Ah, copy protection. It's certainly got good intentions, but as countless gamers, movie-watchers and music-listeners can attest, it's just as likely to cause problems for the legitimate owner as it is for a potential pirate. There are, for better or for worse, too many variables when it comes to the hardware to make things work. But people keep trying...

This time around, it's a company called Aladdin who's got a product called an XCD that's basically a CD or DVD embedded with a chip. If I'm reading this NewScientist report correctly, you need to plug in a USB key (that comes with the disc, I guess) to play the CD or DVD in your computer. Yes, you read that correctly: you want to rip the CD you bought (as, you know, you have the legal right to do), you need to plug in a USB key as well as put the CD in the tray. Call me crazy, but I don't see consumers going for this one to strongly. In fact, if this DRM system finds a home among CD and DVD producers, it may just kill the CD and DVD as formats in the process.

Via Slashdot