‘Don’t Copy That Floppy’: The Untold History of Apple II Software Piracy
‘Don’t Copy That Floppy’: The Untold History of Apple II Software Piracy
A computer historian tells the story of one of the earliest copy protection battles of the personal computer era.Laine Nooney (VICE)
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Interview: "They Want to Silence Me”
Mohsen Mahdawi, Palestinian activist & Columbia University student recently released from ICE detention.
Federal judge Geoffrey Crawford also determined that Mahdawi can attend his graduation ceremony at Columbia, begin his Master's degree classes, & attend events, including protests.
democracynow.org/2025/5/16/moh…
#uspol #resistfascism #studentprotests #columbiau #MohsenMahdawi #palestine .
“They Want to Silence Me”: Columbia Student Mohsen Mahdawi on ICE Jail, Palestine, Activism, Buddhism
In his first live interview since his release from ICE detention, Columbia University student and Palestinian activist Mohsen Mahdawi recounts the traumatic experience of his arrest and incarceration.Democracy Now!
Referendum sulla cittadinanza, Pd Altopascio: “Una risposta per consentire la piena inclusione dei giovani”
Il partito locale: "Questi bambini pagano sulla loro pelle il non vedersi riconosciuti dalla comunità, anche avendo difficoltà pratiche"
Peering BOF
Hurricane Electric wants to peer with Cogent, saying they did everything in their discussions but bake them a cake. Here we see a cake delivered at the NANOG...YouTube
Following oral argument at the US Court of Appeals for DC this afternoon in National #Treasury Employees #Union v. #RussVought, a case in which the court is considering whether the #Trump admin’s efforts to unilaterally shut down the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (#CFPB) are constitutional, Constitutional Accountability Center Equal Justice Works Fellow Anna Jessurun issued this:
#law #Constitution #SeparationOfPowers #CoEqualBranchesOfGovernment #Congress
theusconstitution.org/news/cac…
CAC Release: At the D.C. Circuit, Everyone Agrees that the Constitution Does Not Permit the President to Unilaterally Shutter the CFPB | Constitutional Accountability Center
WASHINGTON, DC – Following oral argument at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia this afternoon in National Treasury Employees Union v.Constitutional Accountability Center
“The DC Circuit should block the administration’s actions to shutter the agency & uphold #Congress’s plenary power over the existence & structure of federal agencies.”
…
“If President #Trump wants to shut down the #CFPB, the #Constitution requires that he go to Congress & get it to give him the authority to do that. Notably, he has not done so.”
#law #RussVought #SeparationOfPowers #CoEqualBranchesOfGovernment
From Reuters:
Appeals judges prod #Trump admin, #union over #CFPB wind-down
Federal appeals court judges in Washington wrestled Friday with the extent to which they could instruct the Trump admin to operate the government's consumer finance watchdog agency, which the White House this year has sought to decimate if not shut down entirely.
reuters.com/sustainability/boa…
#law #RussVought #Constitution #Congress #SeparationOfPowers #CoEqualBranchesOfGovernment
#Israel pulls the trigger, again and again.
The #USA gives the weapons and money and UN vetos.
#Germany gives more money and more weapons.
The #UK flies recon planes off Cyprus to help in the killing.
#SouthAfrica goes to court to try to stop it, to little avail.
#China cries about it, but doesn't stop doing business with Israel.
Only #Yemen takes a stand no mater what.
It's not up to governments or States, is up to the people and the resistance to stop it.
I didn't think you belittled them; I'm sorry if my comment came off as abrasive. But I did feel the need to reply because of the longtime, and well financed, imperialist propaganda against the Lebanese Resistance. Especially due to the political weight they carried for this operation (domestically and internationally)
This was more for outside viewers of the thread.
Supreme Court Denies Deportations, US Credit Rating Downgraded, More
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/audio/2025-05-17/supreme-court-denies-deportations-u-s-credit-rating-downgraded?utm_source=flipboard&utm_medium=activitypub
Posted into Podcasts @podcasts-bloomberg
Is that Grindr in your pocket...
#queer #pride #lgbtiqa #idahobit #Bathurst #BathurstNSW #RegionalAustralia #Australia #Facebook #FacebookGroups #homophobia #queerphobia
It's off! SpaceX launches rocket from Central Coast with payload of communications satellites
Low clouds and fog obscured the Friday morning launch for parts of the region.Lance Orozco (KCLU)
oh, this is fun, I wonder how many we can come up with
youtube.com/watch?v=tJ6kqBOZWB…
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Profitez des vidéos et de la musique que vous aimez, mettez en ligne des contenus originaux, et partagez-les avec vos amis, vos proches et le monde entier.www.youtube.com
- YouTube
Profitez des vidéos et de la musique que vous aimez, mettez en ligne des contenus originaux, et partagez-les avec vos amis, vos proches et le monde entier.www.youtube.com
Done, sold the bike I restored! And, to someone who is buying it to try to start bicycling to work!! This will be awesome for them, as it has Schwalbe Marathon tires on there, which will be perfect for commuting They also happen to work for the city here, ha ha. (easy peasy for them, they are currently driving 3/4 of a mile to work and back every day, and this will be easy and quick for them).
