The Microsoft Reader crack: The lowdown from ‘Winston Smith,’ Convert Lit coder
(Welcome Slashdotters! See update.)
“Winston Smith,” an unemployed American high school dropout self-named after 1984’s hero, is one of the three authors of the Convert Lit program that cracks Microsoft Reader format.
A new British law will force the present host of the Convert Site, Dan Jackson Software, to shut off the downloading later this month. But Winston hopes the crack can be available elsewhere on a high-profile site in a country with the right legal environment. Any offers? Send ’em to Dan.
His goal, and Winston’s, isn’t the encouragement of piracy. In fact, in correspondence with me, Winston describes himself as a big buyer of paper books. And I suspect that within the bounds of his limited budget he probably would be reading and paying for the electronic kind, too, in a major way, if he owned the right handheld.
So why Convert Lit? Easy. Winston, as a matter of principle, wants you to be able to back up Microsoft Reader books and not worry about “protection”-related hassles. Horror of horrors, you can even take the illicit ASCII and enjoy the books with software not blessed by Microsoft Chief Software Architect Bill Gates. That’s what is possible technically. Legally it’s virtually impossible in the United States, thanks to the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, which says the average American can’t circumvent copy protection–even to make backups or share a book with a close friend. Psst! You’re not even supposed to discuss the details of circumvention, the First Amendment be damned!
In line with the aptly Orwellian pseudonym, Winston identifies Microsoft and its ilk with Big Bro. As he views it, corrupt copyright law is dumbing us down and reducing our interest in reading. “These days, who reads–except for some old coots? And perhaps a couple of tech-crazed geeks.” At the same time, his thoughts nicely jibe with my theory that disgruntled consumers make the best revolutionaries. I’m not talking machine-guns and Molotov cocktails, just an uppity assertion of Americans’ rights to own books, not merely rent them or otherwise be at the mercy of control-fixated publishers and software companies. Winston’s motives are a mix of the noble and juvenile–he admits to a crush on Sabrina Lloyd, the movie-and-TV star, and a desire to talk her up and win her attention–but at the core of his Convert Lit crusade is his desire to let Netfolks enjoy books as desired within fair use, not just Microsoft’s way.
A fan of both Pocket PC eBooks Watch and TeleRead, Winston dropped me several e-mails after reading of my own series of personal horrors with Reader. He wrote from a Russian e-mail address protected with perhaps a dozen proxies between me and the Web interface. Honest, Mr. Chief Software Architect, I haven’t the slightest idea who or where he is. A related letter, however, passing on Winston’s pointer to a DMCA-related article, came from Dan Jackson. While I lack absolute proof, never having seen Winston at work at the keyboard, turning out Convert Lit, I’ve every reason to believe that he’s the real McCoy.
If Bill Gates and friends are clueful in this case, they won’t sic Legal on Winston and Convert Lit colleagues. Instead the Chief Software Architect should turn the matter over to Marketing and Public Relations. Winston in effect provides some great insights into why “Microsoft” is a hated name among millions and why e-books sales for the whole bloody industry are a pathetic $10-million or so a year–a fraction of Tom Clancy’s annual income.
Of course, like Winston, I wonder if Microsoft doesn’t care a lot more about DRM ideology and related profits than about e-books to enlighten the masses. Within e-bookdom, Bill Gates is an anti-Carnegie. If he wants to refute this, perhaps he will stop imposing his expensive proprietary ways on publishers and readers and go for the open-standards approach that Microsoft executive Dick Brass promised in a press release announcing the establishment of the Open eBook Forum. We badly need a universal consumer format for e-books in the spirit of the laudable vision championed by Brass some five years ago at the news conference where I stood within a few feet of him. The format could even work with DRM Lite, as I’ll call it, a nonintrusive, nonproprietary form of the technology. DRM Lite would not be crackproof, but at least be a way to make legalized file-sharing easier through tracking of royalties, with suitable precautions in place to safeguard privacy.
