Red Hat has struck a small blow against the DMCA, by publishing a security patch which can only be explained fully to people who are not within US jurisdiction. The company’s position here seems to be not altogether voluntary – according to a spokesman “it is bizarre, and unfortunately something Red Hat cannot easily do much about,” but like it or not Red Hat has been recruited to the campaign to make the DMCA look ridiculous.
If I Tell You That, I’ll Have to kill you: Red Hat Fights the DMCA
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Eugenia Loli
Ex-programmer, ex-editor in chief at OSNews.com, now a visual artist/filmmaker.
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“…Red Hat has been recruited to the campaign to make the DMCA look ridiculous.”
it IS ridiculous….
oh well… at least it shows that our elected leaders have a sense of humor
i think when the votin’ starts next time that should be one of the top issues… “do you support the dmca and/or the new bills disney/hollings are pushing? you do? will you really be surprised when you find yourself unemployed and your opponent gets voted in?”
Ask any of those who are claiming that revealing this patch would violate the DMCA to tell you exactly how it would violate the DMCA, and watch the blank stare you get back.
Stunts like this one by Alan Cox, et al, do not help fight the DMCA, because this patch is not a DMCA issue. They are trying to create outlandish examples of things that they think they MIGHT be able to make a case for being illegal under the DMCA, but by doing so they do not help fight the DMCA in any way whatsoever, because their stunts are dismissed for being nothing more than comedy. They do not educate people about the real harms in the DMCA by doing this, and they do not help fight the DMCA and get it overturned or repealed.
If Alan Cox, et al, spent as much effort in doing REAL things to fight the DMCA, I’d be impressed, as it is, it is just another boring stunt.
i think when the votin’ starts next time that should be one of the top issues… “do you support the dmca and/or the new bills disney/hollings are pushing?
Everyone that was in office at the time voted for the DMCA, that should make things easier to figure out.
the DMCA can hardly be called a mature piece of legislation, it has barely begun to have exposure in the courts to date. this kind of stunt by Red Hat is just what we need more of to publicize the reach of this legislation. like it or not it has to work its way through the legal process and any news about potential risks of running afoul of the DMCA, regardless how silly, should be shouted from the rooftops. the mainstream consumer public in the US has barely even heard of this legislation.
>Everyone that was in office at the time voted for the DMCA
do you really think the the legislators who voted for the DMCA really understood what they were doing, I mean other than collecting money from the entertainment lobby?
Unless these kernel guys don’t want any information about security flaws out, Red Hat has nothing to fear. Oh well, Alan Cox, see what you have done?
Well, PK, they decided they prefer watching the lastest soap opera (think Clinton weds. Lewinsky) rather than read a boring bill. 🙂
Besides, there are Congressmen and Congresswomen that doesn’t support the DMCA, otherwise there wouldn’t be the Digital Choice and Freedom Act. (http://www.sfgate.com/technology/beat/)
Why doesn’t Redhat simply close up shop in the US, move to New Zealand, offer all their employees the chance to move and retain their jobs.
This would solve:
1) They can post security annoucements to their hearts content.
2) Production is cheaper in New Zealand. Look at what you have now. Good. Now, halve the price. Yeap. Cheaper. Same thing, except cheaper. All thanks to our old friend the FOREX (Foreign exchange market)
Why not just move to Hyberabab in India? Cheaper, yet more advance than anything Kiwi? 🙂
Why not just move to Hyberabab in India? Cheaper, yet more advance than anything Kiwi? 🙂
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I guess you’ve never been to India? it is like Somalia except with 300% humidity plus a terrible stink that just hangs around, no matter what air freshner you use.
No thankyou, I’ll stick to windy Wellington, which has the shortest run way in the world, and the strongest crosswind, thus, making is a very, hmm, exciting place to land a plane, especially at night.
Plus, they don’t have a rugby team. Sure, they have cricket, howver, what does one watch in winter?
They embargoed cuba, and all that means is that US citizens have to go to canada or mexico to sample the delicious treat known as the Cuban Cigar. It really does’t hurt cuba, honestly. It hurts american citizens, must like the DMCA does, but this law hurts anyone within jurisdictional range.
Everyone with sense just wants to stop high speed duplicators who scam dvd’s and black market them, but sure! Let’s just throw people like Mitnick in jail and forbid them from using a computer. We’ll kev, you can use mine anytime buddy! I’d like to see some court order from some judge who obviously doesn’t know he’s not even computer illiterate, but also mouse illiterate!
That goes for legislators in washington who signed the dmca.
FOR SHAME!