Wednesday, September 17, 2003

Lindows capitalizes on Microsoft settlement. The Linux software seller promises free goods for consumers who qualify for benefits from a settlement in the software giant's antitrust case. [CNET News.com - Front Door] 5:59:12 PM    comment []

Kinko's Resumes Selling CoursePacks Kind of a surprise, in light of the company's prominent place in the history of copyright law. 12:33:49 PM    comment []

Kansan's bill could slow record industry suits, By Alan Bjerga, The Wichita Eagle. The battle started on the Internet with Napster and Kazaa, but today it comes to Capitol Hill, as the downloading of copyright Internet files faces a Senate hearing and new legislation from Sen. Sam Brownback. Brownback introduced a bill Tuesday that would close the special subpoena powers record companies are using to prosecute people who download music from the Internet. Today the bill will be discussed before the Senate Commerce Committee. Brownback's bill would make it more difficult for the Recording Industry Association of America to prosecute users of "peer-to- peer" file-sharing services -- the systems used to share music online. The association has filed more than 250 lawsuits aimed at stemming the flood of illegal music downloads. . . . Right now, you can get this subpoena without a judge's order,which is normally necessary, he said. His fear, he said, is that pornographers, stalkers or other people with an interest in blackmailing or otherwise harming people could also obtain subpoenas under the 1998 law, forcing service providers to give out personal information. 11:33:44 AM    comment []

The Smithsonian Institution's Education Portal features content from sixteen museums, the National Zoo, and various research centers, aimed at educators, families, and students. 10:33:27 AM    comment []

Andrew Leonard. The Internet registrar's decision to appropriate all the Net's misspelled domain names for itself is a bogus, greedy power grab. [Salon Headlines] 6:33:47 AM    comment []

You'll Take Those Flash Cartoons And Dancing Hamsters From My Cold, Dead Hands. Plastic::SciTech::Microsoft: A federal judge has ruled that Microsoft's plug-in system for Internet Explorer violates a patent by Eolas Systems, which means IE will have to be changed so it will no longer play embedded media. [Plastic: Most Recent] 6:30:48 AM    comment []

Researchers on Stem Cells Are Making Do, and Hoping. STORRS, Conn., Sept. 16 Dolly the cloned sheep is dead, her carcass stuffed and mounted at the Royal Museum in Edinburgh. By Marc Santora. [New York Times: Education] 6:27:12 AM    comment []

Robert Scheer. The Bush team has a clever ploy: Tell politically useful lies VERY LOUDLY, then whisper a correction. [Salon Headlines] 6:23:47 AM    comment []

Three bits of news by way of BNA Internet Law News: US TEAMS WITH CERT TO FIGHT CYBERBUGS The US Department of Homeland Security is teaming up with the CERT Coordination Center to create an organization to fight cyberbugs. The new US-CERT group is expected to focus on giving companies, digital security groups, federal agencies and others a venue for sharing critical information about security issues. http://news.com.com/2100-1002_3-5076745.html http://www.siliconvalley.com/mld/siliconvalley/news/editorial/6779687.htm GAC CHAIR SAYS FIGHT LOOMING OVER MANAGEMENT OF THE DNS ICANN GAC chair Mohamed Sharil Tarmizi says that a fight is brewing between national governments over the appropriate role for governments in the management of the domain name system. Tarmizi says that some believe an international body that includes the private sector is needed, while others feel that the Internet is a public resource that requires management by an inter-governmental organization. http://uk.news.yahoo.com/030916/80/e8j8i.html COURT RULES STATE EMPLOYEES DON'T HAVE TO DISCLOSE EMAIL The Florida Supreme Court has ruled that public employees do not have to disclose private emails to the public, even when using government computers at work. The court unanimously ruled that the emails are not public documents simply because they are stored or created on government computers. Decision at http://www.flcourts.org/sct/sctdocs/ops/sc02-1694.pdf Coverage at http://www.sptimes.com/2003/09/12/State/Workers__private_e_ma.shtml 3:10:31 AM    comment []