[DMCA] Stealing Abstracts Part 1

This Post Is Rated: I for Ooh… Illegal. Or is it… and what are the implications?

It’s already been done 1.3 million times and counting. After some careful consideration, I thought I’d join in and “break the law” too:

09-f9-11-02-9d-74-e3-5b-d8-41-56-c5-63-56-88-c0

This string of seemingly random numbers forms a key to unlocking the DRM on HD-DVD and Blue Ray hardware. The AACS-LA does not want people to publish this number. In fact it has even threatened legal action against those who choose to publish this set of numbers.

I won’t go into too much detail here because this story is old and there is already plenty of information on the web and it’s been covered extensively by BoingBoing.

But is it really illegal to publish a set of numbers? Interestingly (at the time of publishing this post) it has not been tested in court which really raises the question of whether it’s actually illegal to own and publish these numbers. Can you really own a number? Something tells me it never will be tested, or if it is, the AACS will probably fail. Can you really see them filing a law-suit against 1.3 million people, many who probably don’t even reside in America?

Interestingly, Ed Felton of Freedom to Tinker already addressed the issue of 128-bit number ownership:

Now, thanks to our newly developed VirtualLandGrab technology, you can own a 128-bit integer of your very own (and then presumably, start issuing take-down notices to anyone who publishes the numbers or keeps a copy of them).

Here’s how we do it. First, we generate a fresh pseudorandom integer, just for you. Then we use your integer to encrypt a copyrighted haiku, thereby transforming your integer into a circumvention device capable of decrypting the haiku without your permission. We then give you all of our rights to decrypt the haiku using your integer. The DMCA does the rest. – You Can Own An Integer Too – Get Yours Here!

I’m plan to do a follow up post on this subject as it demands a more thoughtful analysis, but my initial thoughts on this subject is that we have moved beyond a mere Information Age and are becoming part of a type of Information Revolution. Traditional business models and capitalist frameworks are being usurped by Creative Commons and Open Source. These examples speak for themselves:

EFF: Public Interest Prevails in Digital Copyright Showdown
The Inquirer: Linux Man says Microsoft screwed itself
Finish Court Rules CSS Protection used in DVDs “ineffective”
Lessig Blog: Required Reading: The Next 10 Years
The Enquirer: EMI Has DRM Free Sales Boom
SmartFlix: This Post is for You, Robert Tourtelot
eCoustics: Dell Introduces Linux Based Computers
Software Journal: Microsoft and IBM admits Google is now a rival…

Whether you know it or not you are witness to a civil war taking place over the net. The internet is a type of ‘wild west’ or Electronic Frontier if you will. All the rules from the old country no longer count. If you Google search, blog, social network, make internet calls or have ever used any kind of free or open source software then you have already chosen your side or become a sympathiser for the revolutionaries.

My second thought is this, by pursuing legal action even against people who simply publish a string of numbers (regardless of knowledge of how to use them), then the AACS and other vested interests are already losing the battle. They dilute the severity of their claim by attacking anyone without discretion, and they will be opening the door for people to claim ownership of numbers and text (see above)- the end result would be death of progress, innovation and design. Imagine a programmer that would have to obtain rights from a different ‘owner’ for every line of code they wrote for a new program? Perhaps the only way to move forward would be for programmers to learn Klingon or some other language- until the AACS claimed ownership of certain strings of Klingon numbers and words.

In my view, those who are blurring the lines between what is and isn’t illegal copying are the proprietors and proponents of DRM and the DMCA.

More to come.

Technorati Tags: drm, aacs key, dmca, copyright, open source, illegal, creative commons, electronic frontier, information revolution, hd-dvd, blue-ray, 09 f9 11 02 9d 74 e3 5b d8 41 56 c5 63 56 88 c0

[Blasphemy] Blasphemically Challenged

I’ve been meaning to blog about this one for a while since it appeared on BoingBoing

“It’s simple. You record a short message damning yourself to Hell, you upload it to YouTube, and then the Rational Response Squad will send you a free The God Who Wasn’t There DVD. It’s that easy…

You may damn yourself to Hell however you would like, but somewhere in your video you must say this phrase: “I deny the Holy Spirit.”

Why? Because, according to Mark 3:29 in the Holy Bible, “Whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will never be forgiven; he is guilty of an eternal sin.” Jesus will forgive you for just about anything, but he won’t forgive you for denying the existence of the Holy Spirit. Ever. This is a one-way road you’re taking here.” – The Blasphemy Challenge

It’s a shame to have to ruin all their hard work by interceding:

“Father forgive them; they don’t know what they are doing.” – Luke 23:34

I’m not really going to delve much into this topic, suffice to say that I am almost certain that only believers can blaspheme the Holy Spirit, since it is a matter of the heart and not of words or deeds:

“Then Peter said, ‘Ananias, why have you let Satan fill your heart? You lied to the Holy Spirit, and you kept some of the money for yourself. The property was yours to sell or not sell, as you wished. And after selling it, the money was also yours to give away. How could you do a thing like this? You weren’t lying to us but to God!

