Friday, December 05, 2003

A Strike Cuts Into Albertson's Profits. Albertson's, the supermarket chain, said yesterday that third-quarter profit fell 51 percent, more than analysts' forecasts, because a labor strike in Southern California hurt sales. By Bloomberg News. [New York Times: Business] 11:10:31 PM    comment []

the classic Declan: FLASH! "[Politech] Larry Lessig replies to Politech over limiting anonymity [fs][priv]". In classic Declan style, a storm rages on Declan's list about a quote of mine that ran in the Economist. The article, Fighting the worms of mass destruction was about ways to deal with internet bads -- spam, viruses, worms, oh my! -- and it ranged across many viewpoints to describe a typically Economist view about how to deal with these bads. Declan read the article and concluded from it that "Lessig want [sic] to preserve freedom by ending anonymity" and so of course, his list, and my inbox, raged with the outrage at such a thought. But what no one seems to have taken time to do is actually look at the article. For Declan's statement has no relation to anything the article actually says. Read on if you'd like the proof, but the bottom line yet again: Declan is a brilliant writer, and excellent pundit. But he is more a bomb thrower than a careful reader. His readers should keep this in mind. [Lessig Blog] 8:30:23 PM    comment []

Genome institute opens behavioral, social branch. The National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI) has formed the Social and Behavioral Research Branch (SBRB) to develop ways to translate discoveries from the Human Genome Project into methods of health promotion and disease prevention, and to counsel patients coping with genetic disorders. [InfoWorld: Top News] 6:53:54 PM    comment []

With a Load of New Albums Aboard, the Holiday Bandwagon Rolls. In this annual roundup, the pop and jazz critics of The New York Times assess a selection of this year's new seasonal albums. [New York Times: Business] 5:03:48 PM    comment []

We've been following this the last few days, now Wired has a story up with a little more detail. Jorn Barger Has Left the Building. Jorn Barger, the influential weblogger behind Robotwisdom, has been found alive and well after a two-month absence from his life online and off. By Leander Kahney. [Wired News] 5:00:18 PM    comment []

Stem-Cell Refugee Phones Home. Two and a half years ago, President Bush restricted federal funding for embryonic stem-cell research. So Roger Pedersen, one of the top U.S. scientists in the field, packed his bags for the United Kingdom. By Wendy Goldman Rohm from Wired magazine. [Wired News] 4:54:37 PM    comment []

It's a long post, called The Syndies, and it has a lot in it. But it's a long post. It's about RSS and the Next Big Thing and about how Nova Spivak says The Metaweb is The Next Big Thing. Here's how he launches his case: Something "big" is afoot. The Dot-Com Bubble has burst -- but it's not the end of the story. In fact, it's just the beginning. From the wreckage of the Bubble, a bold new generation of technologies is emerging. Nature abhors a vacuum. Originally developed by Netscape, a new technology called RSS has risen from the dead to ignite the next-evolution of the Net. RSS represents the first step in a major new paradigm shift -- the birth of "The Metaweb." And I'm going to (was gonna say ''gonna'' but I know my daughter recently had that corrected on a paper which pulled me up short) stop there, except for one more really evocative contribution by Doc: The act of syndication is a statement about the willingness of something to be known. Yeah, y'know, it is. Moreover, a statement about the willingness of something to be known wrapped up in ways that allow those who want to know it to avail themselves of it. Damn straight. 4:43:47 PM    comment []

Four years ago in my weblogging, the week saw these items posted: Harvard sues HarvardYardSale.com For-Profit Venture to Market Distance-Education Courses Stirs Concern at Temple U. Be and Opera Software Team to Enable Rich Web Content On Internet Appliances Dan Gillmor's Best Practices (things like, "be useful") The Microsoft civil cases and wronged consumers How the Department of Education will evaluate distance-education activities in the future Online ed: To be competitive, we're going to have to market in such a way that is quantitatively different in order to be qualitatively different Suck: Daily ( Hit & Run 12.2.99 ) -- According to a new study from the Kaiser Family Foundation, America's children and teens are spending only 37 hours per week consuming media. While school-based media wasn't included in the study, 37 hours a week still seems disappointingly low to us. When we were kids, we used to top 50 hours a week easy, and we didn't have the Internet and Total Request Live back then to help us. We had to make do with Dynamite and Land of the Lost. Bush camp miffed over parody Web site First Internet domain name dispute filed at WIPO Microsoft Settlement Talks in Chicago U.S. Supreme Court to Revisit Miranda Rights Case Puffinsplace Distance Learning W32/Mypics.worm Codes of Ethics...and Beyond An ethics audit of the professoriate FCC closes public comment on low-power radio Digital players gear up to take on Walkman Internet gives elderly 'window to life,' say researchers Technological distractions harmful, author says 23 Fired for Email Violations Orwellian Nightmare Down Under? The Cookie Leak Security Hole in HTML Email messages (now we call these ''Web bugs'') Sony Music Soundtrack For A Century 12:31:27 PM    comment []

