Software rental, "trusted computing", etc. (was Re: Is this for real -- a new C64/128)

From: Vintage Computer GAWD! <foo_at_siconic.com>
Date: Tue May 16 21:52:33 2000

On Tue, 16 May 2000, Shawn T. Rutledge wrote:

> I think that in the long run the majority usually gets its way; and
> everyone knows it's better to own than to rent if one can afford it.

Consumers killed that attrocity known as "DIVX". We'll probably kill any
other incantation of the same idea.

The past few years have introduced an ominous trend towards corporations
trying to increase their ability to squeeze more residual income out of
their ownership of information. If it continues on this path, they will
simply see an increase in piracy of their product.

It reminds me of software protection in the 80s. Companies would try
harder and harder each year to thwart piracy with new protection schemes
that would always be broken, prompting newer and strong protection schemes
that would be broken, etc. The idea of copy protection ultimately failed.

What the corporations are doing now is, instead of trying to protect their
information (well, except for the case of DVDs), they are trying to create
more laws that will presumably allow them to extract higher penalties from
big time (or not so bigtime) offendors.

Sure it's ominous and, really, more obnoxious than anything. But I
believe strongly enough in the open software "movement" that I think in
the end the current actions by the big corporations involved in this power
grab of the new economic paradigm will fail, and we'll have wondered what
we were worrying about.

The internet is here, and it's here to stay. It has introduced the world
to an entirely new construct of freedom of information. The big
corporations are screwed and they know it, and right now they are just
running scared. All their current efforts will have all been in vain in
due time.

Sellam
Received on Tue May 16 2000 - 21:52:33 BST