IRC: #techbytes @ FreeNode: Sunday, December 06, 2020

> <https://miro.medium.com/max/4000/1*q4caF4xbAQumVUysRordOw.png>

schestowitz

schestowitz

schestowitz

> Personally I think it's better to take a hard line against DRM.

schestowitz

schestowitz

> I've been boycotting Sony products for the past 15 years because they

schestowitz

> installed a rootkit to protect their audio CDs.

> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sony_BMG_copy_protection_rootkit_scandal

schestowitz

-TechBytesBot/#techbytes-en.wikipedia.org | Sony BMG copy protection rootkit scandal - Wikipedia

> <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sony_BMG_copy_protection_rootkit_scandal>

schestowitz

schestowitz

schestowitz

> If you support DRM, the people who produce this sort of software want

schestowitz

> increasing control of the entire platform. Saying you support it in

schestowitz

> userspace but not the kernel is one heck of a slippery slope, because

schestowitz

> the same companies who produce DRM in userspace are also seeking methods

schestowitz

> that require kernel support.

schestowitz

schestowitz

> It's a bit like saying GNOME saying theyre're against racism and take it

schestowitz

> seriously but not "reverse-racism"-- DRM in userspace and DRM in the

schestowitz

> kernel ultimately have the same effect, whether you mean it

schestowitz

> technologically or politically.

schestowitz

schestowitz

> But people who were playing audio CDs on their computer were treated to

schestowitz

> a "DRM" scheme that basically gave Sony (and anybody who knew how to

schestowitz

> take advantage of the rootkit in place) root access to your computer.

schestowitz

schestowitz

> This is the real mindset producers of DRM have, and the ethics of

schestowitz

> companies trying to own the products they sell you after purchase is

schestowitz

> simply the opposite of what free software stands for.

schestowitz

schestowitz

> The idea that it can be a grey area is sort of wishful thinking. DRM

schestowitz

> isn't simply non-free, it's almost Ultra-non-free. To control one game,

schestowitz

> or even one file, it would control the firmware if possible.

schestowitz

schestowitz

> But just from a political standpoint, saying "we are against DRM except

schestowitz

> for games" is a very weak stance. One or two years after I started

schestowitz

> boycotting Sony, I started boycotting Amazon because they made

schestowitz

> Stallman's "Right to Read" into a true story.

schestowitz

schestowitz

> These are companies who treat people like criminals for using their own

schestowitz

> computer to access their own purchases-- these are companies who

schestowitz

> detained Dmitry Sklyarov for helping people access BOOKS on their computer.

schestowitz

schestowitz

> I'm against the death penalty, even for treason-- but if someone had

schestowitz

> these people were lined up against a wall in a revolution, I'd be going

schestowitz

> to watch them die with popcorn in hand.

schestowitz

schestowitz

> I don't want to do business with them-- I don't want those businesses to

schestowitz

> succeed. The world neither needs such people or such companies.

schestowitz

schestowitz

> If I start making exceptions, it truly weakens my argument when I tell

schestowitz

> people "this is evil, we shouldn't tolerate this". Especially for books.

schestowitz

schestowitz

> "But for games it's cool, right?"

schestowitz

schestowitz

> "Oh, sure-- I mean that's *totally different*!"

schestowitz

schestowitz

> I'm sorry Roy, but if you support DRM for games, that's only helping

schestowitz

> (not fighting) DRM for books. That's not the society I want to build.

schestowitz

schestowitz

> And what am I supposed to say when I tell people I'm against telemetry

schestowitz

> in Mozilla, but not DRM in games? It's not like DRM can't (or never

schestowitz

> does) include examples of Every Single Kind of malware we have ever

schestowitz

> complained about.

schestowitz

schestowitz

> Can YOU "pick your battles?" Sure you can. But does supporting DRM hurt

schestowitz

> every other battle you engage in? You betcha. I'm against all DRM, the

schestowitz

> same way I'm against all fascist dictators. Call me picky.

schestowitz

schestowitz

> Finally, *DRM* (and especially DRM with DMCA-like laws, which are

schestowitz

> typically American in origin but tend to be even worse in other

schestowitz

> countries that implement them) *circumvents first sale doctrine*.

schestowitz

schestowitz

> First sale says that regardless of copyright, what you buy, you own that

schestowitz

> copy. Not so in France, where if you buy a painting your rights could be

schestowitz

> limited and you may need the artists permission to even resell it.

