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A comment on TPP could thwart computer security research and tinkering. Parent comment

Re:TPP could thwart computer security research and tinkering by hellbanner on Friday October 16, 2015 @10:55AM (#10399714)
Before software, a thing's representation and underlying mechanics were inseparable. It's weird to see producers greedy over their patterns now that it is (legally) possible to distinguish between the two..

For a while it was illegal in the US to "unlock" your phone: http://www.digitaltrends.com/mobile/unlocking-your-new-smart...

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Re:TPP could thwart computer security research and tinkering by walterbell on Friday October 16, 2015 @12:38PM (#10400458)
> It's weird to see producers greedy over their patterns now that it is (legally) possible to distinguish between the two..

Could you expand on this point? E.g. are you referring to format shifting?

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Re:TPP could thwart computer security research and tinkering by hellbanner on Tuesday October 20, 2015 @05:18PM (#10421873)
Well, I'm guessing here -- but the first chair designer, when they distributed their chair, didn't include with their chair protective mechanisms to prevent users from viewing the chairs erognomics, or analyzing it with a microscope to understand its constituent parts.

Contrast this to DRM and substitute a decompiler or memory editor for a microscope.

Imagine a chair that you couldn't view but could sit in. That's what modern closed source software is, only the "you can't" is now legally enforceable thanks to the Internet.

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