John Gruber points out something that should just be stupid obvious, but wasn’t to me. But that’s not what the music industry wants. Yes, there exist legal download stores that sell music in MP3 format (e.g. eMusic.com) — but they don’t have content from the major record labels, because the major record labels refuse to [...]
November 29, 2005 – 2:31 pm
This one affects ten times as many Sony audio CDs than the XPC rootkit. Like XCP, recent versions of MediaMax engage in spyware-style behavior. They install software without meaningful consent or notification, they include either no means of uninstalling the software or an uninstaller that claims to remove the entire program but doesn’t, and they [...]
November 17, 2005 – 9:07 pm
If I were a Windows user, I think this story would have been the last straw. On Oct. 31, Mark Russinovich broke the story in his blog: Sony BMG Music Entertainment distributed a copy-protection scheme with music CDs that secretly installed a rootkit on computers. This software tool is run without your knowledge or consent [...]
September 22, 2005 – 10:56 am
The Authors Guild is suing Google over Google Print, an ambitious project to scan and make thousands of books publicly searchable. The Authors Guild, a society of published writers representing over 8,000 U.S. authors, charges that Google has not sought the approval of authors to include their works in the program. Google does allow copyright [...]
March 22, 2005 – 11:43 pm
And that’s why I stopped being an Apple zealot. I still use and love Macs, but I no longer defend Apple at all costs. They’re a big company, they can fend for themselves. For the last day or so, I have been attempting to fight the pro-DRM Apple zealots over at the MacRumors forums. In [...]
When reading this morning’s Slashdot headlines I thought the world must have turned upside down: Microsoft Calls For Patent Law Change. I wondered if Microsoft’s support of the current corrupt software patent system was coming back to haunt them. But what exactly is the reform they are proposing? Microsoft also called for a patent system [...]
April 29, 2004 – 12:15 am
So if you debate Jack Valenti about fair-use and the DMCA, you get on the Your Rights Online section of Slashdot. Complain to Valenti for ten minutes that there is no licensed Linux DVD player but get him to say “un-fucking-believable”, and you get on the front page. Nah, I’m not bitter.
February 27, 2004 – 5:24 pm
After a writing a big comment to Information Fredom on the blog of that adroit modern humorist, I began to ponder why Creative Commons does not allow you the ability to release your work into the public domain at a specified time earlier than it would otherwise. Actually, they do have something that does this. [...]
November 22, 2003 – 3:48 am
Jon Johansen is awesome. He is an author of DeCSS, and just today came out with QTFairUse. This program, which has a much better name, circumvents the DRM that keeps you and other people from playing music files you bought from the iTunes Music Store with anything other than iTunes or an iPod. I took [...]
October 30, 2003 – 6:20 pm
I’ve added a brief and very incomplete chronicle of the DMCA protest I was involved in. I’ve listed it under the Links section of the limulus.net home page since it really serves as links to other sites, and a few resources hosted here. I have also resurrected the decss mailing list archive.