Paul Roberts reports on EWeek that Microsoft is considering ‘taking action’ against Sony with regards to its rootkit that has been all over the news recently. This comes on top of Microsoft claiming Sony’s next-gen DVD format (Blu-Ray) is “Anti-Consumer.” Anti-consumer? Pot, meet kettle. How many anti-trust lawsuits has Microsoft had slapped against them in the last few decades? Still, I’m totally with them. The Blu-Ray DRM is waaaaaay over the top.
“Bricking” your Blu-Ray player for tinkering with it?
Dynamically updated copy protection schemes
Discs locked in to one specific Blu-Ray player making it even “borrow-proof” between friends?

I’m not going to sit here and defend anyone’s right to copy intellectual property, but I’m not going to defend a companies right to have a monopoly over innovation, break my analog equipment (here also), and make the process of being entertained by watching a movie a nightmare of making sure my Blu-Ray player is hooked up to the internet before I am able to watch a movie so it can download the latest copy protection schemes, and renting a copy of a movie I already own just so I can watch it at a friends house.

Maybe it is just the geek in me, but watching Microsoft v. Sony throwdown would be entertaining as hell. People seem to think Microsoft is a mindless power & money hungry corporation, but Sony is 10 times worse. When was the last time you heard about Microsoft suing people for pirating their $200-$300 software? Ok, now when was the last time you heard about Sony & the RIAA suing people for pirating $.99 songs? Oh wait, $.99 is too little now for the RIAA .