quickstart
10 MAXIMUMPC HOL 2021
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IF YOU OWN SOMETHING you might imagine
you have to right to take it apart, modify,
or repair it. You don’t. Often the job is
made difficult because you need special
tools or software, but the main problem
is copyright law, specifically the Digital
Millennium Copyright Act, which has
numerous exemptions and allows security
measures to prevent you from tinkering.
This stops you copying abandoned games
or cracking open your smartphone.
These exemptions are made by the US
Copyright Office, reviewed every three
years, and signed off by the Librarian of
Congress. The latest changes include
recommendations from iFix, and the
Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF).
Over the years, there has been a slow
swing away from restrictive practices,
and the latest batch of changes goes
further than usual. It is now legal to fiddle
about with any consumer electronics
device controlled by software, as long
as it is for diagnosis, maintenance, and
repair. That’s good news, although there
is a caveat on game consoles—the new
rules only cover the optical drive.
Covering consumer devices it excludes
one vocal group who really want to fix their
kit: the owners of John Deere tractors,
who are still denied vital tools and parts.
It also doesn’t mean manufacturers will
make it easy for you either, cases will
still be awkward to open and parts inside
difficult to replace. The EFF didn’t get
everything it wanted, such as modifying
items to accept third-party parts. Still,
it’s a step in the right direction. The
three-year cycle of exemption review is
cumbersome, however, what’s needed is
some solid legislation that bakes the right
to repair and modify into consumer law.
Can we at least have access to detailed
manuals and spare parts? –CLYoucan legallyopenit upand fix itYOU DO HAVE
THE RIGHT
TO REPAIR
No Ink? Thenyou can’t scan
Somebody has called Canon
out on its business practices
regarding its all-in-one printers:
if they are out of ink they won’t
scan or fax. The dissatisfied
customer launched a class-action
suit against Canon, seeking $ 5
million in damages for false and
misleading advertising.
Canon says “these precautions
are in place to prevent damage
to the printer”, but there’s no
technical reason, just the desire to
sell more ink. Despite numerous
protests, it appears that it is going
to take legal muscle to stop the
practice. The plaintiff is pressing
for a jury trial, which might be
fun, given how much people love
buying expensive printer inks. – CLRobot dogswith guns
At the US Army’s annual conference
Ghost Robots revealed a Vision
60 robot ‘dog’ with a custom
sniper rifle, turning an endearing
invention into something distinctly
menacing. The military has been
experimenting with robot dogs
for years, but this is the first time
it has armed one. The dogs use
AI for various functions, but it is
stressed that the gun mounting
will be remotely controlled.
The United Nations is
currently seeking a ban on lethal
autonomous weapons systems
(LAWS), but negotiations were
interrupted by the pandemic. At
some point, we need to decide if we
are happy with a computer deciding
to pull the trigger because we now
have the hardware to do it. – CLGoodbye Facebook, hello Meta
FACEBOOK HASA NEW corporate name: Meta. There’s a new logo too, a squished
blue infinity symbol, or pretzel. Meta means ‘beyond’ in Greek, and according to CEO
Mark Zuckerburg, it symbolizes that “there is always a next chapter to the story”.
The company’s timing isn’t perfect, embroiled as it is in controversy over its business
practices, however, the bad publicity had “nothing to bear on this”, says Zuckerburg.
Meta also unveiled its new project: the metaverse, “the future of the internet”.
Essentially, it’s an interconnected digital world where your avatar can interact with
others, as well as carry out all the usual tasks you can on the internet. The word
first appeared in Neal Stephenson’s 1992 novel Snow Crash, as a place people could
escape a less than perfect real world. The idea of building a metaverse for real has
been knocking about Silicon Valley for ages, see the game Second Life for example.
The promotional video for Meta’s metaverse presents a flattering picture,
as Zuckerburg’s avatar floats around a digitally clean world. Plans include the
integration of blockchain technology, an economic system, and immersive VR—plus
lots of commercial activity and data gathering, presumably. Meta has poured about
$10 billion into the project this year already, but among the exciting stuff and rich
possibilities, is one obvious problem: do we want such a potentially powerful digital
property run by a company with a questionable record in looking after people’s true
interests? Interesting times indeed. –CLThe metaverse is
a bold project
with lots of
potential, butare
we ready for it?