At 09:20 PM 10/29/00, Peter Wayner wrote:
>What is obsolete anyways? The question to me sounds like the one children
>would ask: "how old is old?" Well, it's as old as you feel. Are Sony Beta
>tapes obsolete? Most will say yes, but I think there are devotees who will
>say "No". I know that the average schmoe thinks that vinyl is obsolete,
>but I know that serious audiophiles love the format.
>>
>>In practice, an obsolete system might be one where no corporate entity
>>exists that wants to sue. But maybe there could be a technical definition.
Hmmm. If you're stuck with some Divix disks, aren't they arguably
'obsolete' since there's no entity around to provide the decryption keys?
Of course I'm not a lawyer, but I thought the Constitution endorsed
copyrights and patents as ways to provide "limited" rights to creators.
It's considered a benefit to the nation that such works eventually enter
the public domain.
I used to wonder what would happen with encrypted DVDs in a decade or two
when movies fit on memory sticks that slide into your Palm 3000. Once the
copyright expires, *anyone* should be able to read those things. Arguably,
the Library of Congress itself needs DeCSS so it can retain access to DVDs
in its collection as the underlying technology wanes.
Rick.
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
