is my anti-SSSCA letter. Here it is again. I'll send asap to the address provided - I sent this to Sen. Dianne Feinstein.
----
Dear Senators:
I am writing to urge you to oppose Senator Hollings' draft bill "SSSCA" which would mandate copy
protection in personal computers, MP3 players, and other devices, and criminalize the
distribution of devices that don't have this government-mandated control on their use. This
bill is an abomination - it is an affront to my liberty as a computer user and owner to control
the devices which I own, and the music and movies on which I have spent my hard-earned money.
When I buy a computer, I expect to have full control over it. I do not wish to have my rights
to listen to the music I HAVE BOUGHT on an iPod, on a mixed CD, or on the computer itself,
dictated by a recording industry that has shown nothing but contempt for its customers. I do
not wish to have my rights to watch DVDs I HAVE BOUGHT subject to capricious, anti-competitive,
blatantly in violation of antitrust behavior such as region coding. And I damn well will not
give up my rights to record television shows for later viewing and archiving - on a TiVo, a VCR,
or a computer itself.
For developers, it is much worse. This bill would effectively criminalize free software -
software such as Linux, which has made huge advances in PC and server productivity possible at
very low cost; Apache, the most popular web server; and many other useful and commonly available
tools. And it would be a huge prior restraint on developers' right to free speech.
Piracy is a problem. But is it as much a problem as is our freedom? Without the right to
control our PCs, the PC is as much as dead. All of the innovation of the past twenty years
might as well be reversed if this bill passes.
For me, and for millions of computer users like myself, this is a critical civil liberties issue
- one of basic personal freedom. A vote for this bill is a vote to take my freedom away. Don't
do it.
I would pay at least $10 more per ticket to fly on an airline that didn't have any airport "security" at all.
I hope you're trolling, but WTF? Did you not notice what happened last September? Would you like a hijacker, who would certainly pay the extra $10 (peanuts to Atta et al. who bought first class tickets for cash), to hit the Capitol next time? Or would you like planes to be routinely shot down by F-16s? Please explain.
Higher pay, more training, citizenship requirement. The quality of screening will definitely go up. (Admittedly, it will be starting from a pretty low level.)
Exactly my point. What piece of equipment did he have that couldn't be x-rayed? I can't think of anything that would be so sensitive - maybe it was a bunch of FPGAs or other programmable devices that might get scrambled, but I doubt even that.
But really, I am surprised to see that, post-9/11 (an incident committed with box cutters) and post-shoe burning guy, people still think the guy should get carte blanche. Behind all those wires, or in the laptop he refused to have X-rayed (WHAT possible laptop can't handle an X-ray?!) could be explosives or other weapons.
That they destroyed his equipment and pulled off is electrodes was wrong, and they should be held accountable for this. No airport security agent should ever be unprofessional like that (which is why I support the federalization program currently in progress in the US). But the guy had to be inspected.
Since I have several Macs at home running iTunes, and also an iPod, I'm probably not switching to windows or linux to serve mp3s to the stereo.. BUT it would be nice to serve them over ethernet to a SliMP3. Can I do this with Mac (OS9 preferable, OSX okay)?
(24311)Selected WMA tracks aren't being added to the Receiver.
WMA files can have built in file protection. This allows distributors to add features such as expiration dates to the downloaded files. If one or more WMA tracks are not added correctly when you Import Music, this is most likely caused by a limitation of the file. Try playing the files in question on the server, with any normal WMA music player. If the track will not play on the server computer. Contact the distributor for more information on playing these files. If you have playback permissions or are using an unprotected WMA file, you should not experience this issue.
Interesting that they have to explain this to their users. Here DRM acting "normally" is perceived as a problem by users and techsupport. After users experience this once, will they switch from MP3 to WMA? I don't think so.
I was hoping to see armed FDIC agents march in and take over paypal the next time they are seriously accused of fraud.. which might be very soon indeed.
it had better wash my car and mow my lawn for that kind of cash. fuck, an ibook costs less.
Re:Hollywood's blessing necessary for broadband?
on
Chained Melodies
·
· Score: 5, Interesting
I sell DSL for a living. (Disclaimer: this is my opinion, not that of my employer.) You are absolutely right.
Hollings is FULL OF SHIT to say that people don't buy broadband due to lack of movies online. Why?
1. Movies are available online, albeit in crappy divx format and illegal. But they are there.
2. At least my customers don't make their buying decisions based on this! They buy broadband for standard internet services. Or they don't, because the coverage isn't there, or they don't use the net enough to pay for DSL. Never have I heard this as a reason not to order, or to cancel - and believe me, I have heard 100s of reasons. NEVER.
Look, movies are everywhere. You can buy or rent DVDs on literally any street corner. You can order hundreds of thousands of DVDs and VHS tapes from Amazon and the like. Broadband has nothing to do with it!
Better than the wimpy-ass op-ed in the NYTimes last week. This is a good one to show to people who might not care about this issue to explain to them why this is so important.
A new Prohibition. The destruction of the PC industry. Is that really what The American People (not just certain bought-and-paid-for senators) want? I suspect that when you ask, you'll get the answer.
Of course the networks won't report on this, because they are owned by Disney et al. But it seems to be making its way into the print media.
Slashdot Mirror
Wouldn't that mean your vision fades in and out if you watch a DVD? No thanks.
Good idea. In due course, P3P5.1 will be released, and then we can all have a refreshing beverage.
Ever seen Mail Pouch Tobacco ads on barns? Used to be very common.
"Good" passwords impossible to remember.