But so far, I believe that Microsoft and the like would not be the least interested in such a compromise.
This is America in the era of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act–one of the most prescient buys that Hollywood and other copyright interests made during the Bill Clinton era through millions in well-targeted campaign contributions. The irony is that the DMCA is actually a threat to our country’s long-term economic prosperity and national security. Foreign hackers hate us. The DMCA will be a good recruiter for cyber-terrorists–including perhaps those in Iraq, for which the Bush Administration has hired Hilary Rosen, mouthpiece for the recording industry, to help rewrite copyright law. And that’s not the DMCA’s only con. With the DMCA as a crutch, U.S. companies are relying on fifth-rate technology rather than paying programmers to do the job right. What’s more, if the corporations were smarter, they could serve their shareholders better and turn to nonproprietary protection techniques that receive more scrutiny than proprietary technology and related gimmicks do.
For an example of “protection” at its most obnoxious, consider the Digital Rights Management and related technologies associated with Microsoft Reader. Microsoft has squirreled away tens of billions in spare cash, and yet an unemployed high school dropout, who tries to make his living fixing computers and doing manual labor, has played a key role in bypassing this substandard “protection.” Winston, though obviously damn bright as a self-taught programmer, would be the first to admit he’s hardly the ultimate at his craft. And yet he and his friends could still crack Convert Lit. You’d be surprised how absent-minded and cheap a megaconglomerate can be about the little details. That’s my main theory here. Another theory is that proprietary DRM is inherently inferior, so maybe cash wouldn’t have entirely mattered anyway, given the approach used. Questions also exist about the basic concept of DRM and whether it can ever truly be crackproof. Whatever the circumstances, however, my belief is that lawyers for DRM zealots at various corporations are pocketing the money the programmers should have gotten—if not at Microsoft, then elsewhere. The lawyers intend to rely on the DMCA, a law blithely passed by fellow lawyers who make up so much of our well-bought Congress.
You needn’t be a geek to be upset about this. If you’re truly an American patriot, you’ll hate the DMCA for its restrictions on free speech. And if you live in the U.K. or other countries saddled now with DMCAish restrictions, then you’ll be a British patriot, a French patriot, a German patriot, a whatever-your-nationality patriot. So far in the past few days, however, perhaps fearing Microsoft, the media seem to have wimped out. I’ve yet to see a single article about the effect of an EU-inspired law on Dan Jackson, who must now stop hosting his Convert Lit site in the U.K. Even bloggers, letting the mainstream media set their agendas, have essentially ignored Jackson’s plight. Anti-DMCA articles are still appearing, but Dan Jackson, at the cutting edge, has vanished from headlines.
Still, the pesky DMCA controversy lives on. Here in the States, a bright young Princetonian now finds himself the target of a $10-million DMCA-related suit from a greedster company trafficking in Digital Rights Management technology. His crime? Pointing out how use of a shift key could bypass SunnComm’s lame CD copy protection. Oh well, given the pathetic sales of the e-book industry, one wonders how much Microsoft and publishers could sue Winston and buddies for. In the case of e-book publishers, Winston might even argue that consumer-hostile DRM is actually costing the industry and that maybe AOL Time Warner and the rest owe him some hefty consulting fees. Yes, I’ll issue a satire alert for that last sentence. The rest of this TeleBlog posting, however, is as real as the signatures on the checks to DMCA-supporting pols in search of campaign gifts.
Below I’ll present Winston’s thoughts. I’ve organized them by topic and lightly edited them for style but have not censored the good stuff except for some details that might help reveal his identity. Please note that the term “Convert Lit” is an exercise of editorial judgment, and that I’ll let Winston use an earthier name below. Needless to say, I don’t agree with every syllable Winston writes, but he deserves a full say, if we consider the significance of Convert Lit, whatever the name.
