If web discussions suck so much, why are you reading Slashdot, hm? Shouldn't you have set up a Slashdot-to-Usenet gateway by now?
DRM on userspace programs or on the kernel itself?
on
Linus on DRM
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· Score: 1
If a vendor implements DRM in a Linux kernel so that the kernel only allows signed executables to run, that's relatively easy to work around.
What is scarier is what TiVo did on their Series 2 machines, which is similar to how Microsoft locked down the XBox. The TiVo will only boot if the kernel and startup scripts match a signature in its ROM. In effect, you can't compile your own kernel to run on the TiVo or change the startup scripts, even though TiVo publishes its kernel source code.
The TiVo was harder to crack, but eventually someone figured it out.
It is entirely possible to violate the spirit of the GPL using DRM.
I'll try to summarize the complaint based on my limited understanding of law.
Caldera is claiming that IBM leaked trade secrets by working on both Project Monterey (a joint venture between SCO and IBM to port UNIX to 64 bits) and Linux (paragraph 50). During their joint development effort, IBM had access to UNIX documentation (53), presumably under NDA. IBM then scrapped Monterey (55), choosing to incorporate the technology into AIX (92). IBM also announced that it was contributing to Linux (92) and willing to open-source any parts of AIX, which is a no-no because AIX UNIX (19, 93). Furthermore, IBM intends to make Linux as powerful as UNIX (98) and runtime-compatible with AIX, which is only possible if IBM had analyzed the hooks in SCO OpenServer's proprietary shared libraries (38, 41).
UNIX is a studly operating system (70-72). Before IBM worked on Linux, Linux was so wimpy that no enterprise user would want it (83-86). After all, take a look at that no-warranty clause in the GPL (81)! The only possible explanation for its rapid maturity was knowledge transfer through IBM employees (99-100). Linux was hopeless before IBM coordinated the squabbling, confused hackers (82) into a threat (103).
IBM has therefore leaked trade secrets (104-114) and used other distros as accomplices to protect itself (91, 101). By doing so, it has deceptively breached the Monterey agreement (118) and caused SCO to lose $1 billion (116, 119, 120) and destroyed SCO's business (121). It has also violated the terms UNIX license that prevent disclosure of IP (130-134).
Notice that SCO is claiming protection based on trade secrets, not copyrights, patents, trademarks. Therefore, it can be vague and not cite any specific Linux code. (That would, after all, disclose their trade secret.) Will they have to be more specific in court? Does anyone know?
As I understand it, it's up to you to protect your own trade secrets. If somebody leaks the Coca-Cola recipe, Coca-Cola has no recourse, because it was their own responsibility to keep their secret. In SCO's case, IBM had licensed UNIX and allegedly leaked information to Red Hat and others. SCO may sue IBM for loads of money (though the grounds may be weak), but I don't think that they have a right to go after Red Hat. If a thief sells a stolen car, the buyer of the stolen car doesn't own the car. But Red Hat has a right to sell a product based on a leaked secret, because the rules for IP are different.
SCO asked for a jury trial, perhaps hoping that non-technical jurors might easily be fooled.
It seems like this whole affair is just sour grapes due to IBM's abandoning Monterey in favor of Linux.
Five years ago, I had to learn Graffiti to be cool. Now I need to learn Braille so that I can keep up with the latest gadget. What will they come up with next -- Morse Code?
Check the amount of flicker due to the refresh rate by grinding or chattering your teeth while staring at it. (See halfway down the page.)
I'm not kidding.
So, first go to about:blank, then to javscript:void(document.bgColor='red'), javscript:void(document.bgColor='green'), and
javscript:void(document.bgColor='blue')
with Full Screen (F11) after each color.
Whatever happened to releasing a product when it's ready?
Some issues, like usability, do benefit from a beta. The more morons you expose a product to, the more likely one of them will report a usability problem.
Remember the "butterfly ballot" problem in Florida?
A well conducted beta would have changed history.
Beta users volunteering to test a product that isn't dangerous is a good thing.
If you don't want to run Windows Update, or don't want to use Internet Explorer 5+ in order to use Windows Update, here is a list of recent security related patches that you can download individually.
Of course, you should realize that you have already signed your soul over to Microsoft by having Windows on your machine. You might as well close your eyes and agree to the EULA for Windows Update.
Once WinCE has wiped out linux as a viable competitor in the embedded sphere, they'll release a new encumbered upgrade.
That is exactly why the right to redistribute derived versions of code is so important.
What happens if you fix a bug or security hole? It seems like you'll have to hand over your fix to Microsoft, which promises not to incorporate it in the next six months. Hee hee.
The leaked keys are for a prerelease version of Windows 2003. The final cut hasn't been released yet. Wouldn't it be possible for Microsoft to change the key encoding scheme before the final release? Of course, it would only be a matter of time before the new keys get leaked.
