Combatting country codes for all things digital

Neil McIntosh: "The Wall Street Journal (sub required) reports today on an ugly little trick being played by tech companies including Apple and HP: make machines in such a way they only work in the region in which they were sold."

Meanwhile, DVD hacks are proliferating, allowing users of DVD players to get around country code control of DVD-ROMs. Were these back doors provided to placate Hollywood's elite who wanted their own cheat codes -- or was it simply a case of the DVD device designers wanting or needing this special access themselves? At any rate, the secrets are getting out. And now, as Neil points out, the fair-use-by-country struggle isn't limited to DVDs anymore, and the ramifications impact every global business.