🚀 go-pugleaf

In article <42047@mentor.cc.purdue.edu> smithmc@mentor.cc.purdue.edu (Scooby Doo) writes:
>BTW- I heard that our worldwide net.anarchy is about to be restricted; the
>Justice Dept. wants telecommunications companies to bug every modem they
>produce from now on, so they can "look for hackers." (This according to the
>Chicago Tribune, March 20 1992)
>	How much do y'all want to bet that they're going to monitor any net
>transmissions we make, in order to prevent "possible subversion" and "Un-
>American Activities" (ie orginization of net.grass-roots protest movements?)

>I know I'm sticking close to my friends in Electrical Engeneering Technology
>so I can get a home-made, bug free modem after these regulations are approved!

I think this is an example of a law that is more useless than it is
dangerous.  Remember (think of me as one of your friends in EET) that
ultimately (barring widespread fiber and/or ISDN lines, which seems
safe for a while), your modem hooks up to two little wires.  The best
bit rate over those two little wires is only a little bit better than
the audio that some current computers can manipulate.  By the time
that bill passes and the law takes effect, you might be able to build
a fairly passable modem out of parts from America's Technology Store
and some signal processing software.  After all, what do you think is
in the modems that you buy today?

This is similar to the brain damage afflicting the (now dead, I
believe) attempts to require trap doors on encryption devices.  Take
one modem, add one computer, add bootleg RSA encryption software, and
away you go.  (If encryption is criminal, only criminals will
encrypt.)

And (I am told) this is why attempts to make DAT copy-proof are
basically doomed -- given a DAT drive on a sufficiently powerful
computer with CD quality sound, I've got my DAT stereo.  In the short
run this solution will be unavailable to most people (because it is
too expensive), but in the longer run it could easily happen.  And, if
not for DAT, then for some other recording technology.  Sooner or
later, the comparisons between "Free Software" and "Free Music" will
become quite relevant.

Oh yeah -- returning to the original thread (of this article) -- think
about what could happen *if* fiber were strung to every home and
office.  What if you *could* send CD-quality sound at 8 times faster
than real-time (i.e, 72 minutes of music in 9 minutes)?

David Chase
Sun