THIS IS NOT A SPOOF !!! THIS IS NOT A SPOOF !!! THIS IS NOT A SPOOF !!!

HONEST !!!!

If you want Gangs of New York, Shanghai Knights or maybe Chicago, they're YOURS, says Buena Vista Pay Television, a Walt Disney company, and its new partner CinemaNow.

All you need is a 56K, or higher, connection or better yet, broadband, and you're cooking.

And Windows Media Player 7 and up AND Internet Explorer 5.5 or higher AND Windows 98, 2000, or higher.

And an account with CinemaNow, naturally.

And $29.95 a month (or higher ; )

And, "If you always wanted to hook up your PC to your Television but you needed help, we are here for you," says BV PAY TV.

Wow!

Well, actually, they're not really there for you. They're there for them.

And although you can burn or copy a file, the movie isn't really yours: You have to be online to watch it.

But wait till you see the privacy policy.

The idea is that after reading it, you'll have a warm, fuzzy glow and you'll know the Hollywood suits aren't Hollywood suits. They're just plain folks. Like you.

They even use God in it.

Written for six-year-olds with single-digit IQs, "The first thing you should know," it says, "is that we respect your privacy (hell, we wouldn't want people invading our privacy either). The second thing you should know is that we're collecting information about you. Not a lot of information (for instance, we don't keep track as to who you're sleeping with) but some information."

*** Ha ha ha ha. Gosh. I'll run and get my Credit Card right now!

"If you've tried to watch one of our free movies you realized that we asked you some questions. If you haven't signed up yet to watch a free movie, here's the info that we're going to ask: your user name, e-mail address, and password. For the pay-per-view and premium movies we're going to ask for some credit card information. The standard stuff such as full name, billing address, credit card number, expiration date and your e-mail again."

*** Just my full name, billing address, credit card number? Noooo problemo. They can't do much with that. Right?

"And that's all that we ask you to tell us about you (that wasn't too bad, was it?)."

*** Pheww. Nope. Not bad at ALL. heh. And I thought they were going to ask a bunch of stuff like what films I watch, how much time I spend on their site, what parts of the site I visit, where I came from before landing on CinemaNow, what site I go to when I leave, what kind of browser I use, what type of an operating system my computer uses.

*** But wait ...

"However, to be honest we do obtain a bit more info about you. For instance, we keep track of what films you watch. We do this so that we can send you information about other films that we think you would enjoy (after all, it's all about you, isn't it?). We also keep track of how much time you spend on our site (but we promise not to tell your boss), what parts of our site you visit, where you came from (as in what site you were at before coming to CinemaNow) and what site you go to when you leave CinemaNow (though we can't imagine why anyone would ever want to leave CinemaNow). We also know what kind of a browser you use, what type of an operating system your computer uses and other nifty computer info."

*** Nifty computer info? Uh OH.

"We know you realize this but, just in case anyone's asleep at the switch (or too hung over to have thought about it), if you buy something from our web site, well, we are going to know who we ship it to, where it gets shipped to, and the credit card number used to pay for the goods. We really hope that this isn't a surprise to anyone."

*** Asleep at the switch. Too hung over. Hahahahahahahah.

"The other thing you should know is that we have (or at least hope to have) advertisements on our site. This is actually a good thing because it gives us revenue and allows us to provide all the really wonderful things that we provide to you free of charge (you just have to watch our ads, over and over and over and over and over again. Like they say, there's no such thing as a free lunch).

*** you just have to watch our ads, over and over and over and over and over again. Do you believe it? And what free lunch? You're expected to pay for this ...

"The other thing about the ads on our site is that the company that serves the ads uses "cookie" technology. And, since we're sure you're wondering, we'll tell you the story about these "cookies." A "cookie" (we're going to stop putting that word in quotes from now on) is a small file that is placed on your computer and uniquely identifies your computer to the ad server that reads it. The cookie doesn't identify you as a person, only your computer.

"Now here's the really interesting (or scary) part."

*** (Time to get your thumb out of your mouth.)

"The ad company has relationships with lots of web sites. And they all use cookies. So the ad company knows what sites (at least those that they have a relationship with) your computer surfs at. Now, the ad company doesn't know who is operating the computer and they don't collect personal identifying information about you (such as your name, etc.) so your privacy is protected in that regard.

