With what started as a really bad decision of installing hidden software with audio cds, Sony decided they needed to rip off some files from the open source LAME encoder too. It looks like they are just plain greedy now. They have also included a hack which disables Apple's FairPlay DRM, only so that they could use it? Unfortunately, that code is also open source, and they are again in violation of the GPL. Go figure.
"Among the strangest revelations was that XCP itself infringes on the copyrights to several open source software projects. In one case, Sam Hocevar found conclusive evidence that part of XCP’s code was copied from a program called DRMS, which he co-authored with DVD Jon and released under the terms of the GPL open source license. What made this finding particularly curious is that the purpose of DRMS is to break the copy protection on songs sold in Apple’s iTunes Music Store. Why would XCP rip off code intended to defeat another vendor’s DRM?
It looks like the people at First4Internet wanted to create their own iPod compatibility system, but rather than take the time to reverse engineer FairPlay themselves, they copied critical pieces of code from DRMS in violation of the GPL license."
Freedom to Tinker » Blog Archive » Hidden Feature in Sony DRM Uses Open Source Code to Add Apple DRM
Depressing...I kinda wanted to buy a PS3 whenever they are supposed to launch...oh well, things change. I was also going to recommend a Sony digital camera to my dad, probably not.
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