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UMG is trying to fix these problems as soon as possible - How are they goin to achieve that? By replacing customers old CD players that can't handle copy portection?

what a bunch of DICKHEADS, but its funny...

with this stupid protection they're not only "<preventing>" us from making a backup copy, but they're also preventing us playing the damn cd from where we want (pc/car/old cdplayer...)

whats next ? delevering a shotgun with the cd and a license to shoot everyone who heard you playing that music without them buying the cd ? I wonder...

this is so f*cking stupid

UMG do allow you to play thier cds in a p.c. but as I understand it you must use *thier* software...

I smell an attempt to monopolise!!!

morrison

Use their software?
Why? because it's securely built and will decrypt the CD and no other software will be able to do that?
Hmmm, wasn't that the idea behind DVD's? U had to have a liscence to decode them which protected them??

I smell something similar about to happen

At the end of the day, winamp would be able to also include some work around to decrypt the CD's as far as I can see because if the company tries to sue them for 'hacking' their protection winamp could counter sue for trying to create a monopoly as they have provided CD listening software for ages and the protection is in effect trying to bankrupt them.

"UMG is making every effort to eliminate these problems as soon as possible." Now, that's what I call good news: It can only mean that they are stopping this copy-protection nonsense, can't it?
Anyway, I have already eliminated these problems for myself: I have stopped buying CDs altogether...

I decided I couldn't let this one pass without a reaction, so here is the text of an e-mail message that I have just sent to UMG:
---<cut>---
Dear UMG,

Thank you very much for sharing your views and plans on CD copy protection with all those interested.

However, while I respect your views on protecting the rights of artists and
shareholders, and while I do realise that that is certainly a valid point, I do not belong to either of these groups, and to me, the rights of the legitimate customers are of a much higher priority (and, please, do not overlook the term "legitimate" here).

As a hitherto legitimate customer, I do not want to be abused as a guinea-pig for an experiment with technology that is certain to cause problems (as you admit in your on-site FAQ). Therefore, I have decided to stop buying audio CDs altogether until the music industry sorts this copy-protection mess out in a way that is acceptable, first and foremost to
me as a potential customer, but obviously to the artists and shareholders as well.

Thanks again for your information, and no hard feelings (at least not on my side),
--Luc.

They just don't get it!!!:7

Well as i see it, this protection only pushes people to get the music online and burn to Audio CD so that it will play in whatever the hell they want like it was ment to be. Personally i listen to new stuff online from sources i have like Napster type sites and if i like it i'll buy it if it's not protected. And i drug my friends if there around so they don't listen to music they don't own, Hehehe, kidding.
And that's another thing. copying music online and listening is absolutly no different then getting it off the Home Stereo. They going to copy protect those next?

Universal's return policy is almost the same policy that Home Quarters had on the power tools they sold. At HQ if you didn't like the power tool you bought you could return it for a full refund. People were buying power tools to use on a home project then returning it for a refund when they were done. This was one of the main reasons they went out of business. I wonder if this will happen to universal.