Violating the DMCA however is another matter. As a(n) (exclusively) linux user I am left with no choice but to violate the copyright protection mechanism circumvention clause of that particular law in order to consume content that I have legally purchased. Despite having purchased many DVDs I don't own a device which will allow me to view these DVDs without violating said law. Therefore I am a criminal based on my choice of operating system. I am not violating copyright law. I am using content which I have lawfully purchased and have the right to use. The DMCA, however, prohibits my use of that lawfully obtained material. The DMCA trumps the intent of copyright law (which happens to also be spiralling wildly out of balance in the favor of the publishers/content providers). For additional information regarding these issues check out Lawrence Lessig's book Free Culture ... it is available here: http://www.free-culture.cc/freecontent/ under a creative commons license which permits free copying/redistribution etc (check its license). Unfortunately Mike, you would have exposed yourself less legally had you waited for the movie to come out on DVD and then shop lifted it from a retail store. What are the penalties for shoplifting if its your first offense? A few hundred dollars? A single instance of copyright violation is about $150,000. Or $300/hour to defend yourself with a lawyer if you have a case. But this is all worst case scenario ... it is possible that compliance with the letter or something else is sufficient ... a scare or slap on the wrist ... will make them happy. You know ... the thing that really ... ahem ... annoys me is that none of this is a matter of whether or not you have broken the law. Lets say that you just suck at running a computer ... and you have been rooted for weeks and SOMEONE else is doing this ... or perhaps you have an unsecured wireless network at home. YOU COULD BE COMPLETELY INNOCENT YET COMPLETELY HELPLESS because to fight them would cost outrageous ammounts of money. I won't argue for a second about the copyright holders right to have some control over their content. But the world is changing and the government needs to strike the balance between what is good for the country as a whole and what is good for the copyright holders. With 90 year copyrights and insane penalties for violating the law things have become a bit absurd. Hopefully it will right itself ... or rather those with the power to make the changes make the right decisions. Otherwise ... we will all continue to be criminals soley based on our choice of OS. Which in my opinion is a bunch of crap-ola. Austin Alan Dayley wrote: > JD Austin said: > >>Your first mistake was contacting cox, unless you didn't admit it. > > > The first mistake was infringing on someones copyright without a license. > > Granted, there are tales of letters sent based on filenames similar or the > same as a movie that had nothing to do with infringing anything. That is > stupidity on the MPAA or whoever to send the letter without real research. > This does not excuse actual infringment. > > I am adimant about this point mainly for this reason: The GPL and most, if > not all, Free Software and Open Source Software licenses derive their > enforcement power and respect from the strength of copyright law. Period. > Without copyright, these licenses would not be enforcable. The FS/OSS > community and goals depend on the enforcability of these licenses. > > If I (we) expect others to respect and follow these licenses, I (we) must > respect and follow the copyrights and licenses of others. Period. Is it > inconvenient that I cannot copy someone else's work because of their > copyright and license? Sure. Is it inconvenient for SCO that they > cannot just appropriate Linux as their code to use as they will? Sure. > Are the current pratices and business models of many industries, > especially the entertainment industry, brain dead? Yes. BUT I (we) must > respect their right to control their copyrighted work just as I expect > them to respect mine. > > I suggest that all PLUGgers and FS/OSS users should not be copyright > infringers. It hurts FS/OSS goals. > > Alan > > > > --------------------------------------------------- > PLUG-discuss mailing list - PLUG-discuss@lists.plug.phoenix.az.us > To subscribe, unsubscribe, or to change you mail settings: > http://lists.PLUG.phoenix.az.us/mailman/listinfo/plug-discuss --------------------------------------------------- PLUG-discuss mailing list - PLUG-discuss@lists.plug.phoenix.az.us To subscribe, unsubscribe, or to change you mail settings: http://lists.PLUG.phoenix.az.us/mailman/listinfo/plug-discuss