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HP says it should've better explained blocking third-party ink
Following a recent update that blocked some third-party ink cartridges fore its printers, HP formally apologized to customers this week for how it communicated about the change. Earlier this month, the company updated its firmware making cartridges made by other companies unusable on its printers. HP cited quality and security reasons for switching up its authentication process. Those third-party options are typically cheaper and as you might expect, customers weren't happy about not being able to use those supplies.
GOG adds 'Hotline Miami' and other Steam games to your library
GOG is extending its efforts to liberate your games from Steam's copyright protection. Alongside a back-to-school sale, the online game store is expanding its GOG Connect effort to cover 17 more games, including Hotline Miami, the 2013 Shadow Warrior remake and the space exploration title X Rebirth. It's the same drill as before: connect your Steam account and you can grab DRM-free copies of those games at no charge, helping you back them up or move them without hassles. The focus remains on indie games, but it's still good news if you're worried that you've put too many eggs in Steam's basket.
Kaleidescape's high-end movie player business lives on (updated)
If you're familiar with Kaleidescape, it's likely related to the company's years-long battle with the DVD Copy Control Association over the right to sell disc-ripping movie servers. After a decade of legal wrangling, the parties settled two years ago with an agreement that effectively killed the DVD copying feature. Now, after making attempts to build pricey Blu-ray jukeboxes and a high-quality movie download service that worked with Hollywood's copy-protection demands instead of against them, the company is shutting its doors.
Microsoft hopes 1080p Netflix makes Edge your next browser
As Microsoft continues to nudge folks into trying its new Edge browser on Windows 10, its latest tease is the promise of better looking, more efficient video streaming. Just like Apple's Safari browser on OS X, it turns out that on Windows only Microsoft's browsers stream HTML5 Netflix in 1080p, while Chrome, Firefox and Opera all max out at 720p and a much lower bitrate. It also claims the browser makes use of Windows 10's enhancements to offload video and audio processing to the right hardware in ways that save significant battery life.
Sega Saturn copy protection gets cracked two decades later
Sega Saturn fans have a problem: while the console has long supported unofficial code on CDs thanks to mod chips, that's no good if you want to use software in any other format. How will you play anything if your decades-old CD drive dies? You can rest easy after today. After years of work, enthusiast Dr. Abrasive has found a way to crack the Saturn's copy protection system and let it run software from a card with USB support. This was no mean feat, as it turns out -- the Saturn has a notoriously difficult-to-read anti-copying system that isolates itself from many cracking methods.
Chrome exploit makes life easier for video pirates
Media giants insist on copy protection systems in browsers to prevent bootleggers from copying video streams, but these anti-piracy measures aren't foolproof. Security researchers have found a flaw in Chrome (and any Chromium-based browser) that circumvents Google's Widevine digital rights management. As the system doesn't check to make sure that decrypted video is playing only in the browser, it's possible to capture that video right as it's passed to the browser's media player. With the right software, you'd only need to hit play to start copying a Netflix movie.
4K copy protection removal shop settles for $5.2 million
Intel and Warner Bros. are still very much embroiled in a war on companies stripping copyright protection from 4K and Blu-ray videos. Hardware seller Ace Deal has agreed to pay the two industry giants $5.2 million to settle a lawsuit over alleged violations of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act. Supposedly, Ace Deal knowingly aided in piracy by selling devices that remove HDCP anti-copying measures, making it relatively easy to bootleg the latest 4K movie extravaganza. The shop has already pulled the offending gear from its online store and is barred from selling similar devices in the future, but the small outfit still faces a relatively big, potentially crippling payout.