schestowitz

schestowitz

> First sale is what makes libraries and used-book shops legal, and it

schestowitz

> outweighs copyright which controls ADDITIONAL copies, not YOUR OWN copy

schestowitz

> (more or less).

schestowitz

schestowitz

> First sale doctrine is a VERY important right, both for software and ALL

schestowitz

> copyrightable works-- and it is eroded by ANY exceptions made in favour

schestowitz

> of DRM.

schestowitz

schestowitz

> I LOVE first sale doctrine. DRM is its mortal enemy. I support free

schestowitz

> games, but non-free games are not important enough to erode first sale

schestowitz

> doctrine, or give a foothold to DRM in other media like books-- sorry.

schestowitz

schestowitz

> When people who erode our freedom want to do foolish things, they use

schestowitz

> magical thinking like "secure backdoors" (no such thing) and "we removed

schestowitz

> personally-identifying information" (in practice, the personal identity

schestowitz

> can often be rebuilt, as each datapoint acts like the loop or whorl of a

schestowitz

> real fingerprint -- as the EFF pointed out with their work on browser

schestowitz

> fingerprinting).

schestowitz

schestowitz

> I'm afraid that even with your good intentions: let's bring more people

schestowitz

> to free software, the idea that you can support DRM just for games is a

schestowitz

> similar form of magical thinking.

schestowitz

schestowitz

> In other words: it isn't really possible to support some DRM without the

schestowitz

> cost of helping it take over further. It's not a slippery slope fallacy

schestowitz

> if you can show it happening reliably, as a function or a reliable

schestowitz

> result of the action being discouraged.

schestowitz

schestowitz

> Ultimately if you support DRM for games, you WILL get more DRM in other

schestowitz

> places. If you don't support DRM in other places, you really ought not

schestowitz

> to support it for games. The neat separation you would like to support,

schestowitz

> simply doesn't exist in reality. And just like with "secure backdoors"--

schestowitz

> that neat separation you want to support really isn't even possible to

schestowitz

> create in the first place.

schestowitz

schestowitz

> But of course, we don't have to agree. My position is nonetheless that

schestowitz

> what you're proposing is not only less ideal, it is impossible.

schestowitz

Your message is based on a misunderstanding. I don't welcome games with DRM, but I welcome users who might also use Steam on GNU/Linux. Some say they're a liability and harm.

*rianne has quit (Ping timeout: 240 seconds)

Dec 06 01:40

*liberty_box has quit (Ping timeout: 272 seconds)

Dec 06 01:41

*rianne (~rianne@host81-154-173-106.range81-154.btcentralplus.com) has joined #techbytes

Dec 06 02:04

*liberty_box (~liberty@host81-154-173-106.range81-154.btcentralplus.com) has joined #techbytes

Dec 06 02:04

*rianne has quit (Ping timeout: 256 seconds)

Dec 06 03:27

*liberty_box has quit (Ping timeout: 272 seconds)

Dec 06 03:27

*rianne (~rianne@host81-154-173-106.range81-154.btcentralplus.com) has joined #techbytes

Dec 06 03:32

*liberty_box (~liberty@host81-154-173-106.range81-154.btcentralplus.com) has joined #techbytes

Dec 06 03:32

*elevators (~renatogeh@103.154.98.20) has joined #techbytes

Dec 06 03:43

*liberty_box has quit (Ping timeout: 240 seconds)

Dec 06 05:20

*rianne has quit (Ping timeout: 260 seconds)

Dec 06 05:20

*rianne (~rianne@host81-154-173-106.range81-154.btcentralplus.com) has joined #techbytes

Dec 06 05:31

*liberty_box (~liberty@host81-154-173-106.range81-154.btcentralplus.com) has joined #techbytes

Dec 06 05:33

*liberty_box has quit (Ping timeout: 240 seconds)

Dec 06 06:37

*rianne__ (~rianne@host81-154-173-106.range81-154.btcentralplus.com) has joined #techbytes

Dec 06 06:37

*liberty_box (~liberty@host81-154-173-106.range81-154.btcentralplus.com) has joined #techbytes

Dec 06 06:38

*rianne has quit (Remote host closed the connection)

