My new microwave won't work because it objects to the brand of refrigerator I have in the kitchen. And the aspirin bottle has detected a rival brand in the medicine chest and therefore can't be opened. And my mattresses tag-removal alarm system is ...
Well, OK, maybe things haven't gotten quite that bad yet, but it's certainly the direction that software Digital Rights Management schemes are taking us. Most distressing is the trend by game software publishers to use DRM that refuses to let the game play if software it doesn't like is detected on the user's system.
"They really have gone too far this time," one reader recently wrote. "Check out the links in this Slashdot discussion. Sims 2 checks your computer and will not run 'when active CD Emulation software is detected by the copy protection on the game CD.' That means Electronic Arts wants us to remove perfectly legal programs like Nero and Clone CD that are often pre-installed by the PC manufacturer! This can't be legal."
In past months, readers report encountering similar DRM restrictions on CD/DVD burning software with other games such as Activision's Doom 3 and Ubisoft's Far Cry. One reader had resorted to getting cracked versions of the games instead of the CDs he had purchased, but this meant that they could not be played on-line. "Doom 3 was something I was really looking forward to playing on-line, so I relented and uninstalled the Clone CD and Daemon Tools software in an attempt to get Doom 3 to work with the store-bought executable," the reader wrote. "To add insult to injury, Windows XP decided that I had made a hardware change when I uninstalled the virtual DVD/CD-OM software and told me I had to re-activate. When I tried to re-activate it told me I had re-activated too many times ... So then I had to call Microsoft and convince them I wasn't trying to install Windows XP on more than one computer so that I could use the operating system I bought and paid for over two years ago. As a software engineer myself, I understand the need to protect your code but to make copy protection so stringent that legitimate users can't use the software they paid for encourages piracy or at the very least discourages future purchases."
As is always the case with copy protection, the DRM the games are using can easily be circumvented by those who want to make illegal copies but can cause problems for honest users. "My version of Clone CD is so old that it doesn't do any emulation, probably wouldn't beat any modern copy protection, didn't have any services running, and was solely used for a few personal CD backups," wrote another frustrated Doom 3 customer. "I actually had to uninstall Clone CD to even be able to run Doom 3. Meanwhile, friends of mine downloaded and were playing days before I bought it - totally hassle-free. Why bother anymore? Why should paying customers be the ones who get screwed?"
What seems particularly unfair is that none of the game publishers are upfront about their restrictions. "If the game objects to the mere presence of certain software packages on my hard drive, that information better be clearly stated on the OUTSIDE of the box," wrote another reader. "Most stores won't accept software returns if the box has been opened. If I have to break the shrinkwrap and attempt to install it in order to stumble over this restriction, Activision will refund my money, even if I have to take them to small claims court."
It's one thing for software publishers to sell copy-protected products if the customer knows it's there and what it does. But it's quite another thing when vendors surreptitiously include code that disables other products that perform legitimate functions. That's a game that nobody should be allowed to play.
Post your comments about this story here or read what your fellow readers have to say. You can also write me directly at Foster@gripe2ed.com.
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