296 lines
12 KiB
Plaintext
296 lines
12 KiB
Plaintext
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**************************************************
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* ..... The Griffin ..... *
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* Presents: *
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* *
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* Freedom of Data Processing *
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* Part One! *
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* *
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* by Michael E. Marotta *
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* (From Loompanics Unlimited 1987 Main Catalog) *
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**************************************************
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(Griffin's Note: This article refers to it being
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or happening in America although
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as I figure from reading this
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article, it could easily happen
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in Canada as well.)
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"A well-informed citizenry being essen-
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tial to the betterment of our republic,
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the right of the people to own and use
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computers shall not be abridged."
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(proposed Amendment to the Constitution)
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Your computer is your newest tool for securing
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and expanding your freedom. While earlier ages
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gave real political and economic power to those
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who rode horses or wore armor or carried fire-
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arms, today, real power is wielded by those who
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can use a computer.
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The "computer revolution" is all but over. If
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you do not know how to use a computer, you are
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illiterate. If you can't write a program, you are
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poor in a society where information is wealth. If
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you can't follow a menu or a manual, you are
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isolated in a world of mass communication.
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Over the last 30 years, we have experienced a
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rapid acceleration of this trend toward an economy
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driven by the transfer of information.
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A fisherman uses his computer to keep track of
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his catches. Over the years he has used BASIC,
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VISI-CALC and now dBase III to build a database
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which includes the date of the catch, the species,
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weight and length of the fish, the water
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temperature, air temperature and pressure, and the
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lure of bait.
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A farmer has just bought a used personal
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computer and a new herd management program. He
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knows that it will be years before he and his sons
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will be able to go back over the accumulated data
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to set a proper course for the management of their
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land and livestock over the next 12 years. In the
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meantime, they calculate their incomes & expenses
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on a monthly basis. And the youngest learns the
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ABC's with a Sesame Street diskette.
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Using a personal computer, a financial analyst
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can keep track of: the New York Stock Exchange;
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the American Stock Exchange; several regional
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stock exchanges; Comdex (Commodities Exchange);
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London and Hong Kong Gold; Fannie Mae, Ginnie Mae,
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Sallie Mae; Treasury Balance and T-Bill rates; and
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more. Most important is the fact that this analyst
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can run these raw data through various econometric
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models to test for short and long-term trends,
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seek out maximum profits from interest rates and
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brokerage fees, and minimize taxation by comparing
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investments in different states and nations.
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Today, we are witnessing the culmination of a
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trend. Personal computing is now a "given." Some-
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one who lives frugally can purchase a used com-
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puter with a CRT, 48K of RAM, and two single
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density drives for about $200. A person who is
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employed at a high-tech or unionized job can
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afford the same level of computer power enjoyed by
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corporations and governments. We are at a stage
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in history where the average individual can be a
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data processing centre.
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Naturally, goverments don't want this to happen.
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In Britain, the government now requires everyone
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with a database to inform the State of what data
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they hold and how they got it. The law was passed
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(ostensibly) to protect people from unauthorized
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transfer of data about them by private organi-
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zations. Of course, the law does not apply to the
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government.
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While such draconian measures are not neces-
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sarily part of America's future, some trends can
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easily push us into a fascist society. For one
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thing, the election of a rightwing,church-oriented
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president (or vice president, since this could
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come about as an internal compromise) could
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definately be the springboard which would give
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congress the excuse to pass laws which seriously
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restrict freedom of data processing. Rightwing
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Christians are professional snoopers.
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"Pornographic" software, computer dating services,
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mailing lists of people who read "dangerous" books
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or rent "dirty" videos, and so on will be their
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targets.
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Also, liberals are notoriously predjudiced
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against private enterprise. If anything like the
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British database law will come to pass, it will be
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because social activists legislate against
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"invasion of privacy" by individuals with access
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to data.
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A victory in the 1988 election by a liberal can
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have grave consequences. Given the strength of the
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"draft Iacocca" movement, it is likely that even
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if he himself doesn't run these people will have a
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great deal to say in any future Democratic admini-
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station. Price controls, import restrictions and
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anti-Japanese sentiments will have a devastating
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effect on the affordibility of computer hardware.
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Judging from the boards used in today's Apple
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Computers, IBM-PCs and DEC VT240s, about 10% of
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the chips used in American computers are made in
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El Salvador. Democratic administrations are
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notoriously soft on communism and this source of
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computer hardware could dry up by 1990.
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On the domestic front, major corporations and
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government bodies have been arguing about what
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kind of "computer crime" law should be enacted.
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Note that they are not discussing whether but what
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and when. The Michigan computer law of 1979 makes
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it a possible felony to even "attempt to access...
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any computer system... or computer software...
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without authorization." Yet "authorization" is
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never defined. Later this can be interpreted to
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mean "permission from the government." Federal
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laws will soon be passed which follow the same
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reasoning; right now they are arguing over the
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specific language.
