tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6604414.post3020159902503958383..comments2024-03-24T15:27:49.804-04:00Comments on CANNONFIRE: Mickey Mouse killed Aaron SwartzJoseph Cannonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10574779960109698980noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6604414.post-80362577753437086972013-01-17T00:05:38.977-05:002013-01-17T00:05:38.977-05:00Respectfully, this article seems based in incorrec...Respectfully, this article seems based in incorrect FUD. Aaron took extreme measures to bypass access controls, then broke into a closet after MIT had effectively banned him.<br /><br />See http://www.volokh.com/2013/01/14/aaron-swartz-charges/Kenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02729814079200489907noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6604414.post-446224706787119962013-01-16T03:17:38.729-05:002013-01-16T03:17:38.729-05:00Thank you. Aaron's horrific demise has suffer...Thank you. Aaron's horrific demise has suffered from too little attention.<br /><br />May I add I hate Firefox? Firefox = Volvoprowlerzeenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6604414.post-85063402211134192492013-01-15T15:33:46.241-05:002013-01-15T15:33:46.241-05:00I wrote a shareware program back in the late 70...I wrote a shareware program back in the late 70's that converted all sorts of stuff from one thing to another, i.e. miles to parsecs, etc. Calculator interface with a "?" in the upper right corner that accessed the help system (a right click gave you a roll-over "what-is-this-effect"). Never made a cent, but I did notice that several word processors from big names and one spreadsheet all came out within a few months using the same system. My copyright sure didn't stop anybody, but then the law is always there for rich.Bob Harrisonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05242937151007030508noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6604414.post-71316252438676814002013-01-15T15:22:28.715-05:002013-01-15T15:22:28.715-05:00Well, b, this is one reason why I am not opposed t...Well, b, this is one reason why I am not opposed to many bittorrents -- even though, speaking as a "content provider," a few torrents have picked my own pocket. <br /><br />Something similar has happened to the Library of Congress. You can't use the materials -- you can't even stay in the damn building (which is architecturally significant) past 5 -- unless you proffer an official LoC card. And you get THAT by running your driver's license through the system. <br /><br />So Big Brother knows what you are researching at all times. <br /><br />Needless to say, things used to be different. You just walked into the Jefferson building and asked a surly clerk to give you the rare books you wanted. An hour later, the surly clerk would deliver. Then you made photocopies of those rare books, even though doing so was officially forbidden.<br /><br />All very civilized.<br /><br />(By the way, that's how I obtained a copy of "Le Vrai Langue Celtique." I no longer have it, alas...)Joseph Cannonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10574779960109698980noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6604414.post-84123655259043202402013-01-15T15:05:41.236-05:002013-01-15T15:05:41.236-05:00In the UK, there used to be free access to article...In the UK, there used to be free access to articles in many academic journals, for those who didn't look too punky to get away with walking into a university library and asking for a day ticket. You could just say thanks for the ticket and walk on up to the shelves.<br /><br />Nowadays, many articles that have been published in the past 20 years are only accessible in most university libraries (or using university facilities) in electronic form. And to be allowed access, most of the time you need an actual user account, which they <i>don't</i> give to people who just walk in off the street.<br /><br />So <b>access to huge quantities of resources has been removed from millions of people, in one fell swoop</b>, sold as part of the fucking information revolution.<br /><br />Hardly any 'information campaigner' mentions this. They haven't got a clue how the other half live. They probably wouldn't understand even if you told them.<br /><br />(I told one university librarian, and she certainly didn't appreciate the point I was making. She was just really pleased that access was restricted to those with university cards and she could call up on her little Nazi screen a full list - or what she naively thought was a full list - of everyone who was in the library at a given time.)<br /><br />JSTOR, originally funded by Mellon money, calls itself 'non-profit', by the way!<br /><br />Private property is bullshit enough. The idea of private property being owned by fictitious entities is even more bullshit. So is the whole fucking notion of "intellectual property". It's a Mickey Mouse notion indeed.<br /><br />Got to admit, some of our friends in the Far East and Russia have done a good job uploading many academic books and articles to the internet.bnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6604414.post-31669872383486324322013-01-15T12:07:14.561-05:002013-01-15T12:07:14.561-05:00Anyone old enough to remember 'shareware'?...Anyone old enough to remember 'shareware'?<br /><br />Aaron left a sizable estate, and I hope his heirs use that money to;<br /><br />1) File a lawsuit against DOJ, not for wrongful prosecution, but for selective enforcement, because clearly he was not too big to fail.<br /><br />2.) Establish a trust fund to defend those of little means in similar matters. I think the young man would approve.<br /><br />BenAnonymousnoreply@blogger.com