Re: OT: Odd system folders!
 

I know about printers. However -
Cite sources.

CD-R/DVD-R media is detectable not because of some secret data being written to the disc, but because of the very nature of the media. Dye-based recordable media is different from "pressed" manufactured media and is detectable as such.

http://www.advance.mb.ca/hiworks/cd_r.htm
http://www.megalodon.com/disc-manufacturing.html
http://www.cdrfaq.org/faq02.html#S2-4

Re: OT: Odd system folders!
 

The way it was described on the show left the impression that it was putting the information onto the disk without the knowledge of the PC operator. That this information was considered "secret" and quite detailed. Until I watch the show on on the Discovery Channel, I did not know that every disk I burned had this information on it. The CD-Rom serial number, my PC information, and the date and time it was burned all encoded without me ever knowing it.

Now that I do know about it, I want to be able to turn it off. While there are advantages to this technology, I.E. to prove that whatever data is on the disk is yours, it also can be misused horribly. So the option to have the feature turned on or off is something that I would be very interested in.

Re: OT: Odd system folders!
 

*shakes head*

The discovery channel runs a lot of garbage conspiracy theory stuff, you know... You aren't supposed to believe it as real.

Re: OT: Odd system folders!
 

There is a serial number created for every burned CD, but I haven't seen any information that it is either unique or traceable to the creating machine. If this turns out to be true, I'd say the RIAA/MPAA are more likely culprits than the government for getting the hardware and software producers to do this. Since they are pushing for legislation to add all sorts of DRM junk to our systems, the industry might be trying to work out a 'better deal' with them so they will drop efforts to make the more expensive and difficult enforcement into law.

Re: OT: Odd system folders!
 

Well the guys that they interviewed were Secret Service Men.... so I think this was on the up and up.

Re: OT: Odd system folders!
 

Or so they alleged... The Discovery Channel is pretty much antithetical to a valid source.

Re: OT: Odd system folders!
 

Never the less the yellow dots proved true, and so will the the CDRom stuff. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/frown.gif Whether or not the government is behind it, well that certainly is a valid point of contention. I don't believe they are, although, I am sure that they benefit from it.

Re: OT: Odd system folders!
 

Microsoft was recently exposed for loading NSA back door program keys into their operating systems. It's not a matter of factual or not. Lotus too, and a few other companies.

There even is a patch that'll let you change the key now.

Re: OT: Odd system folders!
 

A link to a CNN story about the NSA connection And here is another link that has another MS employee offering yet another explamination for the back doors that differ from the first article. If they cannot keep their story's strait, then what are we to believe? http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/eek.gif

Re: OT: Odd system folders!
 

Do you have any creditable (not sensationalist news story) sources on the yellow dot thing?