Ross's TCPA paper

[Mike Rosing]

On Mon, 1 Jul 2002 jamesd at echeque.com wrote:

>     --
> On 1 Jul 2002 at 15:06, Tim May wrote:
> > I have strong views on all this DRM and TCPA stuff, and
> > especially on the claim that some form of DRM is needed to
> > prevent government from taking over control of the "arts."
> >
> > But we said everything that needed to be said _years_ ago. No
> > point in repeating the same points.
>
> No, it does need to be said again.

I agree it needs to be said over and over again.  But for a different
reason.

There are always new people to teach.  New kids born every day,
who don't have the history, nor any clue that there *is* a history.
Old folks who never pain any attention before because it didn't
concern them, but now it does.

I would be willing to bet the ancient Greeks argued about many of the same
things we do now, and in much the same way.  The time scale has changed,
but the basic ethics hasn't.

> Unfortunately it is being introduced at the same time as there is
> legislation proposed, the SSSCA, to outlaw general purpose
> computers, turning them into set top boxes, and license software
> engineers, so that only a small number of specially privileged
> people will be permitted access to general purpose computers. This
> timing creates a reasonable suspicion that Palladium is in fact a
> stalking horse for that project, a preparation for a slightly more
> acceptable variant of the SSSCA.

I'm not so paranoid.  Somebody will point out that the US can't license
all the software engineers in India (and vice versa).  If they want us
all to buy set-top-boxes, or hdtv's with built in encryption, they can
set up the transmission towers and pay the FCC for the broadcast channels
and just pump out all the crap they want.  Everybody who's just gotta have
the latest DVD can sight right up for it.  The rest of us can ignore the
whole mess and use our computers the way we want to.

A few will be able to tap into the hdtv plaintext and pipe it over to the
net.  They'll get caught eventually and have to deal with concequences.
It doesn't take any new laws to make it happen, but it does take a lot of
up front cash.  And I think that's what is bugging the "content
providers".   They can't just jump on the bandwaggon.  They need to build
new distribution networks, that they can control.  Fine, let them!  But
don't make me have to join in.

Patience, persistence, truth,
Dr. mike