This post is completely miss-leading, even assuming 'HavenCo' have a legit claim to be off-shore.
Placing/using an email Server 'off-shore' offers not more protection than refusing to hand over the messages in the first place, you will be in contempt of court and go to jail until you agree to turn them over. FACT!
Causing the destruction of evidence is a crime, in most countries, even if it is carried out by an agent. So in most cases, all 'HavenCo' will achieve is to further incriminate.
BTW: How does a mindless commercial plug warrent +5 Interesting ?
Use the *right tools* and the *right technique* fine tweezer nose pliers, like these,
http://www.internettrains.com/xurtweeznosp.html
Clamp the Drive, and place the end of the pliers past the bend, and just squeeze, DO NOT try to bend the pin back you are more like to break the pin.
You can also use the same pliers to pull the regressed pin.
Depending on the value of the data, you could also do do what Data Recovery Companies do. Use a Donor Drive of exactly the model and swap the electronics, this is surprisingly simple to do, usually 4-6 screws and an film edge connector.
Watching EP1 last night on the Movie channel I had a rather interesting insight. That Anakin is/was always the second Sith [candidate].
Anakin 'imaculate conception', hint's of genetic engineer, aka The Clone-Wars.
Palpatine familiarity with Tatooine, 'a minor outland planet on the edge of known space', he clearly knows about it, Why ? He Certainly he has some interest in it!
Tatooine close proximatly to Naboo, Palpatine home planet. Convenient or Coincidence ?
Qui-Gon Jinn believed Anakin to be the Chosen One spoken of in an ancient prophecy, the one who would bring balance to the Force. What does he know to suggest he is not a natural produced/wild Jedi? And Why is training Anakin, the most important thing/ last wish he asked of Obi-Wan ?
Anakin's unatural talent for machines, when Jedi are supposed to be connected to living things.
Anakin 'training' on Tatooine.
Bobafetts links to Tatooine, and Palpatine and Sith's.
A WIPO treaty is not binding on anybody unless your national government passes appropriate laws in your jurisdiction. Laws like the DMCA in the USA. No such laws have been passed by the EU or in the UK, we just need to ensure that position holds true in the rest of the work.
It is worth considering that this treaty has exactly the same authority as the UN Charter on Human Rights, and look how widely obeyed that is!
Well perhaps you should! If they are prepared to use such extrodinary lengths to f**k somebody over for their own profit, do you really want to work for them ?
The key point is how effective this tactic has been, how often have we manage to 'persuade' a legislative to our view, within a week by conventional means (lobbies/petitions).
Which is that while we respect (even worship) the ownership of data when it comes to privacy considerations, we abhor that very same ownership when it is expressed by others (like the RIAA & MPAA) in the form of copyrights.
If you cannot see the distinction I pity you!
* BTW, Why hasn't SlashDot reviewed Levy's new book [amazon.com] yet? It's been out for two month's now.
Probably because he's an apologist for the vested interests we oppose, why should we provide publicity for him ?
final projects of her 110 HS sophmore students. She found 28 had cheated on the project
If a quarter of her students managed to find and copy a paper from the internet, this suggests to me that 1) The question it's self was not very original, and was probably copied it's self. 2) That she used a third party Web site to mark the paper re-inforces this view. 3) She does not understand the difference between good research and plagarism.
Not only that, but you have had zero effect on the actual problem.
Actually that is not entirely true, my employer (a telco), has a division. It regularly drops it's customers (Businesses), if their customers (consumers) are abusive to its staff, because of the staffing problems it causes, it causes.
I have to say that "the (Im)possibility of Obfuscating Programs" should be self evident particularly to anybody with a detailed knowledge of CS.
In order function the program must be 'interpreted' in someway, since that interpreter could be an engineer, the *best* than can ever be acheived is to make that task more difficult, not impossible.
Since openness is in the interests of all Computing Engineers we need to debunk the urban myth that it's possible.
As the postmaster [at] kitv.co.uk. I had similar problems with Hotmail, lots of junk email from them, hotmail rejecting email from my domain, an arrogant postmaster who was completely ignorant of RFC,.
After trying to resolve it directly with them and failing. I simply blacklisted hotmail, the amount of time saved from less junk email vastly over shadowed the time required to explain that we 'no longer supported hotmail because of all the junk email they send. 'You can hear my customers sagely nodding to themselves, praising my iniative, and vowing to tell there friends to move from hotmail."
There are also increasingly numbers of alternatives channels, many more suitable for Home use.
Consider this service (www.kitv.co.uk) that I work on, Broadband Internet Access, via a TV, STB and no Windows in sight. Perfectly suitable for Joe Public's (none Geeky requirements).
The PS3 look's set to be completely broadband enabled and no Windows in sight.
