"to outlaw general purpose computers"

[Trei, Peter]

> Tim May[SMTP:tcmay at got.net]
> 
> 
> > Unfortunately it is being introduced at the same time as there is
> > legislation proposed, the SSSCA, to outlaw general purpose
> > computers
> 
> Anyone who believes this, or even repeats it as a rumor, is on drugs.
> 
> I have half a dozen computers, all usable in various ways. Not even in a 
> Chinese-type police state could these legally-acquired computers, 
> acquired for a lot of money, be declared "outlawed."
> 
> Not even counting your computers, and my computers, and 500 million 
> computers already out in the U.S. alone, there are the designs of 
> processors like Pentium 4, Athlon, McKinley, Thoroughbred, Duron, etc., 
> _none_ of which are of this Valenti-friendly TCPA form. None of the 
> hundreds of millions of systems now being prepared for sale are of this 
> form. Saying that general purpose computers lacking TCPA/DRM will be 
> "outlawed" is silly.
> 
> --Tim May
> 
Tim is both right and wrong. 

It's almost unthinkable that he or anyone else will be asked to turn in
their 
old hardware. But 'They' don't have to. All that needs to be done is to 
mandate that all *new* hardware have the TCPA/DRM hobbles. 

Moore's law will do the rest. 

Sure, people can swap old Babylon 5 episodes on DIVX for as long as they 
want, but Moore's law will have stopped for uncrippled machines - Want to 
interact with full immersion VR 1Mpixel x 1Mpixel games and dramas with 
serious AI? How about full-sensorium telepresence? Those ain't gonna run 
on your  2 GHz Pentium, any more than you can run Descent 3 or 
Netscape on your VIC-20. You'll want, and need the newest 30 GHz
machines, and guess what? They *all* have TCPA/DRM.

Peter Trei