Beware, though, that Creative doesn't open-source drivers for all of their products. I bought their very inexpensive Webcam, for instance. I was only able to find this independently produced driver, which I haven't been able to get working.
Actually, if you read the patents linked from the article, they aren't even patents on JPEG. They make claims on the use of compressed storage formats in digital cameras, such as JPEG.
#6,496,222 Digital camera with memory format initialization
#6,233,010 Electronic still video camera with direct personal computer (PC) compatible digital format output
#6,094,219 Electronic still video camera with direct personal computer (PC) compatible digital format output
#5,576,757 Electronic still video camera with direct personal computer (PC) compatible digital format output
#5,138,459 Electronic still video camera with direct personal computer (PC) compatible digital format output
What digial camera doesn't have the capability to store compressed images? Nobody would buy a camera that wasted memory by storing uncompressed images. Therefore, these are essentially patents on digital cameras!
Actually, from the screenshot on Sony's website, it doesn't look like TiVo. For one thing, the interface is in Japanese. I doubt that TiVo has internationalized its software, given that I only sells its service in the USA and UK. I'll guess that that forced Sony to develop their own software for the Japanese market.
Some good news is that Japan uses basically the same 100-110 VAC and NTSC as the USA. The DVD region codes are different, though. I hope that the Sony recorder doesn't region-lock its recordings.
In other news, Panasonic also sells a DVD recorder.
Has anyone ever tried the Search box on www.microsoft.com? The few times I have tried, the search results for their own website were so poor that I ended up using Google with the site:microsoft.com search modifier.
Besides, Google stands for everything good, and Microsoft stands for everything evil.
I suppose that Microsoft would try to compete with Google to provide corporate customers with a search engine for their intranet and extranet sites. I doubt that they would get anywhere trying to make money with free web searches.
The last health scare there was the bird flu, which happened the winter immediately following the reversion to Chinese rule. Coincidence? Or a result of the Hong Kong population's lack of immunity to mainland Chinese germs due to former travel limitations, creating a new breeding ground? (The latter is just my own wild speculation.)
As far as I know, the only way for a federal law to be illegal is for it to be unconstitutional. There doesn't seem to be any constitutional challenge here.
Suppose that it is proven in court that the DMCA and TEACH do collide. So what? The result would be a ruling on what happens where the DMCA's restrictions intersect TEACH's liberalizations. The best we could hope for is a clarification stating that copy-protection circumvention is explicitly allowed for instructional use, which seems to be TEACH's intent. Even the best-case ruling wouldn't invalidate the DMCA.
Actually, there is a Java Specification Request to add generics to Java, which is essentially adding template capability. The proposal is JSR014.
With a Java Developer Connection account, you can try a prototype compiler with this capability. It claims to generate code that can run on a standard 1.3 JVM.
Here's another error in the article regarding Windows 3.0:
A completely rewritten application development environment with modular virtual device drivers (VxDs), native support for applications running in extended memory and fully pre-emptive MS-DOS multitasking
Thanks for the data. From them, I can formulate Bill's Law:
Every 2.5 years, a new version of Windows is released, with twice the code side of the previous version. Furthermore, the new bloat exactly counteracts the effects of Moore's Law.
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If web discussions suck so much, why are you reading Slashdot, hm? Shouldn't you have set up a Slashdot-to-Usenet gateway by now?
If a vendor implements DRM in a Linux kernel so that the kernel only allows signed executables to run, that's relatively easy to work around.
What is scarier is what TiVo did on their Series 2 machines, which is similar to how Microsoft locked down the XBox. The TiVo will only boot if the kernel and startup scripts match a signature in its ROM. In effect, you can't compile your own kernel to run on the TiVo or change the startup scripts, even though TiVo publishes its kernel source code.
The TiVo was harder to crack, but eventually someone figured it out.
It is entirely possible to violate the spirit of the GPL using DRM.
I'll try to summarize the complaint based on my limited understanding of law.
Notice that SCO is claiming protection based on trade secrets, not copyrights, patents, trademarks. Therefore, it can be vague and not cite any specific Linux code. (That would, after all, disclose their trade secret.) Will they have to be more specific in court? Does anyone know?
As I understand it, it's up to you to protect your own trade secrets. If somebody leaks the Coca-Cola recipe, Coca-Cola has no recourse, because it was their own responsibility to keep their secret. In SCO's case, IBM had licensed UNIX and allegedly leaked information to Red Hat and others. SCO may sue IBM for loads of money (though the grounds may be weak), but I don't think that they have a right to go after Red Hat. If a thief sells a stolen car, the buyer of the stolen car doesn't own the car. But Red Hat has a right to sell a product based on a leaked secret, because the rules for IP are different.
SCO asked for a jury trial, perhaps hoping that non-technical jurors might easily be fooled.
It seems like this whole affair is just sour grapes due to IBM's abandoning Monterey in favor of Linux.
Five years ago, I had to learn Graffiti to be cool. Now I need to learn Braille so that I can keep up with the latest gadget. What will they come up with next -- Morse Code?