@ohmu @human3500 I totally forgot about this LA Story scene, which is not far from truth.
(I have seen neighbors do this down the block before)
youtube.com/watch?v=ylVWBvgL7t…
- YouTube
Profitez des vidéos et de la musique que vous aimez, mettez en ligne des contenus originaux, et partagez-les avec vos amis, vos proches et le monde entier.www.youtube.com
🚨🎶S.F. Jazz just dropped a love note to the internet, a couple of thousand recordings from their archives. 🎶 🚨
I’ve started sort of relaxed, with Joe Henderson doing Porgy and Bess, but I suspect I can spend many hours browsing this.
More Uncle Gray
Went back to the park and found the goose family and their uncle or aunt (I can’t tell the sex of the gray goose) Gray. It is the same family, one of the parents has a has a tag. The gray goose was still with the goose family days after I first saw them together. It still may be a coincidence. 1/2
#family #goose #canadiangoose #Canadiangeese #graygoose #photography #nature #birding
I have more photos of the family on my Ko-fi (ko-fi.com/album/New-Album-K3K5…) for subscribers.
Nuovo round 'volenterosi' senza Meloni. La premier: "Italia non invia truppe"
@
potenziare i confini ue con la russia e belorussia sembra piu' proprio ...
finlandia stati baltici polonia e confini con kalingrad ...
poi anche il fronte sud dove orban e fico sembrano inclini ad aprire le porte a un' invasione russa ...
armi per kiev, le sanno usare, hanno un kill rate vicino all' 1 a 10 ...
@
iltempo.it/esteri/2025/05/16/n…
#HybridConversation : #Mastodon
"language:it"
Nuovo round 'volenterosi' senza Meloni. La premier: "Italia non invia truppe"
Alla fine la missione di Giorgia Meloni a Tirana rischia di essere ricordata per due immagini: quella del suo arrivo in Piazza Skanderbeg, dove si tie...www.iltempo.it
India praises Su-30MKI, says it was used to target Pakistani strategic facilities
Delhi's decision to launch strikes usingBRICS
ウクライナ国防相「次は首脳会談」、直接交渉の目標は捕虜交換と停戦確保 | ロイター
ウクライナのウメロフ国防相は、１６日にトルコのイスタンブールで行ったロシアとの約３年ぶりの直接交渉の次のステップは、ウクライナとロシアの首脳会談になるとの考えを示した。（２０２５年 ロイター/Leonhard Foeger）［イスタンブール １６日 ロイター］ - ウクライナのウメロフ国防相は、１６日にトルコのイスタンブールで行ったロシアとの約３年ぶりの直接交渉の次のステップは、ウクライナとロシアの首脳会談になるとの考えを示した。ウメロフ氏は記者団に対し、イスタンブールで行った協議での最優先事項…WALKNEWS (WALK NEWS)
Frana di Tiglio: sopralluogo congiunto tra Comune e Genio Civile
La sindaca Campani: "Abbiamo già alcune possibili soluzioni per intervenire. Sarà nostra cura informare la popolazione sugli sviluppi"
🖨️✨ Can AI Edit Photos for Printing? Let’s Talk.
AI tools like Remini, Topaz, and others have come a long way — but are their edits actually good enough for print?
✅ Great for restoring old photos
✅ Useful for upscaling low-res images
⚠️ But not always color-accurate or print-sharp
Before you hit "print," test on small sizes first — and avoid over-processing.
More tips 👉 ireminidl.com
#AIEditing #Photography #PhotoRestoration #PrintingTips #Remini #MastoPhoto
What a Weaker US Dollar Means for the Economy
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2025-05-16/how-a-weaker-us-dollar-affects-the-economy?utm_source=flipboard&utm_medium=activitypub
Posted into Business @business-bloomberg
US Supreme Court blocks Trump bid to resume quick deportations of Venezuelans
https://www.euronews.com/2025/05/17/us-supreme-court-blocks-trump-bid-to-resume-quick-deportations-of-venezuelans?utm_source=flipboard&utm_medium=activitypub
Posted into World News @world-news-euronews
US Supreme Court blocks Trump bid to resume quick deportations of Venezuelans
The high court action is the latest in a string of judicial setbacks for the Trump administration’s effort to speed deportations of people in the country illegally.Emma De Ruiter (Euronews.com)
Papa diz que união entre homem e mulher é alicerce da família - Paulo Figueiredo
Pontífice também se pronunciou contra o aborto O papa Leão XIV afirmou, nesta sexta-feira (16), que a família é fundamentada na “união estável entre um homem e uma mulher” e que os [bebês] não nascidos e idosos possuem dignidade como criaturas de Deu…Suhely Bueno (Paulo Figueiredo)
Convento Pro Vita in San Romano, Sinistra Italiana: “Non soldi pubblici a chi discrimina”
Il segretario Pellicci: "La giunta ha scelto di stare dalla parte di chi vuole cancellare i diritti”. Manifestazione in piazza Napoleone
FDA Clears First Blood Test To Help Diagnose Alzheimer's Disease - Slashdot
An anonymous reader quotes a report from the Associated Press: U.S. health officials on Friday endorsed the first blood test that can help diagnose Alzheimer's and identify patients who may benefit from drugs that can modestly slow the memory-destroy…science.slashdot.org
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Profitez des vidéos et de la musique que vous aimez, mettez en ligne des contenus originaux, et partagez-les avec vos amis, vos proches et le monde entier.www.youtube.com
Epic asks court to compel Apple to reinstate Fortnite on the App Store
https://9to5mac.com/2025/05/16/epic-asks-court-to-compel-apple-to-reinstate-fortnite-on-the-app-store/?utm_source=flipboard&utm_medium=activitypub
Posted into All Stories @all-stories-9to5mac
Epic asks judge to reinstate Fortnite on the App Store - 9to5Mac
Late Friday, Epic Games asked U.S. District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers to compel Apple to reinstate Fortnite on the App StoreMarcus Mendes (9to5Mac)
#interurbantrail #photography #supertakumar
Shot with a vintage Pentax Super Takumar 28mm f/3.5 lens on a Sony a77.