Oculus update stops you from using VR apps with HTC's Vive
HTC Vive and Oculus Rift owners generally have a lot in common, including access to many of the same apps and games. However, it looks like a gulf is opening up between the two virtual reality headsets. Oculus has released an app update whose improved "platform integrity checks" break support for Revive, an unofficial tool that lets Rift-specific apps (those in Oculus Home) run on HTC's gear. If you ask Revive's creators, they believe that Oculus is checking that its hardware is connected regardless of the app you're using -- previously, you only had to convince individual apps that there's a Rift attached.
iOS malware uses copy protection to infect 'pure' devices
Ne'er-do-wells have so far exploited holes in Apple's FairPlay copy protection primarily to distribute pirated iOS apps, but it now looks like they're turning their energy toward hurting users. Palo Alto Networks says it has discovered AceDeceiver, the first malware that uses FairPlay to infect its targets. Install a bogus iOS management utility for Windows (Aisi Helper) and the software will launch a man-in-the middle attack that grabs app authorization codes and uses those to install infected apps on any iOS device you connect to the system. Unlike many iOS attacks, this doesn't require that the target use a jailbroken device -- the apps are allowed to run as if they were completely legitimate.
Pirates are finding it harder to crack new PC games
Pirates at the infamous Chinese hacking forum 3DM are complaining that recent PC games are simply too darn hard to crack, according to Torrent Freak. The problem is apparently Denuvo, a copy protection scheme that prevents tampering of the underlying DRM. Two recent games that use the scheme, FIFA 16 and Just Cause 3, have still not been cracked, despite appearing in early December. Based on the current pace of encryption tech, "in two years time I'm afraid there will be no free games to play in the world," said one forlorn pirate.
Sony's CD rootkit fiasco marks its inglorious 10th anniversary
Here's one product anniversary that Sony probably wants you to forget. It's the 10th anniversary of security researcher (now CTO for Microsoft Azure) Mark Russinovich publishing details of the Sony BMG rootkit, a CD copy protection system that compromised the security of Windows PCs and was near-impossible to safely uninstall. The music label was initially dismissive, but it soon had to change its tune -- it paid millions to settle charges and recalled legions of discs. To top things off, the discovery made Sony a punching bag for anyone unhappy with digital rights management (DRM) and other heavy-handed uses of copyright.
No thanks: JPEG images may soon have copy protection
So much for hopes that the tech industry would back away from copyright protection any time soon. The Joint Photographic Experts Group recently launched a Privacy & Security initiative that potentially brings digital rights management (DRM) to regular JPEG images, not just the specialized JPEG 2000 format. The proposal could protect your privacy by encrypting metadata (such as where you took a photo), but it could also prevent you from copying or opening some pictures. Needless to say, that opens up a can of worms when it comes to fair use rights. If someone slapped DRM on a photo, you couldn't use it for news, research or remixed art -- many of the internet memes you know wouldn't be possible.
Vudu finally delivers 1080p HDX movies on Android devices
One of the best features of Vudu's movie service has always been its high quality video, and now you can view it on mobile devices. The latest version of Vudu for Android brings a native interface for the first time that's far easier to use and looks better on screens of all sizes, as well as the ability to play HD (720p) and HDX (1080p) quality streams or downloads. That's a feature that's still not available on iPhones and iPads, but it should work on "select" Lollipop or higher devices (read: capable of high-res video and the accompanying DRM).
How Netflix works in virtual reality, and why it's not HD
It's true, the Netflix VR app is ready for your compatible* Samsung phone and Gear VR headset (if you don't see it, try uninstalling and reinstalling the Oculus app), and has a virtual living room for you to chill in. Oculus CTO John Carmack worked with Netflix on the app, and in a post to the tech blog explained how it all comes together. Besides the technical details of how the app creates a screen inside a virtual environment, and includes controls for use while browsing or viewing, Carmack also explained one more thing: the streaming video in VR is limited to standard definition (720x480). According to Carmack, because the area you're actually looking at is only composed of so many pixels, 720p is the highest res video you should consider for VR right now. The reason he can't hit that mark? Content protection, aka DRM.
