I was reading this article http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20050903/ap_on_hi_te/online_games_ruling about some guys that reverse engineered Blizzard’s Battle.Net and created their own servers. The servers they ran allowed gamers to run mods (in addition to pirated versions).
This got me wondering, why are tech products diferent than other products. Remember the guy with the Sony Robot Dog that hacked it and made it dance and stuff? He put instructions up on the web, and Sony sued him and won. He wasn’t “infringing” on Sony, he was just modifying a product he bought.
What if it was the same for cars? You pop a new chip in your Honda to get a few more horse power and Honda sues you. Or you pop some headers on your Charger and Dodge comes after you. What if you added a room to your house and the original builder took you to court?
I just think the digital milenium copyrights act is junk. I understand the desire to stop software piracy, but come on. I just wonder how much influence our parents had on the auto industry by moding hotrods in the 50’s. What technological advances are we going to miss out on because all the tech companies have control over how you use a product you bought and own? I am waiting for the day when my new car requires me to accept a EULA before starting for the first time.
