At 11:44 PM -0400 7/23/01, Declan McCullagh wrote:
Another effect will be companies that wish to take advantage of the criminal sections of the DMCA will be more likely to cover their tracks when dealing with the Feds. The next Adobe won't be so quick to admit they contacted the FBI, for instance.
Something's that interesting is the _speed_ and _strength_ of the reactions against companies when they cross some line. Adobe's use of police state measures to have a minor critic (by their own later admission) yanked out of a conference is not likely to be forgotten quickly. I expect this will have consequences when they eventually resume college recruiting. Adobe will likely face sneers and derisive laughter when it shows up on college campuses next spring to recruit. My old employer, Intel, has also caught the wrath of the community a couple of times. Notably when they briefly tried to add a "processor I.D." They retreated, though Microsoft was not deterred a few years later from planning their own "registration" features. ("This system has a different printer attached to it than when it was Officially Registered with the Borg Mothership. We have concluded that you are a possible software pirate. Windows XP, Microsoft Office, Outlook Express, and Internet Explorer have been disabled. Contact our office during normal business hours and attempt to explain why we should reauthorize you. Have a Microsoft day!") Like Niven's "flash crowd" effect, the slash dot, mailing list, and online news services are making the anger of the users a terrible swift sword. Adobe became a pariah in a matter of days. Adobe will be suffering for a long time to come. (Note to our FBI monitors: This is NOT a threat against Adobe. Note to Cypherpunks: With feebs like the Feebs out there, one can never assume that ordinary figures of speech will be understood.) --Tim May -- Timothy C. May tcmay@got.net Corralitos, California Political: Co-founder Cypherpunks/crypto anarchy/Cyphernomicon Technical: physics/soft errors/Smalltalk/Squeak/agents/games/Go Personal: b.1951/UCSB/Intel '74-'86/retired/investor/motorcycles/guns