Oh hey, that's good news, Ed. -Danelle --- ---------------------------------- "I'd like to be an explorer, like the great Magellan." "Oh, you're too late. There's really nothing left to explore." -The Truman Show
--------- Original Message --------- DATE: Fri, 24 Oct 2003 12:33:51 From: Ed Schaller <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: [EMAIL PROTECTED], BYU Unix Users Group <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Cc: [EMAIL PROTECTED] >> Thanks for all the great input about digital cameras. It has been really >> helpful and I have learned a lot. >> My wife and I really like the Sony DSC-P92. At 5 mega-pixel, it's as cheap as >> most 3 mega-pixel cameras I've seen (though I understand that 3 is probably >> acceptable for my needs). It also has most of the other features that we >> wanted. It does have a major problem though: the dreaded Sony Memory Stick. >> Besides being more expensive than Compact Flash, it seems that Sony wants you >> to use the Memory Stick Pro which incorporates the Evil(TM) MagicGate >> copyright protection technology. A quote from a page which has been removed >> from Sony's website (Google cache: >> http://216.239.57.104/search?q=cache:1tX2xcgdrtMJ:www.sony.net/Products/SC-HP/CXPAL/CXNEWS-20/PDF/TW.pdf+MagicGate+Technology+PDF&hl=en&ie=UTF-8 >> ) >> >> "This copyright protection technology is incorporated in both the MG Memory >> Stick semiconductor media and appliance that uses that media . . . This >> technology provides two main functions. >> "Mutual confirmation between the media and the appliance that both the media >> and the MG appliance support copyright protection (authentication). . . . >> "If authentication is not established mutually, data exchange operations are >> not possible This prevents inappropriate copying and protects the copyright >> on the content." >> >> To me this says that if I buy a camera enabled for Memory Stick Pro, then >> even if I use a conventional memory stick I am still supporting theft of fair >> use rights because the technology is already in the camera. So, I reason that >> it isn't a big deal because I own the copyright to my photos. But this >> article says that I still can't use Free software to access the a Memory >> Stick Pro because it can't legally (due to the DMCA) speak MagicGate's >> protocol to the card. >> So if Sony wants to lock consumers into using the MagicGate technology (which >> appears to be their strategy), the day could come when I need a new Memory >> Stick and can only buy a Memory Stick Pro. >> Does anyone know for certain? Do Magic Stick readers work in Linux? Even with >> a Magic Stick Pro? Is it likely that Sony won't continue making Magic Sticks >> in the future without consumer crippling technologies built in? >> I would still like to buy this camera (if I can verify that I won't ever have >> to buy a Memory Stick Pro), but I'm not sure if I can feel good about it >> anymore. Sony often has the best technology out there, and then they ruin it. >> Frustrating. > >There are many other companies out there that are making regular memory >sticks without the magic gate stuff in them now. My guess is that you >will still be able to get the original memory sticks for quite a while. >The old than a year that is) memory stick drives do not support the new >Memory Stick Pro either (its rather new). > >The funny thing is that the mp3 player on my Sony clie will not play >mp3's with the copyrighted bit set without having the magic gate sticks >(which I do not have any of). Remove the bit and it works.... I could be >wrong, but it looks to me like all this application to stick >authentication garbage only happens with Sony software. All of my sticks >are just block devices with files in Linux. > >Their sticks are pretty nice, though the old version is broken (can't >have a stick larger than 128M, the 256M regular mem-sticks have a switch >to choose which side you're on). It's nice to just transfer stuff from >clie to computer to camera without cables and hassles. > >My sony camera's usb connection just shows up as a usb-storage device in >linux which I can mount (vfat) and read off the stick in the camera. So >if you just wanted to get a decent sized stick now, you could just copy >stuff off whenever it gets full to a laptop with little effort and never >get another one. > >> Can anyone suggest a comparable camera without the ethical baggage? > >Anyways, I don't know enough about digital cameras to make any >suggestions (mine takes pictures that look decent). > >>>>------> > >-- > >+-------------+-----------------------+---------------+ >| Ed Schaller | Dark Mist Networking | psuedoshroom | >+-------------+-----------------------+---------------+ > ____________________________________________________________ Enter for a chance to win one year's supply of allergy relief! http://ad.doubleclick.net/clk;6413623;3807821;f?http://mocda3.com/1/c/563632/125699/307982/307982 This offer applies to U.S. Residents Only ____________________ BYU Unix Users Group http://uug.byu.edu/ ___________________________________________________________________ List Info: http://uug.byu.edu/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/uug-list
