Friday, December 06, 2002

I referred earlier today to organizing efforts at Borders #01 in Ann Arbor. According to http://www.bordersunion.com/ Ann Arbor Goes Union! Employees of the original Borders store voted 51 to 4 to join forces with UFCW 876 December 6th. 8:48:01 PM    comment []

Lynda Barry. Marlys Paper Dolls [Salon.com] 8:38:59 PM    comment []

A year ago on X-Ray Net, Show us a magic trick: I'm leading a discussion with Peter Ludlow, editor of High Noon on the Electronic Frontier and the more recent Crypto Anarchy, Cyberstates, and Pirate Utopias over at Inkwell.vue, The Well's publically accessible discussion space. Come on over and join the fun! Bruce Sterling: Geeks and Spooks (Speech at "Global Challenges, Trends and Best Practices in Cryptography," the Information System Security and Education Center, Washington, DC). Americans Who Go Online Do So at the Expense of Television Time, Study Finds, by Brock Read, CHE, on ''The UCLA Internet Report 2001: Surveying the Digital Future.'' Do you buy software or do you only license it? Check out: US court ruling nixes software EULA sales restrictions, by Andrew Orlowski, The Register. White House Cybersecurity Chief Unveils Plans, by William Jackson, Government Computer News. He said the government next month expects to open a national center for infrastructure simulation and analysis, and soon will create a cyberwarning intelligence network linking major government and commercial network operations centers. Where Does Fantasy End? Why all of South Korea is obsessed with an online game where ordinary folks can be arms dealers, murderers ... and elves , by Michelle Levander, in Time. Actual violence has become so commonplace among computer-game players that concerned authorities even have a term for it that borrows from the game: "off-line PK" (player killings). Paek, who relishes online killings as a refreshing change from his decorous real-life manner, allows that physical retribution is merited if players engage in particularly craven online behavior, such as theft or scams involving the game's coveted virtual weapons. Online revenge is O.K. too: Usually, I kill the ones I hate, he says. Those are fighting words, coming from a shy, skinny 16-year-old who regularly tops his high-school class. But this is the other Paek speaking, the ruthless (and female—go figure) elf who is master of Lineage, a medieval fantasy game that has swept Korean society into a gaming frenzy. In reality, I have few ways to express myself or show off, Paek says. But in the game, if I put in a little effort, many people will know who I am. A kids-only ''neighborhood'' on the Web? USAToday story, by Karen Thomas, on proposals for a ''.kids.us'' domain. Inside Salon Premium: Are Consumers Ready to Pay for Content? By Scott Rosenberg, in Web Techniques. A key committee at Simon Fraser University has voted against offering a prestigious humanities-department appointment to David Noble, an outspoken critic of distance education. Jeffrey R. Young has the story in the Chronicle of Higher Education. It reports that Noble lost the latest vote largely on a technicality -- the committee found that the candidate's curriculum vitae was too short and that he had failed to meet other "documentary requirements." Other strikes against Mr. Noble, according to the committee's brief report, were a lack of support from the dean of the university's College of Arts and diminished backing from the humanities department, which made the initial hiring recommendation. It's getting pretty surreal, Mr. Noble said Monday, adding that he had previously been asked to submit more documents and that he had done so. Backstory: other David Noble references on the X-Ray Net weblog. Meanwhile: NYUonline set to fold, poor revenues to blame, by Brandt Gassman, Washington Square Online. One year ago on the blog: the National Infrastructure Protection Center warns companies to tighten security Internet Firms Act to Ease Sharing of Personal Data: Whether we like it or not . . . data is going to move more freely over time What really happens when you say, "Let Me Talk to a Supervisor!" The butterfly-ballot interface at amazon.com. Comments on the Carnivore System Technical Review DOT-COMMERS GO WHERE PROFITS TRULY DON'T MATTER Street Corners In Cyberspace And two years ago on the blog: An ethics audit of the professoriate W32/Mypics.worm thoughts for safe computing U.S. Supreme Court to Revisit Miranda Rights Case Microsoft Settlement Talks in Chicago-Sources First Internet domain name dispute filed at WIPO Bush camp miffed over parody Web site Bush can't take a cyberjoke? FCC closes public comment on low-power radio Digital players gear up to take on Walkman Internet gives elderly 'window to life,' say researchers 23 Fired for Email Violations at The New York Times The Cookie Leak Security Hole in HTML Email messages Sony Music Soundtrack For A Century For-Profit Venture to Market Distance-Education Courses Stirs Concern at Temple U Washington Times keeps the Clinton spin rolling -- news analysis at spinsanity.org. Outlook viruses? The Great MS Patch Nobody Uses, by Michelle Delio, Wired News. 8:36:46 PM    comment []

