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Sony's Thomas Hesse: What users don't know can't hurt them

npr.org — There's been considerable uproar over Sony's DRM rootkit snuck onto some of their new music CDs. Thomas Hesse, President of Sony's Global Digital Business, has a new spin on technology ... that consumers shouldn't be concerned about things they don't understand.

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  • fuser, on 10/12/2007, -2/+5what an ass... Sony can go to hell as far as i am concerned and any artist that has signed with them unfortunately has lost all of my business.
  • MikeZila, on 10/12/2007, -1/+4"Don't worry about that piece of software we installed that could possibly destroy your Windows installation. You don't understand it. Obey."
  • Samus, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2***** asshole. Sony's time is coming, what goes up must come down.
  • rileyjt, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1Doesn't Sony have a PR team? The more they talk about this subject, the stupider they look. It is quite amusing to see them digging their own grave though.
  • chriis, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4Geez. So, having a computer that dosent work due to constant blue screens is something that 'won't affect' consumers? Not being able copy their legally purchased music onto their iPod, as it is their legal right to do so, 'won't affect' consumers, because they're too stupid?
  • theone3, on 10/12/2007, -0/+5- "The Software is designed to protect OUR CDS from UNAUTHORISED RIPPING"
    - "NO information ever gets gathered about the users' behaviour. No information ever gets communicated back."
    (Sony BMG CEO guy)

    Well. Quote 1 is plain wrong. WE are authorised to rip OUR cds. It's Fair use. Quote 2 is an outright lie. Every time you play a song, it reports back to Sony via the web. Listen to security now 12 (twit.tv) for the real story.

  • SkeletaLlama, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4You know, he's right. I don't understand how any of Sony's products work, so I won't concern myself with buying them anymore. ASSHOLE!!

    I've had it with Sony, it's ***** over. I'm not taking this ***** anymore. I will not be patronized by a DRM supporting ***** sucker who thinks he can pawn of ***** on me just because I don't know any better. Sony will rot in hell for this.

    No PS3, no PSP, no more CDs, no DVDs, nothing from Sony for me ever again. I have officially been converted from a Sony fanboy to an anti-Sony evangelist, I'm one step from becoming an anti-Sony rioter.
  • urbn, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Well looking from his point of view he should be happy that people were able to not only find out about it, and find ways around it, but have also educated people about their b.s. DRM system. So now instead of sneaking it into their products, people will know enough about it to stay away from it.
  • ahrefd, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1if rootkits are undetectable, then what? f*ck sony. isn't apple closely associated with them? i hope that breaks up soon, otherwise...i dunno(jk).

    we should all flash mob their sf-metreon store and just stair at the floor w/ our pockets pulled out! ahh, the good ol' days.
  • Juke, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2Sony has just landed a spot on the most hated companies list. Trailing behind Best Buy and EA.
  • designbydave, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3OMFG WHAT A ***** MORON!! "Most prople, I think don't know what a rootkit is, so why should they care about it?"

    OMFG that is SO ***** IRRESPONSIBLE!

    digg++
  • Phoenixfury, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3Steve Jobs should be a happier man since this whole thing started with the root kits. Now Sony's threats to pull out of the ITMS seems like much less of a loss. I wonder how long it will be before any of Sony's ***** off artists will try to get out of their contracts and find another label to sign for.. I mean Sony is such a dirty word in the music buisnes now.. Come to think about it, it is another four letter word that starts with 'S' isn't it?
  • prh99, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1I have a rather crude term that I believe accurately describes him...*****. Obviously this guy doesn't live in the real world if he honestly believes that. There are so many examples why that statement is wrong it boggles the mind to think how ignorant this person has to be to say that.
  • mancat, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4Most people do not know what a 7.62mm Tokarev is. Therefore, why should they care if I shoot them with it?
  • prairieson, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1Speaking of Steve Jobs, I seem to recall him saying something similar at the unveiling of the IMac, "People don't care what's inside their computer, they only care what it looks like."... or some such drivel.
  • JimXugle, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2And who here has spent more than 6 months reading digg and doesn't understand the concept of a Rootkit?

    ***** Asshole.

    Big Buisness and Big Government is coming to an end. I can feel it. ***** get the FCC out of the Internet (they dont have jurisdiction) and Antything with DRM should be Labled as such. In 2" Font.

    I like the Idea of a flashmob.

    Maybe we should put a rootkit on their servers w/o telling them... dunno.
  • MegaMan, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1If consumers don't understand something they shouldn't worry about it? Interesting.

