Shortest version of a review: Sony needs their new music download service Sony Connect broken off directly up in the center of their ass.

This is the service that is supposedly giving away millions of free downloads in a big promotional tie-in with McDonalds. I'm NOT "lovin' it."

Heck, I'm buying the Big Macs anyway, might as well try out the service. As many times as I've watched Dr Strangelove, I hate to throw out The Code when I do get it. For free, it's worth a try, right?

Wrong. I would guess that the downloads will eventually be in any damned form but the simple, unrestricted mp3 that a consumer would actually want. Some WMA file screwed up with some copy control crap. I'm guessing, cause the Big Mac Music US Terms & Conditions gives not a clue.

I didn't even get close to finding out. See, first you have to download and install the Sony Connect software. I'm somewhat suspicious of what kind of crap this will put on my PC, but then I like living dangerously.

Curiosity, that thing what killed the cat and all like that, it got the better of me. OK I told myself, as a committed Blogcritic, I must drink the potion and see if I turn from my usual kind, genteel senatorial self into a raging Mr Hyde. Our readers must know. Anything for science. Begin download.

I downloaded the 500K installer. Alright then, install away. But then that was just the guidepost to start the REAL downloading. Turns out that it's going to download at least 30MB of crap. Then I'm noticing where it says that their software requires 400MB of disc space.

As a moral and upright person worthy and deserving of being the next US senator from the great state of Indiana, I of course did not go all Dick Cheney on Sony, their ancestors, and the clown for promoting them. Of course. Instead, I said something like, "Oh, my, these download requirements seem perhaps somewhat excessive."

I did, however, terminate the download. Jebus H Criminy, but what a bunch of nonsense. A 30MB download to take up most of half a gig of hard drive for the sake of downloading a song? What the hell would they even be doing with that much of my real estate, anyway? That's most of as much as the entire damned operating system that runs the whole box.

We'll never know what kind of crappy file format they are offering - or what crappy selection of music they offer, cause I'm certainly not fooling with a 30MB download of some crap for no good reason over my dial-up connection.

I have some issues with Kazaa, and their pop-ups and what not, but it's nothing like this nonsense. As we speak, Kazaa is buzzing right along, providing new music and video and whatnot.

Perhaps I should look at it that it just took this nonsense to make me appreciate what I've got.

And next time I'm at McDonald's, I'm going to slap the taste out of the clown's mouth for putting this nonsense off on me.