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Reports on the wires today suggest that as many as half a million networks around the world may contain machines which have the rootkit installed on them -- and that's a *big* worry.

Of course Sony, being one of the leading members of the "shoot yourself in the foot club", made things worse by releasing a "fix" for the rootkit issue which itself created even more vulnerabilities and issues.

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Microsoft are playing white knight now by claiming that they will fix this massive problem in an update to the Windows OS -- Hip hooray!

So what should Sony do now, its reputation as a safe and reliable provider of media shattered beyond repair?

Well here's a thought...

Sony, you owe your customers big-time. You've abused a trust and must make some kind of compensatory move.

There are calls going around for a global boycott of Sony products and recordings as a result of this fiasco -- and perhaps that's a good idea.

Sony (and the rest of the big labels) have chosen to treat their customers as criminals and lawbreakers for quite some time now -- yet it is *they* who have acted unethically, unscrupulously and (in some jurisdictions) probably illegally.

How about you use this opportunity to see what happens when you actually treat customers like every other industry does: as an essential and valuable part of your business.

Let's forget this stupid DRM business and step back a decade -- to when record sales were (according to you) not suffering from the effects of piracy.

Let's see fewer corporate jets and Porsches in the Sony car parks, and let's see slimmer margins, better retail prices and a fair deal for customers instead.

Get with the 21st century and introduce some of the many ideas that have been suggested in this column and elsewhere...

Don't force retailers to stock bits of pre-recorded plastic on shelves. Give them a media-server containing your entire catalog from which customers can pick and choose the tracks they want. Then allow those tracks to be burnt (on the spot) to a CD or DVD and sold over the counter.

By ditching the need to hold all that stock, retailers will be able to sell these more attractive user-defined compilation disks far more cheaply than those pre-pressed ones that currently fill their shelves.

Allow customers to buy an annual subscription to a music download service that gives them access to up to a specified number of tracks that can be downloaded and burnt to CD/DVD as required.

Sure, include some kind of watermarking or signature system so that if piracy is detected, those responsible can be tracked and prosecuted -- but don't treat us all as criminals before you know us.

If Sony were to embark on this innovative and brave policy, I'm wagering that the majority of customers would respond by supporting them with their wallets.

Sure, there'd be some ratbags who'd copy illegally copy stuff -- but that's happening now, despite your best efforts to prevent it -- so stop peeing into the wind and get over it.

Somehow I strongly down that Sony has the guts to take such a bold initiative. They'll keep trying to introduce increasingly intrusive and dangerous forms of DRM, probably hiking their prices to cover the costs of such technology and the law suits that follow their most recent botch-up.

But, who knows, maybe one or two of the other major labels will look at Sony's mistake and realise that there are options that might be better than the "all our customers are crooks" approach.

Tell us all and see what others have to say in The Aardvark Forums

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