As soon as Ananias heard these words, he fell to the floor and died. Everyone who heard about it was terrified.” – Acts 5:3-5

“Judas, the one who betrayed him, realized that Jesus was doomed. Overcome with remorse, he gave back the thirty silver coins to the high priests, saying, “I’ve sinned. I’ve betrayed an innocent man.”

They said, “What do we care? That’s your problem!”

Judas threw the silver coins into the Temple and left. Then he went out and hung himself.” – Matthew 27:3-5

But I think this video posted on the counter-site, Challenge Blasphemy explains it better than I ever could in a hilarious and brilliant way. There is a hint of ‘Andy Kaufman’ comic genius in passtheaura. Look out for the salt-shaker*, points for guessing as to what this subtle Easter egg is alluding to.

*If you’re really struggling, go to the direct YouTube posting and read the comments.

Technorati Tags: blasphemy, blasphemy challenge, god, christ, christian, apologetics, christian satire, holy spirit, forgiveness

[CCTV] Grave, Orwell, In, Turning, His, George

“On the wall outside his former residence – flat number 27B – where Orwell lived until his death in 1950, an historical plaque commemorates the anti-authoritarian author. And within 200 yards of the flat, there are 32 CCTV cameras, scanning every move.” – This Is London

Referral: BoingBoing

How ironic and sad. Welcome to modern Britain, where it is 1984.

[Asinine] The Dog Vinci Code

If Da Vinci was trying to drop the marriage bomb on us, what is this artist trying to say?

I’m no historian, but it looks like the one on the right of Jesus is not a disciple but in fact…. a dog!

Referral: BoingBoing

[Resistance] Homeowner Holdouts

Simply awesome… these guys inspire.

Referral: BoingBoing and various other sources.

Update: 16/03/07

Tish writes in the comments … (3/16/2007 1:14 PM) :

“This story and picture of “China’s Most Incredible Holdout” traveled around China’s blogs and the original story was lost, elaborated on, and then pieced together and rediscovered by Chinese netizens, and finally translated into English by “bridge bloggers.”

Here is a link to the original post.

[Copywrong] Hongcouver Notsummer 2009> <2011 Sportfest

That’s my suggestion that we all call the commercial event in Canada in 3 years time. Heads up from BoingBoing.

Hongcouver is the nickname given by D since it’s where most Chinese settle on arrival. Any better suggestions?

[Follow Up] Garfield Lives!

Fans of Garfield worried by my last post: Is Garfield Dead? will be happy to know that some guy wrote in to Boing Boing to inform them he spoke to Jim Davis and the word is:

Garfield is very much alive and well.

Apparently Jim Davis wrote this story because “ghosts aren’t scary”. Well I have one thing to say, neither is being alone… it’s depressing- and now I’ve got to find a way to shake the melancholy mood I was plunged into unnecessarily.

Tags: Dark Side of the Light Christian Satire Garfield Death of Garfield Garfield Lives Jim Davis

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[Wierd] Is Garfield Dead?

Prepare for something really depressing. You’re The Man Now Dog have produced a webpage dedicated to a cartoon strip of a Garfield storyline written by Jim Davis on 23-28 October 1989. These are the bona fide article! Set to the eerie music of The Twilight Singers track, “Bonnie Brae“:

Is Garfield Dead?

The strip starts with Garfield waking up in a dark, cold abandoned house and his realisation that he is alone. It ends with the inference that Jon, Odie and everything else in Garfield’s life is merely a mind trip brought on by denial:

“An imagination is a powerful tool. It can tint memories of the past, shade perceptions of the present, or paint a future so vivid that it can entice…or terrify, all depending on how we conduct ourselves today… After years of taking life for granted, Garfield is shaken by a horrifying vision of the inevitable process called time. He has only one weapon…denial…”

It’s even discussed in the Wikipedia’s Garfield article:

“Garfield is playing out in his head to delude himself from realizing the dark turn his life has taken, as he slowly starves to death in an abandoned house”.

Thanks to Boing Boing for the background info on the music -which is absolutely mesmorising.

Tags: Dark Side of the Light Christian Satire Garfield Death of Garfield YTMND Twilight Singers Bonnie Brae

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