RealJukebox=TrojanHorse

[maggie knowles <maggie@vgn.com>]

[: hacktivism :]

I remember hearing about the grocery store customer who slipped and fell
inside a grocery store and decided to file suit.  the customer lost his
lawsuit.  the grocery store used the marketing info it had gathered each
time the customer used his "club card" to receive discounts:  that the
customer purchased a lot of alcohol.  they used their marketing info
against the customer to prove he had a drinking problem...

Anyways, i don't remember all of the details regarding this case, but i
do remember a fantasy i had about what to do about it.  what if we had a
worldwide "everyone trade their grocery discount cards with someone
else" day! then none of the info would match the customers and their
databases would be all screwed up!

More on the evils of marketers and data collecting that will be used to
discriminate us - just FYI:

Subject: From the NYT- Real Audio listens in on Users Habits
From: tom from wsmf.org digiotrguide@my-deja.com 
Date: Mon, 01 November 1999 06:16 PM EST
Message-id: <7vl70r$q6e$1@nnrp1.deja.com>

This is from
http://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/99/11/biztech/articles/01real.html
(free reg required)
--
Yet another reason why Real is Wrong:)-
---------------

CD Software Is Said to Monitor Users' Listening Habits

By SARA ROBINSON

RealNetworks' popular RealJukebox software for playing CD's on computers
surreptitiously monitors the listening habits and certain other
activities of people who use it and continually reports this
information, along with the user's identity, to RealNetworks, said a
security expert who intercepted and examined data generated by the
program.

In interviews last week, company officials acknowledged that
RealJukebox, which can copy music to a user's hard drive and download it
from the Internet as well as play it, gathers information on what music
users are playing and recording.

 The RealJukebox software collects information on what music users play
and record. 
<snip>
See http://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/99/11/biztech/articles/01real.html

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