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Information Preservation and Data Havens?

Posted by Cliff on from the diving-in-the-denver-deep dept.

tiltowait asks: "An interesting story on LISNews.com this morning about savvy U.S. students photocopying textbooks in Mexico then returning them for refunds got me thinking about data havens. There's already few places on the web where you can exploit countries having different copyright durations and eligibility. On the flip side, there's restrictions such as broadcast blackouts and country-wide firewalls. But just as the rich can use of international tax loopholes and in light of the recent file-sharing victory, are there any projects out there, beyond the P2P networks, to distribute possibly-protected information by any means necessary? For example, your company may already outsource labor, but what about an off-site backup in case of an FBI raid?"

3 of 413 comments (clear)

  1. It's crap by thewldisntenuff · · Score: 5, Insightful

    It is wrong to copy textbooks....I'm not going to condone it...

    But here's where I call bullshit...Why does there need to be a new edition every two-plus years on subjects that do not change at all? What new discoveries come in math? Do derivatives change at all? How bout sine and cosine? Hmm?

    Anybody have an answer?

    --
    My MythTV HowTo
    1. Re:It's crap by Aerion · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Insightfull????? More like TROLL! I think you will find there are many journals dedicated to publishing new "discoveries" in mathematics. You argument smacks of ignorance.

      Plenty of things are being discovered in mathematics, but they are all at a high enough level that nobody writes widely-distributed textbooks about them. There haven't been a whole lot of advancements that have radically changed the way Calculus I is taught.

  2. Re:Appropriate? by kfg · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Actually, being able to recover your data after the FBI walks off with all of your hard drives is a perfectly legitimate reason. It could even be critical.

    Bear in mind that the FBI often confiscates things from people who are not party to the crimes being investigated. It's called "evidence." Sometimes evidence is in the hands of third parties.

    The FBI also often confiscates things without ever actually filing a charge. You may or may not ever get your drives back, but if you do it's likely to take a few years.

    If you are charged with a crime it doesn't take a great leap of imagination to realize that having copies could be a critical element in preparing your defense.

    Back up early. Back up often. Back up not only off site, but off the radar.

    KFG