=73;$c=142;$t=255;@t=map{$_%16or$t^=$c^=($m=(11,10,116,100,11,122,20,100)[$_/16%8])&110;$t^=(72,@z=(64,72,$a^=12*($_%16-2?0:$m&17)),$b^=$_%64?12:0,@z)[$_%8]}(16..271);if((@a=unx"C*",$_)[20]&48){$h=5;$_=unxb24,join"",@b=map{xB8,unxb8,chr($_^$a[--$h+84])}@ARGV;s/...$/1$&/;$d=unxV,xb25,$_;$e=256|(ord$b[4])<<9|ord$b[3];$d=$d>>8^($f=$t&($d>>12^$d>>4^$d^$d/8))<<17,$e=$e>>8^($t&($g=($q=$e>>14&7^$e)^$q*8^$q<<6))<<9,$_=$t[$_]^(($h>>=8)+=$f+(~$g&$t))for@a[128..$#a]}print+x"C*",@a}';s/x/pack+/g;eval

Our download service provides files in the WMA music format or the WMV video format, which is not supported by Apple Macintosh computers. To use your music with an iPod, simply follow the steps below:

1. Save each downloaded song to your PC
2. Burn a music CD (in CDA file format)
3. Import the music from the CD into iTunes
4. Update your iPod

Andy Oram over at O'Reilly Radar noted the recent moves in Denmark to create a system where every ISP user might pay a monthly fee in order to access unlimited P2P music legally.

The proposal has drawn positive feedback from an unlikely source—the local "Piratgruppen."

"It's good that they admit that they cannot solve the problem of falling CD sales by suing their own fans," said Sebastian Gjerding from the Piratgruppen. "It looks like they have understood that they should offer something that is competitive compared to other, free music sources. It is an entirely new admission that hasn't spread internationally yet. IFPI Denmark is on the forefront in this matter. But it is annoying that no action has been taken so far to save many teenagers million-krone fines."

ArsTechnica.com

The Blanket License should cover all media, it should, in fact, cover anything that can be encoded, uploaded, downloaded or otherwise redistributed, music, movies, TV shows, books, newspapers, 3d printer files, essentially any media that can be rendered as data. It should be run as an opt-in for content creators alone and strictly prohibit music cartels, charities and other non-root content providers. It should also provide a means for those artists who build on the work of others to indicate and reward their contributors.

But there is one element that is by far the most important: the Blanket License must be directly democratic. By this I mean that the distribution of the revenue derived from the BL should be based on what the users are listening to, watching and using, not on some even division or some educated guess informed by random polling. We should literally be voting for our choices and the results of these votes used to calculate the creators' share.s Of course one vote a week is hardly going to be a fair measure, instead we would need at least a hundred votes a week which we could distribute as we see fit (say a maximum of five votes per voter for any one creator). This voting could allow for a mix of voluntary voting (specific choices regardless of what a user has actually downloaded) and user-controlled automated voting (a system that allows vote assignments based on the usage statistics from a media player). No one would be forced to vote, but it would be in their interests to encourage their favourite bands, actors photographers, writers and so on, and automatic voting could allow users to contribute without any real effort.

There will still be a place for record labels as marketing brokers, contracting artists for flat fees or a percentage of their earnings in return for their expertise in development and marketing their creations.

This real Blanket License would be no small undertaking, requiring the development of an international infrastructure and region-by-region legislation to remove the existing legal hurdles faced by users. But the result would be a totally egalitarian forum, the likes of which has not been seen since some mug took a handful of loose change and sang to a wax cylinder. All that would be required for an artist to make money would be to make music and find people who like it enough to vote for it, no contracts, no physical distribution, and most significantly, no risk.

"With great power comes great responsibility, and apparently with DRM-free music comes files embedded with identifying information. Such is the situation with Apple's new DRM-free music: songs sold without DRM still have a user's full name and account e-mail embedded in them, which means that dropping that new DRM-free song on your favorite P2P network could come back to bite you."

- ArsTechnica.com

If IPRED2 passes in its current form, "aiding, abetting, or inciting" copyright infringement on a "commercial scale" in the EU will become a crime.

Penalties for these brand new copycrimes will include permanent bans on doing business, seizure of assets, criminal records, and fines of up to €100,000.

