Protest Aftermath

[Mike Hicks <hick0088@tc.umn.edu>]

Well, I must say that standing out in the cold for two hours freezing my
toes off was a learning experience that I didn't really expect.  It is
essential to have a clear and concise message to say to people..  That
is something I was lacking.  I tried hard to find something to say
quickly, but my brain was pretty well frozen at the time.  Now that I'm
thawed out, I can think again.

Does anyone know much of anything regarding the way 'generic' products
are made?  This is something that the common person has at least heard
about, whether through generic medication or generic car parts.  Do the
manufacturers of those products use reverse-engineering?  If so, I can
see this DeCSS case having a huge impact on generic products.  Companies
like GM could sue someone for manufacturing duplicate parts, right?

Then again, I'm not a wrench head, so I shouldn't say too much on that
subject.

Another tack for promoters of this cause to think of is the freedom to
extend something beyond its original scope.  Perhaps I should be careful
when talking about this, as I was not happy back when Microsoft decided
to 'embrace and extend' Java.  But maybe my thoughts on that subject
will change.  Car and aviation enthusiasts have always found new uses
for old technology.  Planes have been made using car engines, engines of
all types have been 'souped-up' in all sorts of ways.  Why shouldn't we
be able to do the same things with our computers and the technology that
resides within them?  What makes computers so different?  I think it's
an interesting question.

-- 
 _  _  _  _ _  ___    _ _  _  ___ _ _  __   Lead me not into 
/ \/ \(_)| ' // ._\  / - \(_)/ ./| ' /(__   temptation, I can find  
\_||_/|_||_|_\\___/  \_-_/|_|\__\|_|_\ __)  it myself. 
 [ Mike Hicks | http://umn.edu/~hick0088/ | mailto:hick0088@umn.edu ]