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EFF has some good news

Posted by $ jlc 9 years, 5 months ago to Legislation
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Good news: EFF reports that it is now legal to jailbreak the devices you own (including your car). https://supporters.eff.org/civicrm/ma...
Brief quote from article
"The new rules for exemptions to copyright's DRM-circumvention laws were issued today, and the Librarian of Congress has granted much of what EFF asked for over the course of months of extensive briefs and hearings. The exemptions we requested—ripping DVDs and Blurays for making fair use remixes and analysis; preserving video games and running multiplayer servers after publishers have abandoned them; jailbreaking cell phones, tablets, and other portable computing devices to run third party software; and security research and modification and repairs on cars—have each been accepted, subject to some important caveats."

Jan

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  • Posted by Herb7734 9 years, 5 months ago
    Being a total Mr. Fixit cripple, I am unaffected, but my son, who was able to fix anything from the age of 7 on, will appreciate this. I think that there is a fixit gene and you're either born with it or not. I put down the age of 7 for my son because it was the first time I noticed his ability after he fixed a broken cassette recorder. Who knows what he could do at age 2? I always envied you fixit types, but I consoled myself by saying, well, I'll bet they can't do some things I can do. I haven't quite figured what that could be as yet.
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  • Posted by johnpe1 9 years, 5 months ago
    this seems to be in english, but its import just zings over me
    in the stratosphere ... is there a translation available, Jan? -- j
    .
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  • Posted by InfamousEric 9 years, 5 months ago in reply to this comment.
    I have 7 machines in my home, 5 of which run Linux, 2 windows.

    Linux is great, but the only problem I have is there is a very long pause time when sending a document to print over the network, and I can't access my surveillance camera admin.
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  • Posted by Timelord 9 years, 5 months ago in reply to this comment.
    Yup, I build all of mine, too. But as stargeezer pointed out, MS should have given you a new key. I think I remember, though, that win 7 uses more than just the CPU ID to determine if hardware has changed.
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  • Posted by stargeezer 9 years, 5 months ago in reply to this comment.
    I've replaced motherboards before and a call into MS support is all that's required. They give you a code that unlocks the key "one shot" and you are back in business. Changing hard drives doesn't cause any issue since the CPU ID is what win7 checks for.

    I'm not any kind of MS fan, but I've always found them helpful with this particular problem.
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  • Posted by samrigel 9 years, 5 months ago in reply to this comment.
    As a side note I no longer use Windows. I only use Ubuntu a flavor of Linux. Currently I am using and enjoying version 14.04 LTS. So problems associated with Microsoft and Apple I no longer need to deal with.
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  • Posted by samrigel 9 years, 5 months ago in reply to this comment.
    My new computer didn't have Windows 7 on because I build all of my computers rather than buy them. That way I get the video, sound, harddrive etc. that I want and not what is selling. On all computers there is a chip on the Motherboard that logs and maintains the serial and info on the OS that is installed. Linux is the only exception to this (doesn't use the chip) that I know of. Since Linux flavors are free. (Not Redhat) I did get around it but seeing how cleverness can sometimes get you in trouble --- enough said!
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  • Posted by Timelord 9 years, 5 months ago in reply to this comment.
    I'm sorry that happened to you but there was a way around it. If Windows is installed on a PC that buys the farm, say the hard drive crashed - cuz that's the most common, you are entitled to reinstall that copy of windows onto the repaired PC (new hard drive). Even if your motherboard got fried I think you're allowed to reinstall on the repaired machine. If they say No to that one then hang up and then call them back and say you're trying to reinstall onto a new hard drive and they will give you a new key. Or at least they're supposed to.

    I also have to ask this, why didn't your new computer already have Win 7 on it? Perhaps you built it yourself?
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  • Posted by samrigel 9 years, 5 months ago
    Why didn't they get into Microsoft's crap. If you bought a DVD to install Windows 7 on your computer and then a month later your computer takes a dump. You cannot use the copy of Windows 7 you bought to install on a new computer. Microsoft won't allow that. Been there and tried to do that. Microsoft's reason --- Oh its a new computer and the license cannot be transferred from the old to the new computer. Me - but I bought the license. MS - and you used it on the original computer. Conclusion - once installed the computer owns the license and not the bloke that bought the license. Weird.
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  • Posted by $ Thoritsu 9 years, 5 months ago
    Very pleased about this!

    If this had gone the other way, software developers would have surely prohibited add-ons and required managed IT.

    I have tweaked a couple of cars ECUs. Also detest having to watch advertisements when I buy a DVD/BlueRay, Rip/Edit. Go Makers!
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  • Posted by $ MichaelAarethun 9 years, 5 months ago in reply to this comment.
    The notion ha ha of making cars that you cannot repair on your own is pure salesmanship. IT gets you back into the building where the idea of trading permeates the walls, ceiling floor and atmosphere.
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  • Posted by CircuitGuy 9 years, 5 months ago in reply to this comment.
    In the Innovator's Dilemma it talks about how new technologies are integrated but become more modularized as they become mature. The product itself becomes commoditizes and the differentiation/innovation is in the modules. So maybe market forces will drive car makers to make the parts replaceable or at least user-servicable.
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  • Posted by $ jlc 9 years, 5 months ago in reply to this comment.
    Yes, the idea that you were not allowed to repair your own car any more was absurd. Even though this process seems to be rather labor-intensive, I think it changes the default in the direction of letting you dink with things for your own use.

    Jan
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  • Posted by CircuitGuy 9 years, 5 months ago
    Very cool. Despite the obvious problems and setback, I see the long-term arc of the world as moving toward increased liberty. This is a nice little example.
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