Monday, in fact, is the day the service goes live, and we cannot hold our wee we're so excited. Initially, only Windows Vista and XP will be supported, but the Macboys and girls see some action on March 18th.

The system will work by tracking all downloads, royalties will then be issued accordingly. It isn't too clear how that revenue will be generated, but expect some anal advertising to bombard a PC near you if you do give it a whirl. Still, we can't help our cynical judgement chiming in—how did Noah get two of every species on a wooden boat? He didn't—do you know what I mean? Nevertheless, we wait and hope for a legal, free, P2P music service, but we think eternal world peace is a little more likely by Monday. [Boy Genius Reports]

First point: Sysinternals discovered that the DRM unisntaller requires you to put in all your specs and then gives you a "unique ID" to download the uninstaller. Then the uninstaller doesn't run unless you shut down the DRM and you can't shut down the DRM until you run the uninstaller. Ay! Lucy!

Second point: In an NPR interview:

Thomas Hesse, President of Sony's Global Digital Business, literally says: "Most people, I think, don't even know what a rootkit is, so why should they care about it?"

So malicious intent and active contempt. Way to keep the faith.

The real question here: How far can a company go to keep their content safe? I see both sides of the DRM debate, but this is just irresponsible.

More on Sony: Dangerous Decloaking Patch, EULAs and Phoning Home [Sysinternals via TheInquirer]
Sony: Rootkits Are Okay, Because No One Knows What They Are [TechDirt]