Morpheus to announce plan to put limits on mp3 sharing

[zombywoof]

StreamCast Networks Inc. will introduce technology called CintoA that can restrict the use or distribution of an MP3 file. For example, the technology could be programmed to limit the number of times a song could be played.

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/articl....DTL&type=tech


Looks like another p2p app that will go down the tubes.

[snowman]

Basic cryptology 101 tells you that as long as the source document is available in any plain text open format such as:

a) WAV format as on a CD, or
b) Analog audio as in a AM/FM radio, or
c) RF signal on a stereo/player/recorder patch cable, or
d) audio spectrum as in live concert that we can hear,

encryption to restrict access of the music is useless.

Simply use the unencrypted version to read or play the message and ignore the encrypted one. Is this not obvious or what?

The American DMCA protects encrypted or copy protected or restricted access to music and video performances however I do believe that to prove that it was accessed in a way that circumvents the protection the copyright holder has to prove that the original was "secret" and not in general circulation.

This is going to be akin to a 007 type encrypting a secret message for his/her masters, sending the secret version by a 100 gazillion dollar satellite communication system then e-mailing the real message in plain text to every P2P, FTP server, usersgroup, mail list on the planet and by snail mail to every CD sales store in the universe. Is this not why acts play gig's?

Why bother.

Encryption is only valid if there is a limited and controlled distribution of the plain text message.

In the case of music where the primary goal is to get people like you and me to listen to as a public performance it is rather useless.

If it had value then the CD's and DVD's would of had a 2048 bit encryption system on them from the start.

[theknife]

If you can hear it, you can rip it



can't remember who here said this first....

[Crankygirl]

At least somebody gets it...........

"Can you hold back this tidal wave with a dike?" Leigh said. "It's futile."

Good article Oscar.

I'm not missing Morph. at all.

[Mowzer]

>>"In the case of music where the primary goal is to get people like you and me to listen to as a public performance it is rather useless.
If it had value then the CD's and DVD's would of had a 2048 bit encryption system on them from the start."

Very, very true!

heres an oldie but a goodie:

#!/usr/bin/perl -w
# 531-byte qrpff-fast, Keith Winstein and Marc Horowitz <sipb-iap-dvd@mit.edu>
# MPEG 2 PS VOB file on stdin -> descrambled output on stdout
# arguments: title key bytes in least to most-significant order
$_='while(read+STDIN,$_,2048){$a=29;$b=73;$c=142;$t=255;@t=m ap{$_%16or$t^=$c^=(
$m=(11,10,116,100,11,122,20,100)[$_/16%8])&110;$t^=(72,@z=(64,72,$a^=12*($_%16
-2?0:$m&17)),$b^=$_%64?12:0,@z)[$_%8]}(16..271);if((@a=unx"C*",$_)[20]&48){$h
=5;$_=unxb24,join"",@b=map{xB8,unxb8,chr($_^$a[--$h+84])}@ARGV;s/...$/1$&/;$
d=unxV,xb25,$_;$e=256|(ord$b[4])<<9|ord$b[3];$d=$d>>8^($f=$t&($d>>12^$d>>4^
$d^$d/8))<<17,$e=$e>>8^($t&($g=($q=$e>>14&7^$e)^$q*8^$q<<6))<<9,$_ =$t[$_]^
(($h>>=8)+=$f+(~$g&$t))for@a[128..$#a]}print+x"C*",@a}';s/x/pack+/g;eval


lol.

[TankGirl]

Originally posted by oscar
Looks like another p2p app that will go down the tubes.

Sounds pretty fatal. Streamcast can survive - and has survived - a platform change with its strong Morpheus brand but I doubt they will survive blocking the overwhelmingly most popular digital music format. A mp3 file wrapped with any sort of use-limiting layer is no more a mp3 file. The huge total amount of generic and freely sharable mp3 content in private music libraries has a momentum of its own, the commercial players can either live with the fact or die with it.

- tg