Now that part of Apple is part of the RIAA, could this make Apple evil? Or will it make them schizophrenic like Sony?
Check the amount of flicker due to the refresh rate by grinding or chattering your teeth while staring at it. (See halfway down the page.) I'm not kidding.
So, first go to about:blank, then to javscript:void(document.bgColor='red'), javscript:void(document.bgColor='green'), and javscript:void(document.bgColor='blue') with Full Screen (F11) after each color.
Whatever happened to releasing a product when it's ready?
Some issues, like usability, do benefit from a beta. The more morons you expose a product to, the more likely one of them will report a usability problem. Remember the "butterfly ballot" problem in Florida? A well conducted beta would have changed history.
Beta users volunteering to test a product that isn't dangerous is a good thing.
If you don't want to run Windows Update, or don't want to use Internet Explorer 5+ in order to use Windows Update, here is a list of recent security related patches that you can download individually.
Of course, you should realize that you have already signed your soul over to Microsoft by having Windows on your machine. You might as well close your eyes and agree to the EULA for Windows Update.
That is exactly why the right to redistribute derived versions of code is so important.
What happens if you fix a bug or security hole? It seems like you'll have to hand over your fix to Microsoft, which promises not to incorporate it in the next six months. Hee hee.
Please be sure to let us know when you solve the Mystery of the Unmatched Socks.
The leaked keys are for a prerelease version of Windows 2003. The final cut hasn't been released yet. Wouldn't it be possible for Microsoft to change the key encoding scheme before the final release? Of course, it would only be a matter of time before the new keys get leaked.
Beware, though, that Creative doesn't open-source drivers for all of their products. I bought their very inexpensive Webcam, for instance. I was only able to find this independently produced driver, which I haven't been able to get working.
Actually, if you read the patents linked from the article, they aren't even patents on JPEG. They make claims on the use of compressed storage formats in digital cameras, such as JPEG.
What digial camera doesn't have the capability to store compressed images? Nobody would buy a camera that wasted memory by storing uncompressed images. Therefore, these are essentially patents on digital cameras!
Actually, from the screenshot on Sony's website, it doesn't look like TiVo. For one thing, the interface is in Japanese. I doubt that TiVo has internationalized its software, given that I only sells its service in the USA and UK. I'll guess that that forced Sony to develop their own software for the Japanese market.
Some good news is that Japan uses basically the same 100-110 VAC and NTSC as the USA. The DVD region codes are different, though. I hope that the Sony recorder doesn't region-lock its recordings.
In other news, Panasonic also sells a DVD recorder.
Has anyone ever tried the Search box on www.microsoft.com? The few times I have tried, the search results for their own website were so poor that I ended up using Google with the site:microsoft.com search modifier.
Besides, Google stands for everything good, and Microsoft stands for everything evil.
I suppose that Microsoft would try to compete with Google to provide corporate customers with a search engine for their intranet and extranet sites. I doubt that they would get anywhere trying to make money with free web searches.
Washington Declares War on Oregon
Moves capital to Redmond for better naval defenseHong Kong Special Administrative Region Syndrome.
The last health scare there was the bird flu, which happened the winter immediately following the reversion to Chinese rule. Coincidence? Or a result of the Hong Kong population's lack of immunity to mainland Chinese germs due to former travel limitations, creating a new breeding ground? (The latter is just my own wild speculation.)
As far as I know, the only way for a federal law to be illegal is for it to be unconstitutional. There doesn't seem to be any constitutional challenge here.
Suppose that it is proven in court that the DMCA and TEACH do collide. So what? The result would be a ruling on what happens where the DMCA's restrictions intersect TEACH's liberalizations. The best we could hope for is a clarification stating that copy-protection circumvention is explicitly allowed for instructional use, which seems to be TEACH's intent. Even the best-case ruling wouldn't invalidate the DMCA.
Didn't you know? Repetition is the whole point of Slashdot. The Slashdot crowd loves repetition. I repeat, the Slashdot crowd loves repetition.
Yesterday's article: Software patents are evil. Software patents are stupid. Software patents are evil.
Today's article: Software patents are evil. Software patents are stupid. Software patents are evil.
Tomorrow's article will be a dupe of today's -- how much do you want to bet?
Actually, there is a Java Specification Request to add generics to Java, which is essentially adding template capability. The proposal is JSR014.
With a Java Developer Connection account, you can try a prototype compiler with this capability. It claims to generate code that can run on a standard 1.3 JVM.
Here's another error in the article regarding Windows 3.0:
That looks like a double oxymoron to me.
Thanks for the data. From them, I can formulate Bill's Law:
The article may say that the diameter is 2 nm. But the diagram has the diameter labeled as 1 um. Which should we believe?
It did have an effect on Napoleon. Before returning from battle, he wrote to his wife Joséphine with a famous request:
In English, "I'll be back in Paris tomorrow evening. Don't bathe."