Monday, March 10, 2003

Larry Lessig at SXSW. David Weinberger blogged Larry Lessig's keynote at SXSW. I love Larry, too. Have we lost the battle for the public domain, or can it still be rescued, despite the efforts of Jack Valenti, Disney, and the US Supreme Court? Look at it this way: we can still prevent the tide of privatization of the commonwealth from swamping EVERYTHING. Aaron Swartz blogged it as well and so did Heath Row. (Via boingboing) [Smart Mobs] 4:18:17 PM    comment []

Useit.Com: From September 19, 1999; User-Supportive Internet Architecture [Tomalak's Realm] 4:16:11 PM    comment []

CONTROVERSIAL PROPOSALS SCRAPPED: Revised personal info bills win approval, by Junko Takahashi, The Japan Times. The government-sponsored bills are intended to protect personal information when a new resident-numbering system takes effect in August. Although the national registry network was introduced last August on a trial basis, some municipalities have refused to join it because legislation to protect personal information is not in place. . . . The original bills were scrapped in an extraordinary Diet session last year, amid an outcry from opposition parties and the media over the "basic principles" in the legislation, including requirements on all parties handling personal information to "clarify the purpose" of its use and to acquire information in "an appropriate manner." These requirements were seen as possibly being used to force journalists to disclose their news sources. In the revised bills, the government dropped all such requirements. In addition, freelance journalists and writers were included as "media organizations" that are exempt from the clauses on obtaining and using personal information. The revised bills also say Cabinet ministers must not use their authority to curtail freedom of the press, making the wording against government intervention clearer than the previous version, which said ministers must consider not exercising their authority. Previous coverage of this issue here at A blog doesn't need a clever name. Other coverage mentioning Japan here on the blog. 2:28:09 PM    comment []

RIAA's 'Hide The Website' game moves to Virginia, by Andrew Orlowski. Over the past few months riaa.org has suffered a series of attacks, although the recent downtime seems to owe more to technical naivety than anything else. In fact subatomic matter in a particle accelerator - that exists for only a few microseconds - seems to exhibit more uptime than the RIAA's website. 1:27:26 PM    comment []

Ed Felten on Keeping Honest People Honest: This phrase is one of my pet peeves, since it reflects sloppy thinking about security. The first problem with "keeping honest people honest" is that it's an oxymoron. . . . . The second problem is more substantial. To the extent that "keeping honest people honest" involves any analytical thinking, it reflectss a choice to build a weak but conspicuous security mechanism, so that people know when they are acting outside the system designer's desires. . . . . . . . The problem is that it's cheap and easy to build a "keep out" sign. If that's all you want -- if all you want is to help honest people keep track of their obligations -- then simple, noncoercive technology works fine. You don't need a big, bureaucratic initiative like the broadcast flag if that's your goal. The funny thing here is that the MPAA is getting out in front of the curve. Usually vendors wait until their security technology has failed before they change their sales pitch to "keeping honest people honest." 10:26:47 AM    comment []

Tech's love-hate relationship with the DMCA. CNET News.com's Declan McCullagh uncovers a real divide between software and hardware manufacturers when it comes to the subject of what to do about legislation to combat Internet piracy. [CNET News.com] Different content folks are conflicted, too. And not for nothing. I talked about this in last year's Thoughts on the Workshop on Fair Use By Design, wherein I relate a change in my analysis from viewing the bar to workable DRM as being technical to being social, on account of thinking in terms of "What does a copyright holder want?" You can read more at the link, or in a rant coming (relatively) soon to a space like this one. 6:49:59 AM    comment []

Clinton's quiet path to power: In Senate, she focuses on arcane details and working with Republicans. By Gail Russell Chaddock, Christian Science Monitor. 6:44:52 AM    comment []

''Roogle'' and ''bloogle'' keep getting all the attention. Why not ''googer'' I wonder? Truth is, at the end of the day, you know what we'll call it? Google. 6:44:13 AM    comment []

Easel 3.0 Released. So sez [News Is Free: Popular Items] 6:41:26 AM    comment []

St. Bonaventure President Steps Down. The school's Board of Trustees received the resignation of Robert J. Wickenheiser in the wake of a recruiting scandal by the men's basketball program. By Thomas George. [New York Times: Education] 6:36:41 AM    comment []

Porn 'Filter' Uses Peer Pressure. Fed up with faulty filtering software, some religious groups are touting a new way for Internet users to keep away from objectionable material. The idea is to pick a confidant who will monitor your surfing habits. By Joanna Glasner. [Wired News] 6:35:24 AM    comment []

On the ''justly paranoid about Microsoft beat'': 2003 And Beyond: Technology trends that will affect your business and how you do business. By Andrew Grygus. Especially interesting on the subject of Microsoft's "Road Ahead". Very much consonant with my Tailoring the Web for profit from the summer of 1998. 6:28:57 AM    comment []