Fair use, Xbox hacking, and how far will Linux users go to get a cheap PC?

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You need to be better informed

Wow, some real doozies in your article.

---The thing with fair use is that there's a huge gray area between legitimate fair use (say, copying a CD for use in a car) and taking advantage (say, making 10 copies of a CD and selling them to friends at a buck a time)---

Forget unethical, your second example is illegal, and not fair use at all. Copyright provides the holder exclusive rights of distribution. Making copies and reselling them is not, in any way, fair use and is in fact copyright infringement. Making 10 copies and giving them to friends might be a better example for your argument.

---First, is it ethical to hack an Xbox or any other bit of commercial hardware?---

Abso-freaking-lutely. You purchase it, you own it, it's yours to do whatever you want with it. Why should a consumer be concerned with supporting the ill-thought out business model of Microsoft (or any other company). Is it wrong for me to repeatedly buy razor blade handles on sale that come with one or two blades because it's cheaper than buying just the blades to use with my current handle? Shouldn't I be doing what's best for my own interests, rather than making a charitable donation to Gillette?

---What about the $100 laptop being developed by MIT Media Lab for the developing world? ---

As I understand it, the only way to purchase one of these is to pay $300 for it. You buy it, and it pays for 2 computers to be donated to the developing world. It's still a great bargain, and they seem to have put together a business model that doesn't rely on the gullibility you want to enforce in consumers.

Posted by: tic swayback   Posted on: 06/22/06 You are currently: a Guest | Members login | Terms of Use

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