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Another threat to personal computing comes from
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labor unions. During the Fall of 1985, the CBS
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network show 60 minutes ran a segment called
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"Homework" about people (women, mostly) who make
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garments at home and sell them to wholesalers and
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jobbers. The manufacture of women's (though not
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men's) garments is regulated by the federal labour
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boards at the behest of the International Ladies
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'Garment Workers' Union. The union has been
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actively harassing people who make women's clothes
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at home. A wholesaler told the newsguy that this
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is just the first step, that the next step will be
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the direct regulation of all home businesses, for
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instance the computer software industry. When
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asked if this were true, a union official said in
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fact that going after the home-based computer
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software industry is a high priority!
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Even within the computer industry there are
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those who have sold out to the Dark Side of the
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Force. In January of 1986, PC World carried a
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quote from Kevin Jenkins the chief at Hercules
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Computer Technology. According to Jenkins, the
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idea that the computer "expands your freedom" and
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"opens up new areas of human potential" is just a
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bunch of "new wave...nonsense" promulgated by
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Steve Jobs, the co-founder of Apple Computers.
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Jenkins is clearly a crypto-fascist who would side
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with governments and unions to regulate you and
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your computer.
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In the summer of 1985, Michael Brown applied to
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the Software Publishers Association for an award
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based on sales of his program. The independant
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auditing team reviewed his books and he was slated
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to recieve a gold-plated plaque for selling over
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100,000 units of "Copy II." Then the Software
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Publishers Association attempted to take back the
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award. "Copy II" is a program that copies other
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programs. Part of its functunality is the fact
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that it can break copy-protected schemes. The
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Software Publishers Association claims that this
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leads to millions of dollars of lost sales. How-
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ever, many users need to break such protection in
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order to make archival back-ups of their disks.
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Michael Brown settled out of court. He got moral
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support from throughout the software industry.
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However, the Software Publishers Association can
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be expected to act like socialists when it comes
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to protecting their interests. A free marketeer,
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Michael Brown set aside $180,000 for his defence
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fund. Verifying the "tragedy of the commons," the
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SPA could only garner $50,000. (The "tragedy" of
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the commons" is that while "all" may benefit from
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something, each will only pay in no more than they
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must to use a "common resource.") The SPA must
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out of necessity turn to the government if they
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hope to keep their monopoly on software
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publishing.
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In September of 1986, software industry leaders,
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Ashton-Tate, Microsoft, and Adapso (The Assoc. of
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Data Processing Organizations), announced that
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they will no longer copy-protect software. Said
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Microsoft president, Bill Gates, "The customer
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won." Piracy in the 1500s and 1600s was caused by
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nationalistic wars and mercentilstic tariffs. The
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success of pirates on the high seas led to the era
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of laissez faire. So, too, has software piracy
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led to admission by some that force of law is
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inferior to the realities of the marketplace.
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The free market impels toward excellence.Michael
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Brown (creator of "Copy II") said that his firm
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fights piracy by frequently improving their soft-
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ware. Only paying customers can be notified of
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updates.
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And yet, there is no end to the list of people
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who would limit or deny your right to compute. You
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must be ready to defend what rights you want and
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to extend those rights however possible. The
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alternative is ignorance.
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In order to defend your right to compute, all of
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your data files should be protected with
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encryption. On the one hand, a crypto-system which
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rests on known, historical methods can be
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relatively easy to crack. On the other hand,
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there are so many algorythms, each with a host of
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variations, that almost any method for secure
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communication will do the job. The home computer
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makes it very easy to switch among a dozen
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schemes.
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The avaliability of bulletin-board software is
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your key to rapid and secure communication.
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Bulletin board software allows your home computer
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to function as a message centre. Some communi-
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cations packages, such as Shareware's "RBBS-PC,"
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are excellent for in-bound messages; others, such
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as Hayes "SmartCom II," are ideal for dialing out.
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It matters little which software you choose. The
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important thing is to get it and use it. Would
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you rather rely on the U.S. (or for that matter,
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Canada "Scab" Post) Postal Service to provide you
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with rapid and secure communication?
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In defense of your right to process data, you
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need to develop the kind of mentality that creates
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a login routine which asks for the day of the
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week. If you answer with the day of the week, the
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computer shuts down; the proper response is your
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aunt's maiden name. This is the modern way to
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fight unwarranted search and seizure.
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You can set up a secure bulletin board system &
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announce it to those with whom you would share
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data. Survival information, analysis of economic
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and political news, information about your life-
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extension and more can be avaliable to you and a
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handful of friends you may never meet face-to-
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face.
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+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
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Continued in Part 2 of this doc........
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X-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-X
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Another file downloaded from: NIRVANAnet(tm)
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& the Temple of the Screaming Electron Jeff Hunter 510-935-5845
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Rat Head Ratsnatcher 510-524-3649
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Burn This Flag Zardoz 408-363-9766
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realitycheck Poindexter Fortran 415-567-7043
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Lies Unlimited Mick Freen 415-583-4102
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Specializing in conversations, obscure information, high explosives,
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arcane knowledge, political extremism, diversive sexuality,
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insane speculation, and wild rumours. ALL-TEXT BBS SYSTEMS.
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Full access for first-time callers. We don't want to know who you are,
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where you live, or what your phone number is. We are not Big Brother.
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"Raw Data for Raw Nerves"
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X-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-X
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