IPRED2's backers say these copycrimes are meant only for professional criminals selling fake merchandise. But Europe already has laws against these fraudsters. With many terms in IPRED2 left unclear or completeley undefined - including "commercial scale" and "incitement" - IPRED2 will expand police authority and make suspects out of legitimate consumers and businesses, slowing innovation and limiting your digital rights.
- copycrime.eu

"Weirdly, Apple seems to have sold this move to EMI by saying that the DRM-free version will be a "premium" offering for audiophiles who want higher-quality music. I think that audiophiles are probably the people who have the least trouble keeping up with the latest tips for efficiently ripping the DRM off of their music -- the people who really need DRM-free music are the punters who can't even spell DRM." - BoingBoing.net

Hollywood, I was told, still doesn't trust Steve Jobs with its crown jewels. Yes, everyone loves that ratings for shows like NBC's (GE) The Office and ABC's Lost seem to be up thanks to the promotional exposure of being available via iPod download. But while just about every TV network quickly followed Disney's 2005 decision to give its TV shows to Apple, few have yet to join the Mouse with movies. When you have a piece of content than can cost upward of $100 million to produce, you don't give it up without a lot of soul-searching and number-crunching.

What does Hollywood want from Steve Jobs? For starters, more protection for their films. "His user rules just scare the heck out of us," one studio executive told me. Indeed, under Apple's video iPod digital-rights-management scheme, folks can share their flicks with as many as three other iPod users.

'Why Hollywood Snubbed Jobs at Macworld' - Ronald Grover, BusinessWeek.com (via arstechnica.com).

Q) Is digital rights management (DRM) sustainable over the next 10 years?
A) DRM is not where it should be. In the end of the day incentive systems (for artists) make a difference. But we don't have the right thing here in terms of simplicity or interoperability.

Blogger Michael Arrington, of Techcrunch.com, said Bill Gates' short-term advice for people wanting to transfer songs from one system to another was to "buy a CD and rip it".

"Our DRM is second to none," says Bob Jeves, CEO at uNetis, "It can be applied to any digital media," he starts counting off fingers, "It requires no alterations to the file, takes up no additional bandwidth, and requires no encryption or additional processing at the customer end. It allows files to be used on any device without technical obstruction. It does not compromise users' systems with invasive software, does not threaten their privacy with constant server traffic, and it cannot be stripped away by any known means." He sits back smiling as the waiter delivers his latte, the morning sun shining from the glass flank of uNetis new Paris headquarters across the street reflected in his spectacles, "This system is the best solution for artists and customers."

"And for uNetis," your reporter observes.

He concedes the point with a shrug, "uNetis has taken a rapidly failing business model and provided the means to make it work again. I don't see any problem in benefiting from that achievement."

But to some, uNetis' lack of shame is perhaps the most infuriating part of the online music retailer's new DRM initiative.

In a small flat in West London, Brian (as we will call him) scratches furiously at his arms, his face set in concentration as he glances from the rash that has spread across his skin in the last few minutes to the copy of the music file that has caused it, sitting conspicuously in the middle of his Vista desktop. Finally, unable to cope with the discomfort any longer he deletes the file, making sure to empty the recycling bin, then logs in to the uNetis web site where he navigates to the payments page. There he locates the options for unauthorised copies and uses his credit card to pay €5.00, more than five times the amount he had originally paid for the track a month ago.

"Deleting the copy isn't good enough," he says half an hour later, the rash on his forearms all but gone, "The only way to get rid of the hives is to pay. The curse is very specific."

Brian considers himself to be a rational person, a student of engineering, unswayed by religion, mysticism or superstition, a vociferousness opponent to intelligent design and a staunch advocate of reason. "I thought the whole thing was a joke. I watched the LAP [License Agreement Presentation], with Justin Timberlake and Bono explaing what we can and can't do with the data we just paid for, and took about as much notice as I ever do of those things. And then they had those... those girls talking gibberish and sprinkling god-knows-what on the uNetis server racks, and I just laughed my ass off! I was waiting for them to short something out and get sprayed with fire suppressant," he doesn't look amused now. "I mean, how could that not be a joke? But honestly I thought I was getting a good deal; I paid for my music and got a file I don't have to fight with to hear it."

