[olug] Fw: FC: Linus Torvalds on digital rights management in Linux kernel

[Dave Hull]

On Thu, 1 May 2003, Brian Wiese wrote:

> But that's what my T-shirt says that I'm wearing today: "Question
> Technology."  -- Computer Professionals For Social Responsibility --
> http://www.cpsr.org
> 
> We should question the purpose and use of technological creations, perhaps
> some things just shouldn't be done and perhaps some things should. 

I don't know all the ins and outs of DRM, but if it's like so many other 
technologies, it is only a matter of time before some group of scientists, 
skilled technicians, hobbyists or what have you find a way to circumvent the 
technology. 

Following that, there will be places from which people may download source 
code or purchase hardware which will allow non-technologically savvy folks to 
also circumvent the technology. 

If laws are written to throw people in jail for such actions, then the prison 
construction business will benefit, if not the members of the "legal 
profession." Given that, I'm sure we'll see it introduced to the marketplace 
real soon.

-- 
Dave Hull
http://insipid.com

An interpretation _I satisfies a sentence in the table language if and only if
each entry in the table designates the value of the function designated by the
function constant in the upper-left corner applied to the objects designated
by the corresponding row and column labels.
		-- Genesereth & Nilsson, "Logical foundations of Artificial
		   Intelligence"