There are a host of other alternatives, Convergent Devices, Wireless networked Web Pads, 3G Phones, and again no Windows in sight.
So by your own definition using unlimited moderation to attempt to surpress something is Censorship.
That it failed for various reasons does not preclude it from being censorship, after all nearly every instance of censorship or prohibition fails in some way.
The best Project manager I ever had was a Guy whose previous experience was Project Managing the construction Oil Refineries. He listened to me, made me justify my estimates, both phases where completed on time to a high standard and with the minimum of stress. The worst was an ex-carpet shop manager, (Yes I know absurd). In my experience to many PM's from an IT background are failed Technical Staff.
So rather than selecting a job, I now try to select my PM.
1) Make the good faith claim that to you knowledge this device does not violate the DMCA, and they therefore have no rights to make their further claims. Demand that they prove other wise, under threat of perjury. 2) That reverse engineering this device would constitue a breach of DMCA. So they cannot prove other wise. 3) The threat constitues and illegal restraint of trade, and inform them that you will counter-sue. 4) Clearly state that further investigation on their behalf will result in an invoice for T&M for investigation of their claims.
Make the sending or receipt of UCE against your AUP/TOS then any repeat occurrences following notification are illegal under the Computer Misuse Act Section 1.
I usually respond with the following email which has proved to be surprisingly effective even with non-UK UCE. Perhaps because most of the developed world has similar legislation, design to make cracking illegal.
--- UCE RESPONSE ---
The attached unsolicited bulk email has been received from [or downstream from] your domain. The sending or receipt of unsolicited bulk email is a breach of our Acceptable Usage Policy and is unauthorized.
This is a breach of 'The Computer Misuse Act 1990' Section 1;
1.--(1) A person is guilty of an offence if-- (a) he causes a computer to perform any function with intent to secure access to any program or data held in any computer; (b) the access he intends to secure is unauthorised; and (c) he knows at the time when he causes the computer to perform the function that that is the case. (2) The intent a person has to have to commit an offence under this section need not be directed at-- (a) any particular program or data; (b) a program or data of any particular kind; or (c) a program or data held in any particular computer. (3) A person guilty of an offence under this section shall be liable on summary conviction to imprisonment for a term not exceeding six months or to a fine not exceeding level 5 on the standard scale or to both.
As the postmaster for kitv.co.uk I've found that this problem (no, flippant, hostile responses) is also starting to become a regularly feature with ISP from the Eastern Europe and Baltic Republics.
This link perfectly illustrates a problem rising with Anglo US relations.
The US seems to be drifting to the extreme fundamentalist Christian right. This is causing to become increasingly concerned with a belligerent America Foreign Policy.
Two years ago it was unusual to see a BBC news report examining (questioning) US foreign policy, today it's almost daily. Stomping around like an angry giant is likely to have a counter effect.
And before somebody goes of half cocked, and marks this down as a troll, remmember the destiny of all free people [not just countries] are inexplicitaly linked. We share a common self interest, so when your friends tell you to reconsider, you should SERIOUSLY reconsider. Because being the worlds only super power does not last forever (Consider British, Roman, Greek Empires, to name a few) Your enemies you make today may just consider you fair game for a very long time, after the issue is settled.
Slashdotters need to think twice, thrice,... and be very careful before investing in PayPal.
PayPal have been repeatedly subject to systematic frauds. These frauds which look set to completely destroy any customer/consumer confidence and shareholder value.
I'm a pretty active investor in high-risk high-tech stocks and I will not touch the PayPal IPO.
Check-out this site in particular.
http://www.paypalwarning.com/
And this Google search on PayPal fraud reveals >20K hits.
Changing a few words and a whole new world of hypocrisy is opened up and a whole new meaning to expression corporation tax.
"The marketplace recognizes the role that intellectual property rights play in the development of these technologies, and the good news is that the market understands the need for it to be respected and paid for."
"The citizens recognizes the role that taxation play in the development of these public services, and the good news is that the populous understands the need for it to be respected and paid for."
Or
"The serfs recognizes the role that levies play in the development of my kingdom, and the good news is that they understand the need for me to be respected and paid for."
Slashdot Mirror
This link also provides a good list of the previous objections raised to the introduction of patents.
http://www.patent.gov.uk/about/consultations/an
This post is completely miss-leading, even assuming 'HavenCo' have a legit claim to be off-shore.
Placing/using an email Server 'off-shore' offers not more protection than refusing to hand over the messages in the first place, you will be in contempt of court and go to jail until you agree to turn them over. FACT!
Causing the destruction of evidence is a crime, in most countries, even if it is carried out by an agent. So in most cases, all 'HavenCo' will achieve is to further incriminate.
BTW: How does a mindless commercial plug warrent +5 Interesting ?
BE STATIC SAFE: Earth your self.
