************************************************** * ..... The Griffin ..... * * Presents: * * * * Freedom of Data Processing * * Part One! * * * * by Michael E. Marotta * * (From Loompanics Unlimited 1987 Main Catalog) * ************************************************** (Griffin's Note: This article refers to it being or happening in America although as I figure from reading this article, it could easily happen in Canada as well.) "A well-informed citizenry being essen- tial to the betterment of our republic, the right of the people to own and use computers shall not be abridged." (proposed Amendment to the Constitution) Your computer is your newest tool for securing and expanding your freedom. While earlier ages gave real political and economic power to those who rode horses or wore armor or carried fire- arms, today, real power is wielded by those who can use a computer. The "computer revolution" is all but over. If you do not know how to use a computer, you are illiterate. If you can't write a program, you are poor in a society where information is wealth. If you can't follow a menu or a manual, you are isolated in a world of mass communication. Over the last 30 years, we have experienced a rapid acceleration of this trend toward an economy driven by the transfer of information. A fisherman uses his computer to keep track of his catches. Over the years he has used BASIC, VISI-CALC and now dBase III to build a database which includes the date of the catch, the species, weight and length of the fish, the water temperature, air temperature and pressure, and the lure of bait. A farmer has just bought a used personal computer and a new herd management program. He knows that it will be years before he and his sons will be able to go back over the accumulated data to set a proper course for the management of their land and livestock over the next 12 years. In the meantime, they calculate their incomes & expenses on a monthly basis. And the youngest learns the ABC's with a Sesame Street diskette. Using a personal computer, a financial analyst can keep track of: the New York Stock Exchange; the American Stock Exchange; several regional stock exchanges; Comdex (Commodities Exchange); London and Hong Kong Gold; Fannie Mae, Ginnie Mae, Sallie Mae; Treasury Balance and T-Bill rates; and more. Most important is the fact that this analyst can run these raw data through various econometric models to test for short and long-term trends, seek out maximum profits from interest rates and brokerage fees, and minimize taxation by comparing investments in different states and nations. Today, we are witnessing the culmination of a trend. Personal computing is now a "given." Some- one who lives frugally can purchase a used com- puter with a CRT, 48K of RAM, and two single density drives for about $200. A person who is employed at a high-tech or unionized job can afford the same level of computer power enjoyed by corporations and governments. We are at a stage in history where the average individual can be a data processing centre. Naturally, goverments don't want this to happen. In Britain, the government now requires everyone with a database to inform the State of what data they hold and how they got it. The law was passed (ostensibly) to protect people from unauthorized transfer of data about them by private organi- zations. Of course, the law does not apply to the government. While such draconian measures are not neces- sarily part of America's future, some trends can easily push us into a fascist society. For one thing, the election of a rightwing,church-oriented president (or vice president, since this could come about as an internal compromise) could definately be the springboard which would give congress the excuse to pass laws which seriously restrict freedom of data processing. Rightwing Christians are professional snoopers. "Pornographic" software, computer dating services, mailing lists of people who read "dangerous" books or rent "dirty" videos, and so on will be their targets. Also, liberals are notoriously predjudiced against private enterprise. If anything like the British database law will come to pass, it will be because social activists legislate against "invasion of privacy" by individuals with access to data. A victory in the 1988 election by a liberal can have grave consequences. Given the strength of the "draft Iacocca" movement, it is likely that even if he himself doesn't run these people will have a great deal to say in any future Democratic admini- station. Price controls, import restrictions and anti-Japanese sentiments will have a devastating effect on the affordibility of computer hardware. Judging from the boards used in today's Apple Computers, IBM-PCs and DEC VT240s, about 10% of the chips used in American computers are made in El Salvador. Democratic administrations are notoriously soft on communism and this source of computer hardware could dry up by 1990. On the domestic front, major corporations and government bodies have been arguing about what kind of "computer crime" law should be enacted. Note that they are not discussing whether but what and when. The Michigan computer law of 1979 makes it a possible felony to even "attempt to access... any computer system... or computer software... without authorization." Yet "authorization" is never defined. Later this can be interpreted to mean "permission from the government." Federal laws will soon be passed