Well, we said it woudnit take long for those nasty crackers to get around copy protected CDs, and indeed it hasnit. According to a Reuters story at the New Zealand Heraldis Web site, Sonyis Key2Audio CD protection technology has been cracked. The technique, described in the article, involves the use of a particularly nefarious device called a "marker". This "marker," if placed in the wrong hands, may enable anyone to break the copy protection on a Key2Audio CD, such as Celine Dionis latest opus. According to Reuters:

On Monday, Reuters obtained an ordinary copy of Celine Dionis newest release A New Day Has Come, which comes embedded with Sonyis "Key2Audio" technology.

After an initial attempt to play the disc on a PC resulted in failure, the edge of the shiny side of the disc was blackened out with a felt tip marker. The second attempt with the marked-up CD played and copied to the hard drive without a hitch.

This blatant attack on Hollywoodis sovereign right to dip their hands into our wallets every time we listen to music makes it evident that these "markers" ought to be restricted in some way. After all, they might enable the unwashed masses to do things like listen to Ms. Dionis dulcet tones on their computers, or make copies to play in their cars. Thatis just not cool.

You can read the full article at the New Zealand Herald.