out of their pockets. DVD's would be one of the greatest advancements in the short history of computers, but because of the shadier uses it could be used for, we'll never see it. I like to compare it to the Internet, its very useful, but it can be used for illegal purposes. You be the judge. Luckily, we may yet someday see DVDs, because several companies are developing copy protection schemes for them, to stop the casual home hacker/copier. Macrovision, for instance, is producing hardware for the DVD player that will make them incompatible with VCRs (the easiest dubbing-to platform, the equivalent of CD to audio tape). It will send output through the audio/video out ports that when played on a TV, will appear normal, but when played through a VCR, will have color stripes running sideways across the screen. That is due to the difference between the ways the two works. So as you can see, current methods of protecting software are a hindrance on the software industry. The problems outweigh the benefits, but with a new law, the industry would be able to keep the benefits and minimize any drawbacks. Instead of having to nitpick over who wrote something that did something similar, it would be back to who wrote something more powerful than the other guy, and thats what makes the industry great, competition. Oh, and I'd like to add that I broke copyright law a total of 13 times in the making of this report, when I made a copy of each reference with the school copying machine, although it was fair use, so I'm not in any trouble....
