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Best of Reader Comments: Celine Dion vs Mac Users
Blue touch paper? Meet blowtorch...

By editorial@silicon.com

Published: Tuesday 14 May 2002

News that Celine Dion's latest CD can cause Apple's new flat-screen iMac to crash and fail to restart has led to an influx of comments from silicon.com readers. Click here for the original story: http://www.silicon.com/a53255

The Canadian singer's latest album is one of the first to feature copy protection technology, aimed at cutting down piracy. But at what cost?

Other CDs to feature the technology include the soundtrack for Star Wars II The Attack of Clones, David Gray and Sting. And you're not happy, to put it mildly. Here's a selection of your comments...

Biting the hand that feeds you?
From : Jason Holland

Surely, if this starts to creep in as 'the norm', then people will stop buying CDs, and get (illegal) copies off the net somehow (there will always be a way)... which will INCREASE the amount of pirating in the long term... surely?

Celine Dion?
Carl Rohumaa

This is truly sick. This is exactly the defeatist, Luddite, greedy capitalist attitude that needs to be stamped out for good. Any decent artist should tell the record companies that this is not acceptable and boycott this kind of controlling rubbish. There is more to music than money.

Over a barrel?
Andrew Macaulay

Sadly, I suspect I'll stop buying CDs if these protection schemes become prevalent. I don't own an audio CD player having deliberately chosen to spend the cash on nice speakers for my Mac Cube instead and I prefer the model of having all my music available at a click instead of swapping disks over in a drive.

If CDs in shops don't clearly warn that they use copy protection then I'll be hesitant to buy and if online stores don't warn at purchase then I won't be shopping with them any more.

If the majority of listeners still use standard audio CD players, though, the record companies will just get away with it.

Premeditated murder
Anon

If the protection is software based then I have no doubt the hackers and copiers will have a solution in place before long. Any copy protection system is a challenge, which cannot be ignored by any serious hacker (it's what they live for). To have the CD cause serious problems on a PC or iMac must require a virus, worm or dedicated software to execute this response from the targeted system. Does this mean that the music industry is now into writing destructive software?

Is it legal?
From: Tom Thomson

Maybe someone could try reporting a shop that sold such a CD to local trading standards officers. I suspect that if the big chains got enough hassle by that route, they would stop stocking them and that would make the record companies sit up and take notice.

Then there's always the small claims court. Repair bill, loss of use of the PC, loss of access to the information on it, consequential losses...

So sue the retailer ...
From : Simon Hobson

Unless the CD very CLEARLY states that it will damage computer equipment if it is played then the retailer is liable under the sale of goods act (in the UK) - I suspect there is something similar in the US.

If everyone who suffers from this claims the cost of repairs from the retailer, retailers will quickly refuse to stock such CDs. If retailers refuse to stock them, the records companies will have to sort themselves out.

Legally questionable
From : Ihor Staruch

An infraction of copyright does not bestow a right on the injured parties to dispense unpredictable retaliatory damages themselves. The record companies are playing a legally questionable and for them potentially dangerous game.

Interesting Paradox
From: Anon

The record companies, by using 'cyber-terrorist' approaches against users, demonstrate that they have no respect for the property of their customers (having your Mac wiped out at the wrong time could be a real problem - anyone care to speculate on a 'consequential loss'?)

Once a fine line
From: Justin Swan

I feel sorry for the artists. While there is a good deal of piracy to prevent, I think that this is only going to hurt the stars and hopefully the digital recording studios wallets. Too much greed from both sides here but the line has now been crossed.

Fools
From: Anon

Surely this is an April Fool running late...?
I mean, Mac users listening to Dion? We leave banal middle of the road pap to people with beige boxes and beige suits don't you know -)

Tough...
From : Sam Loud

Hahahaha. This is good.

It's weeding out the idiots that listen to Celine Dion, or use a Mac. It's natural selection, man.

And finally, to those silicon.com Mac users with Celine Dion CDs stuck in their drives: Don't panic, help is at hand:

"Apparently restarting the iMac (LCD) with mouse button held down will eject any stuck CD/DVD."

Click here to read the original story and send us your thoughts http://www.silicon.com/a53255