Re: Harry - Hard drive manufactures are toying with the idea of making it impossible to download previously stored material.
Well, have a look for yourself at what is being discussed. This link courtesy of Rollin:
Stealth plan puts copy protection into every hard drive By: Andrew Orlowski in San Francisco Posted: 20/12/2000 at 18:54 GMT
Exclusive Hastening a rapid demise for the free copying of digital media, the next generation of hard disks is likely to come with copyright protection countermeasures built in.
Keep in mind that this body is meeting this month to make a decision. Without having a keen technical mind, I find it tough to understand. I do know that there are other, and perhaps what I consider better remedies out there.