    So I guess that means people shouldn't worry about spyware, viruses, torjans, etc. either because they don't understand them. That's great thinking... if you don't understand something you shouldn't worry about it and let somebody else dictate that thing for you.

    Seriously this guy should not have opened his mouth, it makes the company look worse then it is already looking after the whole rootkit fiasco.
  • laughterkillsme, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1What balls this bastard must have in order to tell users that they don't understand whats going on and they should just stop being concerned.

    I am NEVER buying another sony product again. This reminds me of when they released the VAIO, and sony came out and said they didn't want "those" kinds of users (tech savvy people who knew they were pedeling garbage).
  • psyonide, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2Mr. Hesse's logic is undoubtedly flawed, but there is a certain amount of truth to it. It's easy for a tech-savvy geek to go up in arms about this kind of stuff, but the average Joe consumer has no clue, and thus doesn't worry about these things.
  • SkeletaLlama, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3doctor: "I'm sorry Mr. Stevens, you have AIDS. But don't worry about it because you don't understand it. Sure it will still kill you eventually, but since you don't understand it, don't worry."

    What this Sony ***** is saying is that he knows better than the consumer and so the consumer should shove it up their ass and let Sony do what they want. That is corporate fascism. ***** you Sony dickhead.
  • SkeletaLlama, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2But psyonide, he isn't saying they don't get up in arms about it, he's saying that they shouldn't. There's a big difference there. He's telling us that the average consumer should just take whatever Sony dishes out because they don't know any better.
  • mindsinker, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1What a douche.
  • vertigoblue, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1wow, just wow...
    uhh i think he will be fired after the dust settles.
  • Incognito, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2***** THIS ***** GERRALD. I WILL NEVER, AND INCOGNITO MEANS NEVER, BUY ANOTHER SONY PRODUCT SO LONG AS I HAVE BREATHE IN MY BODY.

    ***** PS3.

    ***** CRASH BANDICOOT.

    AND ***** SONY WORLDWIDE
  • Incognito, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1And sorry that whole thing was in caps , but still ***** Sony.
  • Lebowski, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Sony can burn in hell!!!
  • Balthezar, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Glad I just bought a GP2X instead of Sony's "DO WHAT WE TELL YOU TO" PSP.
  • circusbred, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2***** at Sony? Boycott PSP and PS3.
  • evil_marty, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1hah I wouldnt even expected Microsoft to be that stupid in saying that *****. ***** sony is going to have a bad financial year coming up. Good!
  • ironbear, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2Oh, dear. Now I must replace the only Sony crap I've bought in years...DVD-R and CD-R drives. Not only is it the principal, it's the question of what DRM 'surprises' lurk within.
  • SkeletaLlama, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1I think it's about time Sony learned how intelligent their users are. They ***** with geeks, geeks ***** back. We can and have destroyed companies before.

    At this point I wouldn't even accept a Sony product for free. Who knows what damage it would do to my system.
  • blackmesa, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1***** those asshats, they can suck a fat one.
    I'm not going to buy their PS3, PSP or any other of the DRM'ed ***** they peddle now.
  • Carbito, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1wow, that guy is amazingly stupid.
  • Samus, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1^^ circusbred, i don't know what the big thrill behind the PSP (Piece-of-***** Portable) is anyway, the DS seems to have the better line-up of games so far. When Metroid Hunters comes out, I think i will get one.
  • guywithsocks, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0Damn STRAIGHT! I signed the Sony petition.

    The user doesn't need to concern themselves with rootkits, and Sony's shareholders don't need to concern themselves with PROFITS either. Asshole. Goodbye to your time on top.

    Samnsung, LG, Micro$0ft, and Apple are all gunning for you!!!
  • Samus, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0This story reminds me of what Palpatine says to Anakin in the 'ballroom' scene. "All those who gain power are afraid to lose it."
  • deut, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0ren *.* $sys$*.*
  • guywithsocks, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0Oh yeah...and there's a reason that SONY stock has stagnated for over 2 years.

    Thomas Hesse...sink your own ship.
  • gaius_baltar, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0They've gone too far this time. Goodbye Sony.
  • Dracos, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1I've never liked Sony. Now I have a tangible reason for never liking Sony.

    I say sony.com will get Pwned within 30 days for this, and it will be HUGE news. But Sony, you don't have to worry... you don't understand the exploits that will get used.

    What a bunch of *****.

