Wednesday, October 22, 2003

HAHAHAHAHahahahahahaha! X10 files for Chapter 11. The company that only last year billed itself as the world's largest online advertiser files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. [CNET News.com - Front Door] I was just remarking to some of my students last week that those ads seemed to have vanished, where they were ubiquitous not so long ago ... 8:02:36 PM    comment []

(broadcast) flag burning. Having failed in the Congress, the content industry is now pushing the FCC to take action to mandate the broadcast flag. This bit of government regulated code is a mistake. By imposing a requirement (effectively) in the middle of the network, the broadcast flag will break all sorts of innovative new applications. By permitting only "tamper-resistant" technologies, it will effectively ban all sorts of free and open source projects. Thus, two of the key parts in the history of internet innovation -- end-to-end and free and open source software -- are regulated away by this. And for what? There has been no showing that this technology mandate is needed. The movie industry (unlike the recording industry) has deployed great new technology (the DVD) that effectively competes with free. (Anyway, apparently according to Jack Valenti the real pirates of the movie industry are members of the Academy.) This is a classic example of regulate first, and ask questions later, and a perfect example of how not to regulate the internet. Please follow here and do something about this mess. To read more, check out Jonathan Krim's piece in the Post. [Lessig Blog] 5:08:07 PM    comment []

CIO: The Copyright Cuffs. So far as I can tell, federal courts experts don't reject or loathe our system of federal courts, and criminal law experts split every which way on the overall virtue of the criminal justice system. So what's with cyberprofs' uniform discontent about copyright? [Tomalak's Realm] 5:05:08 PM    comment []

Two Benton Headlines: TELECOM ISSUES, REGULATION AWAIT ACTION Pennsylvania's Chapter 30, a decade-old package of telecom deregulation laws, is set to expire at the end of this year, and a number of bills have been proposed to take its place. One bill would force telecom firms to offer high-speed Internet service to all of Pennsylvania by 2010 at the latest, five years earlier than required under existing law. Another would create a broadband infrastructure development fund, to be financed through a levy on the operating revenues of the state's largest phone companies. A bill proposed by state Senator Jake Corman (R-Centre) would create a salaried, five-member Pennsylvania Telecommunications Commission to supervise the state's Internet and residential telephone industries. Supporters say the bill would create an agency that's nimbler than the Pennsylvania Utility Commission and better able to deal with the Internet's rapid technology changes, while opponents say it creates an unnecessary and costly layer of regulatory burden. Corman's bill contains a provision requiring automatic enrollment for anyone who qualifies for the federal "lifeline" program, which provides discounted basic phone service to low-income residents. About 1 million Pennsylvania customers who qualify for the program aren't enrolled, often because they don't know about the discount. SOURCE: Pittsburgh Post-Gazette; AUTHOR: Bill Toland, Post-Gazette Harrisburg Bureau NET BOOMS IN KABUL Despite the lack of proper infrastructure, wireless technology is fostering an Internet boom in Kabul and facilitating the development of Afghanistan's economy. The Afghans have been installing wireless connections across the city; Internet cafes are popping up everywhere; e-commerce is booming, and mobile phones have become a must-have item. The country has developed e-government initiatives, which are transforming the way the government is run. The United Nations Development Program (UNDP) is training more than 1,800 civil servants and government staff in basic computer skills. The next step would be to conduct training for academia and the public. The training stresses that once an individual learns the technology, they must train someone else. With this training, civil servants and government staff can begin to connect provincial capitals to Kabul via the Internet. Previously, it could take weeks for provinces to receive news of regulations or laws by postal mail. Now, with the birth of Afghan e-government, a single email can initiate nationwide policy. Connecting Afghanistan to the world network will not be easy, but satellite connections will lessen the headaches caused by landline or cable connections. SOURCE: The Guardian; AUTHOR: Ben Hammersley 1:27:29 PM    comment []

The metaphysics of 'spam'. On [NewsIsFree: Popular Items] 10:38:58 AM    comment []

Lessons in the Fine Art of College Admissions. When you're a bright and hard-working student in a top suburban district, how do you you stand out among all those deciles of A's? By Michael Winerip. [New York Times: Education] 6:55:58 AM    comment []

One vote for the new eugenics. Yes, genetics research can alleviate suffering. But in our consumerist, narcissistic society, it's ultimately about producing perfect people. Part 2 of "How I Decoded the Human Genome." [Salon Headlines] 6:52:26 AM    comment []

Students Fight E-Vote Firm. Internal Diebold memos hit the Web recently, revealing that the company knew about security flaws in voting systems sold to the states. Diebold has tried to remove the memos from the Web, but students are fighting back. By Kim Zetter. [Wired News] 6:50:19 AM    comment []

Catching Up With The Connectors. Meet the hypernetworked nodes who secretly run the world. By Jeff Howe from Wired magazine. [Wired News] 6:49:37 AM    comment []