Kitz Forum
Computers & Hardware => PC Hardware => Topic started by: guest on December 08, 2007, 12:54:19 PM
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http://www.theregister.co.uk/2007/12/07/western_digital_drm_crippled_harddrive/
That's them permanently off my hardware list. Having MS (+ associated DRM rubbish) on machines is bad enough without deranged hard drives telling me that I can't share MY files.
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WTH... have you seen this?
List of file types on a WD My Book World Edition that cannot be shared by WD Anywhere Access.
If these file types are on a share on the WD My Book World Edition system and another user accesses the share, these file will not be displayed for sharing. Any other file types can be shared using WD Anywhere Access.
Then look at the list of file extensions (http://wdc.custhelp.com/cgi-bin/wdc.cfg/php/enduser/std_adp.php?p_faqid=1495&p_created=1168641440&p_sid=bLTfVJLi&p_accessibility=0&p_redirect=&p_lva=&p_sp=cF9zcmNoPTEmcF9zb3J0X2J5PSZwX2dyaWRzb3J0PSZwX3Jvd19jbnQ9NSw1JnBfcHJvZHM9MCZwX2NhdHM9MCZwX3B2PSZwX2N2PSZwX3NlYXJjaF90eXBlPWFuc3dlcnMuc2VhcmNoX2ZubCZwX3BhZ2U9MSZwX3NlYXJjaF90ZXh0PS5hdmk*&p_li=&p_topview=1) :no:
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Unbelievable :no: although the problem doesn't appear to be as bad as it first looks - the WD Anywhere Access (allowing you to share the drive over the Internet so you can access it remotely) is the thing that won't allow you to share media files. Apparently, from reading the comments, it works fine over the LAN.
But still, a pointless exercise, and a stupid marketing risk for WD, because the only outcome from this will be that people will be put off buying WD stuff, and loads of conspiracy theories and chinese whispers will start to emerge about what else WD do with their hard drives.
Even if all the drive manufacturers are doing it in a year or so, in people's minds WD will always be the 'dirty' ones who did it first!
Bad move IMO.
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How long until it's in the drive firmware with API hooks and being used for DRM by MS? A year? Less?
Bye WD, you've been very reliable in the past but you can't be trusted now.
Edit - oh and in the case of the MyBook and LAN/internet access then I will decide what is "the internet" thanks very much. What happens if your LAN is comprised entirely of public IP addresses? Mine was not that long ago.
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yeah, unbelievable
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I don't know, but presumably what it means is accessing it over a LAN i.e. using SMB, will not disallow access to the file types, but accessing using their remote access software does disallow them?
So in your scenario, if I was right, although you'd still be accessing using a public IP address it would still be over SMB rather than from a remote site using "Anywhere Access" whatever that may be!
I'm not saying I'm in favour of it or anything, I'm just trying to put the actual problem into perspective. I know the precidents are far-reaching though... :-\
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I think it probably wouldn't affect me in any event Chris as I'd just tunnel SMB in (from wherever). One more thing to remember though and I need that like a hole in the head :)
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Thanks for the tip-off.
That's WD of off my Xmas shopping list, but then again, at the moment anything larger than 500 GB is very hard to find.
On another point with regards to DRM and piracy, I recently read of someone who installed a remote PC program which then disabled two of his/her programs, but strangely enough they were both spy-ware or monitoring type programs. (That sucks as far as I'm concerned) what's the world coming too. :police:
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As if by magic :
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/7136527.stm
;)
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What a godawful mess!
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Indeed.
Piracy is the only logical thing to do :D
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Well it just goes against the whole ethos of the internet... surely since the days of the fledgling ARPAnet it has always been about sharing ideas and resources. :)
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More publicity :
http://www.theinquirer.net/gb/inquirer/news/2007/12/12/wd-makes-big-mistake
Though I'm not sure I agree with the statement that WD "genuinely underestimated the impact of what it did".
Someone made a design decision that undoubtably increased WD's design costs - it has to have cost more to implement file blocking than not to have bothered in the first place. It certainly won't have been an engineering decision IMHO.
Genuinely underestimated how much money it would cost them in sales? Yes I think so.
Weasel words - I still won't be using WD.
Edit - and another article :
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2007/12/12/western_digital_filesharing_panic/
Reading between the lines Andrew thinks its incompetence. He may be right.