“John Gilmore, co-founder of the Electronic Frontier Foundation,
has urged users to boycott hardware containing CPRM copy-control
mechanisms. Last week we broke a story of moves to build CPRM
(Copyright Protection for Recordable Media) cryptography into the
industry standard ATA hard disk specification. If implemented, the
initiative could rapidly end the use of the PC and new emerging
devices for freely exchanging audio, video and information.”
“Users, says Gilmore, should demand a policy declaration
from vendors that they eschew “covertly controlled hardware”, and
only buy products that are truly open, he argues in a post to the
C2 crypto mailing list.”
“No copy protection should exist ANYWHERE in generic computer
hardware! It’s up to the BUYER to determine what to use their
product for,” writes Gilmore. “It’s not up to the vendors of
generic hardware, and certainly not up to a record company that’s
shadily influencing those vendors in back-room meetings.”