Prompt's TechBlog
Microsoft disposable DVD story a hoax?
06 October 2005
Posted by Sean McManus
On Sunday, this story appeared: Microsoft invents a 'one-play only' DVD to combat Hollywood piracy. It was soon followed up by other sources, including The Register and a number of blogs. But Ed Bott is now claiming the story is a hoax, having called Microsoft and been told the story's untrue.
While The Register's report attributes The Business Online as the source of the story, many others following up on the story just reported it as fact without any attribution. It will be interesting to see whether they're able to support their stories with a Microsoft source, now that Ed claims he's tried to and failed.
Meanwhile, conspiracy theorists are working overtime at Slashdot, where some argue the story probably was true, but Microsoft's now denying it because the story wasn't well received. That isn't backed up with any primary sources either.
While The Register's report attributes The Business Online as the source of the story, many others following up on the story just reported it as fact without any attribution. It will be interesting to see whether they're able to support their stories with a Microsoft source, now that Ed claims he's tried to and failed.
Meanwhile, conspiracy theorists are working overtime at Slashdot, where some argue the story probably was true, but Microsoft's now denying it because the story wasn't well received. That isn't backed up with any primary sources either.
# posted by Sean McManus at 12:18 PM 
Comments:
If this had been true, disposable DVD technology might have yielded some baffling landfill time capsules for future generations to uncover. Imagine a 31st century version of Time Team attempting to reconstruct a picture of our civilisation following the discovery of millions of single-use copies of Miss Congeniality 2...
Mind you, apparently the big Atari E.T. cartridge coverup isn't a video gamers' urban myth at all, and there really are five million copies of 'E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial' buried somewhere in a lonely corner of the New Mexico desert...
<< Home