"Your computer's privacy, however, is not protected. The ad company keeps track of what your computer is doing. The ad company that we use for banner ads is DoubleClick (and/or one or more of their subsidiaries such as the Sonar Network). If you would like more information about DoubleClick and their practices and to know your choices about not having this information used by DoubleClick, please click here.

"Right about now you're probably saying to yourself, "hey, wait a minute. Aren't they also using cookies to keep track of me when I sign in to the CinemaNow site?" And the answer is, yes, we are. So that you don't have to log in every time you visit CinemaNow, we use cookies to keep track of your log in information.

"And, as you know, that includes personal identifying information such as your name. But (and you have our word on this), we don't mix our cookies (we don't toss our cookies either, but that's a different story). So, the info that our cookies get pertaining to your log-in information is separate and distinct from the information that the ad serving cookies get about you.

"As long as we're talking about privacy, let's talk about e-mails."

*** Yes. Let's.

"When you log into CinemaNow there's a little box that's pre-checked that tells us to send you e-mails about us and our partners. We figure you'd like to get this info so we've pre-checked the box for you. Of course if you don't want the info (or if you change your mind) simply un-check the box. Then we won't send you e-mail information."

*** (This is called opting out of something you never opted into in the first place.)

"Here's the kind of e-mail that we'll send you. Our (hope to be) award winning e-mail newsletter, information about movies we think you might like, info about upcoming contests, festivals, etc. We might also send you info about products from other companies that we have a relationship with. We won't give them your e-mail address (or other personally identifying data) but we will send you info on their behalf. Of course if you get tired of getting our e-mails, just tell us to stop and we will."

*** Heh. Just tell them to stop. No SPAM, or anything like that. Kewl.

"The other thing that you should know, and this is important, is that should CinemaNow be sold (whether or not as part of a bankruptcy proceeding), your personal information will be sold to the company or companies that acquire CinemaNow's assets. [Our emphasis]

"Also, since we acquire all of the movies on our site from third parties, we need to let them know how their movies are performing. And, as part of that process, we will tell them how often their films played, how much of the film was watched each time and other, non-personal information. Just wanted you to know.

"So that's our privacy policy. If you have any questions or comments, just drop us an e-mail and we'll try to answer you.

"God bless."

God bless?

God DAMN !!!

Just another prime example of personal information and ad marketing having more of a value to companies then the actual person. At least they can joke about it....all the way to the bank.

So they would know, for instance, if "your computer" visited a file sharing site? How difficult would it be for them to connect "your computer" to "you" (just in case someone decides they want to sue you for copyright infringement, or whatever). This is one reason that I use software that regularly deletes ALL cookies from my computer EXCEPT those that I select.

This is pretty interesting. Hollywood trying to act like the good guys. Well if I can't download the movie it pretty much defeats the purpose, right? I mean why would I use my 56k to constantly wait a few hours to watch the movie? If I can use GetRight and download the whole movie, thats not too bad, but this is just silly.

I wonder if you could "view" the movie and then find a copy in your cache files? Then you could share it on KaZaA!

Last year when Hoolyweird caame out with Movielink I tried it. I'm on a cable modem and my sytem and network is tweaked to obtain the best speed.. I downloaded Harry Potter, since I was familiar with the movie having just seen it on DVD a few days eariler. I wanted to compare the quality, and service. The quality of the movie was fair at best. No way to watch it a full screen (on a 21 inch monitor, or even 17") best you could do was go with the size they chose, and sit cose to the screen. 2 1/2 hours to D/l. the file which was about 700MB, before I could watch it. It cost 4.95. I line about a mile from Blockbuster, I could have driven there, rented it, and watched it at high quality with 5.1 Surround sound for $3.95 and most likely had time to return it before the movie was finished downloading.. In addition they limit you to 1 viewing. From Blockbuster I had three days, and could watch it as many times as I wanted..Blockbuster was the better deal. The experince was better as well, with the quality of picture, and sound. And I don't have to install their software on my system which contacts movielink dailey to check of the date I d/l the movie and delete it off my system automagically if its out of date. NO one deletes files off of my PC without my permission. Especially copyright maximalists. And quite frankly I've seen d/l Divx files that were better quality and smaller in size...

