Slashdot Log In
Slashback: Guido, Games, Felines
from the did-I-say-something-wrong-my-dearest? dept.
That's one long and winding snake of an issue ... Kevin Reichard writes: "Since you covered the original issues surrounding Python licensing, you may also want to note that Guido van Rossum of PythonLabs has officially responded in a Linux Today interview. He has many interesting things to say."
Which things notably include: "The sad thing is that all of this is based on technicalities: Stallman agrees that Python is free software, but a technicality in the licenses prevents compatibility. The choice of law clause in the CNRI license, which is causing the incompatibility, is very common is software licenses, and CNRI doesn't want to drop it because the validity of the general disclaimers in the license may depend on it. At the same time, Stallman doesn't want to allow any choice of law clauses, because one could stipulate the law of "Unfreedonia" which might reverse the meaning of the GPL."
Abort, retry, fail, bend, fold, spindle, mutilate? L Fitzgerald Sjoberg writes: " A recent posting on the official EverQuest boards by a spokesperson for Verant states that even RUNNING an EverQuest emulator violates the EverQuest license agreement.
If the emulator is legal, and emulators seem to be making a lot of legal headway these days, doesn't this essentially amount to Verant forbidding you to use a competitor's product? Not a good sign, if you ask me."
"Sir! Sir! There's something wrong -- this knob goes up to eleven!" Signal 11 writes: "I took apart a cuecat and did a rundown of the circuit tracings on the board. What follows is a short summary of what I found. I'm working on putting together a schematic for it and hope to have it together within a couple weeks.
The cuecat is fairly simple. It uses a pair of infrared LEDs to direct light onto the sheet of paper with the barcode on it. It is then picked up by an IR detector, whose output is tuned by a single potentiometer (adjusted at time of manufacture, I would guess) and then fed into the analog input of a microprocessor. The detector is the same type one can pickup at radioshack. All you do is enclose it in a box and then make a pinhole at one end. Cheap, but it works well enough.
The microprocessor I haven't had time to put together a circuit from the specs provided by texas instruments to download the microcode out of it. It is also a matter of me not wanting to learn about microprocessors although I understand it is common in the industry.. I'm an analog guy. :) I suspect it is nothing more than running the output through a ACD (analog->digital) inside the microprocessor and then referencing the binary input with a list of values to produce the barcode string. After that, as has been previously noted, it is passed to an XOR algorithm, and then modulated to be fed out onto the PS/2 interface. There are a pair of transistors on the board near the outputs of the microprocessor - I suspect these are used to either boost the signal to run over the PS/2 interface (the microprocessor may not have enough power), or as part of an oscillator to get a clock for the processor. Until I finish tracing out the board paths, I can't say for sure.
Somewhere in the chip they probably set the serial number into the nvram, which is prepended to the output. The software does the rest. As has been demonstrated, there isn't much to do on the software side either - one could just create an indexed array containing scancodes. One might even be able to write a new key definition file under linux.. no programming required.
This is a really simple device. This is also probably why they were so concerned about competitors.. it wouldn't take them more than one afternoon with an EE and a microcode programmer to reverse-engineer it and produce their own. Then again, the device was probably designed in the same amount of time, likely by a random contractor. The reason it took me so long? I've been messing around with electronics for all of three months, so yes, I'm not a professional - I also haven't gotten into DSP technology yet, which is all the cuecat is. As always, if someone could provide me with a basic circuit for reading the contents of the processor's memory out, I'd appreciate it!
Anyway, DigitalConvergence - I'm waiting for my cease and desist now."
Re:Query (Score:3)
My cataloging program was written in VB (Shut up, it was fast and easy). It grabs only the bar code info, checks to figure out if it's a book (you can look at the field before the bar code, or just see if it starts with 978) or a CD (all the UPCs I've seen for CDs have a 3 before the check digit). It then hits the barpoint.com database and grabs author/artist and title info. I'm gonna have it grab track info for CDs next, and then maybe a graphic...
Anyway, its trivially easy to do the encoding stuff without having to worry about the serial number.
it's NOT rocket science... (Score:3)
Cue Cat Reality Check (Score:4)
No name, nothing to tie me to an "ID" number.
You'd think that if there were some sort of attempt to track scans vs consumer they'd be a little more attentive about getting, like, my name, or something.
Then again, this is Radio Shack we're talking about.
Anybody else miss the free flashlights?
Accurate CueCat information / internal pictures (Score:5)
More on the CueCat internals... (Score:3)
(Note: Your device may vary, but I doubt it.)
The microcontroller in the CueCat is a Toshiba TMP87PH47U 8- bit microcontroller.
After a little searching, I came up with this:
TMP87PH47U Datasheet. [toshiba.com]
It has 16kb of OTP EPROM, and 512b of RAM and appears to run at 8Mhz.
There are two other chips on the board, a 4066 and an 8-pin SMT chip that I have yet to read the number off of. IIRC, the 4066 is a CMOS bilateral switch.
--K
---
Virginia is Unfreedonia (Score:3)
Guido van Rossum writes: At the same time, Stallman doesn't want to allow any choice of law clauses, because one could stipulate the law of "Unfreedonia" which might reverse the meaning of the GPL. Even though the state of Virginia does no such thing!