which follow the same reasoning; right now they are arguing over the specific language. Another threat to personal computing comes from labor unions. During the Fall of 1985, the CBS network show 60 minutes ran a segment called "Homework" about people (women, mostly) who make garments at home and sell them to wholesalers and jobbers. The manufacture of women's (though not men's) garments is regulated by the federal labour boards at the behest of the International Ladies 'Garment Workers' Union. The union has been actively harassing people who make women's clothes at home. A wholesaler told the newsguy that this is just the first step, that the next step will be the direct regulation of all home businesses, for instance the computer software industry. When asked if this were true, a union official said in fact that going after the home-based computer software industry is a high priority! Even within the computer industry there are those who have sold out to the Dark Side of the Force. In January of 1986, PC World carried a quote from Kevin Jenkins the chief at Hercules Computer Technology. According to Jenkins, the idea that the computer "expands your freedom" and "opens up new areas of human potential" is just a bunch of "new wave...nonsense" promulgated by Steve Jobs, the co-founder of Apple Computers. Jenkins is clearly a crypto-fascist who would side with governments and unions to regulate you and your computer. In the summer of 1985, Michael Brown applied to the Software Publishers Association for an award based on sales of his program. The independant auditing team reviewed his books and he was slated to recieve a gold-plated plaque for selling over 100,000 units of "Copy II." Then the Software Publishers Association attempted to take back the award. "Copy II" is a program that copies other programs. Part of its functunality is the fact that it can break copy-protected schemes. The Software Publishers Association claims that this leads to millions of dollars of lost sales. How- ever, many users need to break such protection in order to make archival back-ups of their disks. Michael Brown settled out of court. He got moral support from throughout the software industry. However, the Software Publishers Association can be expected to act like socialists when it comes to protecting their interests. A free marketeer, Michael Brown set aside $180,000 for his defence fund. Verifying the "tragedy of the commons," the SPA could only garner $50,000. (The "tragedy" of the commons" is that while "all" may benefit from something, each will only pay in no more than they must to use a "common resource.") The SPA must out of necessity turn to the government if they hope to keep their monopoly on software publishing. In September of 1986, software industry leaders, Ashton-Tate, Microsoft, and Adapso (The Assoc. of Data Processing Organizations), announced that they will no longer copy-protect software. Said Microsoft president, Bill Gates, "The customer won." Piracy in the 1500s and 1600s was caused by nationalistic wars and mercentilstic tariffs. The success of pirates on the high seas led to the era of laissez faire. So, too, has software piracy led to admission by some that force of law is inferior to the realities of the marketplace. The free market impels toward excellence.Michael Brown (creator of "Copy II") said that his firm fights piracy by frequently improving their soft- ware. Only paying customers can be notified of updates. And yet, there is no end to the list of people who would limit or deny your right to compute. You must be ready to defend what rights you want and to extend those rights however possible. The alternative is ignorance. In order to defend your right to compute, all of your data files should be protected with encryption. On the one hand, a crypto-system which rests on known, historical methods can be relatively easy to crack. On the other hand, there are so many algorythms, each with a host of variations, that almost any method for secure communication will do the job. The home computer makes it very easy to switch among a dozen schemes. The avaliability of bulletin-board software is your key to rapid and secure communication. Bulletin board software allows your home computer to function as a message centre. Some communi- cations packages, such as Shareware's "RBBS-PC," are excellent for in-bound messages; others, such as Hayes "SmartCom II," are ideal for dialing out. It matters little which software you choose. The important thing is to get it and use it. Would you rather rely on the U.S. (or for that matter, Canada "Scab" Post) Postal Service to provide you with rapid and secure communication? In defense of your right to process data, you need to develop the kind of mentality that creates a login routine which asks for the day of the week. If you answer with the day of the week, the computer shuts down; the proper response is your aunt's maiden name. This is the modern way to fight unwarranted search and seizure. You can set up a secure bulletin board system & announce it to those with whom you would share data. Survival information, analysis of economic and political news, information about your life- extension and more can be avaliable to you and a handful of friends you may never meet face-to- face. +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ Continued in Part 2 of this doc........ 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