It wasn't until two weeks after downloading the latest Coldplay single from uNetis that Brian started to take the curse seriously. He first noticed the itching in the hours after copying the file to his portable music player one morning and assumed it was an insect bite or allergic reaction. However, it became so irritating that he was forced to leave work early that day to find an anti-histamine. "It was the woman at the chemists that mentioned the uNetis LAP. Until then I hadn't put it together. She said a friend of hers had come down with the same thing and that it turned out to be these copied uNetis tracks on her computer." But Brian still wasn't ready to believe that his download had really been cursed. "I was up all night with this itching driving me crazy, wondering how I was going to manage work in the morning. And I don't really know what I was thinking, I just wanted it to stop. I got up and I watched the LAP again, and there is was. The witches-for-hire were talking about the hives and the itching and 'torment without respite'."

"I thought I was being an idiot. But I followed the instruction and paid the fine." And within minutes, just as with the demonstration he had shown, the rash faded. "Am I just making this whole ridiculous thing worse by talking to you about it? The more it's reported like this, the more people will fall for it, right? I mean, I still don't believe in this crap, but how can I deny what I just showed you? It's all psychology; I know that some people are more susceptible to this kind of suggestion, and that it has nothing to do with their intelligence or education. But that doesn't make me feel any less of a fool for falling for it."

In another experiment, your reporter purchased a track from uNetis and dutifully sat through the fifteen minute LAP video with the curse description and the spell casting by the three young witches (young women no doubt selected for their attractiveness as well as their alleged occult expertise). The unprotected file was then fearlessly duplicated onto a portable music player without paying for an additional copy.

Three days later there was still no sign of the promised affliction.

"It doesn't reach everyone, no," admits Jeves, "We estimate that ten-to-twenty percent of our customers are directly susceptible to the curse. But then that twenty percent convince another thirty that it's not worth the risk to even try. And, of course, we always have our consistent base of loyal and honest customers for whom the curse simply doesn't apply. They know that our artists need to be rewarded and are happy to help fund their creativity... Uh... you did pay for that copy in the end, didn't you?"

Prof. Kenneth Dique, who remains at large despite the outstanding warrant for his arrest over the CrackBaby.net distributed quantum computing affair, has also taken an interest in the cursing of media downloads. In an interview last month [Stop Breathing, 'Quantum Communist', August 2012], Prof. Dique considered the curse a logical, if repulsive, development, "This is really no different from any of those anti-piracy PSAs. They are trying to convince their customers that something bad will happen to them if they do anything other than exactly what they are told. 'You will be arrested', 'You will be fined fifty-thousand dollars', 'You will go to prison'. As with all of these things it is only a minority, and usually a tiny one, whose lives are actually and directly impacted by such actions, but the misfortune of that minority is enough to convince a whole lot of other people to act just as these pigopolists want them to. And that's the most dangerous aspect: these companies are deliberately and maliciously re-engineering our common psyche for their own benefit, and without our consent. The uNetis curse is just the most recent, the most outlandishly arrogant and the most irresponsible example of this.

"And here's a question I want them to answer: What happens when uNetis eventually goes out of business? I didn't hear any caveat in the spell about that. What happens when there is no online payment system in place to lift the curse? Do those afflicted customers have to put up with the symptoms for the rest of their lives?"

"I find it hard to take the good professor seriously," Jeves responds when Prof. Dique's observations were put to him, "He's basically just put a negative spin on all advertising: 'you will be ugly if you don't use this moisturiser', 'you will be unpopular if you don't wear these sneakers'. Everything in the world of advertising is about 'engineering the common psyche', as he put it, that's how we create mind share. All we are dong is using the exact same process to convince our customers to do the right thing and help support our service and our artists." On Prof. Dique's last point he is rather more evasive, "We have no intention of going out of business. And I can assure you we are putting in place a series of measures to ensure that our customers can always access the curse-lifting mechanism, through alternate channels if necessary." He declined to discuss the details of these "alternative channels".

