From: "robin abbi" <rra42@yahoo.co.uk>
Now, to the extent that TCPA/Palladium will be accepted as an "effective technological measure", as I understand it (and if anyone knows any different please tell me so I can forget about this and concentrate on more productive work), possession of any computer able to be used to access files protected via TCPA/Palladium will be outlawed (subject to the significant commercial purpose test above mentioned).
Could you honestly say that a generic computer such as the one you are typing your messages on can't be used for something commercially significant other than cracking? I can't. :-) That law will only outbid things that are *dedicated* to defeating copy protection, and as I understand it, it's mostly aimed at pirate cable TV-boxed, and such.
This is I think the major difference with the PS/2 analogy: back then no corporate decision maker had to worry that future possession of an ISA card could be a criminal offence.
What you are suggesting is that somebody would convince a judge to outlaw all computers. Thats quite simply, ridicolous, and even if it would happen, nobody would care. The "threat" of TCPA towards Zope is insignificant compared to the threat that .NET is. :-)