Hackers Want Their Prize Money. A Polish hacker group that won almost $50 grand in a hacking contest last year wants the company that sponsored it to cough up the prize. Trouble is, the sponsor company no longer exists. By Michelle Delio. [Wired News] 5:45:34 PM    comment []

DaveNet: How to revive AOL. Done right, a plan to distribute music in MP3 format, over the Internet, in conjunction with hardware vendors like Apple, would be a huge moneymaker, and would give AOL continued relevance. It's still an exciting idea, if they decided to do it, I'd work for them for $1 per year to see it through. [Scripting News] 5:38:44 PM    comment []

Broad Coalition Says Children Are Ignored in Proposed Media Deregulation: Families Could See Fewer Choices and Viewpoints (Children Now press release). 2:16:38 PM    comment []

High-Speed Wireless Internet Network Is Planned, by John Markoff (NYT). The wireless technology known as WiFi, which allows users of personal and hand-held computers to connect to the Internet at high speed without cables, got a significant stamp of approval today when AT&T, I.B.M. and Intel announced a new company to create a nationwide network. . . . The new company, Cometa Networks, has set ambitious goals for itself: to deploy more than 20,000 wireless access points by the end of 2004, placing an cable-less high-speed Internet connection within either a five-minute walk in urban areas or a five-minute drive in suburban communities. 12:16:38 PM    comment []

Before the rest of the brouhaha this week, John J. DiIulio, Jr.'s column in the Philadelphia Inquirer, The future of compassion: President Bush's social program hasn't yet gotten a chance, offered "a seven- item short list" to "reanimate" the vision of compassionate conservatism. 1. Guarantee health insurance for all children 2. Help the working poor get the tax credits they deserve. 3. Strengthen federal welfare reform laws. 4. Assist financially strapped "armies of compassion." 5. Aid big cities where the poor are concentrated. 6. Mobilize mentors and assist the children, youth, and families of prisoners. 7. Implement the education bill. DiIulio concludes: Simply getting low-income Americans a full complement of federal benefits under existing laws could reduce extreme poverty by as much as 70 percent. Over the next two or six years, Bush could yet become the greatest domestic and social welfare president in decades. Pray he does. 12:16:34 PM    comment []

Feds Raid Software Company Suspected of Terror Ties (Fox News) Officials suspect "back doors" may have been built into Ptech software that could enable terrorists to access federal computers. The raid appears to be an important break, former FBI chief of domestic terrorism Robert Blitzer told Fox News Friday morning. We're investigating whether a businessman on the list of alleged or potential terrorist financiers is a part-owner of the firm, a federal law enforcement official told The Associated Press. The question is whether there is a potential for U.S. government computer systems being compromised. Stay tuned . . . 12:16:30 PM    comment []

Behind the Cartoonist, by Sarah Wernick, from the June, 1995 issue of Smithsonian. Batt is a cartoon-caption writer, one of the best. Though he is unknown outside the dwindling circles of his curious profession, chances are you've seen his work. Indeed, if you're in the habit of displaying apt cartoons, a Batt creation might be hanging on your fridge. The open secret of the cartoon business Few outsiders realize - though it has long been an open secret in the cartoon business - that many artists buy ideas, on occasion if not regularly. Some simply prefer drawing to writing. But even those who normally produce their own gag lines might turn to caption writers if they hit a dry spell. Or they may need a helping hand because (to give a real-life example) a trade magazine has requested 20 cartoons that would draw a chuckle from a turkey breeder. 12:16:26 PM    comment []

Wimba offers advanced, scalable, web-based voice software for better synchronous and asynchronous communication. Our products are highly intuitive and require no plug-ins or other special software installed. Our packaged software has been specially designed for language learning and higher education, and it enables voice communication anytime, anywhere participants have access to their courses. Anyone have experience with this? 11:16:27 AM    comment []

Employees at the original Borders store in Ann Arbor are voting on whether to unionize. See Borders Books Employee Network :: Home of the Borders Union Drive Organizing efforts by the staff at store #01 go back more than six years. See The IWW Campaign at Borders Inc., which includes leaked documents like this one Borders workers want union representation, by Ricky Lax, in The Michigan Daily last month Crossing Borders: Despite company opposition, workers should unite (Michigan Daily editorial) From the standpoint of a corporate management whose interest lies in keeping profits up to maintain decent stock values for investors, opposing a unionized work force is essential to keeping wages and benefits down, thereby preserving higher profit margins. Herein lies the reason for Wal-Mart's and Borders' opposition to the UFCW campaign. As long as corporate interests remain counterpoised to that of workers, and management is willing to put forth any set of obstacles to prevent workers from organizing, unions will be essential to the future of working conditions in the service industry. 11:16:23 AM    comment []