Wednesday, November 05, 2003

Fujifilm to raise CD media prices [CNET News.com - Front Door] 11:40:05 PM    comment []

Greenspun: Should universities permit free speech? [Scripting News] 9:14:05 PM    comment []

Lou Reed has a lapdog? You're kidding me!. From The Kicker, we have this moment-by-moment account of a publicity event devoted to the launch of Lou Reed's new book -- an excerpt: 8:48 - Friend points out tiny yappy dog running around leather art gallery furniture. "Who brought their dog?" frien [Learning the Lessons of Nixon] !!! !!! !!! !!! !!! !!! !!! !!! !!! 5:26:45 PM    comment []

Yeah, It's Pot. 'Canada's most valuable agricultural product' A good article from the wild-eyed radicals at Forbes Magazine. Capitalism and international trade is so cool, man. [MetaFilter] The best part of the article? There's a sidebar with instructions on how to grow the... [Andrew Bayer is Dreaming of China] 5:22:27 PM    comment []

Update: Settlement foes propose stiffer remedies for Microsoft. WASHINGTON -- The antitrust settlement between Microsoft Corp. and the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) needs to be amended because it doesn't ensure competition between Microsoft and its rivals, the state of Massachusetts and an IT industry group argued Tuesday. [InfoWorld: Top News] 5:21:43 PM    comment []

isen: What is the ROI on a bathroom?. . . . asks a Computerworld article entitled, "Free [Wi-Fi] hot spots pay dividends." The article notes that the days of pay toilets are over. It's been years since I've seen a pay toilet. Wonder why pay toilets failed. Was it because the underlying infrastructure was ubiquitous and cheap? Was it because paying and collecting was more hassle than it was worth? Was it because people thought they had a right to use an existing toilet without paying, and defeat or circumvent the coin lock? Seriously, why did the pay toilet model fail? Thanks to Boing Boing for the pointer! [isen.blog] 5:19:51 PM    comment []

3 Benton Headlines: BIG BLOGGER Through the British Council's "Big Blogger" initiative, British, African and Middle Eastern journalists will join forces to report from the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) in Geneva this December. The news site, www.dailysummit.net, will provide instant news and commentary from the three-day event. The team of eight journalists includes representatives from the news media in Qatar, Tunisia, Egypt, Nigeria and the UK. The British Council hopes the initiative will encourage dialogue between young people in the west and the Muslim world, and within the Muslim world itself. However, it is important to note the Muslim world is not a homogenous body any more than is the English-speaking world. Still, "by working together you realize that human needs are basically the same, that human preoccupations are basically the same, regardless of language and so on, and that is much stronger than the differences. That is a very useful thing," says Adel Darwish, a writer on foreign affairs. SOURCE: The Guardian; AUTHOR: John Plunkett http://media.guardian.co.uk/print/0,3858,4788078-105337,00.html ALYCE MYATT: ONEWORLD TV'S REBEL WITH A CAUSE Alyce Myatt, previously vice president of programming at PBS, has humbly taken over as OneWorld TV's multimedia editor. OneWorld TV, launched in the spring of 2002, allows both amateur and professional filmmakers to upload short documentaries to the Internet and categorize by topic. Some topics include child labor, war, HIV/AIDS and water rights. Myatt, a 30-year veteran of strategic planning and program development for some of America's largest media organizations, left behind what others might spend their lives hoping to attain. "Whether I'm working for OneWorld, PBS or MacArthur, what's really important to me is having good relationships with the filmmakers," she says. In its first year, OneWorld TV's online community grew to almost 3,000 members in 57 countries. For Myatt, this position is right up her alley because she specializes in building media projects from scratch. She produced, wrote and directed programs for US mainstays such as 20/20, Nickelodeon, CBS, the Smithsonian, and New York's Channel 13. "With the consolidation of media ownership, I think it's critical that people have access to information, and that information should be reliable," Myatt says. "OneWorld functions without having some broadcast distributor deciding if it's worthy, or sexy, or if it'll boost ratings." SOURCE: One World; AUTHOR: David Alm http://www.aivf.org/independent/archives/0311/0311_fitzellandalm.html FCC ENDORSES BUILT-IN COPY CONTROLS The Federal Communications Commission voted to mandate technology that would prevent users from sharing copy-protected digital broadcasts. The decision orders hardware manufacturers of devices that can receive digital television signals to incorporate technology that recognize broadcast "flags" identifying copy-protected content. All vendors must comply with the requirements in all equipment by July 1, 2005. "Products such as digital VCRs, DVD players, and PCs must then contain copy-protection mechanisms that prevent users from distributing broadcast copyrighted digital content over the Internet," writes reporter Rita Chang. The ruling could reverse the trend of declining prices of these devices. Existing devices will not have to be updated under this new broadcast flag rule; this could make some equipment obsolete. All recordings made on compliant devices will be encrypted, which means they must be played back on compliant devices, says Mike Godwin, a senior technology counsel of the consumer watchdog group Public Knowledge. Gray areas in the rule's implementation have fueled a debate about "fair use" and the incompatibility problems that could occur. SOURCE: PC World; AUTHOR: Rita Chang, Medill News Service http://www.pcworld.com/news/article/0,aid,113285,00.asp 2:18:18 PM    comment []

"The Matrix Revolutions". Apocalypse now and Zen: The trilogy's gloomy finale ties up the plot's loose ends but leaves the imagination hungry. [Salon Headlines] 7:25:31 AM    comment []

Can't Tune In to MTV? Download It. The music television network plans to enter the downloading arena in early 2004. The beefed-up service will compete with Apple's iTunes and other online song shops. [Wired News] 7:11:38 AM    comment []