Dec 06 06:38

schestowitz

> *I'm feeling good right now as my favorite device for editing the weblog

Dec 06 07:43

schestowitz

> is my laptop, but I was having all kinds of trouble, which I won’t

Dec 06 07:43

schestowitz

> detail and I did not ask for your help because the iPhone and iPad were

schestowitz

> working perfectly, Tonight, an idea popped into my head, and I gave it a

schestowitz

> try. I simply changed browsers from Safari to Google Chome and all is

schestowitz

> better than normal and faster too.*

schestowitz

Safari is a really terrible browser, for a lot of reasons.

schestowitz

I guess Safari was at fault.

schestowitz

> *I feel today’s posting and the goodies posted for tomorrow will set

schestowitz

> highs for traffic…is there anyway you can let me know on Monday if

schestowitz

> my hunch is correct?*

schestowitz

Remind me if i forget.

schestowitz

> *Also, newsworthy. For my birthday, my daughter gave me a home exerciser

schestowitz

> that I love. The speed settings are from 1 to 50 and I gradually get to

schestowitz

> 50 and stay there, I am on it about 30 minutes daily and have lost 6

schestowitz

> pounds, but that took some dieting as well as exercise. The

schestowitz

> machine itself is a vibrating plate. The info panel on top shows time in

schestowitz

> use, pulse rate, my set speed or the programmed setting. It’s great for

schestowitz

> oldies like me and I strongly recommend it. *

schestowitz

> *P.S. The Yoga cords are a bitch as I have lost a lot of arm muscle…I

schestowitz

> cannot raise my arm straight up to 180 degrees, but I am about 3/4 of

schestowitz

> the way, so soon I should be able to do that.*

schestowitz

Are you still jogging along the beach where we went? Also, is that allowed and is safe?

schestowitz

COVID is taking out its full brunt on the US now.

schestowitz

schestowitz

Hi Roy,

schestowitz

Eric Goldman wanted to share the following Sec. 230 ebook news with you.

schestowitz

With President Trump threatening to veto military funding unless it repeals Section 230, it is vital that defenders and critics understand this provision which protects platforms from being sued for content on their sites.

schestowitz

Santa Clara University School of Law Professor Eric Goldman, a national expert on Sec. 230, has co-created the Zeran v. America Online ebook, with U.S. Naval Academy cybersecurity professor Jeff Kosseff. The ebook is available for free at SSRN; SCU Digital Commons; or Google Play. Goldman discussed the ebook in a Techdirt post today.

schestowitz

schestowitz

--------

schestowitz

I've put this terminal in desktop 4

schestowitz

ytalk confuses me in the way it clears buffers a lot

schestowitz

and I lose sight of things I wrote

schestowitz

yes, it's not so good for logging

schestowitz

chat is ephemeral

schestowitz

>> which medium was used? acryllic?

Dec 06 08:26

schestowitz

Not sure if krita

Dec 06 08:26

schestowitz

I finish work in 30 mins

Dec 06 08:26

schestowitz

wanna helo w/ PDFs (EPO)?

Dec 06 08:27

schestowitz

*help

Dec 06 08:27

schestowitz

> In principle, but I am slow at reading and may miss a lot.

Dec 06 08:27

*schestowitz thinking how to make best use of ytalk

schestowitz

>> Be sure to re-key the PDFs. They are scripts

schestowitz

>> There is also Mumble on this server.

schestowitz

mumble we used for techbytes a few times, it's impressive

schestowitz

> The sound quality for that is much better than the mobile phones.

schestowitz

our landlines are in a bad state, we use 4 cheap handsets

Dec 06 08:29

schestowitz

>> It has a lot of group capabilities.

Dec 06 08:29

schestowitz

I asked rianne yesterday if we can make videos/audio of most articles, like Lunduke does with his

schestowitz

>> Yes, the last conversation we had was very hard to understand the speech.

schestowitz

But my camera and mics are cheapo shite

schestowitz

schestowitz

That would be good to add to Oddyssee

schestowitz

or LBRY

schestowitz

or any other competitor to YouTube

schestowitz

schestowitz

we use peertube now, the blender channel

schestowitz

schestowitz

Mics are inexpensive, if you can order one in a reasonable time.

schestowitz

I think the shipping is backlogged some weeks now, at the least.

schestowitz

Peertube is also a good choice.

schestowitz

schestowitz

brb

schestowitz

The camera is not necessary, an artwork could be used for visuals.

