28c3: The coming war on general computation
Why Hacker News recommends it
HN returns to it constantly as a prescient talk, cited whenever threads cover DRM, locked-down devices, app verification or restrictions on running your own software.
What it is
Cory Doctorow's 28c3 keynote argues that the copyright wars were just a skirmish and that the real fight will be a war on the general-purpose computer. He explains why locked-down devices, DRM and surveillance tools all depend on removing general computation.
Recommended by 6 HN commenters across 6 different months, 2011 to 2026.
What Hacker News said
Strong rec ugh · 2011-12 · on “Doctorow: The coming war on general-purpose computation”
It’s worth watching the talk (linked in the article, but special pointing out seems appropriate): [this video] I like to call it the secret keynote of 28C3.
Strong rec pdkl95 · 2014-09 · on “Lost Lessons from 8-Bit BASIC”
> the idea that users shouldn't be developers has lead to a situation in which access to development tools and information are seemingly treated as a privilege instead of a right Unfortunately, a lot of people have been starting the War On General Purpose Computing[1] for a while now. While many people saw Doctorow's first talk[1] on the War On General Purpose computing, his sequel talk[2] about the upcoming Civil -War On General Purpose Computing is one of the most important talks I've ever seen. The talk is about exactly this point: Turing completeness scares various traditional powers (and some new/upcoming powers), and their instinct is to lash out and try to mandate that someone make a
Recommends akersten · 2020-06 · on “How SGX Fails in Practice”
I'm comfortable with it on SmartCards or EMV chips, since those are tailored devices for a specific purpose and the trust model is understood by the participants. I'm not particularly upset that I can't root my credit card. Mobile phones, it's disappointing, but total consumer control was kind of a lost cause from day 1. What truly bothers me is the introduction of trusted computing into general-purpose consumer CPUs, where previously we had complete freedom. There's an old but still very good CCC talk that encapsulates my feelings about this [0]. [0]: [this video]
Recommends woojoo666 · 2021-10 · on “Grand jury subpoena for Signal user data, Central District of California”
You might have already seen this but in case you havent, there's a famous talk about this called "the coming war on general computation" ( [this video] ), and much of this has already come true
Recommends freefaler · 2023-08 · on “Will Browsers Be Required by Law to Stop You from Visiting Infringing Sites?”
Cory Doctorow has a prescient talk: "The coming war on general computation" from 2011 (12 years ago) in which he argues that all general computing platforms (OS, phone OS, browser) would face challenges by governments and corporations. This looks like another way to control content distribution and put more control in Google's hands. They've made a great strategic choice in building Chrome browser and effectively superseded Microsoft and Apple on desktops as a platform. The talk can be found here: [this video] When people have means to consume or produce content without control any governmental bureaucrat will try to control this activity. History supports this argument. No printing press > no ch
Recommends supern0va · 2026-03 · on “Android Developer Verification”
Is it a serious problem that you can run whatever software you want on your computer? Should we make it so that no one can do that without permission to protect them? I recommend Cory Doctorow's talk on why this is a serious problem for society: [LINK] [this video]
Cites ChristianMarks · 2012-05 · on “Elsevier's recent update to its letter to the mathematical community”
It is possible that in one hundred years or so that many of the "most useful" results published in copyrighted journals of the 20th century and available nowhere else will have found their way into the public domain. But it need not turn out that way. Cory Doctorow spoke about the coming war on general computation at 28c3: [this video] So we cannot be complacent.
Cites shmerl · 2013-03 · on “Dear Congress: It's time for a real fix on unlocking and the DMCA”
You asked a straight question - how to reduce piracy. I answered - treat customers with respect (no DRM), and many of the current pirates will become paying users. If they want to "eliminate piracy" - they can forget about it, it will never happen. They can however increase their profits by acting decently. Today they are mostly focusing on chasing pirates wasting resources on that completely in vain. They should focus on catering to legitimate users instead. And it will pay off. As proven by those who act decently and principally don't use DRM. > Because if I'm selling files for $5 with no copy protection and Joe Pirate is giving them away for $0 (but he doesn't want me to disrespect him by