Bandits Give Microsoft a Lesson on Copying, Stealing

May 3rd, 2001 by Linux Journal Staff in

Unarmed bandits stole a "Microsoft Security" sign from one of the company's security vehicles in Mountain View, California Tuesday night. In an interview, one of the bandits called the action a response to Microsoft's controversial plan to "close the PC" by getting manufacturers to modify hardware to restrict copying.
Your rating: None

the451.com reported last week that Brad Smith, deputy general counsel for the company, asked at a meeting, "How can you steal something if the original is still there after you've made the copy?"

The answer to Smith's question is that copying and stealing are different, the bandit argued. "Any corporate counsel who didn't get his law degree out of the back of a comic book should know the difference between copying, which is often legal, and stealing, which is a crime", the bandit said. Customers have the right to make some copies, such as quotations, backups and personal copies on portable devices, and Microsoft's so-called "Digital Rights Management" attacks legitimate copying along with copyright infringement, he added.

Although Microsoft is free to disable copying functionality in its own software products, the bandit said, even people who don't use Microsoft's software should be concerned by the company's "close the PC" plan, described at http://research.microsoft.com/crypto/openbox.asp. The plan "involves making minor modifications to the PC's hardware to allow Microsoft to make a secure version of the Windows Media Player", and, according to the site, some hardware vendors are already close to signing on.

Will Microsoft be able to use the "minor modifications" to lock out non-Microsoft software? Will Microsoft's hardware-based attack on free speech and fair use succeed where software alone has failed? Nobody knows. And will Microsoft ever learn the difference between copying and stealing? "I'll keep stealing until they do", the bandit said.

__________________________


Special Magazine Offer -- Free Gift with Subscription
Receive a free digital copy of Linux Journal's System Administration Special Edition as well as instant online access to current and past issues. CLICK HERE for offer

Linux Journal: delivering readers the advice and inspiration they need to get the most out of their Linux systems since 1994.

Post new comment

Please note that comments may not appear immediately, so there is no need to repost your comment.
The content of this field is kept private and will not be shown publicly.
  • Allowed HTML tags: <a> <em> <strong> <cite> <code> <pre> <ul> <ol> <li> <dl> <dt> <dd> <i> <b>
  • Lines and paragraphs break automatically.

More information about formatting options

Newsletter

Each week Linux Journal editors will tell you what's hot in the world of Linux. You will receive late breaking news, technical tips and tricks, and links to in-depth stories featured on www.linuxjournal.com.
Sign up for our Email Newsletter

Tech Tip Videos

From the Magazine

December 2009, #188

If last month's Infrastrucuture issue was too "big" for you then try on this month's Embedded issue. Find out how to use Player for programming mobile robots, build a humidity controller for your root cellar, find out how to reduce the boot time of your embedded system, and if you're new to embedded systems find out the basics that go into one. You can also read about the Beagle Board, the Mesh Potato and a spate of other interestingly named items. And along with our regular columns don't miss our new monthly column: Economy Size Geek.







Read this issue