CITP Blog - Formerly Freedom to Tinker

Category: Uncategorized

  • Terrorist Website Hoaxer Responds

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    Brian McWilliams, who perpetrated the terrorist website hoax I wrote about yesterday, has now posted his response, including a quasi-apology. [Link credit: Politech]

  • Static Control Files for DMCA Exemption

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    I wrote previously about the lawsuit filed by printer maker Lexmark against Static Control, a maker of toner cartridge remanufacturing parts. Lexmark claims that Static Control is violating the DMCA by making toner cartridges that do what is necessary to work in Lexmark printers. The Copyright Office has allowed Static Control to file a late…

  • Terrorist Website Hoax

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    This one leaves me speechless. According to a fascinating story over at ComputerWorld, tech journalist Brian McWilliams has admitted to running a hoax website that claimed to be the site of a scary real-world terrorist group. He even arranged to have the fake site “defaced” by (fictitious) anti-terrorist hackers, and he created a hoax message…

  • Valenti Interview

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    If you’re interested in technology regulation, don’t miss Derek Slater’s interview with MPAA chief Jack Valenti, in Harvard Political Review. Slater asks only four questions about copyright and technology, but in answering those four short questions Valenti manages to display amazing ignorance of both copyright law and technology. Don’t believe me? Here is Valenti on…

  • Still More on Programs vs. Data

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    My previous postings on the program vs. data distinction have drawn quite a few comments. (To see them, click the “followups” links on my previous postings.) I’m going to let the conversation settle a bit before commenting again. But just to stir things up, here is another challenging case. Some programs are never meant to…

  • Spread of the Slammer/Sapphire Worm

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    A new paper by well-regarded networking researchers analyzes the spread of the recent Slammer/Sapphire worm. The worm spread at astonishing speed, doubling the number of infected hosts every 8.5 seconds, and infecting 90% of the susceptible machines on the Net within ten minutes. Researchers had predicted that such fast-spreading worms could exist, but this is…

  • More on Programs vs. Data

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    Karl-Friedrich Lenz reacts to my previous posting on how to distinguish programs from data, by insisting on the importance of having a simple definition of “program.” He is right about the value of a simple definition. And he is right to observe that my previous posting doesn’t argue against the existence of such a definition,…

  • Standards, or Collusion?

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    John T. Mitchell at InteractionLaw writes about the potential antitrust implications of backroom deals between copyright owners and technology makers. If a copyright holder were to agree with the manufacturers of the systems for making lawful copies and of the systems for playing them to eliminate all trade in lawful copies unless each transaction (each…

  • Programs vs. Data

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    Maximillian Dornseif asks how one can draw the line between programs and data. This is important because the law often treats the two differently. He concludes that no clear line can be drawn. This is a more difficult question than non-techies might think. A key attribute of the “von Neumann architecture” of today’s computers is…

  • Wacky Biometrics

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    I heard a presentation today by an expert on biometric security devices. He mentioned two new biometric devices under development. The first one uses body odor, detecting the unique combination of chemicals by your body. The second one fits on a chair; you sit on it and it measures the unique shape and weight distribution…