Måns Rullgård <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> writes: > Brian Thomas Sniffen <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> writes: > >>> Can a company release an encrypted CD, so that it's as difficult to >>> modify the firmware on CD as it is in a chip, and then have it >>> count as part of the hardware? >> >> No, that's not hardware. That's an encrypted CD. That, and the DRM >> approach below, are just various forms of non-free software. The >> difference with a chip on a card is not that it's difficult to modify, >> but that it's not treatable as software! I can't open it in Emacs, so >> it isn't software. > > You can pull the chip from the socket, copy the contents to disk, > and
I probably can't. No good with that sort of thing. Software on disk is software. Also, I could pull the Pentium off my motherboard, scan its contents to disk, and open that in any editor I like -- right? > open it with any editor you like. The chip can also be rewritten. > Where is the fundamental difference from a device where the firmware > is written with the chip in its socket? Before I believe your definition or put too much thought into considering it, please explain why it isn't a complete destruction of the line between software and hardware. -Brian -- Brian Sniffen [EMAIL PROTECTED]