Dec 06 08:32

schestowitz

back. thinking was, if I proofread, I could just as well record, then go on a tangent

Dec 06 08:33

schestowitz

downside: workflow related to upload, even sans editing, not to mention storage

Dec 06 08:34

schestowitz

awfully slow news site, we might need to rethink how to juggle which things

schestowitz

schestowitz

Audacity is nice for recording audio.

schestowitz

Storage is a lot more than text, though.

schestowitz

schestowitz

will think further re this

schestowitz

Tim was a cop

schestowitz

2010

schestowitz

schestowitz

the editing will take some time.

schestowitz

Yeah I recall that being mentioned after the fact.

schestowitz

Dec 06 08:37

schestowitz

>> 2010 sucked in general

Dec 06 08:43

schestowitz

Varghese is 70% spam

Dec 06 08:43

schestowitz

Like scripted shit

Dec 06 08:43

schestowitz

"his Week In Techdirt History" - can we filter those?

Dec 06 08:44

schestowitz

schestowitz

I don't read him much any more, perhaps that is why.

schestowitz

I can remove "This Week In Techdirt History" from the automated links.

schestowitz

Yes

schestowitz

schestowitz

I think first paragraph in counterpunch is no longer promotional either

https://liliputing.com/2020/12/linux-pc-company-zareason-goes-out-of-business-due-to-covid-19.html

schestowitz

-TechBytesBot/#techbytes-liliputing.com | Linux PC company ZaReason goes out of business due to COVID-19 - Liliputing

schestowitz

"via Tux Machines and Phoronix"

schestowitz

schestowitz

ok I'll adjust Counterpunch, too

schestowitz

Scraping is brittle though

schestowitz

Congrats!

schestowitz

schestowitz

schestowitz

Ok, automated feeds will now skip This Week In Techdirt History

schestowitz

starting tomorrow

schestowitz

Counterpunch will be just as easy but require a bit of focus

schestowitz

can't multitask that

schestowitz

Regarding Varghese and SJVN, I wonder what editorial changes have taken place

schestowitz

and forced writing the way they do nowadays.

schestowitz

schestowitz

you answered the question: "forced writing"

Dec 06 08:55

schestowitz

That's the real product

Dec 06 08:55

*rianne__ has quit (Ping timeout: 240 seconds)

Dec 06 09:25

*liberty_box has quit (Ping timeout: 240 seconds)

Dec 06 09:25

*rianne__ (~rianne@host81-154-173-106.range81-154.btcentralplus.com) has joined #techbytes

Dec 06 09:30

*liberty_box (~liberty@host81-154-173-106.range81-154.btcentralplus.com) has joined #techbytes

Dec 06 09:32

schestowitz

> ok, both changes have been made to the feed scraper. Check tomorrow's automated feed to be sure.

Dec 06 09:44

schestowitz

will do

Dec 06 09:44

schestowitz

I have just turned off rering as per https://linux.die.net/man/1/ytalk

Dec 06 10:46

-TechBytesBot/#techbytes-linux.die.net | ytalk(1): multi-user chat program - Linux man page

Dec 06 10:46

schestowitz

schestowitz

schestowitz

There is also prompt-rering

schestowitz

x https://www.forbes.com/sites/alanohnsman/2020/12/03/meet-the-worlds-newest-and-youngest-self-made-billionaire-luminars-austin-russell/?sh=619a6ff2123b

*rianne__ has quit (Remote host closed the connection)

Dec 06 13:36

*rianne__ (~rianne@host81-154-173-106.range81-154.btcentralplus.com) has joined #techbytes

Dec 06 13:36

*GNUmoon2 has quit (Remote host closed the connection)

Dec 06 14:49

schestowitz

Dec 06 16:58

-TechBytesBot/#techbytes-www.forbes.com | Meet The World’s Newest—And Youngest—Self-Made Billionaire: Luminar’s Austin Russell

Dec 06 16:58

schestowitz

# too much of the article is about His Billness and not the kid.

Dec 06 16:58

*liberty_box has quit (Ping timeout: 240 seconds)

Dec 06 17:23

*rianne__ has quit (Ping timeout: 240 seconds)

