Napster is dead but the dream lives on. After two years of hard fighting, RIAA managed to kill Napster -- and now at least four comparable systems have appeared, all of which will be much harder to either control or to kill off. An RIAA rep acknowledges the problem. It couldn't happen to a nicer bunch of guys.
posted by Steven Den Beste
on Sep 4, 2001 -
44 comments
Be very afraid. The only real solution to this is backlash and boycott. Technical solutions to "InTether" are inadequate (especially since every such will be a violation of the
DMCA). If content vendors will only sell their material this way,
don't buy! (Ultimately, it's going to take an act of Congress to straighten this all out. How about a law making it illegal to prevent "fair use"?)
posted by Steven Den Beste
on Mar 13, 2001 -
30 comments
CrackerJap is a web site run by three guys who were
hassled by Nintendo for using "Pokemon" in an HTML Meta tag in a file they no longer used online. Their web host killed their site instantly and they've only just found new hosting in the last few days. [There's a second reason they're interesting, inside.]
posted by Steven Den Beste
on Jan 16, 2001 -
16 comments
It seems the SDMI team would rather declare victory than actually be victorious. In order to qualify for the prize, you have to sign an NDA and not reveal how you broke in. The Princeton team refused to sign and apparently SDMI no longer thinks they count. Instead, the Princeton team intends to publish their results, including how to deactivate all the systems. But since Princeton won't get any money, that apparently means SDMI is secure. What a bunch of maroons.
posted by Steven Den Beste
on Nov 9, 2000 -
3 comments
Folks, this one's not a joke. The major software publishers are trying to make an end-run around the copyright laws. If this passes
anywhere we're all potentially going to be bound by it. All they have to do is stick a clause in the license that says "This shall be governed by the laws of the state of Virginia."
They're also trying to make an end-run around the First Amendment. If this passes it will be illegal for you to write a review about any software package, or to reveal any information about bugs you find.
Finally, they're trying to make an end-run around property law. If it passes, you won't
own the software you purchase, you'll be
leasing it, and you won't be protected by state laws on commercial purchase.
posted by Steven Den Beste
on Mar 5, 2000 -
5 comments