Here is a link about the verizon cae today. Will more than ikley be decided
on later in the fall
http://www.comcast.net/News/TECHNOLOGY//XML/1700_High_Tech/4a6f4dd6-c767-4076-9385-7dcb6f880090.html

This article shows how dumb sue em cary can be also, trying to cary a hand held camcorder in the court room, .
Dumba**

wow, I can't believe this isn't a spoof, I even clicked on the link to be sure.

Evidently this article is aimed at 12yr old girls!

But wait, aren't 12yr old girls the "real" bad, superintelligent, evil kids who spend hours hacking and downloading trillions of mp3s per nanosecond?

"And, "If you always wanted to hook up your PC to your Television but you needed help, we are here for you," says BV PAY TV."
LOL...hook up your PC to your TV...
Several years ago I bought the top of line Gateway, and one of the "features"
was that it had a tuner card for hooking your PC to a coax cable and watch TV on your computer. I don't mean to make fun on anyone who does like hooking their TV to their PC ...but why the would you..
I tend to think if you are sitting around and are so bored that you are thinking things like "Hmmm, I wonder what would happen if I hooked my TV to my PC...yeah, I DO think you probably need help, but not the kind Buena Vista Pay Television has to offer.

As far as "privacy policy"..what a joke.

Jeez, how low can the common denominator go? Whereas I enjoy the plain language of the user agreement and privacy policy, I doubt it'd stand up to legal challenges. As soon as Dizz-nee finds out about this, despite being a partner, it'll be shut down.

WoodHead, I read the article. In fact I had to go back and re read the article. I couldn't believe the boy named sue tried to carry a camcorder into a federal courthouse. Hasn't he ever heard of the DMCA? somebody ought to sue his ass!

The idea of hooking my computer to my tv has been in my head for a while. My video card has an s-video out, all i have to do is find a long enough cable. The idea being to watch the movies i have downloaded on my computer. Plus if you're playing a game and you want other people to be able to watch without looking over your shoulder, you can do this. Trust me, in my own little world it makes perfect sense

ok taking bets on how long this company will last. i give it about a year after that it will either lose all buissiness or just be forgotten

A little off the topic here, but extremely noteworthy/ironic and wanted to get it in here....

Here is a document provided by Google, filed by Sharman Networks (owners/operators of Kazaa) re: copyright infringement of KAZAA products!

http://www.chillingeffects.org/dmca512/notice.cgi?NoticeID=789

Good Lord the world is a wacky place. Who knows though....they may do it as a public display of their stance that they don't condone infringment.

"we respect your privacy"
"we're collecting information about you"
"we're going to ask for some credit card information"
ha-ha.


I hope Microsoft is aware of this. Oherwise Media Player might phone home and get everyone in trouble for watching a full length copyrighted movie.

captdunsel
Yea can you belive this idiot? I guess that shows how much of the law that the riaa understands, or cares about.

thanks tommymontana, you know something cool about that link? even though you can't search for k-lite, you can go to that website and find the k-lite websites...

I have to say although i HATE that policy....its funny as hell. It really is.

I have a correction. Although the "privacy policy" (if you can EVEN call it that) is a terrible one which basically sells your information to anyone who wants.....

I do like how the website puts all of their naughty business practices in PLAIN english on the privacy policy. So in case someone actually read it...they would know just how bad this cinemanow.com place is. I mean at least they tell you what you are getting into, in english rather than legalese.

You have to give them just a smidgen/tad/skosh of respect for that. Theres plenty of companies that just sell your info behind your backs with confusing "privacy policies" or they simply lie.

This is not to say I suggest ANYONE use this service. Who wants spam, junkmail, spybots, ads, on your system for something you PAY for.

Is this anything to worry about?

prevented a remote computer from connecting to port 21 on your computer. This connection attempt was probably a port scan trying to find unprotected FTP (File Transfer Protocol) servers. To learn more about port scans, see the Details tab.

Thankfully, media player is not on this computer. It was removed. It can be done through control panel>add or remove programs> windows componets and then check off the box with media player on it. Bye bye, tattletale.

Didn't want the ablility to play restrictive products on my pc. Certainaly not wma formats.

smartassologist,
Saw your post after posting mine. Get a good firewall, one that keeps logs. Kerio person firewall is a freebee, look it up and use it.

The link woodhead provided is FAR more interesting and relevant than this Disney crapola.

