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DMCA Battle Featured in WSJ
Posted by Michael on 16 November 2009, 03:38 GMT

The Wall Street Journal, the most widely circulated newspaper in the US, has published a lengthy feature on the TI calculator community. The article explores the motivations behind calculator programming and documents the history of the ongoing legal battle, but most importantly, it continues to raise awareness of the issue. Mr. Foster still declines to comment, but the article does contain a reply from a TI representative, even if only one line.

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Re: DMCA Battle Featured in WSJ
Lewk Account Info
(Web Page)

"After two months of trying to crack the code -- a process that involved factoring two huge prime numbers"

Yes folks. We are just so damned good, we can actually factor prime numbers!

Reply to this comment    16 November 2009, 04:30 GMT

Re: Re: DMCA Battle Featured in WSJ
Michael Vincent  Account Info
(Web Page)

At least it's close by media standards.

Reply to this comment    16 November 2009, 04:32 GMT

Re: Re: DMCA Battle Featured in WSJ
Benjamin Moody  Account Info

Gauss factored a prime number once. He just stared at the poor thing for ten minutes and it broke into pieces, sobbing.

Gauss also once proved the quadratic reciprocity law using a piece of string, a ham sandwich, and an old shoe.

Reply to this comment    16 November 2009, 18:54 GMT

Re: Re: DMCA Battle Featured in WSJ
nyall Account Info
(Web Page)

> ... two months of trying ...

This amuses me, it makes it sound like he was guessing random numbers. There was no "trying" it was a single attempt that happened to take two months.

Also, you know you're a nerd when you see 'WSJ' and think Weekly Shonen Jump.

Reply to this comment    16 November 2009, 20:47 GMT


Re: Re: Re: DMCA Battle Featured in WSJ
graphmastur Account Info

Oh, so it's not weekly shonen jump? This makes more sense now!

I prefer geek, not nerd. ;-)

Reply to this comment    18 November 2009, 12:11 GMT


Re: Re: DMCA Battle Featured in WSJ
Elkin Arbelaez Gaviria  Account Info

I want a metakernel for TI-89 and TI-Nspire CAS

hpcalc.org/details.php?id=213

Reply to this comment    19 November 2009, 17:42 GMT

Re: DMCA Battle Featured in WSJ
Travis Evans  Account Info

I seem to remember one other article that was published a little while back that had a comment from TI (though I can't remember which one). It was also very short, something to the effect of “The TI-OS software is copyrighted. We will protect our intellectual property.”

Reply to this comment    16 November 2009, 05:05 GMT


Re: Re: DMCA Battle Featured in WSJ
Michael Vincent  Account Info
(Web Page)

There's one that says: "Lynn Windle, media relations manager for Texas Instruments, declined to comment on the case. 'I'd like to refer you to our DMCA take-down notice," she says. "It lays out our position in this matter, and we have nothing more to add at this time.'"

Reply to this comment    16 November 2009, 05:14 GMT


Re: Re: Re: DMCA Battle Featured in WSJ
Travis Evans  Account Info

Yeah, that's the one I was thinking of.

Reply to this comment    16 November 2009, 23:48 GMT

Re: DMCA Battle Featured in WSJ
Drew DeVault  Account Info
(Web Page)

Is there any reason we can't send out a press release? Maybe tilt some articles in our favor, get some TV coverage...

Reply to this comment    17 November 2009, 13:45 GMT


Re: Re: DMCA Battle Featured in WSJ
nyall Account Info
(Web Page)

Why would 'we' need to? And what would 'we' say? What articles have their been that haven't been in their favor?

The EFF is handling this and yes they do make press releases. When there is enough of an update someone can get something onto slashdot which is good for a massive amount of publicity.

The coverage they are getting is snowballing and thats a good thing. Sit back and enjoy the show.

Reply to this comment    17 November 2009, 14:23 GMT

Re: DMCA Battle Featured in WSJ
Jennifer Granick Account Info
(Web Page)

As yesterday's front page Wall Street Journal article makes clear, TI calculator hobbyists have every and any reason to want to hack their calculators. So why is TI sending cease and desist letters to people publishing the signing keys needed for installing custom operating systems? The company says that they are protecting their intellectual property, but for the reasons set forth in the letter the Electronic Frontier Foundation sent to TI (available on our website), publishing signing keys doesn't violate the law. TI tacitly accepts our view because they didn't respond to that letter, or to our subsequent DMCA safe harbor counter-notice, and our clients' posts are back online.

Everyone's case is different, but if you got a cease and desist letter demanding that you take down a post containing or discussing any of the currently released signing keys for one of TI's unencrypted operating systems, you may have the same legal grounds for resisting TI's demands. To learn more about your Coders' Rights, visit the URL above.

Jennifer Granick
Civil Liberties Director
Electronic Frontier Foundation

Reply to this comment    17 November 2009, 17:50 GMT


Re: Re: DMCA Battle Featured in WSJ
mapar007 Account Info
(Web Page)

I've heard that TI continued to send C&D letters, but maybe I just misinterpreted it.

Reply to this comment    17 November 2009, 20:11 GMT


Re: Re: Re: DMCA Battle Featured in WSJ
Brandon Wilson  Account Info
(Web Page)

They have, even though they still have no legal basis. They did this to Astrid Smith, who filed a counter-notice, and his content was restored two weeks later without any further intervention by TI (as of this writing).

Reply to this comment    18 November 2009, 06:45 GMT

Re: DMCA Battle Featured in WSJ
Kevin Ouellet Account Info
(Web Page)

One thing I am curious about is if the laws and protections in Sweden would allow Ticalc.org to host the keys

Reply to this comment    19 November 2009, 21:59 GMT


Re: Re: DMCA Battle Featured in WSJ
Travis Evans  Account Info

I don't know what the actual Swedish law says, but we've been told not to host the keys on this server, though we are allowed to post a link to another website with the keys on them.

Reply to this comment    22 November 2009, 03:18 GMT


Re: Re: Re: DMCA Battle Featured in WSJ
mapar007 Account Info
(Web Page)

Told by whom? TI?

Reply to this comment    22 November 2009, 09:53 GMT


Re: Re: Re: Re: DMCA Battle Featured in WSJ
Brandon Wilson  Account Info
(Web Page)

By The Powers That Be at ticalc.org, to be on the safe side.

Reply to this comment    22 November 2009, 22:33 GMT


Re: DMCA Battle Featured in WSJ
James abba shalaka Rubingh Account Info
(Web Page)

Somebody should set up a tor hidden service with a simple Apache web page.

Reply to this comment    23 November 2009, 02:37 GMT


Re: Re: DMCA Battle Featured in WSJ
Lewk Account Info
(Web Page)

Why bother? They are already publically available numerous places.

Reply to this comment    23 November 2009, 18:34 GMT


Re: Re: Re: DMCA Battle Featured in WSJ
Matt M Account Info

Besides, once something hits the web it's impossable to "erase" completely. There's always going to be someone, somewhere with a copy to republish.

Good, bad, or indifferent the keys have certainly been out long enough that it's going to be "out there" for good.

Reply to this comment    24 November 2009, 14:07 GMT


Re: Re: Re: Re: DMCA Battle Featured in WSJ
Brandon Wilson  Account Info
(Web Page)

If nothing else, they have a permanent home on Wikileaks and http://brandonw.net/ calculators/keys/

Reply to this comment    25 November 2009, 02:10 GMT

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