Monday, September 08, 2003

Don't they know it's online? The Hutton inquiry website has been a surprise hit with the public - Bobbie Johnson reports on what this could mean for open government (The Guardian). It is important, said Lord Hutton when he was appointed as head of the inquiry into the circumstances surrounding the death of David Kelly, that the public should know every word of evidence which is spoken at this inquiry and should know the full contents of every document which is referred to in evidence. Judging by the acres of information released online, he's unlikely to have been disappointed. An incredible 1,000 documents, faxes, emails, notes, memos and reports have so far made their way into the public domain via the Hutton inquiry's website. Hundreds of journalists, political junkies and wannabe investigators have trawled their way through an estimated 10,000 pages of submitted evidence - a level of access to information that is truly unprecedented in British politics. The Hutton Inquiry website. 1:45:00 PM    comment []

'50s commercial animation art gallery (thanks, Mark!) 6:50:04 AM    comment []

Slow, Stupid Networks Pack Punch. Techno-visionaries have a long list of plans for low-power, low-speed wireless networks, from thermostats on factory floors and in residential buildings to tiny battlefield sensors for the Pentagon and more efficient irrigation systems. [Wired News] 6:48:27 AM    comment []

Digital Downloads Decline. A research firm found that fewer households downloaded music in April. Plus: the most popular television shows, CD's, magazines and software. [New York Times: Business] 6:46:17 AM    comment []

Gibson: RIGHTS. MAKING SHORT FILMS BASED ON STORIES OF MINE Someone mentions planning to do this. Actually this is not such a good idea, as the film rights to most of those stories were sold long ago. What this means is that not only can I not grant anyone any sort of permission (because those rights are no longer my property) but in some cases they have long since been resold by the original buyer, so I don't even know who currently owns them and have literally no way of finding out. The smarter thing to do is write your own screenplay and make up your own title, and if the result is after the manner of my early short fiction, I'm not sure where that might get you in 2003 but good luck. 6:43:09 AM    comment []

Helpful Hacker Will Surrender. Adrian Lamo, known for breaking into corporate networks and publicly exposing security holes, says he will surrender to federal authorities. The 22-year-old is wanted for computer crimes, including breaking into The New York Times network last year. [Wired News] 6:40:15 AM    comment []