And the future of uNetis magic based DRM system (provided they don't go out of business and leave their customers with a lifetime of suffering)? "We are currently in talks with several of the larger labels about modifying the terms of the curse to make file sharing, through peer-to-peer and public posting, a distinct infringement with a much larger fine. We've also had several other online retailers seeking permission to make use of the curse system to protect their own products. And there has even been some investigation into the potential use of curses with physical media and domestic media technology such as preventing the misuse of HDMI signals. That's one of the many beauties of the curse system: it doesn't require customers to upgrade their hardware - it will work all the way down to old analogue devices!"

Finally Mr Jeves was asked if he personally felt any shame over causing so many people physical harm with the uNetis curse, "No. No I don't. It's those people who are copying music without authorisation who should be ashamed, ashamed for trying to take something without paying for it, ashamed for putting future music production at risk because of their selfishness, and for bringing us to the point where this sort of measure has become necessary. In the last two months we've received over twenty-thousand payments for unauthorised copies and recovered a considerable percentage of our estimated lost revenue for that period, enough to give hope to the music industry of a real future. What do I have to be ashamed of?" He adds: "And besides, it's hives, it's not going to kill them!"

- 'You'll Wish They'd Stuck with Rootkits' by Jennifer South
Stop Breathing, October 2012.

"Like a creeping fog, DRM smothers more and more media in its clammy embrace, but the sun still shines down on isolated patches of the landscape. This isn't always due to the decisions of corporate executives; often it's the work of hackers who devote considerable skill to cracking the digital locks that guard everything from DVDs to e-books. Their reasons are complicated and range from the philosophical to the criminal, but their goals are the same: no more DRM."

BusinessWeek has reported that five of the studios that bankrolled Movielink, including Paramount Pictures, Sony and Universal Studios, have begun looking for a buyer of the video-on-demand service.

"The studios aren't going to abandon (Movielink and CinemaNow) completely," said Josh Martin, a digital-media analyst. "But they realize those sites have limited appeal to say the least."

ABC has held discussions on the use of technology that would disable the fast-forward button on DVRs, according to ABC President of Advertising Sales Mike Shaw, with the primary goal to allow TV commercials to run as intended.

"I would love it if the MSOs, during the deployment of the new DVRs they're putting out there, would disable the fast-forward [button]," Shaw said.

While MSOs risk losing some of their DVR customers if fast-forwarding were blocked, Shaw said the cable operators--who are beefing up their own local ad sales operations--"are in the same business we're in." "They've got to sell ads too," he said. "So if everybody's skipping everybody's ads, that's not a long-term business model for them either."

Shaw also threw cold water on the idea that neutering the fast-forward option would result in a consumer backlash. He suggested that consumers prefer DVRs for their ability to facilitate on-demand viewing and not ad-zapping--and consumers might warm to the idea that anytime viewing brings with it a tradeoff in the form of unavoidable commercial viewing. - from mediapost.com (via BoingBoing)

Lessig would like to see copyright reduced to 14 years, renewable to 28, as laid down by the 1710 Statute of Anne, the basis of all subsequent legislation in the UK and many countries. He also wants the emphasis on copying as the trigger for copyright to be removed. "In a digital age, copying is as natural as breathing" - every web page you view is technically a copy - "and the idea that the law should be invoked every time there's a trigger of copying is totally inefficient." He suggests a different approach: "[If] you're distributing something publicly for commercial purposes then that's the appropriate thing to be taxing with the copyright act."

More realistically, Lessig is trying to limit the damage that copyright extensions cause to culture by requiring people to register for them, rather than receiving them automatically. "The vast majority would never request the extension, and so most stuff would pass into the public domain and the cost of perpetually extending copyrights would disappear."

The majors are terrified of piracy and so insist on strict DRM controls to safeguard their music. The indie labels that eMusic works with generally don't have that fear. "The indies have always viewed the world differently," says Pakman [eMusic CEO]. "You know, the indies struggle for attention, for customers, so the notion of someone actually digging a track and e-mailing it to 10 of their best friends - doing self-promotion - that's music to the ears of the indie record labels. Whereas an RIAA member says, 'We've got to sue that guy.'"

Do you sell mp3 files? - No, we sell AAC files (technically they are mp4's) which sound better for a smaller file size and quicker download, they are the same files that iTunes sells, but with no DRM, we trust you to respect the music our artists create.