[TriLUG] On Topic - trusted computing vs Linux usability (was OT : Don't let Cheney hide)

[Steve Litt]

On Thursday 07 October 2004 10:15 am, Turnpike Man wrote:
> Now this is definitely ON topic!  :)  What is it about trusted computing
> that won't make Linux usable?
>
> thanks,
> David

I can't answer that, but I can tell you that the old UCITA law for all 
practical purposes outlawed reverse engineering (even though reverse 
engineering wasn't mentioned in the law). Goodbye Samba, at least in the U.S.

The SSSCA law proposed in 2001, and reproposed later as CBDTPA, would have 
mandated copy protection in every computer program, and such copy protection 
probably would have been of an incompatible license with the GPL. Goodbye 
Linux. I wrote about SSSCA here:

http://www.troubleshooters.com/tpromag/200111/200111.htm

Microsoft is very aware that they can't use their favorite weapon, revenue 
starvation, against Linux, because Linux needs no revenue to continue. That's 
why you see more and more petitioning of the government to restrict Linux. 
Meanwhile, the big copyright holders have their own agenda -- they want to 
prevent copying, no matter what the cost.

In other words, the only way Linux will die is at the hand of the government, 
and the only way to prevent that is for us to be at least a little 
politically aware.

SteveT

Steve Litt
Founder and acting president: GoLUG
http://www.golug.org