Posted on 02/28/2002 9:09:53 AM PST by John Jorsett
Edited on 06/29/2004 7:08:51 PM PDT by Jim Robinson. [history]
When Apple introduced the iPod, the company was aware that people might use it to rip off music from the Net or friends' machines. Each new iPod, in fact, is emblazoned with a sticker that warns, "Don't Steal Music."
But it is unlikely that Apple imagined people would walk into computer stores, plug their iPod into display computers and use it to copy software off the hard drives. This is exactly the scenario recently witnessed by Kevin Webb at a Dallas CompUSA store.
(Excerpt) Read more at wired.com ...
Kid's got balls, have to give him that.
I've said here before and been flamed for saying it, but the copyright restrictions in this country are ridiculous. And it's insane to believe that anyone would honor them when 'stealing' is as easy as cut and paste. I'm not claiming right or wrong, I'm saying the notion of being able to prevent theft like this or of any intellectual property in the digital age is nuts. Enforcement is impossible and would result in grossly uneven prosecution, if it were even possible to catch a culprit.
I liken it to the government outlawing Kentucky Bluegrass and everyone having it in their front lawn.
Of the several issues at hand, I'll opine that MS Office products are bloatware. They're no more functional than similar products released 5 years ago, and $500 a pop is criminal theft on the part of Microsoft. I'm not saying that that justifies stealing it, just that if we're going to point fingers for theft let's not leave anyone out.
And iPod is not the problem. Any small FireWire drive will do the same thing as easily.
"Besides, this is Texas. You never know what he might have been carrying."
Please note the obligatory jab at the 2nd amendment.
Sounds like Webb needs to move. And he wouldn't like Florida, either.
That's right, you just never know who might be carrying.
/john
Ah, the knowlegable sales staff....
Someone willing to commit what could turn easily into grand theft might have a different opinion from the law-abiding about his going to jail. Sounds like Webb had some common sense--he wasn't packing and wasn't going to confront someone who'd shown a willingness to engage in theft in an unarmed state.
Oh, and as for your complaints about intellectual property law: it boils down to "WAAH! I CAN'T HAVE THE STUFF I WANT FOR FREE!"
If the author packed heat they'd be even, wouldn't they?
Someone willing to commit what could turn easily into grand theft might have a different opinion from the law-abiding about his going to jail. Sounds like Webb had some common sense--he wasn't packing and wasn't going to confront someone who'd shown a willingness to engage in theft in an unarmed state.
My point was that the author made a dig at the 2nd amendment. If the kid steals, he steals. If the author wants to confron the kid, he'd better be prepared. Look at it this way: "An armed society is a polite society"
Oh, and as for your complaints about intellectual property law: it boils down to "WAAH! I CAN'T HAVE THE STUFF I WANT FOR FREE!"
I'm a writer and artist. I seek no special treatment for what I create. I do expect to be paid for my work.
Having said that, I think the copyright laws in this country are deliberately poorly written; they ignore any sense of reality and they protect specific special interests at the expense of the public at large, not to mention the fact that they're completely and utterly unenforceable... personally I abide by them by my own choice. (To see how ridiculous this is, I'll refer you to the Disney/Mickey Mouse freebie that Congress passed. You can find it by doing a keyword search here).
Well at least as of now we're in luck. MPAA pres Jack Valenti just made a public call for talks with the computer/software industry and more legislation to put controls on all storage media preventing copying of anything they don't want you to copy.
The good news is the computer industry told him to take a hike, they'll do what they want when they want. The bad news is the media industry has a lot of clout in Washington, just look at the bought-and-paid-for DMCA, Mickey Mouse Copyright Extension Act (AKA Sonny Bono), and the current and worst attempt, the SSSCA (source of good links for the latter here).
By the way, that ability in the SSSCA to enforce no copying is slated to be reserved for the big industrial copyright holders, not the small authors.
I thought Macs had great security.
"When's he coming?" asks I.
"Tomorrow."
"You realize, you can fix what's wrong just by rebooting off the system disk, right?"
"NO. We have to wait for IT!"
"But, it's probably just that someone renamed the OS Directory; it's nothing big. Even if it were, you could re-install the OS with that CD..."
"NO! We have..." and so on down the line.
The only electronics store where I've found anyone who actually knew what they were talking about is MicroCenter (outside the actual Company Stores, of course). But it's fun to watch these people who don't know squat about a product, trying to sell the product.
Duuuuh, gee, I didn't know there was a coffee cup holder on this computer...
Answered my own question...
"I went over and told a CompUSA guy, but he looked at me like I was clueless," Webb said. I've been in a few CompUSA stores. Never met an employee who knew his ass from anything having to do with computer stuff. Even their techies appear clueless.
I really feel sorry for the cluless public trying to shop at CompUSA. I've heard people get totally incompetent advice many times.
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