At 06:39 PM 12/18/97 -0700, Tim May wrote:
At 2:54 PM -0700 12/18/97, David Honig wrote:
I was alluding to the licensing of ordinary photocopiers and fax machines (and computers, and now internet connections) in statist nations, to prevent their "misuse". In the 50's, the government should have (from the control point of view) used the hysteria of the times to regulate *domestic* use of reprogrammable computers.
Nope. The government of the United States had no authority in the 1950s to regulate fax machines (which existed then), mimeograph machines (which existed then), or computers (which existed then).
Perhaps you were thinking of the Soviet Union?
--Tim May
Soviets, China, etc. I was being facetious. I understand that our pesky constitution prevents certain government behaviors, but they're working to eliminate that problem. cheers ------------------------------------------------------------ David Honig Orbit Technology honig@otc.net Intaanetto Jigyoubu M-16 : Don Quixote :: PGP : Louis Freeh Let freedom ring (or screech at 28.8)