Windows Media's Big, Gaping Copyright Hole
I'm a little confused about Windows Media Player. It clearly allows for all
kinds of ripping and burning and otherwise copying of material that someone,
somewhere, created and is trying to sell. Apparently, if distributors go out
of their way to protect the content, Media Player will oblige.
A hacker cracked the content protection code, and when
Microsoft fixed it, he cracked it again. This is clearly a problem for Amazon,
which doesn't want its movies and CDs stolen, but should be no big whoop for
IT, which is far more concerned with hacks that threaten corporate content.
Office in 2007: I Vote Yes!
There's a new beta of Office 2007 in town, and as much as I've disliked every
version of Microsoft Office so far, I'm kinda looking forward to 2007. The big
breakthrough is the interface, which is sparser and more context-sensitive than
what we have today (read what Mike Desmond has to say about it here).
The newest
test version has some new User Interface tricks and more stability.
If You Don’t Buy My Software, Could I Interest
You in a Wireless Mouse?
It must be so aggravating to be a software company struggling to break the $50
billion mark, only to have the pesky Russians and Chinese copying your finest
products. Microsoft isn't ready to throw in the towel on piracy yet, and continues
to press for tougher laws overseas. In the meantime, Microsoft hopes to suck
out some needed fundage by pushing
its keyboards and mice, which are not as easily duplicated as CDs.
About the Author
Doug Barney is editor in chief of Redmond magazine and the VP, editorial director of Redmond Media Group.