Windows 10 won't run old games with dodgy copy protection
Do you recall the bad old days of PC games in the mid-2000s, when titles were loaded with copy protection that was not only a hassle, but horribly insecure? Well, Microsoft does -- and that could be a problem if you're trying to run some of those vintage games on Windows 10. The company notes that games which depend on some versions of SafeDisc and Securom DRM (digital rights management) aren't allowed to run on Windows 10 at all. That could mean that your dusty copy of Grand Theft Auto III, Battlefield 1942 or The Sims won't load. As Microsoft's Boris Schneider-Johne says, their DRM intrudes so deeply into your system that they introduce a "possible loophole for computer viruses." Sure enough, at least one of the concerns about burdensome copy protection proved true -- it was more of a nuisance to honest gamers than to pirates.
1TB My Passport Cinema drive puts 4K Ultra HD movies in your pocket
New super high-res televisions are already here, but with Ultra HD Blu-ray still yet to debut, the best available way to get 4K video on that screen is with streaming and, now, downloading. Western Digital has a Vidity hard drive ready that is ready for storing Hollywood's movies in the highest quality available, and playing them back on compatible screens. Right now the list of compatible devices is limited to Samsung's UHD TVs (2014 or 2015) with the M-Go app, and Fox is the first studio out of the gate with compatible movies. WD's $90 1TB, USB 3.0-connected My Passport Cinema drive meets the spec, is being packed in free with new Samsung TVs, and comes preloaded with The Maze Runner, Exodus: Gods and Kings, X-Men: Days of the Future Past, The Wolverine, Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, The Fault in Our Stars, Let's Be Cops and The Other Woman -- two of them are free off the bat.
Matchstick's Firefox OS-based TV dongle is dead
Bad news if you backed Matchstick's crowdfunded, Firefox OS-powered TV adapter: it's not going to happen. The team has cancelled its would-be Chromecast rival after realizing that implementing copyright protection will require "significantly more" work than expected. It wouldn't be fair to leave people hanging when there's no way to "reliably predict" when you could play Netflix or other locked-down content, the company says. If you plunked money down, you should be getting a full refund within the next 60 days.
'Vidity' 4K movies you can download are coming later this year
At CES the long-brewing alliance to push Hollywood movies you can legally download, store and play across different devices finally surfaced, and now its system has a brand name: Vidity. As we learned in January, this is the doing of the Secure Content Storage Association -- a team up behind movie studios (Fox, Warner Bros.) and storage manufacturers (Western Digital, Sandisk) to create a system where users can download movies in the highest possible quality like 4K Ultra HD and HDR. Samsung was the first to announce its Ultra HD TVs with the M-Go app will use the spec, but other big names like Vudu, Kaleidescape, LG, Universal, Comcast and Sprint are on board too. So far 4K movies have generally been all about streaming, but now between Ultra HD Blu-ray and Vidity there are a couple of new options coming.
Keurig revives refillable K-Cups following disappointing sales
Following its first disappointing holiday sales numbers since its coffee machines hit shelves, Keurig will bring back refillable K-Cups. So far, the Keurig 2.0 machines haven't taken off like the company thought they would, partially because new brewers don't allow users to add their own beans with a so-called My K-Cup filter. The machine -- capable of brewing more than one cup at a time -- also costs $200 while other Keurig options have price tags around $100. In an attempt to revive interest, a version of the My K-Cup for the pricier new brewers is in the works. CEO Brian Kelley said on an investor call this week that Keurig "underestimated the passion" customers had for the DIY option. What about the unpopular DRM requirement that nixed some third-party pre-filled pods? It's staying. The company wants to convert all unlicensed cup to official products, adding to the 500 varieties of coffee, tea and hot chocolate from 70 brands.
Apple ordered to pay $532.9 million to an iTunes patent troll (update)
Despite attempts to curb patent trolls, at least some of them are getting lucky -- and this week, one got very lucky. A Texas court has ordered Apple to pay a whopping $532.9 million to Smartflash, a holding company which sued over claims that iTunes (specifically its copy protection, payment systems and storage) violates its patents. The Cupertino crew allegedly abused the inventions on purpose, in part because one of its execs was briefed on them over a decade ago.