    We can all have a fool's hope that the backlash from this idiocy will make MS realize that *consumers don't want DRM* and they'll remove it from Vista before the release in 2007.
  • fruitybooterson, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0I can't believe the President of Sony's Global Digital Business are making comments like this. This whole DRM BS story is getting more and more unreal as time goes on. I hope they take a good hard hit from it in the form of a class action suit. Screw Sony, they make underperforming, overpriced, overhyped garbage. I can't wait to see them have to pull out their check book for this one. I will never buy another Sony product ever again.
  • tanveer, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0Arrogant ***** ignorant bastard! God, i wish some hacker could get hold of his private information stored inside his personal computer thru exploiting rootkit and show it to the world! Stupid arrogant sounding ***** asshole ignorant bastard!
  • G-Force, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1All companies are dirty Sony just got caught. Sony is hurting already this will not help them get through the backlash from ultra highly expensive PS3.

    Companies put subliminals in the ads and poison in the food. Sugar for instance is actually poisonous to humans in large doses which as a Canadian and a pot head i get lots of lol. Point is Sony just sucks at covering ***** up. Every major corperation is screwing you in the arse hole anywho. Why hate one more then the other if you can hate them all the same. Also those bankers and wall street hacks steal your money too like i think 8.4 trillion a year from America alone into their pockets. What about oil companies too they all have names that are combined with other names. all these huge corperations are merging and power is centralizing. Sony like many other companies and smaller corperations are slowly withering away from their core economies all over the world. This is dangerous stuff surley i can't be the only one who sees how dirty huge corperations really are Sony is no different then them all greedy faceless pigs feeding you the scraps.
  • sfacets, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Sony is going DOWN! I, for one, will be boycotting their products - besides, there are always better products out there.
  • Illidan, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0I *really* don't think that Sony knows what they're doing in this case. Blundering around in the dark, falling into a pit, and then crying blame on piracy and obstructing users does not an effective business model make.
  • -Ov3roN-, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2Excuse me for my language, but that is ***** BS!!! I don't care who it is. Putting ***** on my puter without my knowledge or consent is a crime. How about I put some surveillance cameras in your bedroom Mr. Thomas Hesse so I can watch you ***** your wife.

    Large corporate entities make me sick. It's all about screwing everyone else for personal gain. All they look at is graphs and pie charts. Board of directors, share holders... One obligation to feed themselves no matter what the cost. I work my ass off and all I hear from these types in my company is "it's not good enough". The last time they worked was the last time they wiped their ass. I swear to God I've just about had enough! Pharmaceutical companies, Oil companies, my God do I need to go on? I understand that many investors are people like you and I. But when companies make that an excuse to withhold technology and information that could help all of humanity... that is just EVIL. EVIL! Then again it's just business as usual. And I'm probably a stupid fool who should keep his mouth shut. It's a competitive world out there. Someone has to has to swing the sword and stay on top.
  • ohgr, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1You know no one is going to boycott Sony. I just told me friends about what they did with the rootkit, and they could care less. And this is the market they aimed the rootkit at. People who are too stupid to realize the harm thrown on them.

    It's like people who still eat at McDonalds, or people who smoke. They know the ***** could kill them, but they could care less.

  • anonymoustroll, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Record Executives probably stick to making records rather than making technology policy.

    Here's the deal... and I want everyone of you to think about this very, very carefully:

    Let's say that a large teaching hospital or medical facility were to have computer systems on every technician and provider's desk. Let's further say that these people like to listen to music at work. Let's also say that the same CD-ROM/DVD-ROM drives used to listen to music are also used for things like PDR drug contradiction look up, medical terminology definitions, digital radiology and expert systems databases that assist with diagnosis. Let's say that DRM app phones home and sometimes transmits buffer space used by these applications, leaking fragments of patient information across the internet (HIPAA violation). Further more, let's say that the IT component of the hospital decides that this DRM is unacceptable and tries to remove the shim resulting the massive downtime for the technicians and providers.

    Can you now begin to imagine why this sort of thing is completely unacceptable?

    Personally, I'm happy to let Sony's malware leak patient information so that my hospital can sue them at the rate of $25k per violation... but that's just me and my opinions and views do not reflect the policy of any particular institution for whom I may or may not work.
  • Zippo, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0To quote Ctrl+Alt+Del: "Everybody wears pants! We're Sony!! ***** pants!"
    Oh Sony, you silly bastard. Plz die kthnx
  • zediker, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0I say we go and totaly destroy his car, and then burn his house down when he and his family isnt there. And say they cant possibly understand why we did it, so it doesnt matter to them at all, nor hurt them at all.
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