CHAPTER 13 Computers in Society: Today
Distribution of Software a Free Speech Issue?
Various movie studios are now distributing movies in DVD format. The DVD's use encryption code that prevents violation of the 1998 Digital Millennium Copyright Act. Four people posted software on Internet that enables the encryption code to be broken. The movie studios are suing these people, however the Electronic Frontier Foundation maintains that the suit violates their free speech and their First Amendment rights. This is but one of many precedent-setting technology cases which ultimately the courts or legislation must resolve.
Making a Better Mouse
A Cornell professor of ergonomics (a study of the man-machine interface) has completed a study that concludes that larger is better when it comes the mouse. The professor determined that the larger mouse helped to keep fingers flat and to enable positioning of the wrist in a more comfortable orientation.
The Uninvited Guest
At issue is whether one company can roam around another company's Internet site gathering information. Some auction sites are using electronic shopping robots, commonly called "bots," to roam around other auction sites, including those of major sites such as eBay. The bots return information that is then summarized and presented at another competing web site, thus allowing users to search multiple sites for the best deal on a particular item from a single site. Of course, eBay is unhappy with this practice and has brought charges against those who would invade their Internet house as an uninvited guest. The issue of whether or not another company has the right to accumulate freely available Internet-based information at another site will need to be resolved.