Read it.

It just goes to show how these 'judges' don't have a grasp of technology whatsoever. One of them attacks Verizon about 'profiting from piracy'. How can he be allwoed to throw opinions like that out in a court hearing? That's just his opinion. This has nothing to do with right and wrong and the law. Verizon is a company like any other. It's profits are irrelevant to this hearing. What it's subscribers do on it's internet connections is nothing to do with them unless it breaks the law. It pisses me off that they can act this way.

I hope the other judges even up things as with this kind of attitude amongst the appeal court judges Verizon could well lose.

wet1 I have one...I am just curious if the RIAA hit my pc...I have the ip address if they did I will be calling their offices in the morning...

hahahahhahhah i used to hack the crap out if this site and download there movies when they were useing .asf.

it was WAY TO EASY!

i had a program called asf recorder and just figured out what way they had there file system set up.

hahahahah even funnyer they still havn't fixed the flaw

klick this link and watch a preview of may

http://www.cinemanow.com/wmp/cnplaylist.asp?movieid=2957&bitrate=700&user_id=&chkuser=&movietime=&maincontent=&swbit=1&solo=1&pver=7&affid=

this is the bad code on there site

oh well no html here

tommymontana This is the easiest country in the world to file a lawsuit...it was just a matter of time before other lawsuits were filed, after all the RIAA opened the door for them, now the question is, how many will it take before a judge finds these and like suits frivolous? I expect to see more craziness out of this.




subpoenas.

Here is an article from the case today, from the washington post.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A20565-2003Sep16.html

Verizon is a company like any other. It's profits are irrelevant to this hearing. What it's subscribers do on it's internet connections is nothing to do with them unless it breaks the law

I agree and a company that is well on it's way into the future and keeping up with tech. These types of companies are who congress should try to protect, (at least a little any way) for a company to try to work abiz model from the 40's in today's market deserves to die for they have run their course, refused to adapt and so should be tossed in to the dumpster with the the 8 track player

I like the fact that I can rest knowing that my computer chock full of information is Protected! Now excuse me while I go tell the cops where I keep all my illegal weaponry is stored.

All right guys, I just came from congress.org, we need to start our campaign again to the Government I only saw one letter,(maybe I was looking in the wrong place) but we need to restart this, make your voice heard today.

Hey SeraphielX, why do you think I am getting hits like this on PeerGaurdian when I go to Zeropaid.com? Is the FBI watching that site?

Connection Rejected: 63.241.23.77 - FBI.GOV-MP3.COM

i don't think so...we were haveing a discussion about this the other day at pg....your ip is

63.241.23.77
sdimages.mp3.com
Host unreachable

63.241.16.0 - 63.241.23.255

Napster
3550 General Atomics Court, Suite 14-156
San Diego
CA
92121
United States

AT&T Enhanced Network Services
+1-858-812-5000
notify@attens.com

ATTENS-003577-002485
Created: 2003-09-09
Updated: 2003-09-09
Source: whois.arin.net

this ip address is part of mp3.com


odd i just got hit by
the same thing...ill have to let the guys know.

........Disney isn't in Fantasyland. They're in MICKEY'S TOONTOWN. This entire movie deal...God Bless....reeks of stupidity. This is just, quite plainly, crap. What kind of an offer is this? Obviously not one that I'll be taking.

Ya mean those really aren't dolphin and whales that I've been surfing with?! I've been collecting those little groups of numbers (attacks) and I have been wondering what to do next... Why did they have to go and make our cookies so scary?! Weren't movies enough?!!! That's really mean!!!
Mr. Newton, I just can't thank you enough for your news articles! A person can get a helluva education here and YOUR NEWS IS NOT BORING!!!!!
Go

Btw, Woodhead, A New Letter Sounds
NO PLACE LIKE HOME!!

I just sent my Representatives letters again, it is time we revisited this issue I feel, keep the heat on and let you reps know how you feel.
And especially all that are window watching, we need you to join the fight!!!!!

