Slashdot Mirror


Can Watermarking Help Find GPL Violations?

bitkid writes "I recently run across techniques that can be used to watermark program code. While I yet have to see some source code for this to play with, the authors claim that the watermarks can be introduced into the source code and can be found in the compiled executable. My question for the slashdot-crowd is: Do you think free software (GPL or other viral licenses) should be watermarked? This could help to find GPL violations (think Everybuddy or Linksys) or can be used in court someday against the next SCO to prove authorship. What might be the ramifications of this?"

7 of 265 comments (clear)

  1. READ IT by Sir+Haxalot · · Score: -1, Offtopic
    --
    I have over 70 freaks, do you?
    1. Re:READ IT by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Offtopic

      I wish I had mod points when I need them.

    2. Re:READ IT by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Offtopic

      Heavens above, I do hope that 'review' is some kind of joke. Poor spelling, dire use of language and laughably messy structure -- why do you think anyone's interested? Learn how to write engagingly first, and then start submitting reviews.

      Or, possibly, get out more.

    3. Re:READ IT by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Offtopic

      Avoid the impostors.
      READ THIS INSTEAD

  2. Tottaly offtopic...somewhat. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Offtopic

    Stupid question? Maybe. Sometimes when people post they shorten things down to something like "IANAL", etc..

    I know what most of these are, but what is IIRC?

    There wouldn't happen to be a list handy on all of these dam things are there?

  3. Dear slashdot by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Offtopic

    Dear rotten.com,

    I am unsure if you are aware of the problems that your "Incident with the bird" picture has caused on the popular technology website slashdot (http://slashdot.org).
    Many users of this site's messageboards are posting links to http://smoke.rotten.com/bird/ and making text based representations of a bird on a man's penis. Frankly, while I am pro-freedom, this type of photo sickens me. Could you please move the location of the bird page on your site to keep slashdot readers from seeing things that are completeley unrelated to computers and technology? I'm not asking you to remove the content, just to relocate it.
    FYI the text representation of the bird is:
    *p_e_n_i_s_b_i_r_d_p_e_n_i_s_b_i_r_d*
    p______...__________________________p
    e____(_..__`'-.,--,_________________e
    n_____'-._'-.__`\a\\________________n
    i_________'.___.'_(|________________i
    s____________7____||________________s
    b___________/___.'_|________________b
    i__________/_.-'__,J________________i
    r_________/_________\_______________r
    d________||___/______;______________d
    *________||__|_______|______________*
    p________`\__\_______|__/__''\______p
    e__________'._\______/.-`____{}|____e
    n___________/\_`;_.-'_________/_____n
    i___________\_;(((____.--'\_/_______i
    s_________.(((_____.-;\_____________s
    b____.--'`_____,;`'.'-;\____________b
    i_taco's____.'____'._.'\\___________i
    r_dick_--'_________|__\_|___________r
    d__________________\_\,_/___________d
    *p_e_n_i_s_b_i_r_d_p_e_n_i_s_b_i_r_d*
    (Note: CmdrTaco's penis length exaggerated for effect only)
    with a link to the offensive site (http://smoke.rotten.com/bird/) underneath, these "Penis Birds" are posted by Penis Bird Guy, Penis Bird MAN and several other users.
    Regards, Andrew J. Tosh

  4. "I'm a goat fucker!" - RMS in 1994 by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Offtopic

    RMS used to live on the 7th floor of LCS. That's where he used to have his office before he resigned in protest over the commercialization of something or another. But they let him keep his office, and he lives there, because he refuses to have an apartment. (Given the rent rates in Cambridge, the assholeness of most landlords, I don't blame him. Rather than live in my office, I chose to move to Texas, and the change in rent rates and lack of state income tax resulted in an immediate %25 pay raise. RMS doesn't have that option because we have the death penalty for people like him down here.)

    Anyway, RMS has or had a number or geek chick groupies. I wouldn't call any of the ones I've seen "hot", really -- well except for this one little psycho jewish undergrad from NYC. He would sleep with them on the sofa in his office. That's why he got kicked out off floor 7, and down to the 3 floor, is that the cleaning staff complained about pulling used condoms out from behind the sofas. No joke. You can use this information for trolling if you wish, but it's all true.