Opera is now Free

[Ross Werner]

On Tue, 20 Sep 2005, Andy Bradford wrote:
> Thus said Ross Werner on Tue, 20 Sep 2005 14:48:57 MDT:
>> (And actually  it gave  me a  good excuse to  post the  Miserere link,
>> which is my favorite copyright-related  story. Who knows if it's true,
>> but it sure makes for good reading!)
>
> It was a good  read. I had read another account  before, but the details
> were less  specific (didn't  actually mention  the name  of the  work he
> reverse  engineered).  Which  brings  up a  point...  wouldn't  this  be
> considered reverse engineering? According to the story he never actually
> saw a copy of the music.

I always think of it in the context of DRM, trying to give people access 
to something (in this case, letting them hear the concert) but not letting 
them copy it. It's basically an impossible task. All you need is one 
Mozart and you have a copy.

I also think it's an interesting tale because it's possible that if Mozart 
*hadn't* have "broken the copy protection" or "reverse engineered" it and 
the piece subsquently published, then the Miserere may perhaps have never 
survived to this day.

 	~ Ross