News and Reviews....

    SONY BMG REVISITED  May 2006

 By Robert Lieto

This is a follow up on our initial story of the "SONY BMG Hides The Pea" Software issue of December 2005.  A federal judge gave a settlement approval on Monday May 22, 2006 in the Sony BMG Entertainment and the class action lawsuit over copy-protection software installed on popular CDs.

Manhattan federal judge Naomi Buchwald finalized the agreement which received temporary approval in January 2006. The suit stemmed from the music company's use of controversial technology aimed at stopping illegal copying of music on CDs. The lawsuit against SONY BMG that the software known as XCP or Media Max, left computers vulnerable to hackers and allowed the company to track listening habits. The CDs with the copy protection software featured music from 52 artists, including Ray Charles, Frank Sinatra, Louis Armstrong and Celine Dion.

The settlement allows consumers to exchange old CDs for new ones without the copy protection technology and requires Sony BMG to provide software to remove the technology. People who bought the affected CD's are also entitled to a cash payment of $ 7.50 and one album download from a selection of 200 titles.

Consumers can check to see if they are eligible for a claim at "www.eff.org/sony/".

Comment .....  We feel that Sony owes their company status to very effective marketing and not necessarily a better product.. The company has also shown in the past a consistent mind set to fully control certain areas of consumer electronics and buying habits. They are showing the same mind set in the HD-DVD vs Blue-Ray showdown now taking place in high definition DVD discs, where controlling the software from the studios they own, limit what is available from the competing format. Their marketing of LCD Panels (Sony does not have a Plasma line) and Rear Projection sets like Bravia, Wega are just that, a marketing push. We do not believe that their sets have any significant improvement or magic ability to produce a picture on any greater level then other sets in the same price range or build quality from other manufactures. They have shown us in the past, an inability to provide service and parts on their products. In our estimate SONY = Buyer Beware.

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Past Articles on Subject:

SONY BMG HIDES THE PEA    December 2005