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"This is particularly irksome in light of the MSN Music shutdown, about which the EFF has written a strong and powerful letter. It is increasingly likely a normal person could have purchased music legally from an online site, burned it to an ordinary audio CD, and in the right set of circumstances be branded a pirate because the original "granting" authority no longer exists to prove that the consumer was a legitimate purchasers."

This is truly bothersome to me. MSN music has already shut down and I believe my wife may have purchased music from them before. Not only are they turning off their DRM servers soon, but if I rip her songs onto CDs then I may as well have stolen them. I guess the lesson is "keep your receipts." If you can at least prove that you purchased songs online then perhaps you have a leg to stand on if ever anyone comes after you.

I never have liked the competition of DRM formats anyway; it's always seemed to me to be a way for companies to stifle competition amongst music players and music download services. It's just a way for them to force you to buy their music players to go with their download service, rather than let consumers decide.

Not only are they turning off their DRM servers soon...

Thanks to all who bought (and use) Microshaft VISTA. That validated an impossible situation in a free society.

When the national police (the military) is made a tool of a "legal" mob, to whom RICO laws should apply, then we can truly appreciate the corner we have allowed our government to paint us into...