Sorry, Guido, Virginia is Unfreedonia. It is the only state that passed UCITA [cpsr.org] without modification (Maryland passed a highly modified version that struck out some of the more obnoxious provisions). UCITA contains many horrors for free software developers and software users alike. Stallman pointed out many of these problems in this article [gnu.org]. Virginia is the worst possible state in the US to specify as the jurisdiction where disputes over licensing will be settled.
I don't know if RMS's warning about UCITA potentially subjecting free software authors to liability (while exempting those who use shrink-wrap licenses) is correct or not, but it is a worry.
If Python is incompatible with the GPL, what it means is that people won't be able to link together Python code and GPLed code. This will be a major pain in the butt, so I hope that it can be fixed.
I don't know why everyone is giving RMS so much crap when it is CNRI that is making a change to a more restrictive license than it used in the past. CNRI created the problem, not RMS; as Guido said The new license was imposed by CNRI on Python 1.6 (the last release done from CNRI's code base).
The best solution will be to find some language that satisfies CNRI's concerns without causing these problems.
An Everquest emulator is hardly a competitor (Score:4)
That's not to say that an emulator isn't legal -- certainly, it's not in any danger of killing off the EverQuest craze^H^H^H^H^Hlicense to print money anytime soon. But it's certainly not competing with EverQuest; after all, if the actual EQ world went out of business, the emulator authors would be left without any new material! An emulator is a derived work and has been legally proven to be such.
Re:ID (Score:5)
Well, Big Brother always trys to keep track of The Resistance.
-Andy
Build your own scanner... (Score:4)
---- ----
My cat's breath smells like cat food.... (Score:4)
All you have to do is store the scanner's output in the Comments attribute of the mp3 file (the Be filesystem allows indexable attributes to be associated with files). This can be done manually for albums you're already ripped, or automatically for albums you're about to rip (using a tool like RipENC).
If you have your jewel cases right next to you it's a cooler way of playing an album than simply double-clicking on a playlist.
After reading the thread topic about serial ID numbers in the CueCat's output, I decided to see it for myself.
Look at the scan outputs below. The top code is the output I got last night from doing a barcode scan of Motorhead's "1916" album. The bottom code was obtained just now from the same album, but using a different CueCat (I have 5, all from different stores).
.C3nZC3nZC3nYChPXDxzWCxnX.fHmc.C3r3DxD3DxT2E3f3
** ***
.C3nZC3nZC3nYChTWD3D6CxnX.fHmc.C3r3DxD3DxT2E3f3
The stars indicate differences in the scan outputs. Now, here is a comparison of the barcode output for Pulp's "Different Class" album using the same two scanners from above:
.C3nZC3nZC3nYChTWD3D6CxnX.fHmc.DhbYD3zXD3j1DNfZ
** ***
.C3nZC3nZC3nYChPXDxzWCxnX.fHmc.DhbYD3zXD3j1DNfZ
As you can see, the differences come up in the same 5 places each time. The last set of characters after the last dot seem to be unique to the album. So unless I go into the Comments attribute and delete out the part of the code where differences show up, I can only use one particular scanner to scan jewel cases and play albums. Worse yet, no one else who I share the mp3 with would be able to use their scanner if they happen to have the same jewel case.
BarPoint, CueCat, ReaderWare (Score:3)
Of course, you can always use your cuecat to get a $25 discount [pcpos.net] on a 'real' barcode scanner...
Interestingly, http://www.readerware.com/ [readerware.com] has added support for the CueCat to their software, and it does not report back to Digital Hemorrhoid. Normally, the CueCat device sends a request with your serial number and activation code embedded. THe CueCat output looks like this:
It's an ALT-F10, your serial number, the bar code type, and the bar code data, spearated by periods and lamely base64+XOR67 'encrypted'. The CueCat software turns that into a request that looks like this:
http
YOu can actually replace your activation code with anything. My software replaces it with "ACTIVATIONCODE". It briefly replaced it with "MOTHERFUCKER" but I switched it back. The X seems to usually show up as "04" but doesn't have to be, and seems to be irrelevant in any case. And the Serial number can also be replaced.
Their game is to track all products and magazines, books, etc. scanned by their users in order to target marketing. YOu have to answer a long list of nosy questions when you install the windows software, unless you don't run the "autorun" program, and just run "setup" instead.
This probably explains why they're pissed about Free software existing. Mine, for instance, strips out the activation code unless you actually want to send it in. This anonymizes your scans.
Of course, I can't distribute my software because of some questionable legal shennanigans [flyingbuttmonkeys.com]. I wonder if ReaderWare got a nasty letter... oh wait, they're a company that can probably afford lawyers, unlike me.
---- ----
Do I have this right?? (Score:3)
Man...so much for privacy for the average person. I'm beginning to consider boycotting the net till we have some truly anonymous credit/debit card system like photocopier cards in wide use. ie Buy a card at the corner store with cash and have the ablility to add money to it anonymously from a bank machine at any time.
