Re: No longer free to write your own software either

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Marsha Jackson wrote in message <39BC0A4C.C71846A6@aol.com>...
>Copyright laws certain 'personal use' exemptions, so if I want to
transcribe the
>latest Steven King to read by my own handwriting, or if I want to recode a
program
>so it works exactly like Windows98 down to the last pixel... as long as I'm
doing
>it for myself it's perfectly legal.


Marsha,
    Actually, there is nothing I can say to deny this. That being the case,
I think you just inadvertently predicted the next move the IP Nazis will
take. Not that "fair use" isn't already under attack. Video and/or audio
clips from movies are already impossible, just look at the DeCSS fiasco.
(Note: I would love to hear the vogons claim that this is blatant piracy).
E-books are finally making inroads, even if they are still unpopular. They
will certainly utilize some method of encryption, to "protect against
piracy". Too bad, that quoting the book will become illegal. Think about it.
Corporate lawyers know no such thing as restraint or decency (even with the
filters, I can still almost see people refuting this), even obviously
non-infringing activities don't stop them, they are fighting a jihad. That,
ridiculous laws, bribable congressmen, and judiciary momentum almost
guarantee them legal victory in anything like this they choose to pursue.
    Think about it. People who write silly little pac-man clones are evil
outlaw pirates. I wonder if that guy who is in the book of records for
memorizing NYC yellow pages, is he committing piracy by transferring all the
stuff he reads into a biological data retrieval system? Hahaha.

Thanks,
John