Friday, December 19, 2003

Economist: "The coffee-houses that sprang up across Europe, starting around 1650, functioned as information exchanges for writers, politicians, businessmen and scientists." [Scripting News] Like in Quicksilver! 11:39:11 PM    comment []

There are loads of these, in the wake of the RIAA v. Verizon decision. Here are two: FAQ: How the decision will affect file swappers. What is the impact for peer-to-peer fans of a court decision that knocks back the recording industry's legal strategy for tracking down and suing alleged file swappers? [CNET News.com - Front Door] Record Industry May Not Subpoena Online Providers. A federal appeals court ruled that Internet providers cannot be forced to reveal the names of subscribers suspected of illegally sharing music. By David Stout. [New York Times: Business] 11:35:11 PM    comment []

"This argument borders upon the silly.". So wrote Judge Ginsburg in the case decided today, RIAA v. Verizon Internet Services. The RIAA has lost a big one. The DC Circuit Court of Appeals says the DMCA does not authorize subpoenas forcing an ISP like Verizon to reveal the identity of filesharers. Read the clear and convincing analysis of Judge Ginsburg here. [Lessig Blog] 11:27:29 PM    comment []

InfoWorld: Dutch Supreme Court rules Kazaa is legal. The Supreme Court of the Netherlands is the highest European body yet to rule on file-sharing software. In its decision, the court cites international rulings including the 1984 U.S. Supreme Court ruling that said device makers, a VCR maker in that case, can't be held liable for user infringement. [Tomalak's Realm] 11:25:56 PM    comment []

enough already!. So my mistake in life is that I answer email. Or I try to answer email -- however late. There are 400 emails in my to answer box, a bulge that began after the Eldred loss. And I'm committed to clearing the box by January 1. All of which makes me particularly sensitive to email that I should not have to answer but which appears in my inbox because of the mistakes of others. E.g.: A gaggle of angry emails continue this week based on Declan's claim that I "want to preserve freedom by ending anonymity." I pointed out that in fact, the article Declan quoted said nothing of the sort. I never called for "limiting anonymity" and the article never said I did. Though Declan found time to have a bunch of followups to his post, he hasn't had time to correct this error -- even though the author of the piece wrote to him to say that I had never said anything of the sort, and his article was not meant to suggest that I did. I am surprised at Declan's silence here. When asked by one of his readers whether he would correct his post, he responded, "Are you high?" I guess I was high too, though perhaps he's a busy guy, and perhaps he'll get around to it someday. But meanwhile, enough of the anonymity flames, please. There are lots of things I have said to scream about. This was not one of them. [Lessig Blog] I dunno. Declan, in the end, positively reveled in his role in having promoted the proposition that Al Gore said he invented the Internet. As I recall it, and I could be wrong here I'm not looking anything up on this at the moment, having just come in from a delightful party at some friends and dinner at Wild Flower, Declan posted all the evidence that Gore had not in fact claimed to have invented the Internet and gleefully attributed to his own earlier posts the claim that Gore said he invented the Internet. No apology, no correction. Rather, a jubilant claim of priority. Like beating Drudge means something. That was when I concluded that Declan -- who in many ways I like and who does some real good in the world -- was no longer a libertarian (if he had ever really been) but was in actual fact a Republican. 11:19:53 PM    comment []

Year in review: Linux under attack. Lawsuits, threats and conspiracy theories swirled across the open-source landscape as the Linux operating system gained new converts. [CNET News.com - Front Door] 10:15:06 AM    comment []

Rebecca Blood on weblogs. [Scripting News] 7:01:11 AM    comment []

Keeping the Net Free (as in Freedom). Following up on his important Newsweek column, "A Net of Control," Steven Levy does an informative online chat in which he implores people to take action for themselves to prevent a corporate/government clampdown on the openness that has made the Internet so valuable. Good advice. [Dan Gillmor's eJournal] 6:56:09 AM    comment []

Dear Atari: your DRM screwed me, so now I hate you is Cory's take on a letter to Atari from a fan. 6:50:50 AM    comment []

Regulators Issue First Citation for Violation of No-Call Law. Federal regulators said that they had issued the first citation for violations of the national do-not-call list. By Bloomberg News. [New York Times: Technology] (More on no call lists here at A blog doesn't need a clever name.) 6:45:25 AM    comment []

British Plan Major 'Wind Farm' to Generate Power Along Coasts. Energy companies plan to erect more than 1,000 turbines off England's coast in a $12.4 billion project to build the largest source of wind energy. By Heather Timmons. [New York Times: Business] 6:42:41 AM    comment []

The greatest week in rock history. Thirty-four years ago this week, the Beatles, Stones, Zeppelin, Temptations, Santana, Crosby Stills and Nash, and Creedence Clearwater all shared top billing on the Billboard album chart. There's never been another lineup quite like it -- and there will never be again. [Salon Headlines] 6:38:44 AM    comment []

Wal-Mart Sells Songs for 88 Cents. The retail giant rolls out its new online music service, which boasts songs edited to remove offensive lyrics, and a price designed to undercut iTunes and other competitors. [Wired News] 6:36:20 AM    comment []