Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!sdd.hp.com!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!lavaca.uh.edu!uhnix1!sugar!ficc!peter From: peter@ficc.ferranti.com (Peter da Silva) Newsgroups: comp.society.futures Subject: Re: RE Feedback on Computer Crime - Apology Message-ID: Date: 30 Aug 90 22:29:56 GMT References: <4c517e56.20b6d@apollo.HP.COM> <9008210016.AA14566@world.std.com> <65@autodesk.UUCP> Reply-To: peter@ficc.ferranti.com (Peter da Silva) Organization: Xenix Support, FICC Lines: 41 In article <65@autodesk.UUCP> robertj@Autodesk.COM (Young Rob Jellinghaus) writes: > The lock was designed well, it worked on all but a > fraction of machines, and it in general provided a solution to the "open > diamond containers" problem. It _worked_. Except that if *everyone* used dongles you lose big time, as they get in each other's way physically and electrically. The only way to solve the "open diamond containers" problem is for the computer to have some sort of dongle bay. There has to be a standard. It's bad enough dealing with a zillion companies ideas of how TSRs will work. > There was no well-thought-out rationale for the attacks; > no one justified the aversion to the hardware lock. See above. > No, I'm not certain. I wish there were a way to rewrite the implicit > rules of the industry to make hardware locks acceptable... Go back to 1981 and put a dongle bay in the IBM-PC, or have IBM and Compaq come out with a dongle bay. The other solution is to ship software in cartridges. That's actually not a bad idea, but the hardware isn't ready. Imagine, it's 1999. Your computer comes with a bunch of slots which you stick software packages in. Each package contains a complete CPU, ROM, Ram, a multitasking OS, and something like X. When you boot the computer up the Autodesk module opens a little window in the corner of your display (by doing network protocols to the display server) that says "Autodesk Cyberspace". You click it open when you want to use the package. How many copies are running is totally up to Autodesk. You can have modules running UNIX, Windows, OS/2, Apple System 7, AmigaOS, whatever... you don't care. So long as the network protocols are compatible it's OK. The hardware (say, 32 Meg of RAM, 8 Meg of ROM with a file system, and the network interface) costs $20 (in 1990 dollars)... it's in the noise. You can also buy software on disk, but it's generally cheesy stuff... the good stuff is sold in the package for safety's sake. (and you wondered what William Gibson's "ROM CONSTRUCT" was) -- Peter da Silva. `-_-' +1 713 274 5180. 'U` peter@ferranti.com