Editing Antifeatures (section)

== Software Antifeatures ==

=== Eurion constellation ===
Pattern on paper currency notes that scanning software detects and then refuses to scan. Documented at wikipedia: 
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/EURion_constellation

=== Vaio Freshstart ===

Sony started trying to [http://ptech.allthingsd.com/20070412/new-pc-junk-programs/ charge its users to not install software] on new computers.

=== CDs ===

Music CDs would be written as multimedia CDs with a data track which contained an autoloader to disable the music part of the CD, or limit access to it, on Windows machines.  This culminated in the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sony_BMG_CD_copy_protection_scandal Sony BMG CD copy protection scandal], where the Sony copy protection software would add special drivers to Windows computers that allowed itself and anything else to hide their files from the operating system.  Rootkits and malware were quick to capitalise on this, and the software also disabled or broke other pieces of the operating system.  The handling of the whole issue also caused many problems for consumers, with the program supposed to remove the previous copy protection breaking anti-virus software as well as leaving backdoors into consumer systems.

=== Apple iPod ===

It seems that each new generation of iPods has a new hash algorithm to prevent the music player from playing music which you added from software other than iTunes. Each time the hash changes, it takes time for the free software community to reverse engineer the hash and unbreak the antifeature.

=== Apple Quicktime ===

Until late 2007 [http://www.appleinsider.com/articles/07/07/11/apple_unlocks_full_screen_quicktime_playback_releases_itunes_7_3_1.html Apple didn't allow the use of a fullscreen mode] in its free Quicktime version.

=== Useragent ===

Websites which check User-Agent and refuse to work when it doesn't match a known whitelist, even though if you fake your User-Agent the site works just fine, demonstrating that nothing except their arbitrary check itself stops you from using the site. [http://mako.cc/copyrighteous/20090624-00.comment]

=== HDMI ===

The idea that computer interconnects are designed with encryption to stop the user tampering with the signal, to limit people creating digital copies regardless of intention (legal personal use), how certain devices can not work with it and it can cause other devices to work less optimally (lower resolution output).

The input signal to your HDTV (either over the air or via Cable) is compressed. But HDTVs are only allowed to offer the uncompressed datastream (HDMI) as output (even though the input is compressed!). This is specifically to make it harder for people to record HDTV programs.

In [http://blogs.zdnet.com/hardware/?p=726&tag=trunk;content Windows Vista], playing anything that the operating system decided was 'protected content' - the 'ding' of an alert box, for example - would instantly slow your network down to 1% of its full speed and disable various other communications devices for the duration.  The theory behind this was to stop you being able to copy the 'protected content' off the machine in real time.  This was regardless of whether your monitor or speakers were using HDCP.

Microsoft, in its Windows Vista guide to implementing HDMI and HDCP, encouraged hardware and software developers to '''go above and beyond''' the definitions and actively provide more features to restrict what users can do.

=== Microsoft Windows Starter Editions ===

Son of a gun, this is so hlefpul!

==== Windows 7 Starter ====

Among other restrictions you cannot change the background image on Windows 7 Starter Edition without resorting to 3rd-party software (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Windows_7_editions#Windows_7_Starter). At least this is not announced to be a feature (rather than a limitation) on the microsoft website: http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windows-7/compare/starter.aspx.


=== Open Source Software Antifeatures ===
==== Amarok ====
The Amarok Player Development Team implemented a feature which downloads covers of Albums from amazon.com on the fly. Amazon forced the amarok team to implement a feature which deletes the downloaded copies of the cover art work after a week.

=== Prolific USB to Serial Adapters ===

The driver on Windows Update for PL-2303HXA/XA EOL will not allow the ICs to work with Windows 8 or later (Code 10 in Device Manager). The company's suggested solution is to buy the new PL-2303HXD instead. In fact, the PL-2303HXA/XA EOL does work fine with new versions of Windows, and will work if an older version of the driver (v3.2.0.0) is manually installed.