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DeCSS, From the Beginning
An anonymous reader sent in a link to a presentation given by Tom Vogt at HAL 2001. He reviews the whole CSS/DeCSS mess from the beginning, which makes a it a nice backgrounder for people who are wondering what the Sklyarov, 2600 and other cases are all about.
I wonder how all you who support this and the similar BS would feel if someone put out simple instructions for a tool to unlock and start any car, especially yours. Sure it could be defended as a tool to help drivers who locked their keys in their car, but obvisouly is a tool for theives. I don't think you'd be out supporting the right to published the instructions so the thirteen year old next door can build the tool in their bedroom.
One thing difference in my picture, stolen cars would help the auto makers sell more cars. But tools like you're talk about, Napster and others take sales away from the maker, but more importantly they take the royalities away from the writers and artists who have to make their living from the pennys the get per sale. In reality tools ike this just drive up the prices of products to make up for the pirated copies. It's a vicious circle, the more people pirate/steal the high prices go, the higher prices go the more people steal. In long run everyone loses.