You've Just Been Violated
Brodie Whiteside

A new feature for this issue that will continue for all following issues is the tidbit of the month.  This article/feature will briefly describe an interesting fact concerning technology in some shape or fashion.  

This month, the Advocate brings the issue of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act to the table.  This new law, in effect, will make it illegal to attempt to reverse engineer any media that is related to the motion pictures or recording industry.  Reverse engineering is when a product is taken and analyzed for its composition.  Unlike before, where one could reverse engineer products as long as no laws were broken (like breaking  copy protection and distributing the cracked software to others), one can now face imprisonment for the mere act of figuring out how the security features of a product work (or in some cases do not work). One's right to know how programs, protection devices, and operating systems function, has now been revoked. Although, one can still reverse engineer everyday objects, such as cars, airplanes, and pencil sharpeners. Does that seem fair?