[NTLUG:Discuss] Amarok vs MS media player

[Steve Baker]

Allen Meyers wrote:
> My wife is not a Linux user, but is a music "fan" with a vast CD collection
> she plays on her PC while gabbing on MSN.
> The other day she attempted for the 1st time to copy a CD to a play list on
> media player without success.
> So she brings this Jim Croce CD to me and says is this one of those CD's
> that cannot be copied. I said I doubt it so I bring up Amarok as I am in
> Linux and proceed to copy it.
> So I am curious as I went to her machine and had no success either, but I
> was able to copy another CD. Not asking for MS help. Just curious as to what
> might be going on here.

I don't know in general - but at least one CD copy-protection method
simply puts a short program onto the CD that runs when the CD is first
inserted into the drive under Windows.  That program probably patches
something to disable the copying.   I don't know if there is a way to
tell windows not to run programs like that - but if there is, it might
fix your problem.

Linux has the much safer approach of not running programs unless you
tell it to!  So even if that program would work under Linux (which it
wouldn't) - we're not stupid enough to run just any old crap that
happens to be lying around.  Just one more reason why Linux is
relatively safe from viruses.  The "If it's there, execute it!"
mentality of the Windows authors is an interesting and useful one in a
world where nut-jobs, governments and big business aren't trying to do
things we don't want them to do inside our computers - but in the world
we actually live in - it's flat out crazy!!

Another mechanism is to add deliberately corrupted "data-track" onto the
disk.  That is ignored by CD players - but examined by WMP.  Evidently
Window's error recovery isn't as good as Amarok's!

When Sony started with this silly trick, it was possible to defeat the
copy protection by drawing a thin line around (IIRC) the outside of the
disk using a Sharpie.  This corrupted that data and prevented Windows
from being able to recognise the software on the CD - which could then
be ripped easily.

Read here for more details:

   http://www.wired.com/science/discoveries/news/2002/05/52665