There I was in my "cocoon" reading my news on my usual home page. Little did I know that my "virtual world" was about to change. I found a this article "Jail for 'Robin Hoods' who cost Microsoft millions." Link here: http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=581&e=1&u=/nm/20050506/tc_nm/tech_internet_dc Not that I am not in favor on capitalism, if you have read any of my blogs before you know I am all for it. But this article really enraged the pirate in me. I have seen many Linux and UNIX license plates over the years that say "Live free or die." I like this statement and it goes a long way in explaining my beliefs when it comes to software licensing. I am not a huge open source guy, I game therefore I winduhs, but I think that the future lies in adoption of open source. I try to use as Linux and open source for as much as I can. I can't use it at work because where I work is a winduhs shop. Gladly though that is changing.
Enough on that now to the meat and potatoes or limes and grog of my complaint. (That's pirate talk) The article outlines how a few people spread out around the globe cost Microsoft Millions. Lets back the pirate ship up a bit. Microsoft is worried about millions. Did I miss something, isn't Dollar Bill Gates worth in the neighborhood of around $40 billion? So why is Billy "enraged," to quote the article. If I had his money I wouldn't worry about what was being stolen, as much as why was I a target. Also him being mad about software piracy is like Black Beard being mad at Jesse James! He is one of the biggest software thieves of all time. What is even better is that he can only be mad at himself. Back when he was doing it, he was the only ship on the water. When he saddled us with his software and made his billions he opened Pandora's box. He in a sense made everybody a pirate and now wants his fleet back. Shame on you Bill! What is worse is he is manipulating governments to do it. In reading this I was surprised by some dates noted. They stole winduhs 95 and had it on the web two weeks prior to release. Let's do the time warp again. Winduhs 95! Hey that was ten years ago, wasn't it. How long has this case been going on? So I started thinking a little more, yeah I know scary thought. I am curious what laws brought these merry men down. Since it says that "prosecution followed what Houlder described as a groundbreaking crackdown on Web piracy and unprecedented cooperation between U.S and British authorities." How could this be. There is only one event that could cause laws to be passed that both the British and Americans would work together on. Does 9/11 ring any bells. I am making some assumptions here so that could be bad. But that is the only reason I can see that these guys are just now being led to the gallows. I wonder what combination of cyber terrorism laws were used by both the court of King George II and his puppet across the pond. This is just one aspect of what bothered me about this article. What form of illegal search and seizure was used to bring the merry men down. We have seen this between a King and England before, and the last time it happened I think we kicked someone's ass back across the Atlantic. Well, what do you know, as time has passed we have become the hypocrisy state. Now the buckled shoe is firmly on the other foot. I am one for irony so I really enjoyed the fact that we are now getting Britons locked up. You can't come up with stuff like this on your own, this is all really happening!
I am not sure on this but it goes even further. This in doing more research I found some other interesting clues that these guys aren't just crackers. They are full blown "cyber terrorists," and they did it all without making a single dime. Yet I am sure that the taxpayers of the U.S. and our dukedom in the U.K. paid plenty. In Britain in December of 2001 "eight Britons arrested by the National Hi-Tech Crime Unit in December 2001 after a US-led investigation." (source BBC link: http://newswww.bbc.net.uk/1/hi/technology/4518771.stm) I am so glad that Osama is still wondering the hills of Pakistan and that we all got to see the "Shock and Awe" in Iraq. "Shock and awe in Baghdad!" Almost sounds like a Don King production. Sorry didn't mean to get off topic. And now we have rounded up these "terrorists." I can now sleep easy at night knowing that some students and guys who wanted to share software for free are costing me money to sit in jail. That was money well spent! The real victims here are clear to see. They are the poor money hungry companies. I can't tell you how many times I have looked in the paper and seen the demise of another huge software conglomerate lately. Oh yeah, never! They all made huge profits while they used our tax money and elected officials as lap dogs to do their dirty work. Also aren't these guys insured against loss like this. I am sure that they can at least right some of this loss off of their taxes. So we the people sit and pay for the government and the software. Mean while we get a inferior version of both. I wonder when we are going to get SP1 for this administration. The kernel/king is clearly full of bugs. He doesn't even come with a good spell checker! Well, this patriot is about to act and go open source and tell them all to go to hell. In the words of another famous American "pirate" (now known as a patriot) "I have not yet begun to fight!" I am going to be like the "privateers" of old and raid twice as much and I call all of the people Mr. Houlder calls "plain thieves." To do the same. Lets broadside these scallywags and sends them a clear message. To make it worse Mr. Houlder slammed on every person who works in IT. He says "'They see themselves as stars, night time tappers of keyboards," Houlder told the court. "You might feel that their lives are rather sad, living as they do for very large parts of their days and nights in a virtual world, in front of a computer monitor, cocooned from existence.'" I think that they are the ones that are living in a cocoon, they see the old way of doing things and their business models vanishing before their eyes. There kingdom and all of their colonies slowing getting more and more agitated at the way they conduct themselves. Maybe they are realizing that they like the dinosaurs are sitting glassy eyed while a big thing called the future hurls towards them like a meteorite, and they are helpless to do anything. They sold us on this revolution called computing and the internet, and now they are going to have to reap what they have sown. Last but not Least I just saw this qoute and had to amend my blog. "The cost of their activities run into very many millions in lost profit ... the losses are incalculable," Houlder said. Well, it appears he has calculated it, "many millions." Houlder must not be one for ball parking figures. That is odd, I am sure these guys are on the hook for specific amounts. Oh, yeah you get arrested now and are never told why? Bill of Rights, anyone, anyone.
That is just my rant for now. Hoist the jib and go get some plunder mateys!
Extra links, because I feel like it!
http://newswww.bbc.net.uk/1/hi/technology/4205559.stm
http://www.chinfo.navy.mil/navpalib/traditions/html/jpjones.html
Monday, May 09, 2005
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