From: Joao Pedrosa <joaopedrosa@...>
Date: 2004-07-11T12:34:10+09:00
Subject: Re: PickAxe 2 licensing

Hi,

--- zuzu <sean.zuzu@gmail.com> wrote:
> On Sun, 11 Jul 2004 07:01:24 +0900, Matthew Margolis
> <mrmargolis@wisc.edu> wrote:
> > 
> > 
> > Sean O'Dell wrote:
> > 
> > >On Saturday 10 July 2004 13:57, Dave Thomas
> wrote:
> > >
> > >
> > >>On Jul 10, 2004, at 15:11, Sean O'Dell wrote:
> > >>
> > >>
> > >>>Crazy idea: a website that lets people search
> the entire contents of
> > >>>the book,
> > >>>
> > >>>
> > >>Wouldn't a PDF let you do this?
> > >>
> > >>
> > >
> > >You could release the web site at the same time
> as the book and not worry
> > >about people pirating a PDF around.
> > >
> > >       Sean O'Dell
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > It is very easy to download an entire web page for
> distribution.  I have
> > a few C++ doc sites downloaded so I can read them
> when I am traveling.
> > Using a freeware program I had the entire site on
> my hard drive in just
> > a few seconds.
> > I don't think a pdf or web page can offer any real
> security in terms of
> > distribution.  Even if you password protect a pdf
> the document can be
> > distributed by a sharer with a text file
> containing the access code.
> > So in short, if they put a version online and the
> Ruby community grows
> > enough someone will probably start illegal
> distribution.  As someone who
> > hopes to one day be published this makes me
> unhappy but it is the way
> > things seem to work with any sufficiently large
> community and a
> > copyrighted work.
> > 
> > -Matthew Margolis
> > 
> > 
> 
> someone could OCR the hardcopy and release an
> illicit PDF as well. 
> many a .ru domain have my favorite fictions by neal
> stephenson,
> william gibson, greg egan, et. al.
> 
> to make the belabored point, if people can view data
> they can save and
> redistribute that same data.  copy protection / drm
> is all smoke and
> mirrors.  only compiling software gets away with
> such trickery as well
> as it does because really the computer views the
> data, not a person.
> 
> unless we're writing books for computers to read to
> themselves now?
> 
> -z

You are relying on ethics and rules. If it weren't for
ethics and rules, reverse engineering would be as
popular as programming is, and no, no compiling would
be enough to hide your secrets or make it not
recompilable. 

Cheers,
Joao


	
		
__________________________________
Do you Yahoo!?
New and Improved Yahoo! Mail - 100MB free storage!
http://promotions.yahoo.com/new_mail