Quote:
Originally Posted by kacir
Sorry for a violent reaction but when I hear "Sony" and "rootkit" in the same sentence i start to see red.
The sad thing is that the vast majority of consumers out there do not realize they are being screwed.
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I agree with you whole heartedly on this. I personally believe, although it would be hard to prove, that there were probably several conversations within Sony and with the DRM vendor where someone uttered the words "people won't even know it's there."
I think Sony is being given a lot of credit in this argument. I would venture to say that the decision to include the root kit software had to do with a lot more people than just one mid-level executive. I also think Sony knew exactly what was going on with this software. You have to imagine that they were paying a lot of money for it and they had to of done more research than just listening to the salesman that the vendor sent out. Sony is full of engineers that are more than capable of reviewing this stuff.
I was not personally affected by the Sony root kit but it made me feel like I never wanted to give Sony another dime. I don't agree with DRM for the most part to begin with and thought that the root kit went far beyond what I ever expected as a DRM scheme.
When the Sony reader first came out I loved the idea of it and I wanted one but I didn't buy one because of the root kit debacle. I had mentioned the reader to my wife and low and behold one showed up under the Christmas tree. I must admit that I was very excited when I opened it but I also had a sinking feeling in my gut. As I don't use Windows but wanted to take advantage of the Connect store I had to use my wifes laptop to install it. Because of my lack of trust of Sony I ran a full backup and installed the software. I then ran two different root kit checkers before I was satisfied that it was OK. I don't know about you but people shouldn't feel they need to do this when they install a piece of software from a "reputable" company.
Long story short, I love the reader and am pleased that I have it. Unfortunately I still do not feel that this is a company that I can trust. It pains me that companies prey on the people that "won't ever" know. I am glad that they got caught and I hope that other companies take note.
I will continue to use the reader and will evaluate new Sony products as they come along but I will not hand over my money to Sony if I feel there is a similar alternative that offers the same or comparable features at close to the same price point.