NOTE: To retain the right to continue to use the e-meter, one must: (1) remain in good standing with the Church of Scientology; and (2) maintain one's membership in the IAS (i.e., currently $500 per year, or $5000 for a lifetime membership). COSTS: Each meter is $5,000. Two are required per policy because a spare is required for immediate back-up during an auditing session in case the first one becomes non-functional. So, $10,000 for meters. Thereafter, either $5000 for a lifetime IAS membership, or $500 per year. Code: https://www.hubbarde-meter.org/faq.html
So Scilons haven't heard of the First Sale Doctrine (at least in the US)? Good grief. These rules will only control those still "in", who are terminally uninformed/naive. Indies are smarter than this, and they probably have meters they like better anyway. The "never-ins" like me are thinking "what the heck?" which is exactly what I have tried to capture in this post. This might let CO$ control anyone wishing to use the "new" meters for a while. The dedicated "Kool-Aid" drinkers will want an "approved" meter. A few people can tell the org "well, Jane Smith sold hers to me a few days before she was declared" and get away with it. But there will only be a few such meters for a while, because those still in are the dedicated few, and they don't sell their meters. What happens when someone reads Mike Rinder's blog, goes into an org and says "I've been using the Mark 8 inside a Mark 7 shell at Flag, so I don't need to re-tread all this stuff"? Lulzy fireworks are lulzy indeed.
Yeah…had to be the bearer of bad news but corporations have been chipping that away for years now. I wouldn't be surprised if, in order to buy a device, signing a contract was needed. An attempt to use 'magic words' in a user agreement to restrict user rights. See for example: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vernor_v._Autodesk,_Inc I'm not saying the cult would definitely win any such case, but I've seen enough really dodgy legal decisions on this topic to be very cautious. Given that this opens up new avenues for the cult to attempt legal harassment, and that disturbing precedents like the above case render such suits non-frivolous (at least legally), I'd say this is very far from being cut and dry.
So... Who wants to download the Mark 8 updater software and stick it under a microscope? (Downloading the exe is safe, but for the love of Xenu, don't run it! Only run it inside a secure virtual box or a clean stand-alone box that you scrub afterward. Edit: New thread https://whyweprotest.net/community/...e-new-mark-8-e-meter-updater-software.115310/
The update installer is 23.4M. I'm surprised (and very suspicious) that they let you download it without logging in on their site first. I think Admiral Ackbar said it best...
No Mac or Linux version. I guess if you run those, then you're too smart to run Scientology... I love their requirements. Just try and boot WinXP with 256MB of ram!
Hmm. I think we need a separate thread for the updater software, and let this one go back to the rules and legalities. https://whyweprotest.net/community/...e-new-mark-8-e-meter-updater-software.115310/
I got this into Slashdot in 2000. http://slashdot.org/story/00/04/27/1712248/ebay-e-meter-auctions-yanked
EBay eventually caught on to Scientology's abuse after their DMCA scam was stopped. Scientology abuses eBay's VeRO program to practice religious, price discrimination February 18, 2008, Scott Pilutik, realitybasedcommunity.net
Well great. I never saw that article before. Back in 2000 it was very frustrating that they could get away with it.
I thought eBay had stopped that, but tikk was only reporting on how Scientology was yanking sales without even a bogus DMCA notification. I'll keep looking.
I'm sure that they'll try to claim that the software on the e-meter is licensed, and I wouldn't be shocked if the new meters disable themselves after a year if they're not updated. That would cut into the eBay sales. There will probably be some a hell of a lot of fine print in the contract. Still, I wonder at selling a device that self-destructs after a year. There's probably case law involving that sort of thing long before software licensing came along.
Chanology luvbombed eBay in early 2008. eBay quietly cut Scientology's VeRO access and allowed meters and materials to be sold, but I don't think anyone ever reported it, other than a few Enturb threads. I'm sure that CoS still monitors eBay and screams when they get stuck in an electronic MUST KILL/CAN'T KILL loop incident. The e-meters will stop working if CoS dies? This is acceptable.
