6 ms·
> I haven't seen much in the way of specific predictions from Stallman. Try The Right to Read[1], which predicted ebooks, DRM, restrictions on reverse-engineer
by wtbob 10y ago
> I haven't seen much in the way of specific predictions from Stallman.
Try The Right to Read[1], which predicted ebooks, DRM, restrictions on reverse-engineering, electronic marketing profiles and hardware which refuses to run free operating systems — in 1997. When I first read it, I thought it was well-intentioned hysteria, but it was completely, 100% correct.
[1] https://www.gnu.org/philosophy/right-to-read.en.html https://www.gnu.org/philosophy/right-to-read.en.html
- tedunangst 10y agoYeah, and he also predicted that libraries would disappear, and... last I checked, still here.
- couchand 10y agoThe long term trend doesn't look good, though.
- patrickg_zill 10y agoThe building is there, but the number of books is much less.
- tedunangst 10y agoCitation?
- erikbye 10y agohttp://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/politics/conservative/12102686/14-million-fewer-books-available-in-libraries-than-when-David-Cameron-took-office.html http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/politics/conservative/121026... http://greatergreaterwashington.org/post/33880/dcs-libraries-have-far-fewer-books-and-way-more-e-books-and-audio-and-visual-resources-than-they-/ http://greatergreaterwashington.org/post/33880/dcs-libraries... I hope no one here is surprised by this decline...
- ionforce 10y agoMoving goalposts.
- Radiant 10y agoOh hey, it's the Fallacy Man!
- Tempest1981 10y agoSome libraries provide free access to eBooks -- handy. In SF: http://sfpl.org/index.php?pg=2000005001 http://sfpl.org/index.php?pg=2000005001
- notahacker 10y agoThose things existed in 1997. What the article predicts is "the fact that you could go to prison for many years for letting someone else read your books" which is every bit as hyperbolic and unrealised as Ray Bradbury's book-burning "fireman", and that hardware wouldn't run free operating systems because free operating systems were illegal. These predictions are not in any sense "100% correct".