Universal Monk
in reply to Universal Monk • • •In 1981, Robert Tripp, editor and publisher of MICRO: The 6502 Journal, likened the copying of software to the photocopying of a magazine and acknowledged that MICRO would have no livelihood if readers could simply get the content free or at minimal cost.
Thus began the drama of copy protection, an industrial loss prevention practice wherein companies used a combination of hardware and software techniques to scramble the data on software media formats, typically 5.25-inch floppy disks, so that copying the disk was no longer possible by conventional means. While the goal of this subtle bit of friction was to throttle piracy, it also prevented users from creating backup copies of software they legally owned, or otherwise accessing the code itself.
Universal Monk
in reply to Universal Monk • • •From the article: "Personal computers functioned differently in the 1970s and 1980s. Unlike domestic computational technologies such as video game consoles or pocket calculators, the Apple II and many of its competitors were not designed as proprietary or closed systems. Indeed, the entire appeal of a personal computer was that it put computing power directly in the hands of users. It was essential that users be able not only to program on their machine but also to save and distribute the work they did."
It needs to be like this now!
I was in my early teens in the 1970's and 1980's. My family was way too poor to afford any of the computer. The only people in my hometown who had this stuff were wealthy. So I think this authors use of the term "relatively inexpensive" sorta downplays how much that shit cost in the day.
The first actual computer I ever saw or got to play with was a RadioShack TRS-80, that my then-gf's dad had. The 1977 cost for that was $599 USD. Adjusted for Inflation, that's around $3,000 USD in today's dollars.
MadMadBunny
in reply to Universal Monk • • •I remember this!!
…
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Oh shit I’m old…
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KaRunChiy likes this.
Universal Monk
in reply to MadMadBunny • • •Me too! In that article there is a cover of BYTE mag with the pirate ship on it, and I remember reading that in my best friend's basement while listening to the radio and drinking Pepsi out of a glass bottle! I shot him a text just now with the pic of that magazine.
Fuck those times were awesome!
My biggest regret tho, is that even tho I was fairly interested in computers then, I was more interested in girls. So I fucked around with girls all my teens and 20's instead of riding the tech wave and having it for a career. Got my gf pregnant at 17, and had to start working a factory job butchering turkeys and chickens. (Obviously I don't regret having my children, just saying I could have been smarter about it.)
Now I'm retired and making up for lost time by becoming the biggest tech nerd ever, and fucking embracing all of it all day: AI, Lemmy, PieFed, Mastadon, Linux, Racket, Python, Java, Lua, etc... LMAO
It's either that or pickelball all day! But fuck that noise, I wanna be an old computer punk pirate, shitposting and annoying the hell out of young Lemmys for the rest of my days. Considering the number of bans I have, all because I'm a socialist anarchist, my plan seems to be working! 😀
BeBopALouie
in reply to MadMadBunny • • •railcar
in reply to Universal Monk • • •Universal Monk
in reply to railcar • • •bzipitidoo
in reply to Universal Monk • • •Yes, I was a kid in those days. Didn't know what copyright was. I used Locksmith, Nibbles Away, and several others. None of those worked on Ultima IV, so I broke the copy protection myself, using the boot tracing technique. I observed that Ultima IV's DOS could read and write the standard format. So once I had it loaded into memory and stopped at a breakpoint, I called on it to read the boot disk, then swapped to standard DOS and wrote that data back out to a blank formatted disk. Worked beautifully. Didn't have to modify the code at all, and the copy protection was all gone.
Then I amused myself hacking at the game. For fun, decided to change all the graphics, make it more colorful. Unfortunately, that accentuated the blockiness, and I decided the original graphics were better. Did the same to Moebius, and greatly improved its performance simply by interleaving the sectors of the disk with the battle code that it had to load every time you got into a fight, reducing the load time from 20 seconds to 5 seconds.
Universal Monk
in reply to bzipitidoo • • •