[cdaveb]

The Mercury News just posted this article:
SonicBlue ordered to track digital video recorder users


Personally I'm fuming mad that the courts feel it is appropriate to force a company to spy on their customers. It's one thing to require them to turn over research already done, but to force them to create it is another situation entirely. Since when is it the job of the company being sued to do research in order to prove or disprove the allegations? I don't really care too much about SonicBlue tracking my viewing habits, but I think it's a sad day when the courts are so screwed up over copyrights that they are going to these lengths.

 

[Robbo]

This is a complete and total outrage. One can only hope that the district court will reverse the magistrates ruling.

 

[Synapse]

It's an insane ruling, and will no doubt be overturned on appeal.

 

[q3ded]

and if not we can file an injuction of our own. im sure we could find a lawyer pro bono. i'll ask my friends tomorrow.

 

[dbyolton]

Let's see...


How can I throw off the data collection?


I guess I'm going to watch shows without skipping commercials, every time I go to work, go to sleep, take a nap, go to the gym....

 

[jmoak]

any way into the operating system?


whatever they force sb to put on the harddrive for data collection, maybe someone can munge that to just insert a text string instead of the data.


how about a nice string like:


"All Lawyers Must Die"

 

[Xaa]

That ruling is ridiculous.


Everyone set up your pronto's on timers to send some commands to your RTV's every 15 minutes or so while your sleeping. That will skew the numbers as it will appear you are watching TV, but NOT skipping commercials.


On a side note, Thanks SonicBlue for having the courage to blaze this trail for ALL PVR's. SB is doing this at their own expense and all PVR manufacturers will benefit form the outcome regardless of what that outcome is.


Xaa

 

[BrettStah]

Quote:

Originally posted by Xaa That ruling is ridiculous. Everyone set up your pronto's on timers to send some commands to your RTV's every 15 minutes or so while your sleeping. That will skew the numbers as it will appear you are watching TV, but NOT skipping commercials. On a side note, Thanks SonicBlue for having the courage to blaze this trail for ALL PVR's. SB is doing this at their own expense and all PVR manufacturers will benefit form the outcome regardless of what that outcome is. Xaa

Agreed on all points!

 

[aslagle]

There's another nasty point to this ruling.


The judge has ordered that SonicBlue compile data not currently extant in order to provide to the prosecution.


This isn't data SonicBlue had that is turned over in a deposition: this is a judge ordering them to gather data specifically to incriminate themselves. I hope this gets turned over on appeal: this would set an extremely bad precedent.

 

[jtl]

On the plus side, this will ensure we get a software update within 2 months. Updates are always good, right?

 

[DrDeriv]

Not if the update takes away CA, which it may eventually do if they lose. Has anyone figured out how to grab a copy of the software, so that if a non-helpful update gets sent out one day, we can all re-write the last good version back to the machine?

 

[richardtallent]

Hasn't this so-called judge heard of prior restraint (the end goal of the mass media's witch hunt against us consumers), right against self-incrimination (assuming that extends to corporations), and illegal search and seizure (by forcing SB to do this, they make SB an agent of the state searching our homes and personal property without due cause). IANAL, but I'd think I'd make a heckuva better judge in this case.


I've already written to one of my senators (Hutchison) on these issues (before this ruling) and received a say-nothing response about how important copyright is to the economy. I'll be sure to send another followup about this idiot's ruling, even though I don't own a 4000-model yet.

 

[richardtallent]

> we can all re-write the last good version back to the machine


Sounds great to me. Add a firewall and a proxy server to keep the schedule updates a'comin and we'll be set until HDTV forces us to become media slaves again.


As Charlton Heston would say, they'll have to rip my ReplayTV "from my cold, dead hands."

 

[toots]

ReplayTVs are PEOPLE!!!!

 

[richardtallent]

Post removed....Please remember...We DO NOT ALLOW attacks on people like what as made.



[Admin note...sorry...Just do not need this forum connected to a mass of phone calls from a post like this.]

 

[Scyber]

Plead the 5th Replay!!!

 

[richardtallent]

Oops, forgot the snail mail address:


Hon. Charles F. Eick

Magistrate Judge

U.S. District Court

Central District of California

339 US Courthouse

312 N. Spring St.

Los Angeles, CA 90012

 

[Wayno]

Ahh, it's nice to see that Big Brother is getting himself some help. Now, not only is *HE* watching, he's ordering others to watch also and report back to him.


I haven't watched many commercials every since the VCR was invented. Some may say it was invented to watch pre-redorded tapes, but in reality it's greatest contribution is being able to FF through commercials on recorded media whether that's an inane commercial for a product that you have no need or desire for, or just FF'ing through a "commercial" for a movie you've already passed over at the Movie Rental store.


They're just punishing Replay for improving on the FF button of a VCR.


I don't want to give the Media idiots any ideas, but if they force Replay to disable the CA button then they also have to find a way to disable the Channel, power, mute, volume, buttons on TV/VCR/PVR remotes, as well as automatically locking any doors out of the viewing room, locking my Fridge and cupboards, as well as the bathroom door every time a commercial comes on. And that doesn't even get into the whole free will thing where I can talk to someone in the room, or just not pay attention and read the paper, or a book, or do something else that might "STEAL" my attention from this most important thing in my life for the next xx seconds!

Wow, I never knew just how important commercials were!! Maybe they should have whole channels dedicated to the important messages that commercials convey to us. ....... Oh wait , they're called Home Shopping Channels and they already steal part of my cable bill every month on that drivel!

 

[Montezuma58]

Let's see if I understand this. I am being compelled to make an activity that I do privately in my home viewable to the public to facilitate a lawsuit to which I am not a party. Some people might argue that this is inocuous because personally identifiable information is not associated with the data collection. But consider this, would this judge be able to order me to physically allow representatives of the plantif to enter my house to observe my use of my 4K, even if in the end they don't associate the findings with my name or address. This is essentially what the judge is ordering.


Just because I have windows on my house does not mean I have to open the blinds in order to serve the interest of anyone. If this ruling holds up, I will not be a willing participant in this data collection. I wonder if there are enough Replay users willing to alter their use in order to skew the results. Hell, I might even just unplug the ethernet and go manual during the data collection.

 

[kelliot]

Actually, I suspect its a violation of California law since consumers have a legal right to opt out on personal data collection.


Any California lawyers out there.