Meanwhile, given Microsoft’s presumable wish that all mentions of Convert Lit vanish, I would encourage Netfolks to copy this posting immediately and circulate it as freely as they would like while crediting teleread.com, so that readers know where to go for updates. And now here’s Winston on Winston.
PERSONAL BACKGROUND
I am an American citizen by birth. I am over 21. I am a high school dropout, and failed to arrive on any college campus, even with the incentive of weeklong drug-filled orgies. Everything I know about computers and programming I have taught myself. I am currently unemployed. What little money I make comes from fixing computers or doing the odd manual labor job. Lack of a college degree is a true impediment to getting hired.
WINSTON’S REAL NAME FOR THE PROGRAM
I have a twisted sense of humor. Clit is clit, not Convert Lit. The original idea was that Microsoft would feel compelled to denounce the program by its precise name.
We never got the chance to laugh, though. To date, Microsoft has not once mentioned Clit, nor have they acknowledged that such a program exists, to the public, or, I am sure, to the publishers. That the C could be conveniently made to stand for “Convert” was an intended amusement.
I am solely responsible for the quickly-thrown-together Graphical User Interface in asm. It’s entitled “Cuntlit” and named with the same idea in mind as Clit. The acronym is “Convert Until Now Transformed: Lit Into Text.” The use of Charisma Carpenters’ backside for elements of the user interface was an obscure joke that no one caught.
HIS MAIN MOTIVES
I am a rabid fan of free speech, regardless of how much I might disagree with what is being said. My other motivations follow those of “Coauthor in the Shadows.”
In his words: “My motivations are to break DRM systems for my own education and to force providers of these systems to make their systems more complicated and bug-ridden until they cannot be effectively maintained. Keeping Clit as a useable program is to assuage my guilt at making the end users suffer through this process.” Coauthor in the Shadows, naturally, is in possession of more maturity than I claim to have.
Beyond twitting Microsoft, and causing it to cripple LIT more and more, until the program is so unfriendly and complicated that the whole format collapses under its weight proves impractical in other ways; beyond letting normal, law-abiding citizens actually use what they have legally purchased; beyond the fulfillment of doing what I consider an ethically required endeavor, Clit for me is just my way of getting Sabrina Lloyd’s attention.
Aren’t all the best things in life done for a woman? I am a diehard fan and harbor the dream of someday meeting her. As an incidental benefit, Clit will give me the voice to bring attention to her goodness. It’s not the best ulterior motive, but it’s not the worst.
That–and, hey, the coding experience I’m gettin–is also valuable.
THE DUMBING DOWN OF (HUMAN) READERS
The problem for e-books is utter apathy. People simply do not care. In fact, for the most part, people simply do not read. For a fascinating eye-opener check out John Taylor Gatto’s site, which contains The Underground History Of American Education. Did I get this link from TeleRead? If not, it should have been there!
A quick synopsis, even if it doesn’t give “Underground” full justice, is that we’ve been dumbing down people for centuries. These days, who reads except for some old codgers and perhaps a couple of tech-crazed geeks? Sure, there are best-sellers. There are some great authors, as well, some who’ve been around for decades, and some with their first book. Literature isn’t dead, just free thought.
I know I’m preaching to the choir here, but, I think most people are missing the issue. With DRM, for example, Microsoft isn’t trying to restrict content so much as your ability and desire to have the content. When it becomes too frustrating to actually get books, and too nerve-racking to read them–well, look at average computer users now. Their systems crashes a few times, or a virus trashes them, and they shrug their shoulders and go look to see what’s on TV.
Evil conspiracy? You bet. Fewer people reading, more people tuned in to the ‘truths’ on Fox news. More made on advertising. And on it goes.
