[FYI] EFF's Gilmore calls for CPRM hardware boycott

["Axel H Horns" <horns@ipjur.com>]

http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/2/15686.html

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EFF's Gilmore calls for CPRM hardware boycott  

By: Andrew Orlowski in San Francisco  

Posted: 26/12/2000 at 09:35 GMT  

John Gilmore, co-founder of the Electronic Freedom Foundation, has 
urged users to boycott hardware containing CPRM copy-control 
mechanisms. Last week we broke a story of moves to build CPRM 
(Copyright Protection for Recordable Media) cryptography into the 
industry standard ATA hard disk specification. If implemented, the 
initiative could rapidly end the use of the PC and new emerging 
devices for freely exchanging audio, video and information.  

Users, says Gilmore, should demand a policy declaration from vendors 
that they eschew "covertly controlled hardware", and only buy 
products that are truly open, he argues in a post to the C2 crypto 
mailing list.  

"No copy protection should exist ANYWHERE in generic computer 
hardware! It's up to the BUYER to determine what to use their product 
for," writes Gilmore. "It's not up to the vendors of generic 
hardware, and certainly not up to a record company that's shadily 
influencing those vendors in back-room meetings."  

Gilmore says moves are also taking place to build copy-control into 
monitors ... BIOSes and the operating systems. Some of these we've 
heard of but, not all - but if you have then get in touch.  

[...]

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