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> The German "Post" has a similar system, and they /do/ check it against a
> database.
I always wondered, if you posted a letter without a stamp in Germany and
swapped the To/From addresses, would it get delivered to your intended
recipient for free?
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clipka wrote:
> Darren New schrieb:
>
>>>> No, that's what I'm saying. "Player" in *this* context means a set
>>>> of keys (obviously).
>>>
>>> What's obvious about that?
>>
>> Because I've read more than just one article on the subject?
>
> Does that make it /obvious/ in this context? It may make it obvious to
> /you/, but that's a different story.
It's obvious if you read the article in that context what they mean. I guess
if you didn't know that, it's possible it was less obvious.
> > The point
>> is to track down the key used to decrypt the content so the key can be
>> added to the blacklists on future players.
>
> No. The point is to track down the key (as you say) to add it to the
> blacklist on future /discs/.
Yes. I misspoke. But the blacklist from those disks also goes into the
players. (The blacklists being subtrees of the key tree.)
> What on earth should the players blacklist?
The players actually wind up blacklisting particular keys, IIRC. It's a
highly complex system, and now that you mention it, I'm not sure I still
remember all those details.
> Unless the security stuff also contains an /additional/ mechanism to
> somehow identify pirated copies of movies.
They do, but I don't think that has to do with the key stuff we're talking
about, since they just *always* refuse to play pirated movies regardless.
--
Darren New, San Diego CA, USA (PST)
I ordered stamps from Zazzle that read "Place Stamp Here".
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clipka wrote:
> Not that Wikipedia would be free from error,
It's possible what I've read was wrong too, yes. I've never licensed the stuff.
--
Darren New, San Diego CA, USA (PST)
I ordered stamps from Zazzle that read "Place Stamp Here".
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scott schrieb:
>> The German "Post" has a similar system, and they /do/ check it against
>> a database.
>
> I always wondered, if you posted a letter without a stamp in Germany and
> swapped the To/From addresses, would it get delivered to your intended
> recipient for free?
I guess that might depend on how far away the recipient is living. All
letters are nowadays processed in one of dunno-how-many mail centers,
and I reckon the first such center to handle any letter will check it
for sufficient postage; if they find that the alleged sender address is
not anywhere close to where the letter was posted (and I guess they can
narrow that down comparatively well), but the alleged recipient is
living surprisingly close nearby, someone might get suspicious.
So if you intend to send a letter to a friend living a few blocks away,
and you're just too lazy to walk to their home and hand over the letter
in person, this scheme might indeed work.
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On Thu, 15 Oct 2009 09:15:57 +0100, Invisible wrote:
>>> LOL, I suspect they can do it slightly more subtly than that! They
>>> only need to make some tiny changes to some of the pixels to be
>>> detectable. In theory they could do what you suggest though, would be
>>> fun :-)
>>
>> Probably a form of steganography, at a guess.
>
> Well, if they're hiding player ID information in the video, then that
> would, by definition, be "steganography". That's what steganography
> *is*, after all...
>
> The question is which steganographic technique they'll use. ;-)
One that's difficult to guess, I'd guess. :-)
Jim
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On Thu, 15 Oct 2009 09:17:02 +0100, Invisible wrote:
>>> Now I'm thinking... it appears to be a standard Data Matrix barcode,
>>> so if I could figure out WTF the data encoded in it is, I could print
>>> as many of them as I like, without a fee...
>>
>> Until you got caught, that is, and fined/put in jail for fraud.... ;-)
>
> Would they actually bother for 21p?
They'd probably fine you if they noticed it.
> Now, if I wrote an automated program to print these stamps and posted it
> on the Internet... *then* they might have a case. :-P
That would certainly raise your visibility, yes. But breaking the law is
breaking the law, and when one does it one has to be prepared for the
consequences. Thinking "yes, it's illegal but they won't care/will never
catch me" - well, the prisons here (and there) are filled with people who
thought that way.
Jim
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>> Would they actually bother for 21p?
>
> They'd probably fine you if they noticed it.
>
>> Now, if I wrote an automated program to print these stamps and posted it
>> on the Internet... *then* they might have a case. :-P
>
> That would certainly raise your visibility, yes. But breaking the law is
> breaking the law, and when one does it one has to be prepared for the
> consequences. Thinking "yes, it's illegal but they won't care/will never
> catch me" - well, the prisons here (and there) are filled with people who
> thought that way.
Theoretically, if I pick up one of the pens at work and take it home
with me, that's theft.
Is my employer going to care?
I doubt it...
(And a pen costs significantly more than a stamp.)
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On Thu, 15 Oct 2009 16:35:01 +0100, Invisible wrote:
>>> Would they actually bother for 21p?
>>
>> They'd probably fine you if they noticed it.
>>
>>> Now, if I wrote an automated program to print these stamps and posted
>>> it on the Internet... *then* they might have a case. :-P
>>
>> That would certainly raise your visibility, yes. But breaking the law
>> is breaking the law, and when one does it one has to be prepared for
>> the consequences. Thinking "yes, it's illegal but they won't care/will
>> never catch me" - well, the prisons here (and there) are filled with
>> people who thought that way.
>
> Theoretically, if I pick up one of the pens at work and take it home
> with me, that's theft.
>
> Is my employer going to care?
>
> I doubt it...
>
> (And a pen costs significantly more than a stamp.)
I have worked for employers who did care about pens going home with
employees.
It's a risk analysis, but as I said, the prisons are full of people who
thought they could "get away with it" and were wrong.
Jim
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Invisible <voi### [at] dev null> wrote:
> Bar codes. They're little bunches of black lines which can be read by a
> scanner. Right?
>
> Hahaha, well... it turns out there are actually a miriad of different
> kinds. And they're ALL COMPLETELY DIFFERENT to each other.
>
My Android phone has an app that does a bar code scanner that can eventually
look up the product it scans online to see who sells it for what. I've found
prices for things when looking up some very boring, unimportant things when I
tested it around the house. It has however failed me twice in computer stores
when I was hurriedly trying to find out if the price were right. I quickly
scanned one of the five or six bar codes on the box and it never worked. Maybe
some of these were about the UPS shipping or inventory. I never found the store
product UPC.
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gregjohn schrieb:
> My Android phone has an app that does a bar code scanner that can eventually
> look up the product it scans online to see who sells it for what. I've found
> prices for things when looking up some very boring, unimportant things when I
> tested it around the house. It has however failed me twice in computer stores
> when I was hurriedly trying to find out if the price were right. I quickly
> scanned one of the five or six bar codes on the box and it never worked. Maybe
> some of these were about the UPS shipping or inventory. I never found the store
> product UPC.
It seems to me they don't bother about UPC-A (or EAN-13) codes except
for products typically sold at supermarkets and other high-volume
low-margin retailers.
I can imagine that it doesn't pay off for e.g. manufacturers in the
computing industry to apply for a company code, as the customers have a
strong say in what products a shop will carry (at least for the products
the store will make the real money with), so the retailers have
difficulties trying to threaten the manufacturers with boycotting their
products. And most retailers will not really bother too much either, as
the handling expenses are low compared to the margin.
Supermarkets, on the other hand, are strongly motivated to keep handling
costs to a minimum, and it won't hurt them much if they refused to carry
a certain brand of toothpaste.
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