Like movies at home? You're screwed!

Oh, here's a goodie, courtesy of the entertainment industry. It seems that at the end of this year, entertainment gear (TVs, receivers, Blu-ray players, etc.) will no longer be allowed to make products that output HD signals unless those outputs meet the AACS (Advanced Access Content System) -- which amounts to the ability to limit them to the "old" low-res analog TV quality if the folks that put the movie out choose to do so. No high-definition for you unless your player complies with their desire to control how their movies are viewed. The movie studios want to be able to charge you for every single way you want to watch the movies you buy.

Yes, this applies to current HD-capable devices such as Blu-ray players.

No, you may NOT take the one disk you BOUGHT and PAID FOR and use it whenever and wherever the hell you want. Nor may you make a backup copy in case the dog chews the store-bought one.

Watch it at home? That's one copy.
Want to watch it on a portable while on the road? That's another copy.
Want to watch it on your computer? There's copy #3.
Watch it on something else, or a different place? Guess what...

In other words, the movie industry is finally at the point where they can (try to) enforce their wish to control how you watch the movies YOU bought, using the players that YOU paid for.

As a Linux user, I don't doubt that somebody is going to figure a way around this, since Linux doesn't spread it's legs for the MPAA/RIAA the way Microsoft does. You Windows users... well, you're pretty much screwed.