When Microsoft owns every avenue of content distribution, what alternative will you have–especially when companies start refusing to produce dead-tree copy, because “It’s more cost-effective to release electronically”? Who cares if you’ve got to have the perfect and ‘compatible’ setup needed to read it? Paranoid as this sounds, I’m afraid it will quickly become the grim reality. And, just like musicians, the authors and consumers (moo!) are the ones who will be screwed.
A PRO-WRITER, ANTI-PIRACY STATEMENT
I actually buy a lot of dead-tree books. I’m wishy washy about online reading. I have no problem, obviously, about being at my computer for hours reading, but I enjoy the feel of a book, and, it’s rather hard to take my computer outside. Of course, if I had actual e-book hardware, that probably would change. How’s that for an irony, considering how many .lits are read on Pocket PCs–even though the PC end of it is also important?
Now here’s something for you–I downloaded Stephen King’s On Writing from the ebooks newsgroup. I enjoyed it so much that I bought the dead-tree version for me, as well as another copy as a birthday present for a friend. Greg Ilse was another one I checked out online, and now have a good deal of his books in hardcopy.
When I was a youngster, I used to check tons of books out of the library weekly. In fact, I used to have the bookmobile bring me books from the big city. Now I own most of the books I enjoyed then. I don’t want to steal from the authors, and I think many authors understand the ‘new’’ medium (check out Orson Scott Card’s excellent article regarding CD piracy).
I think authors in general are going to benefit when there is an open system, simply because there are so many people like me. If something entertains you, or stimulates, or whatevers you to such an extent that you feel compelled to tell people about it, you’re going to feel guilty if you don’t support the author by purchasing it.
Sure, we all enjoy getting stuff free, but most of us also understand that without paying for it, there won’t be any more produced. It’s that simple. The only reason pirates exist is because people don’t feel that what they’re buying is worth the cost it’s demanded they pay for it!
I point to non-crippled shareware as an example, though that’s a tenuous one since people seem to feel differently about software. Still, the model works. Books that are easily accessible, for a trivial cost–less than a haircut’s!–are going to sell big in plain text. Add ClearType-ish tech on top of that, and you’ve got a real winner. Make it a huge hassle? Who wants to mess with it?
Further, if you’re allowed to do what you wish with what you’ve bought, companies will spring up to take these electronic books, and bind them for you or perform other services. You could purchase all of Dan Simmon’s Hyperion series and have a company bind all of it into a great tome you could keep handy. Or maybe all of Asimov’s Foundation series. There’s a lot of possibilities for the consumer, and the author doesn’t care, because he’s already gotten paid
Now, if someone tries to sell a volume like mentioned above, or to put the files online, they should get nailed and ostracized! I point again to Orson Scott Card’s article.
The biggest social deterrent is that of society’s attitudes. Thing is, right now all the media companies are treating their users like thieves: How should one expect users to act if they’re treated that way?
Oh, and here’s something else to think about. Why wouldn’t you just snag a plain text online? Because you want to be sure that, if you’re a fan of the author, what you’re reading is what he or she actually write! With an open format, you’d be worried about modifications, you’d want to get it from the ‘source,’ simply because you can trust its authenticity then. This won’t matter to some, but it’ll matter to most. Electronic books could be extremely profitable to authors, but, again, not to those entrenched between them and their fans, trying to keep things the ‘old way’.
WINSTON’S QUESTIONS FOR PUBLISHERS
Are you aware that books sold in the .lit format are able to be easily pirated? Are you aware that DRM does not work? Are you aware of the despair and frustration releasing these books in .lit is causing your customers? Microsoft can try to Trojan its way into anything it wants, but if no one will touch Microsoft DRM, Gates will get nowhere.
E-BOOK DRM AS A TROJAN HORSE FOR “TRUSTED COMPUTING”
What you may not have seen is the specter of Trusted Computing, which, for all intents and purposes, is already here. The only way to defeat that–and this I have on very good authority from bright minds–is if the users rebel.