Use the *right tools* and the *right technique* fine tweezer nose pliers, like these,
http://www.internettrains.com/xurtweeznosp.html
Clamp the Drive, and place the end of the pliers past the bend, and just squeeze, DO NOT try to bend the pin back you are more like to break the pin.
You can also use the same pliers to pull the regressed pin.
Depending on the value of the data, you could also do do what Data Recovery Companies do. Use a Donor Drive of exactly the model and swap the electronics, this is surprisingly simple to do, usually 4-6 screws and an film edge connector.
STATIC SAFE: Earth your self.
You know, when a customer that has $6B dollars a year to spend on technology say jump, Microsoft had better damn well be asking "How High?"
EXCEPT it appears that Microsoft have been giving the Air Force the run around for two years. If they can do that, what hope do morals have ?
Watching EP1 last night on the Movie channel I had a rather interesting insight. That Anakin is/was always the second Sith [candidate].
Anakin 'imaculate conception', hint's of genetic engineer, aka The Clone-Wars.
Palpatine familiarity with Tatooine, 'a minor outland planet on the edge of known space', he clearly knows about it, Why ? He Certainly he has some interest in it!
Tatooine close proximatly to Naboo, Palpatine home planet. Convenient or Coincidence ?
Qui-Gon Jinn believed Anakin to be the Chosen One spoken of in an ancient prophecy, the one who would bring balance to the Force. What does he know to suggest he is not a natural produced/wild Jedi? And Why is training Anakin, the most important thing/ last wish he asked of Obi-Wan ?
Anakin's unatural talent for machines, when Jedi are supposed to be connected to living things.
Anakin 'training' on Tatooine.
Bobafetts links to Tatooine, and Palpatine and Sith's.
A WIPO treaty is not binding on anybody unless your national government passes appropriate laws in your jurisdiction. Laws like the DMCA in the USA. No such laws have been passed by the EU or in the UK, we just need to ensure that position holds true in the rest of the work.
It is worth considering that this treaty has exactly the same authority as the UN Charter on Human Rights, and look how widely obeyed that is!
I'm not trying to snitch on my company
Well perhaps you should! If they are prepared to use such extrodinary lengths to f**k somebody over for their own profit, do you really want to work for them ?
the FS developer with more than six kids: does your source-forge commits REALLY support all six of them
This is probably the same *person* who cannot work out what a gender troll's are!!!
http://floss1.infonomics.nl/stats.php?id=32
The key point is how effective this tactic has been, how often have we manage to 'persuade' a legislative to our view, within a week by conventional means (lobbies/petitions).
Which is that while we respect (even worship) the ownership of data when it comes to privacy considerations, we abhor that very same ownership when it is expressed by others (like the RIAA & MPAA) in the form of copyrights.
If you cannot see the distinction I pity you!
* BTW, Why hasn't SlashDot reviewed Levy's new book [amazon.com] yet? It's been out for two month's now.
Probably because he's an apologist for the vested interests we oppose, why should we provide publicity for him ?
final projects of her 110 HS sophmore students. She found 28 had cheated on the project
If a quarter of her students managed to find and copy a paper from the internet, this suggests to me that 1) The question it's self was not very original, and was probably copied it's self. 2) That she used a third party Web site to mark the paper re-inforces this view. 3) She does not understand the difference between good research and plagarism.
Not only that, but you have had zero effect on the actual problem.
Actually that is not entirely true, my employer (a telco), has a division. It regularly drops it's customers (Businesses), if their customers (consumers) are abusive to its staff, because of the staffing problems it causes, it causes.
I have to say that "the (Im)possibility of Obfuscating Programs" should be self evident particularly to anybody with a detailed knowledge of CS.
In order function the program must be 'interpreted' in someway, since that interpreter could be an engineer, the *best* than can ever be acheived is to make that task more difficult, not impossible.
Since openness is in the interests of all Computing Engineers we need to debunk the urban myth that it's possible.
As the postmaster [at] kitv.co.uk. I had similar problems with Hotmail, lots of junk email from them, hotmail rejecting email from my domain, an arrogant postmaster who was completely ignorant of RFC, .
After trying to resolve it directly with them and failing. I simply blacklisted hotmail, the amount of time saved from less junk email vastly over shadowed the time required to explain that we 'no longer supported hotmail because of all the junk email they send. 'You can hear my customers sagely nodding to themselves, praising my iniative, and vowing to tell there friends to move from hotmail."
There are also increasingly numbers of alternatives channels, many more suitable for Home use.
Consider this service (www.kitv.co.uk) that I work on, Broadband Internet Access, via a TV, STB and no Windows in sight. Perfectly suitable for Joe Public's (none Geeky requirements).
The PS3 look's set to be completely broadband enabled and no Windows in sight.