The Mark VIII "Ultra" Electro-Psychometer patent as found on Google Patent search. According to the circuit diagrams in the patent filing, the vast majority of the functionality of this device is contained and implemented in a one-chip flash-programmable microcomputer ( Renesas M30624FGAFP ). Although this device has built-in A to D and D to A converters, an external 24-bit A to D converter is used in the circuit to measure the resistance of the preclear's body. It should be noted that this device has been EOLed (End Of Life) by the manufacturer and is no longer made! Michael A. Hobson Independent Scientologist
There shouldn't be any technical difficulty in making the meter operation depend on software which in turn would depend on a license obtained from the central website. In that way, and with the willing submission of the marks, it would be a piece of cake to make it so that to use the device as an e-meter one would need to be provably in "Good standing" with the criminal organisation known as the "church" of $cientology. Without a license it could be a very expensive doorstop. Of course, depending on an off-the-shelf controller looks like it could be a massive security hole (we're talking about security against people willing and able to interfere with the hardware). For a mass-market device, the opportunities for lulz would be near endless (think hacking of PS3). For a limited market piece of rubbish, such as this, who cares?
Strictly speaking, I didn't see where it says you must connect to the Net (or visit your local org) to keep the registration current. I'm not sure they will disable the meter once it has been set up. But they could: Do you think the meter has a CMOS battery? And you set an internal clock during setup? Probably upgradable code in the device will have your IAS expiration date. The code looks at this internal clock, and when it sees that the current date is past the "drop dead date", it stops functioning. If you buy one-year memberships to the IAS, you might need to re-download new code each year, with the new expiration date hard-coded. It is possible that IAS lifetime members will get a software/firmware upgrade that does not check for dates. Just like certain versions/editions of MS Windows don't require activation. I can see how this scam would work. Of course, this is the COS. The same group that still uses encrypted telexes. So beating the registration on this new meter could be pretty trivial, like disabling the Scieno Net-Nanny software. By the way, when people set up their e-meter over the Net, they will be tempted to visit entheta sites. Surely CO$ knows this. But the public has computers in their homes, so COS must provide this connectivity for the sake of convenience ("go with the times", just like they had to switch to CDs and DVDs and leave tape behind). Still, some people will visit sites like WWP, and those people are lost forever. A win for us !!
As of today, there are more than 15 E-meters on eBay: http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_nkw=meter Scientology
I still can't believe people are paying $5,000 for a Wheatstone Bridge packed in a Hasbro 'Easy Bake Oven' case. They can buy a wheatstone bridge in a no nonsense case for under $50. They just have to supply their own cans. BigBeard
One of the Ebay sellers is also a buyer. “ We buy Dianetics and Scientology materials, meters, and related items. TechLibrary stocks a comprehensive inventory of Dianetics and Scientology materials and E-meters, vintage and new."
Dammit now I'm wasting time on eBay looking for clam shit. This is funny http://www.ebay.com/itm/L-Ron-MaryS...tiquarian_Collectible&hash=item2c776f5fb3
Perhaps the onboard DAC has lower resolution. Edit: yes, internal DAC has 10 bits resolution. As for the SOC being EOL, well, the thing has sat collecting dust for what, 10 years ? That's an eternity in semiconductors.
If this is isn't an example of pure fraud, than what is? Can Consumer Protection be contacted? This is ridiculous!
Our mission, should we chose to accept it, is to make critical sites the top Google response to a query for Mark Ultra VIII E-Meter.
It looks like that's pretty much the case now. http://www.google.com/search?q=Mark Ultra VIII E-Meter http://www.bing.com/search?q=Mark Ultra VIII E-Meter
Software yes, but this is software and hardware. I vaguely remember that there was a case like that, but not which way it went.
I wonder if this would be analogous to AT&T getting hammered by SCOTUS 'back when' about collecting umpteen times the cost per unit for the telephones they were "leasing" to customers, and telling the customers they couldn't use anyone else's phones on AT&T's lines? Seems you can buy a phone from anyone, and use it on whatever service you subscribe to these days. BigBeard
I'm still unclear with the Mark 8. Is there a connection to the internet with this thing? Does it actually do anything with Internet connectivity besides the first time setup?
That all depends on if there is anything in the meter that forces it to have its yearly "certification" or not. Also, out of the box, does it need that first connection before it can be used?
There's lots of information in the Dissecting the new Mark 8 E-Meter updater software thread: https://whyweprotest.net/community/...e-new-mark-8-e-meter-updater-software.115310/ On the second page, someone posted: It actually connects to the internet to verify if the registration number and the IAS numbers are valid. I guess to make sure the squirrels don't use it.