The technology has reached a point where defeating it becomes a matter of obtaining hardware that is hard to get, even for knowledgeable people who can afford it. Right now, the wedge to open the door for the Trojan is simply uncomfortable. It’s software, it can be defeated. Trusted Computing is hardware-implemented: The wedge grows by a foot, gets six inches wider and isn’t lubed. Have you read lately about the little black boxes that have been in certain cars since the 1970s, and only just now people are hearing about? It’s not even funny about how easily the mass consumers are going to swallow it, and not even know it. First, make sure everyone has the hardware, then start using it.
Microsoft is great with the long term planning–and the best in the biz with PR. “Trusted Computing will stop viruses from running on your computer.”
A POLITICAL PERSPECTIVE
Were I in the Soviet Union, I could publish Clit under my real name, with no fear of being thrown in prison for it; at least, as long as I never visited the United States. Russia is becoming more like America was, and our lawmakers are doing their best to combine all the worst policies in the history of Russia and Germany to forge our future. Dan Jackson at great risk agreed to host for us–great risk because the UK law was unclear, even of the hosting seemed to be legal. That loophole was closed last Friday. No one has yet come forward with an alternative, and, were there to be a jurisdiction that allowed websites with content that large corporations found offensive to be published, I’m sure our government would find reason to call them terrorists and bomb them into oblivion.
As to the apathy, perhaps it’s best summed up: “They came for the e-book crackers, but I didn’t crack e-books, so I didn’t speak…” A program demonstrating faults with a proprietary format being pushed by Microsoft isn’t nearly as juicy news as a 13-year-old getting sued by the RIAA. People simply dismiss it as the usual cat mouse of companies and crackers. I think it a sign of just how much the general public’s ability to think ahead, or think at all, has been lost.
The only bright spot, when I’m caught, is that maybe the EFF will be there, and that we can make the mainstream aware of just what the DMCA actually does. Will piracy replace terrorism as the rallying call of lawmakers, as terrorism replaced pedophilia, and pedophilia replaced communism as a catch all for laws that restrict freedom in the name of protecting people? (And think of the children, for the love of God!)
ON THE MEDIA’S LACK OF MAJOR INTEREST THESE DAYS IN THE HORRORS OF MICROSOFT READER
Your recent experience with Microsoft Reader is the norm. It’s not covered on mainstream sites (or did I miss the ‘Microsoft Forces Users To Bend Over Again’ article on Wired?) or discussed outside the few forums where e-book users gather. Really, people are ignorant to the fact that soon, when they buy a DVD it will only be viewable a specified number of times until it’s “past limit.”
If they don’t care about their packaged eye-candy, what’s going to awaken them from their slumber to care about media that’ll actually stimulate their minds?
ON TELEREAD
Something like TeleRead would be highly profitable for the authors, and for those managing the system if it were private, without overcharging the consumer.
TeleRead looks like a step in the right direction, and that’s probably why it will never be a reality. If authors can be paid directly for their work, and consumers can happily access what they want, when they want, and how they want, where in that chain does the distributor get their cut? Or the monopolistic entity wishing to control the content, and sanitize it, and lock it so you can’t even borrow it?
Of course, I still hope that someday I’m anonymously publishing ways to get around TeleRead’s “Parential Protection” controls instead of sickly RSA implementations.
MORE ON SABRINA LLOYD
Unfortunately, Sabrina’s married. It’s her personality and intelligence I like most about her. No one’s heard of her because she’s not the mainstream beauty ideal, but, wow, what a sparkle! Sabrina Lloyd certainly deserves the attention: She’s been doing these little independent films which never get distribution, even if Dopamine was well received at Sundance. They simply aren’t the blow-stuff-up flicks so popular today. Plus, she actually reads for the sake of reading, not for the show of reading the “right” book, the game that so many celebrities play. Okay, okay, I’ve just got the usual geek obsession thing going on, but I’m proud of it–let the world tremble with absolute confusion at the mere mention of her name!
Leave a Reply