Vengeance Against Adobe

[mmotyka at lsil.com]

>At 1:58 AM -0700 7/24/01, Petro wrote:
>>At 11:47 PM -0500 7/23/01, measl at mfn.org wrote:
>>>On Mon, 23 Jul 2001, Tim May wrote:
>>>
>>>>  Adobe will be suffering for a long time to come.
>>>
>>>While it is a consummation devoutly to be wished, I predict that the
>>>"backlash" will be gone in a mere matter of weeks, if not days.  Let's
>>>face it: the people most likely to be Adobe *customers* are anything but
>>>hungry.  A fat customer is an apathetic customer...
>>
>>       Let us also be honest and admit that the very people Adobe products
>>target are also the least likely to understand this whole thing, and often
>>even less likely to care--or if they do, they might even agree with Adobe.
>
>Let me be clear about something: I wasn't predicting a significant 
>"boycott" against Adobe products. Most corporate purchasers pick 
>their tools based on what they need, not based on ideology. If they 
>need InDesign or Photoshop, that's what they'll buy.
>
>My comments were about Adobe's _recruiting_ efforts. I expect 
>lingering effects of this episode to affect their ability to recruit.
>
>I stand by that prediction.
>
>--Tim May
>
A very sound prediction about the behavior of a subset of potential
employees. I would bet that 40-50% of SW people haven't even heard of
the DMCA and Sklyarov or don't see it as a problem. 

While I'd like to think Adobe's behavior will limit their access to
people who fall on the high side of the curve, I've met plenty of bright
people who just don't care about certain issues.

Another counter-factor for your prediction would be continued economic
decline and a scarcity of jobs which while not a certainty is certainly
a possibility. The all-consuming Bay Area monkey-on-the-back mortgage
might tend to eclipse the politics for all but the most stallwart
technology freedom fighter.

Mortgage low, 
politics intact,
Mike

PS - I can't fault Adobe for wanting to protect their business but the
DMCA has got to go. It's the tech version of the war on drugs ain't it?
An excuse to storm and destroy without even trespass to justify it. Pure
evil.