Ummm.... There's something wrong about it... Hmm......... Did the source of the news checked it thoroughly? :O
That's how it used to be, but these days all companies want more control. You can't connect to XBL unless you install NXE, which causes older systems like mine to slow down substantially. I can't try taking online elsewhere either. In these respects MS owns my system as much as I do because they dictate how it's used pretty much as much as I can.Chamale said:You buy it, do what you want with it. I'm glad the government understands that today, though not all days.
As far as I am reading it correctly, the source document only refers to "wireless telephone handsets" and not all mobile devices. Also, the video game ruling only refers to "video games accessible on personal computers."Unrulyhandbag said:you Americans get to circumnavigate security mobile devices eh? Would that include PSP and DS?
Even if they could get support for that, there's no way it would work. How would you define "DRM"? Would things like Steam have to be shut down? Because having the games tied to your account has major benefits in the multiplayer scene that have nothing to do with copy protection. What about 30-day trial software? Wouldn't this outlaw whatever they do to prevent you from just reinstalling it every month?Icehearted said:I am still hoping for changes/repeals on the current DRM laws and instead of laws making it illegal to bypass copy protection, to make it illegal to place DRM on software.
Ha ha ha ha. Apparently you aren't aware that not only did a lot of software companies employ hardware-level copy protection on their disks, the way they did it actually caused legitimate use of their software (the original disk, not a copy) to break your disk drive if you used it too much. This is why it's very hard to find functional Commodore disk drives secondhand now. (Well, that and the fact that worn-out and unreadable disks have the same effect, which most probably are by this point.)Icehearted said:Hey, what can I say, I grew up with computers like the C-64 and such when making backup copies was actually encouraged and recommended.
[citation needed]Icehearted said:Technically, it's against the law for a family to watch a movie they've purchased unless all viewing members have paid for the same movie.
Strictly speaking this isn't actually a new interpretation... Well, the security vulnerabilities thing is. One of the elements of the DMCA allows for bypassing a DRM to improve system interoperability, which is exactly what people do when they jailbreak an iPhone or if they were to get an alternate OS installed on the PS3. This is something that's been protected on the user side since 1998.Jamash said:How tenuous is that definition of "vulnerabilities"?John Funk said:The ruling also said that it was legal to crack DRM on computer and videogames, provided that it was for the purpose of "testing for, investigating, or correcting security flaws or vulnerabilities." In other words, if your new DRM makes a user's computer vulnerable to attacks, it's fair game for people to breach it.
Could one argue that having a Steam account makes you vulnerable to having that account hacked, therefore it would be perfectly legal to crack your games to run without Steam?
On an unrelated note, what bearing, if any, will this new ruling have on Sony's 'Other OS' court case? Could this new legal precedent be used by either side to support their case?
I've never seen that term before, but if it's hacking the Mac OS to run on a non-apple system, that's always been an exemption from the DMCA.Steve the Pocket said:Nevermind iPhones; what effect does this ruling have on making Hackintoshes?
It's a little more apocalyptic than that. The Region coding on DVDs has been protected under the DMCA as a DRM. Which means, if you were to outlaw DRMs wholesale, that would (theoretically) be the end of DVD sales. Every DVD on the market would have to be reissued again from scratch. New hardware would be needed across the board, not because they couldn't read the unencrypted disks, but because they would still be set up in association with the now illegal DRM scheme. And this isn't even getting into issues like how Microsoft would have to reissue their entire library for the 360. Yeah... that's not happening.Steve the Pocket said:Even if they could get support for that, there's no way it would work. How would you define "DRM"? Would things like Steam have to be shut down? Because having the games tied to your account has major benefits in the multiplayer scene that have nothing to do with copy protection. What about 30-day trial software? Wouldn't this outlaw whatever they do to prevent you from just reinstalling it every month?Icehearted said:I am still hoping for changes/repeals on the current DRM laws and instead of laws making it illegal to bypass copy protection, to make it illegal to place DRM on software.
My recollection was, with the C64 there was a range at the outer edge of the disk that could be read, but not written to, and attempting to write to it would damage the drive. Of course, even just reading it would put an additional strain on the drive, and Commodore gleefully used this to ensure people weren't copying disks at home.Steve the Pocket said:Ha ha ha ha. Apparently you aren't aware that not only did a lot of software companies employ hardware-level copy protection on their disks, the way they did it actually caused legitimate use of their software (the original disk, not a copy) to break your disk drive if you used it too much. This is why it's very hard to find functional Commodore disk drives secondhand now. (Well, that and the fact that worn-out and unreadable disks have the same effect, which most probably are by this point.)Icehearted said:Hey, what can I say, I grew up with computers like the C-64 and such when making backup copies was actually encouraged and recommended.
Yeah... no. Okay, so, there's the prohibition on public exhibition (I think it's "exhibition," anyway) which you'll see on a warning screen for almost any DVD you purchase. What this means is, you can't slap the DVD up in front of attendees at a convention, you can't sell tickets to a viewing using the DVD, you can't run it at a neighborhood BBQ for everyone to see. When you're in your living room with your family and friends, that's not a public exhibition. So, yeah, you're fine.Steve the Pocket said:[citation needed]Icehearted said:Technically, it's against the law for a family to watch a movie they've purchased unless all viewing members have paid for the same movie.
Nope. This changes nothing. Absolutely nothing.SODAssault said:Well, that's good news for anyone that bought an iPhone
really? seems a bit odd as distinctions go. "feel free to strip the protection off your locked in proprietary computer, but only if it's portable and got a cellular antenna" it may as well say "don't bother thinking about suing jail-breakers Apple"pyrus7 said:As far as I am reading it correctly, the source document only refers to "wireless telephone handsets" and not all mobile devices. Also, the video game ruling only refers to "video games accessible on personal computers."Unrulyhandbag said:you Americans get to circumnavigate security mobile devices eh? Would that include PSP and DS?
As long as you're not pirating the entire game (something I'm firmly against) then I see no reason why you shouldn't be allowed to download a cracked .exe. It's there to "stop" piracy, and you've proven you're not a pirate by buying it.Furburt said:That crack DRM thing is very interesting. Would there be a way to argue that, I wonder, to use that in such a way that you'd be able to crack things like Ubisofts DRM as long as you've bought it legally? I'm not sure.