Computer Science | Grinnell College

We'll explore how our notion of property and ownership is changing in the presence of digital media through three separate topics.

• As the World of Warcraft evolved, private instances have sprung up attempting to reproduce the original game before the introduction of new features that alienated some gamers. The most famous of these, Nostalrius, was issued a cease and desist order by Blizzard Entertainment. Announcements from the Nostalrius team and Blizzard; a Change.org petition.
• After Keurig's K-cup patents expired in 2012, third parties developed coffee packets to fit Keurig machines. Keurig's updated system featured a DRM scheme so only packets manufactured by Keurig would be accepted by their latest machines. Read about the technology and the pushback from customers in 2015.
• A recent CACM article by Jason Schultz opines on the decline of ownership in the advent of the digital age, in particular, the internet of things.

Computer science table (CS Table) is a weekly meeting of Grinnell College community members (students, faculty, staff, etc.) interested in discussing topics related to computing and computer science. CS Table meets Tuesdays from 12:00-12:45 in JRC 224C. Students on meal plans, faculty, and staff are expected to cover the cost of their meals. Visitors to the College and students not on meal plans can charge their meals to the department.