[Introspective] Re: London Mystery

[Brian C Pierce]

Mats-

You are correct!!  The disclaimer at the bottom of "London" CD singles may
indeed be standard on new Parlophone releases (enhanced or otherwise), as I
found it on CD 1 for the "I Get Along" single as well.  Though the disclaimer
was missing on CD2 and CD3.  The disclaimer appears to be a legitimate warning
for this particular CD single.

I attempted to bypass the "enhanced" menu provided on the "I Get Along" enhanced
CD and play the video directly from the source file.  The disc promptly caused
by Macintosh to freeze and subsequently crash.

I started having problems with Pet Shop Boy CDs beginning with the bonus disc in
the US version of "Release".  I believe initially I could not access the tracks
without using the menu provided.

This problem is becoming more prevelant with not only music CDs, but DVD movies
as well.  Some studios and labels are doing whatever it takes to lock down
content.

I purchased Eminem when it was released this past summer, and I could not play
the CD on my Macintosh computer.  When I attempted to extract the songs to my
hard drive, the last track on the CD not only crashed my Mac, but the song
"skipped" as if it weren't tracking correctly.  Universal is one of the more
aggressive studios / labels when dealing with copy protection.

IMHO, Universal is one of the least consumer friendly companies.  In fact, one
their more recent SNAFUs involves the release of "Back to the Future" Region 1
and Region 2.  It seems the widescreen versions of BTTF 2 & 3 were actually
"cropped" copies of the full screen versions.  Though Universal has a dedicated
toll-free number in the US to get details for a "free" exchange of the
"defective" discs in February 2003, Universal continues to sell the DVD sets as
if there is nothing wrong.

This a particularly sore subject in the US as views on copyrighted material were
much more liberal prior to 1998.  Many people consider "Fair Use" laws an
absolute right, but the new conservative face in Washington should be bringing
that mindset to an end.

Regards,

Brian

>
> Date: Sun, 22 Dec 2002 18:01:09 +0100 (CET)
> From: The Virtual One <mats-bjo@dsv.su.se>
> To: Pet Shop Boys mailing-list <introspective@tcp.com>
> Subject: [Introspective] 'London'-mystery...
>
> After a trip to Finland now this weekend I 'finally' managed to get hold of
> the both London CD's - and when I check the sleeve of the CDs - something odd
> strucks me - the bottom text says "Disclaimer: A variety of protections and
> tests have been carried out on this product to eliminate aything that may
> harm your computer. Therefor parlophone records cannot be held responible for
> any technical problems that may aris using this enhanced-cd"
>
> But the thing is that these cds AREN'T enhanced in any way - was there any
> thoughts behind this to make them come with a London-video or some other
> elements?!! - or is this just a standard-text nowadays on all Parlophone
> singles?????
>
> /mats