EU demands 9 states add e-privacy law (Reuters). The EU executive said on Friday it had acted against Germany, France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Portugal, Greece, Sweden, Luxembourg and Finland as they all missed an October 31 deadline for implementation of the rules, known as the e-privacy directive. 11:30:37 AM    comment []

eBay 'hacker' challenges PC ban, by Kevin Poulsen, SecurityFocus. Accused eBay hacker Jerome Heckenkamp is back in federal court in California this month, but it isn't for his ever-slipping trial date. His attorneys are mounting a constitutional challenge to court-ordered pre-trial restrictions that have kept him from computers and the Internet since his indictment nearly three years ago. Under the conditions of his release, Heckenkamp, 24, is only permitted to use a single "drone" computer at home to review the electronic evidence in his case, without a modem, and with all the connectors but the mouse, keyboard and power ports covered with police evidence tape. Last summer, a planned visit to his parent's home in Wisconsin was conditioned on his family removing all computers from their house, and allowing court Pre-Trial Services officials to inspect the home for wayward CPUs. Once de rigeur in cybercrime prosecutions, such computer bans have become increasingly contentious in the courts as PCs and the Internet become a daily part of American life. . . . . . . . Under a federal law called the Bail Reform Act, pre-trial conditions must be the "least restrictive" necessary to assure that the defendant appears in court, and doesn't endanger the community. In a filing with the federal court in San Jose, Calif., Heckenkamp lawyer Benjamin Coleman argues that prohibiting the accused hacker from using the Internet goes too far, and violates Heckenkamp's right to free speech. In this case, the overly broad computer restrictions not only violate the Bail Reform Act, but they also violate Mr. Heckenkamp's First Amendment rights, reads the filing. . . . A former Los Alamos National Labs network engineer, Heckenkamp is charged with hacking telecom equipment-maker Qualcomm while a gradate student in 1999, and penetrating computers belonging to Lycos, Exodus Communications, Juniper Networks and Cygnus Support Solutions. He also charged with defacing online auction site eBay under the hacker handle "MagicFX." He's steadfastly maintained his innocence, claiming that hackers used his computer to commit the crimes. Last year, Heckenkamp was jailed at a court appearance after angering a federal judge with a series of baffling legal arguments apparently inspired by failed tax-protester tactics -- including challenging his indictment on the grounds that it spelled his name in all capital letters. He later retained an attorney, and after seven months in stir was released on bail with his pre-trial release restrictions tightened further. His trial date, which has been delayed several times, is currently set for March, 2004. 11:30:29 AM    comment []

Benton Headline BILL MOYERS ON MEDIA AND DEMOCRACY [Commentary]. Bill Moyers illustrates the dangers of media conglomeration with a tale about baseball and big media. Foul Ball, a new book by former Yankee pitching star Jim Bouton, tells the story. The local newspaper in Bouton's hometown of Pittsfield, MA, wanted to use $18.5 million of taxpayer money to build a new baseball stadium on property it owns. However, the property is polluted, and the public voted down the proposal three times. It turns out the newspaper is owned by MediaNews Group based in Denver, CO, which owns at least 100 media properties. The paper did not disclose the pollution issue, and MediaNews ignored a proposal to renovate the existing historic stadium at no expense to taxpayers. There was no competing paper in town to throw light on the shenanigans taking place between the publisher and politicians, writes Moyers. He keeps coming back to the subject of media conglomeration because it can take the oxygen out of democracy. The most important story of all is the one that determines what other stories get told -- and how, he concludes. 8:28:29 AM    comment []

Some elctronic voting resources: Election Reform and Electronic Voting Systems: Analysis of Security Issues (Congressional Research Service Report -- PDF). USACM Policy Brief: E-Voting Technology and Standards Voting After Florida: No Easy Answers, Lorrie Faith Cranor (Dec. 2000). National Science Foundation Internet Voting Workshop Report (March 2001 -- PDF). 4:27:50 AM    comment []