This tracking and correlating of everything we do on computers must stop! We need some laws against correlating this data to personally identifying databases and selling of those. Could be worth a letter to the man.
spooked
Re:Cue Cat Reality Check (Score:3)
Yeah, but if they have a persistent code that gets sent to them whenever you use the :cue:crap to scan something and query their server, regardless of whether you're using their software or your original registered name, you maintain a trail.
Let's say one day you scan something in the radioshack catalog and you then order it online (or you scan a bar code and you enter a contest or something). You've given RatShack (or DigitalInsurgence or some other partner) your personal info, they share it and all your old and new behavior (remember when you scanned the barcode on a copy of penthouse, just to see what it would do?) is now associated with a name, address, cc#, etc.
Remember, these are not human beings you're dealing with, they're marketing people. Their goal is to capture as much info about your use of their tool as possible, and if they can match things up (a la doubleclick's dream), they stand to gain.
To use their software (which is their goal here), you are supposed to register an email address, they then send you a registration code which is apparently some hash of your email address, because you have to enter the same email address into their program when you enter your registration code. Now, if you use their software even once you've associated the code (your email address) and the serial number.
Interestingly, even if you got the thing at radio shack, and you gave your real name and number they still wouldn't have enough to tie you to the reader, since the radio shack guy scans the barcode on the reader, which is just a generic product upc, with no info about the serial number (using recursion to confirm this is a problem left to the reader;-).
On a somewhat related note, does anyone else have the model 68-1965? Most of the ones I've seen are 68-1965A. The major differences visible outside are:
- The A has a dark filter where the cat's "mouth" is, the other one has no filter
- The A appears to use 2 LEDs the other one has only 1
- the A has 4 small screws, the other one has 2 big screws
- The A has a sticker saying 06A00, the other one has no sticker
- The A works *much* better than the other one
Haven't had a chance to open the A up yet, so I can't comment on internal comparisons.Re:ID (Score:4)
At the first Radio Shack, I (stupidly) gave them my name and address and they scanned in the scanner and catalog. However, my fiance was with me and they just gave her a scanner no questions asked and nothing got scanned. The next two stores asked for name/address and I gave them fake info. At the fourth store, the guy said, let's just scan this using our "dummy" account. At the last store, the kid just scanned in the cat and catalog but didn't request my name/address.
When it's all said and done, YMMV.
Re:Competition (Score:3)
Burris
Re:Cue Cat Reality Check (Score:5)
Mostly it goes back to the way they reeled in their privately owned franchises. The way it used to work, every year the franchise owner had to fill out a silly form and send it to Tandy, and every year Tandy would send back a form letter letting them know they're still a franchise.
Then one year, an aquaintences father, who owned a 'shack franchise, sends his form in, and gets back a letter saying something like "your franchise has not been renewed, here is a check for your original investment. While ownership of this store has been shifted back to Tandy corporation you will be allowed to keep your position as manager at a salary of $26,000 per year" - of course, that investment was made in the early 70's and no account was made for interest, increased value of the property, inflation, etc. 20 years and they basically told him to take his ball and go home.
So he contacts some other private franchise owners, finds out they all got the same letter and check. At this point, they figure they're screwed out of their businesses but not out of the actual value of their stores, and contact a lawyer to see if they can sue Tandy for the increased value of the stores.
The lawyer does some research, finds out this was nation wide. In one fell swoop, Tandy shut down every privately owned 'shack in the nation and gave every one of them the shaft. This becomes a class action lawsuit. Other greivances are brought up.
For instance, the franchise agreement stated that Tandy would aquire the merchandise and then sell it to the franchise at 10% over wholesale cost. Many franchise owners suspected over the years that they were not getting this deal, but hadn't rocked the boat. Some investigation was done, and several of Tandy's asian suppliers were identified. Many of these suppliers were contacted and told that a group of investors was considering starting a chain of electronics stores, and was seeking sample merchandise and quantity pricing for a list of items. The suppliers responded with an exaustive price list and sample merchandise.
The sample merchandise proved to be identical to radioshack merchandise, and the price list showed that the wholesale cost of the items was far below what Tandy had represented. Indeed, some popular items were being marked up as much as 600% before being sold to the franchises.
In the end, Tandy lost. Big. In excess of one million dollars per franchise.
It would be safe to say that i have no love for Tandy or the shack. It would also be safe to say that this is a corporation that doesn't engender much loyalty in their lower management.
What's more, two out of the three I've got were handed to me by teenagers, who obviously don't care. There are five shacks within 10 minutes of home and they keep separate customer databases.
Re:ID (Score:3)
Employee: Can i get your phone number?
Me: No.
Employee: umm...
they just can't seem to handle any deviation from the usual reply. of course, it seems like they only hire the people who just couldn't hack it at mcdonalds.
--
Who cares? I mean who acutally installed the SW? (Score:5)
the reboot card
the system halt card
the cut the internet connection card
the kill all the print jobs card
the boot off all lusers card
and the FBI raid card (unmounts all encrypted filesystems)
Without the software, no serial number is being sent over the net.
Serial Number on My Forehead: Stolen! (Score:4)