VOTE VOTE VOTE VOTE VOTE

This is like Webgrocer.com except without a catchy theme song

This was in the NYU newspaper today, basically it is old news, but maybe u want to read it

http://www.washingtonsquarenews.com/opinion/oped/5672.html

http://www.deviantart.com/view/486631/

cute cartoon i found on winamp.com

I am going to get of post again, but hey

Have you been on p2p lately??????, I checked it out this evening and was a little happy and a little concerned. Our community, all 6 million of us have been chased from one thing that we all love. Music, for the almighty dollar. sure there are the hard core ppl there, and these ppl are so commended, but I wonder if this has to be with the boycott or simply fear. I check my firewall every day, to see if the BIG BAD RIAA(WOLF) is at my door. to all who are window watching, do you do the same???? are you scared????? Well I was, and I have said it before, "the only thing to fear is fear it self" are we going to let a corporation have it's way with us????? Are you going to back down from a fight for your right to "party" or worse yet not stand up for your constitutional right to privacy???? Are WE going to stand for corporate control over what we view??, hear?? think?? I will not!! If you will not stand up for your self who will????? This reminds me of a story I heard about the Holocaust in Germany. This is very different and in no ways as important or deadly as the Holocaust in physical means. But as to your rights in the US of A it does and to me it is as important. and the story goes in a bastardized way.

When the Nazis came for the party line opposition, I did not stand up for them.
When they came for the pols, I did not stand up for them.
When they came for the Jews, I did not stand up.
When they came for me, who would stand for me?????

I have heard this in movies, read it and I have to say this statement is profound, for if you will not make a stand, who will make the stand.

The Riaa right now is getting what they want, for us to leave file sharing, to prove that this was their problem. Do you want to go back to corporate radio, Cd's of the artist of the hour, back to a controlled library of music??? I do not!!!
The community of the INTERNET, and we are a community world wide have spoken, and yelled to no avail it seems at times. But I feel that if the RIAA get their way, it will not be long when information, tech, and all things we like will be controlled. The legislation is already there and with the RIAA first front could change the way we surf. Do you want this????? I don't and we ALL need to fight this. from the new user on the net to the most experienced we are in danger if losing our community. Prime example of this loss is MP3.com, been there lately???? It is quite lame, what once used to be a great hub for bands, to meet each other, set up shows in a different city, net work is gone. And all that is left is a shell of what it was. This alone is an atrocity and the way RIAA looks at the little guy, the inde artist. Kill it before it can get momentum, or become famous with out us,and this is a shame. sorry for the babbling but when you will not make a stand for your self, who will???????

I don't really think this is anything earth shaking. Nothing done here hasn't been done by oodles of web sites before. Its Just a stupid idea. Music is one thing to have on a computer. Movies you only watch on one if there is no other way. There are much better ways to watch movies. Too many down sides and no up sides. Sounds like a deal fokes.

Well this is what they make programs like AdWare and SpyBot for.

Not that I'd ever consider giving any more money to Disney.

Woodhead, you're right on. The whole RIAA action has absolutely nothing to do with lost profits. That is a charade.

This is purely and simply about total and absolute control of the music industry. They want to control what, when and who we get to listen to. Author Arnold Perris wrote about Hitler, Mao and others understood and used music to affect human behavior.

The RIAA doesn't persue copying from the radio because it has control over what's on the radio. They don't want to just stop pirating, they want to stop all music file sharing, including legitimate sharing. They don't want me, you or anyone else to distribute music that they cannot control.

Look at their persuits. They began by trying to outlaw any type of electronic media technology, particularly MP3 players. When that backfired, they began pushing the copyright issue.

MP3.com is a good example.

LOL..you know, Mickey Mouse is really a Rat!

OMG i cannot believe they even got funding and capital for a business model like that!!

that Privacy Policy is "Da-Bomb" where is my credit card?!

if you were an investor...and im not saying that some of you might not be...but if you were...would you feel comfortable investing in this?!

so it begs to be asked then...who invested enough capital in these monkey-spankers for them to be able to get this far?!!

- Jolly Roger

- I couldn't be more surprised if I woke up with my head sewn to the carpet - Chevy Chase in National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation.

Why not just ask how we feel about having a barcode tattooed on our forehead. Something that machines will recognize that way there is no interaction with a human being at all. Just sell numbers to more numbers and make the numbers that are important get higher. For example---bank accounts. Just promise to smile and make a few jokes while it's happening though, that way the predominately apathetic attitude of the public remains. Keep on eating and smiling.

Yes, we sell you our soul, you sell us off to whoever!

Now Thats Entertainment