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Thats it, Do not use Media Player 8!

C

Czar

Lifer
http://www.nandotimes.com/technology/story/262326p-2436274c.html



<< WASHINGTON (February 21, 2002 1:11 a.m. EST) - Microsoft's new version of its popular Media Player software is logging the songs customers listen to and the movies they watch.

The company changed its privacy statement Wednesday to notify customers about the technology after inquiries from The Associated Press.

The system creates a list on each computer that could be a treasure for marketing companies, lawyers or others. Microsoft says it has no plans to sell the data collected by Media Player 8, which comes free with the Windows XP operating system. The company said last month it had sold more than 17 million copies of Windows XP.

"If you're watching DVDs you don't want your wife to know about, you might not want to give her your password," said David Caulton, Microsoft's lead program manager for Windows Media.

The media player has been bundled as a free addition to Windows for several years and allows users to play music CDs, DVD movies and digitally stored songs on their computers.

When a CD is played, the player downloads the disc name and titles for each song from a Web site licensed by Microsoft. That information is stored on a small file on each computer in the latest version of the software.

The new version released with Windows XP last fall also added the same technology for DVD movies. >>




Hint for all users, go to start / run and type in mplayer2 to get the media player 6.4
 


<< Microsoft says it has no plans to sell the data collected by Media Player 8, which comes free with the Windows XP operating system. >>



I bet that makes users feel a whole lot better...not! LOL.
 
dang...its not enough that we gotta worry about our privacy from their OS getting hacked...now they're invading our privacy w/o hacking at all...ahh...no surprise there...just wait till there's a hack for version 8 that'll allow a person's list of watched/listened media to be seen...ahh...blackmail...hehe
 



<< Hint for all users, go to start / run and type in mplayer2 to get the media player 6.4 >>



Yep, that's what I've always used 🙂
 
I seem to recall that MP7 could track you across the net...it had a unique serial number that was available unless you turned it off. Jeez.
 
Another reason to upgrade to linux..does Mandrake have a media player similar to MS media player??:disgust:
 
So does this effect only CDs and DVDs that you play? or does this effect all files (avi, mp3, etc..) that you play in media player 8?
 
Oh well.............if you're worried about what they'll do knowing you listen to something.................use something else, but, don't be suprised to learn they track you too!😉 I really don't use any of them including WMP...............have a nice sound system and TV/DVD player close by...........
 
It sounds to me the only way it know what your playing is when it downloads the CD/DVD info from microsoft or wherever they keep the lists. Just unselect the HTTP protocol and select another one and then block those ports if your that worried about it.
 


<< So does this effect only CDs and DVDs that you play? or does this effect all files (avi, mp3, etc..) that you play in media player 8? >>


It sounds like it tracks all files it can play, period.




<< Another reason to upgrade to linux..does Mandrake have a media player similar to MS media player?? >>



Yes, I think Linux is the answer too. As far as Mandrake having something similar, I think so, but you might want to look into Lycoris Linux, which used to be called Redmond Linux. It's a very newbie friendly distribution. I think it's better than Mandrake.
They don't include a lot of software, but what they include pretty much works, unlike some of the software from Mandrake and Red Hat. They also labelled things in a way that is easy to understand for a newbie. Actually, I think they might get into trouble with Microsoft, but we'll see. The desktop and icons look very similar to Windows XP.


http://www.lycoris.com/products/


edit: here is a screenshot of the standard desktop. look familiar? 😉 http://www.lycoris.com/products/gallery/desktop.php
 


<< The company changed its privacy statement Wednesday to notify customers about the technology after inquiries from The Associated Press. >>



Does this statement bother anyone else, too?
 


<< Does this statement bother anyone else, too? >>



Yes, it does. This basically sounds like "Darn, someone found out about what we were doing. We'd better go change that privacy statement again to cover our butts".

Sigh... No surprises there though, its just MS being MS.

The smart ones will have something like ZA running that would prevent WMP (or any other app for that matter) from phoning home, but the masses don't have this.
 
<<Does this statement bother anyone else, too? >>

YES!! It proves that they lied and have violated their own privacy statement. I wonder what else are they doing that they haven't told us about? ...with a closed source operating system we can't know or find out.


edit:

<< The smart ones will have something like ZA running that would prevent WMP (or any other app for that matter) from phoning home, but the masses don't have this.>>

..but maybe Microsoft has ways around ZA, heck who knows
and sometimes software doesn't work unless you let it do it's thing and phone home




 
To my knowledge this is in direct violation with the finnish privacy-laws.

And, on related note, guidelines of the finnish government says that they (the government) should not use products from a company that has broken the law. So, if you combine this with the antitrust-lawsuit, and of you follow that guideline, the finnish government shouldn't use Microsoft-products.
 
I've defended MS in the past, but I'm sick of this horsesh!t. Break those fckers up and beat the crap out the remaining chunks.
 
I'm sure the FBI would love to see what you have too. 😉



<< Im sure the porn industry would LOVE to see what i got 🙂 >>

 


<<

<< So does this effect only CDs and DVDs that you play? or does this effect all files (avi, mp3, etc..) that you play in media player 8? >>


It sounds like it tracks all files it can play, period. >>

The impression I got from the article was that it only applied to CDs and DVDs. The idea that the software is "logging" the information seems to be a bit of a stretch from what the software is actually doing, which is simply creating a list of the discs you play on your local hard-drive so the program is not constantly downloading track info every time you put in a CD. Personally, I don't care if my computer "knows" that I have a Warren Zevon CD or that I've watched the DVD of Patton. Every time MS makes a mistake or misjudges something in an attempt to create a service for users, the conspiracy theorists come out in screaming hysterics about how MS is out to spy on you, sell your personal information, and kill your firstborn male child. It seems to me that people tend to get disproportionally bent out of shape over things that are most likely just oversights on the part of MS.

ZV
 


<< I have ZA set to block all communication from WMP. If i need a codec, i d/l it myself 🙂 >>


plz explain how u did that
thanks

 
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