There are a host of other alternatives, Convergent Devices, Wireless networked Web Pads, 3G Phones, and again no Windows in sight.
So by your own definition using unlimited moderation to attempt to surpress something is Censorship.
That it failed for various reasons does not preclude it from being censorship, after all nearly every instance of censorship or prohibition fails in some way.
they don't really have a method for enforcing the 'no royalties' stance either.
Actually they have a very effective method if they choose to use it, they destandardise the technology.
The best Project manager I ever had was a Guy whose previous experience was Project Managing the construction Oil Refineries. He listened to me, made me justify my estimates, both phases where completed on time to a high standard and with the minimum of stress. The worst was an ex-carpet shop manager, (Yes I know absurd). In my experience to many PM's from an IT background are failed Technical Staff.
So rather than selecting a job, I now try to select my PM.
IANAL but I would respond
1) Make the good faith claim that to you knowledge this device does not violate the DMCA, and they therefore have no rights to make their further claims. Demand that they prove other wise, under threat of perjury.
2) That reverse engineering this device would constitue a breach of DMCA. So they cannot prove other wise.
3) The threat constitues and illegal restraint of trade, and inform them that you will counter-sue.
4) Clearly state that further investigation on their behalf will result in an invoice for T&M for investigation of their claims.
A solution to/from UK UCE.
Make the sending or receipt of UCE against your AUP/TOS then any repeat occurrences following notification are illegal under the Computer Misuse Act Section 1.
I usually respond with the following email which has proved to be surprisingly effective even with non-UK UCE. Perhaps because most of the developed world has similar legislation, design to make cracking illegal.
--- UCE RESPONSE ---
The attached unsolicited bulk email has been received from [or downstream from] your domain. The sending or receipt of unsolicited bulk email is a breach of our Acceptable Usage Policy and is unauthorized.
This is a breach of 'The Computer Misuse Act 1990' Section 1;
1.--(1) A person is guilty of an offence if--
(a) he causes a computer to perform any function with intent to secure access to any program or data held in any computer;
(b) the access he intends to secure is unauthorised; and
(c) he knows at the time when he causes the computer to perform the function that that is the case.
(2) The intent a person has to have to commit an offence under this section need not be directed at--
(a) any particular program or data;
(b) a program or data of any particular kind; or
(c) a program or data held in any particular computer.
(3) A person guilty of an offence under this section shall be liable on summary conviction to imprisonment for a term not exceeding six months or to a fine not exceeding level 5 on the standard scale or to both.
http://www.hmso.gov.uk/acts/acts1990/Ukpga_1990
We expect your immediate attention to prevent a reoccurrence.
thanks
Postmaster [@kitv.co.uk]
--- END RESPONSE ---
As the postmaster for kitv.co.uk I've found that this problem (no, flippant, hostile responses) is also starting to become a regularly feature with ISP from the Eastern Europe and Baltic Republics.
This link perfectly illustrates a problem rising with Anglo US relations.
The US seems to be drifting to the extreme fundamentalist Christian right. This is causing to become increasingly concerned
with a belligerent America Foreign Policy.
Two years ago it was unusual to see a BBC news report examining (questioning) US foreign policy, today it's almost daily. Stomping around like an angry giant is likely to have a counter effect.
And before somebody goes of half cocked, and marks this down as a troll, remmember the destiny of all free people [not just countries] are inexplicitaly linked. We share a common self interest, so when your friends tell you to reconsider, you should SERIOUSLY reconsider. Because being the worlds only super power does not last forever (Consider British, Roman, Greek Empires, to name a few) Your enemies you make today may just consider you fair game for a very long time, after the issue is settled.
Slashdotters need to think twice, thrice,
PayPal have been repeatedly subject to systematic frauds. These frauds which look set to completely destroy any customer/consumer confidence and shareholder value.
I'm a pretty active investor in high-risk high-tech stocks and I will not touch the PayPal IPO.
Check-out this site in particular.
http://www.paypalwarning.com/
And this Google search on PayPal fraud reveals >20K hits.
http://www.google.co.uk/search?hl=en&safe=activ
IMHO, Think once, think twice, think never.
HI-TECH PRODUCTS ARE NOT THE SOLUTION IN THIS CASE
I think Hobarts Funnies prove otherwise, because Tech solutions are designed to save lives not money.
Changing a few words and a whole new world of hypocrisy is opened up and a whole new meaning to expression corporation tax.
"The marketplace recognizes the role that intellectual property rights play in the development of these technologies, and the good news is that the market understands the need for it to be respected and paid for."
"The citizens recognizes the role that taxation play in the development of these public services, and the good news is that the populous understands the need for it to be respected and paid for."
Or
"The serfs recognizes the role that levies play in the development of my kingdom, and the good news is that they understand the need for me to be respected and paid for."