It seems that they are at it again...

Entertainment Cartel Gearing Up to Ban Time-Shifting TV. New York Times: Studios Using Digital Armor to Fight Piracy. Lying dormant in virtually every digital cable box in America... [Dan Gillmor's eJournal]

"We need to put in speed bumps to keep people honest," said Jack Valenti, the president of the Motion Picture Association of America, which is lobbying federal regulators to require many devices to incorporate technology that prevents consumers from sending digital media files over the Internet. "If we don't, our future is bleak."

Oddly, Jack, the courts found it to be legal for end users to tape programs to watch later, so why do we need speed bumps?

Sometimes I wonder if his middle name is Ass... Regardless, dig this next bit of info:

Gary Merson, who reviews equipment for consumer electronics magazines, found last week that his state-of-the-art high-definition television system would not display several channels, including HBO and WCBS. Instead a message flashed on the $8,000 screen: "Notice — Copy restrictions prevent the viewing of this program in the high definition format. For more information see the owner's manual for your satellite receiver."

DirecTV, Mr. Merson's satellite provider, said no one was available to comment on the company's policy on copy restrictions last week. But Mr. Merson said he was told by a customer service representative that the message was intended for television studios that want to activate anti-piracy measures.

If DirecTV detects that a customer's equipment would allow certain shows to be transmitted over the Internet, the viewer is informed that the material can be seen only in standard format. In Mr. Merson's case, the message appears to have been a technical glitch, which did not make him any happier.

"These copy-protection schemes are a bill of goods," said Mr. Merson, who wrote about the experience in his Internet newsletter, The HDTV Insider. "The program providers get the higher profits and we get stuff that doesn't work right."

I imagine I'd be pretty steamed if I had just spent $8000 on my TV and found out that I couldn't watch the shows I wanted to because of a glitch. How would that make you feel? 

10:26:21 PM    

Penn Gillette annoying? I don't think so There has been an interesting variety of responses to this story about Penn Gillette, airport patriot from bOing bOing. Some folks have said he is lucky he's famous and others have taken the opportunity that Penn is annoying and his protests shouldn't be considered noble. But everyone believes he was right to protest and everyone ought to protest, as well, famous or not, when they are assaulted by an airport security guard who says "you don't have rights once you're in the security check area." Look, these people have a hard job and don't make much money. I know that and try to be cooperative when I am at the airport. But they also don't earn the right to remove our rights arbitrarily because of their shitty jobs. It is the erosion of rights in small ways that adds up to a catastrophe. We are on a faster downhill slide into a police state than at any time in most living memories. What is really disgusting about the story is the way the airport security management tried to buy off Penn, offering him first-class treatment in the future. That's a sure sign that there is an oppressive trend under way. Good for Penn. [RatcliffeBlog -- Social and Political]

10:10:51 PM