The company's name is Apple Computer. IIRC there was a settlement with Apple Records in the eighties when Apple was first getting big.
Unless it has been banned by the SSSCA or subsequent legislation.
SSSCA Comments REQUESTED by Judiciary Committee!
Read and comment. DO IT NOW!
Apparently the digitalconsumer.org fax campaign yesterday got their attention - this may be the opportunity we need to KILL SSSCA DEAD.
is my anti-SSSCA letter. Here it is again. I'll send asap to the address provided - I sent this to Sen. Dianne Feinstein.
----
Dear Senators:
I am writing to urge you to oppose Senator Hollings' draft bill "SSSCA" which would mandate copy
protection in personal computers, MP3 players, and other devices, and criminalize the
distribution of devices that don't have this government-mandated control on their use. This
bill is an abomination - it is an affront to my liberty as a computer user and owner to control
the devices which I own, and the music and movies on which I have spent my hard-earned money.
When I buy a computer, I expect to have full control over it. I do not wish to have my rights
to listen to the music I HAVE BOUGHT on an iPod, on a mixed CD, or on the computer itself,
dictated by a recording industry that has shown nothing but contempt for its customers. I do
not wish to have my rights to watch DVDs I HAVE BOUGHT subject to capricious, anti-competitive,
blatantly in violation of antitrust behavior such as region coding. And I damn well will not
give up my rights to record television shows for later viewing and archiving - on a TiVo, a VCR,
or a computer itself.
For developers, it is much worse. This bill would effectively criminalize free software -
software such as Linux, which has made huge advances in PC and server productivity possible at
very low cost; Apache, the most popular web server; and many other useful and commonly available
tools. And it would be a huge prior restraint on developers' right to free speech.
Piracy is a problem. But is it as much a problem as is our freedom? Without the right to
control our PCs, the PC is as much as dead. All of the innovation of the past twenty years
might as well be reversed if this bill passes.
For me, and for millions of computer users like myself, this is a critical civil liberties issue
- one of basic personal freedom. A vote for this bill is a vote to take my freedom away. Don't
do it.
It would achieve the magical 100:1 compression ratio we have all been reading about!
I hope you're trolling, but WTF? Did you not notice what happened last September? Would you like a hijacker, who would certainly pay the extra $10 (peanuts to Atta et al. who bought first class tickets for cash), to hit the Capitol next time? Or would you like planes to be routinely shot down by F-16s? Please explain.
Great, now my phone will crash too, just like my browser. No thanks.
Higher pay, more training, citizenship requirement. The quality of screening will definitely go up. (Admittedly, it will be starting from a pretty low level.)
Exactly my point. What piece of equipment did he have that couldn't be x-rayed? I can't think of anything that would be so sensitive - maybe it was a bunch of FPGAs or other programmable devices that might get scrambled, but I doubt even that.
That they destroyed his equipment and pulled off is electrodes was wrong, and they should be held accountable for this. No airport security agent should ever be unprofessional like that (which is why I support the federalization program currently in progress in the US). But the guy had to be inspected.
Since I have several Macs at home running iTunes, and also an iPod, I'm probably not switching to windows or linux to serve mp3s to the stereo .. BUT it would be nice to serve them over ethernet to a SliMP3. Can I do this with Mac (OS9 preferable, OSX okay)?
(24311)Selected WMA tracks aren't being added to the Receiver.
WMA files can have built in file protection. This allows distributors to add features such as expiration dates to the downloaded files. If one or more WMA tracks are not added correctly when you Import Music, this is most likely caused by a limitation of the file. Try playing the files in question on the server, with any normal WMA music player. If the track will not play on the server computer. Contact the distributor for more information on playing these files. If you have playback permissions or are using an unprotected WMA file, you should not experience this issue.
Interesting that they have to explain this to their users. Here DRM acting "normally" is perceived as a problem by users and techsupport. After users experience this once, will they switch from MP3 to WMA? I don't think so.
I bet someone comes up with a way to get this thing to listen to linux, or shoutcast, or mac. I doubt it will be win only for long...
Thank you.
I was hoping to see armed FDIC agents march in and take over paypal the next time they are seriously accused of fraud .. which might be very soon indeed.
At least they have an auto-fax tool, unlike the EFF. Better than nothing.
Best tool yet for opposing SSSCA etc. I filled out the form. (See, one can fax one's lawmakers AND bitch on slashdot!)
it had better wash my car and mow my lawn for that kind of cash. fuck, an ibook costs less.
Hollings is FULL OF SHIT to say that people don't buy broadband due to lack of movies online. Why?
1. Movies are available online, albeit in crappy divx format and illegal. But they are there.
2. At least my customers don't make their buying decisions based on this! They buy broadband for standard internet services. Or they don't, because the coverage isn't there, or they don't use the net enough to pay for DSL. Never have I heard this as a reason not to order, or to cancel - and believe me, I have heard 100s of reasons. NEVER.
Look, movies are everywhere. You can buy or rent DVDs on literally any street corner. You can order hundreds of thousands of DVDs and VHS tapes from Amazon and the like. Broadband has nothing to do with it!
I mean... you'll get the answer you're looking for, which is opposition to this abomination.
By the way, why are Lessig, Felten, and the EFF crew not on every op-ed in the country? Do they not take this seriously?
A new Prohibition. The destruction of the PC industry. Is that really what The American People (not just certain bought-and-paid-for senators) want? I suspect that when you ask, you'll get the answer.
Of course the networks won't report on this, because they are owned by Disney et al. But it seems to be making its way into the print media.