Dec 06 17:23

*rianne__ (~rianne@host81-154-173-106.range81-154.btcentralplus.com) has joined #techbytes

Dec 06 17:29

*liberty_box (~liberty@host81-154-173-106.range81-154.btcentralplus.com) has joined #techbytes

Dec 06 17:31

*rianne__ has quit (Ping timeout: 240 seconds)

Dec 06 17:38

*liberty_box has quit (Ping timeout: 265 seconds)

Dec 06 17:39

*rianne__ (~rianne@host81-154-173-106.range81-154.btcentralplus.com) has joined #techbytes

Dec 06 17:58

*liberty_box (~liberty@host81-154-173-106.range81-154.btcentralplus.com) has joined #techbytes

Dec 06 17:59

*randomgry (~test@unaffiliated/gryllida) has joined #techbytes

Dec 06 18:34

*gry has quit (Ping timeout: 240 seconds)

Dec 06 18:34

*randomgry is now known as gry

Dec 06 18:36

schestowitz

http://ipkitten.blogspot.com/2020/12/is-it-time-to-move-on-from-ai-inventor.html?showComment=1607077411473#c3744325269751780072

-TechBytesBot/#techbytes-ipkitten.blogspot.com | Is it time to move on from the AI inventor debate? - The IPKat

schestowitz

schestowitz

Link should now be fixed. The paper can also be read here:

https://academic.oup.com/grurint/article/69/5/443/5854752

schestowitz

http://ipkitten.blogspot.com/2020/12/is-it-time-to-move-on-from-ai-inventor.html?showComment=1607076566935#c1854647431972218393

schestowitz

schestowitz

schestowitz

When I want to look at the paper: "AI-Generated Inventions’: Time to Get the Record Straight?" I get the following error message:

-TechBytesBot/#techbytes-academic.oup.com | ‘AI-Generated Inventions’: Time to Get the Record Straight? | GRUR International | Oxford Academic

-TechBytesBot/#techbytes-ipkitten.blogspot.com | Is it time to move on from the AI inventor debate? - The IPKat

schestowitz

Your session has timed out. Please go back to the article page and click the PDF link again.

schestowitz

Any help?

schestowitz

schestowitz

schestowitz

Dear Rose,

schestowitz

Many thanks!

schestowitz

https://twitter.com/jcjames_ca/status/1335278593178480640

*GNUmoon2 (~GNUmoon@gateway/tor-sasl/gnumoon) has joined #techbytes

Dec 06 22:10

schestowitz

-TechBytesBot/#techbytes-@jcjames_ca: "A proposed new exemption for circumvention of technological protection measures on computer programs for the purpo… https://t.co/mQGvOBH6qO

-TechBytesBot/#techbytes-@jcjames_ca: "A proposed new exemption for circumvention of technological protection measures on computer programs for the purpo… https://t.co/mQGvOBH6qO

schestowitz

schestowitz

Jc James

schestowitz

@jcjames_ca

schestowitz

schestowitz

Dec 5

schestowitz

"A proposed new exemption for circumvention of technological protection measures on computer programs for the purpose of: (a) investigating potential copyright infringement [...]; and (b) making lawful use of computer programs [...].”

schestowitz

https://twitter.com/jcjames_ca/status/1335231154627162113

schestowitz

-TechBytesBot/#techbytes-@jcjames_ca: Something that deserves strong attention: "The European Patent Office (EPO) has been granting software patents al… https://t.co/hONt22ueQx

-TechBytesBot/#techbytes-@jcjames_ca: Something that deserves strong attention: "The European Patent Office (EPO) has been granting software patents al… https://t.co/hONt22ueQx

https://twitter.com/rufoguerreschi/status/1335230444930015233

schestowitz

-TechBytesBot/#techbytes-@rufoguerreschi: @schestowitz We can both radically increase the state-of-the-art of IT privacy and ensure their legitimatr lawful a… https://t.co/bBZBSNjdOY

-TechBytesBot/#techbytes-@rufoguerreschi: @schestowitz We can both radically increase the state-of-the-art of IT privacy and ensure their legitimatr lawful a… https://t.co/bBZBSNjdOY

schestowitz

"We can both radically increase the state-of-the-art of IT privacy and ensure their legitimatr lawful access (in-person offline) by applying the same extreme transparency, safeguards and oversight to all critical techs and processes involved, here's how:"