This is a gift that really few folks currently would understand outside the geek community, but I want it. The motion picture industry has been aggressively targetting bloggers and other manner of web site operators who have published the secret magic numbers needed to allow otherwise unauthorized software and hardware to decode and display high definition video from HD-DVDs. Of course, their actions have made the number spread more quickly than it probably would have otherwise. Since I am a follower of the law, I will not publish the number here. However, I would like to link to this cool shirt that ThinkGeek has for sale and mention to my viewers that this would make a great gift for me.
Meeting notes from a recent hypothetical meeting in the AACS-LA* office.
Lessons Learned:
- When trying to keep a secret, serving people legal notice re: its existence slightly less than effective. Possibly deploy ninjas next time?
- Members of online communities object to posts being removed. Ask owners of affected sites to replace posts with smiley face emoticons.
- Allowing lawyers to create public relations policy = bad idea.
- “Cease and Desist” kinda does the opposite.
Action items:
- See what other numbers we can get. Check on availability of 0 and 1 as vital part of circumvention technology.
- DMCA not working: investigate banning computers?
- Appeal to the kids. Introduce “Ernie the Encryption Key!”
- Expire the key. They can’t possibly crack it again, can they?
No, I won’t tell you what the number is that the motion picture industry is trying to protect. I do think option 1 under the Lessons Learned will serve the company well in the future, though – don’t you?
[tags]Perfect gift for the geek in your life, The shirt the motion picture industry doesn’t want you to have[/tags]