[Kyle Fenton]

This is typical Microsoft policy. Trying to appeal to the RIAA that they shouldn't develop an open-source solutions, but a lock-down proprietary one. Microsoft is also trying to appeal to the MPAA to include Windows Media 9 format for the next form of HD-DVDs, instead of the open-source H.264 codec. But it seems that they are going for the H264 codec instead of WM9. Maybe it will be the same for CDs too, who knows.

In any sense this has no hope of stopping music piracy what so ever. If you can hear it you can copy it. There have been many attempts to make protected CDs but were easily defeated by either using a felt marker or pushing the shift key in windows. I suspect that this will be no different. In fact, the only people that it is hurting are legitimate customers that want to do whatever they bought with their music.