Thus computer owners can exchange thousands of dollars worth of software as easily as children trade bubble-gum cards.

lol

Kaufman Research Manufacturing Inc., a small company in Mountain View, Calif., recently received patent approval for a ROM that will execute a program but will not disclose the full structure of the program, the prerequisite to copying. ‘‘The only way to replicate it,’’ said Marc T. Kaufman, inventor of the device, ‘‘is to put it under an electron microscope.’’

Bigger lol

In-depth article about how shadow library sites like LibGen came to be and why they matter.

Breaks down the history and shows how helpful LibGen is for regular folks and us amateur scientists who just want to learn without hitting paywalls.