Lockdown, The coming war on general-purpose computing

Boingboing.net ^ | 1/12/12 | Cory Doctorow

[Nachum]

General-purpose computers are astounding. They're so astounding that our society still struggles to come to grips with them, what they're for, how to accommodate them, and how to cope with them. This brings us back to something you might be sick of reading about: copyright.

But bear with me, because this is about something more important. The shape of the copyright wars clues us into an upcoming fight over the destiny of the general-purpose computer itself.

In the beginning, we had packaged software and we had sneakernet. We had floppy disks in ziplock bags, in cardboard boxes, hung on pegs in shops, and sold like candy bars and magazines. They were eminently susceptible to duplication, were duplicated quickly, and widely, and this was to the great chagrin of people who made and sold software.

[roadcat]

... any prevention is an artificially derived limitation which can inevitably be overridden... because knowledge strives to be free. It has ALWAYS been so.

You have written a concise and excellent response! The first primitive peoples that created the wheel probably freely gave out the information, and others freely shared the uses they derived from it. Through the centuries, secrets did not stay secret for long. Otherwise mankind would not advance technically. Computers and their information are no different than other actual creations. If others desire it they will figure it out and duplicate it. Been happening for many thousands of years.

[roamer_1]

You have written a concise and excellent response!

Thank you for your kind reply - Needless to say, your further remarks lead me to believe we are in perfect agreement. : )

[Publius6961]

Bookmark

[ShadowAce]

[ShadowAce]

[Marine_Uncle]

Article sort of brings back bitter sweet memories of days of old.

[tet68]

Get some rest you need it.

[Justa]

Condolences for your family’s loss.

Take care and sleep well.

[frithguild]

Freedom in the future will require us to have the capacity to monitor our devices and set meaningful policies for them; to examine and terminate the software processes that runs on them; and to maintain them as honest servants to our will, not as traitors and spies working for criminals, thugs, and control freaks.

This was an action of trespass quare clausum fregit, tried at the Hudson Circuit at March Term 1845. The plaintiff complained that the defendants, on the 17th of August, 1843, and on divers other days between that day, and the commencement of the suit broke and entered the plaintiff's close, and there dug and carried away large quantities of earth, gravel and stone, and brought and deposited thereon large quantities of earth, gravel, and stone, and dug large ditches, drains and sluices, and thereby caused the water which fell during the rains to flow over upon the said close, and upon adjoining closes of the plaintiff, so that the same were thereby washed, and injured, the grain, grass, herbage, and trees destroyed, &c. the soil rendered less fertile, and large quantities of earth thrown against the barn, and into the cider mill of the plaintiff, being upon the said close. Vreeland v. Berry, 21 N.J.L. 183, 1847 WL 3015 (Supreme Court of Judicature N.J. 1847)

[grey_whiskers]

My condolences and prayers are with you.

Understood about the young puppies and script kiddies.

I'm clueless, too, but I know that I don't know, and that a lot of the things in older infrastructure which *seem* useless are actually vital...kind of like the military.

Full Disclosure: vi rocks. :-)

Cheers!

[Myrddin]

I’ve been a ‘vi’ user since 1983. A few million lines of code later, I still like it. UNIX/C/C++ are the primary bill payers, but I write in nearly every computer language. Lately, clojure and scala are getting extra attention as a means of leveraging multiprocessor machines with tasks suitable to parallel solutions.

My wife is due to arrive shortly from a 925 mile drive from Idaho. The
funeral arrangements for her brother need to be worked out.

[Myrddin]

Thanks to both of you. It's been a rough couple months with my mom's passing on Nov 4th and B-I-L yesterday. Hopefully that settles down.

[SunkenCiv]

Internet access is not a human right — at least now that jihadists are in power in all or most Muzzie hell-holes across the Earth.

General purpose computers are just too dangerous to entrust to a bunch of typical white grandmas and other xenophobes, particularly if they’re climate change deniers.

For firearms, Zero tried Fast and Furious.

For computers and www access, Zero tried Wikileaks.

Thanks Nachum, and thanks Ernest for the link.

[who_would_fardels_bear]

"the folly of allowing novices to enact laws"

I take it you are a supporter of the French system where citizens are expected to serve years working their way up the bureaucracy before running for elective office.

[relictele]

You are omitting the context which is their complete inability to understand the subject at hand. But I object more to the law itself than the voters.

[Eaker]

You have my condolences.

[Dysart]

Mark

[Myrddin]

Thanks. The major task this weekend is supporting my niece. Making progress...