Tuesday, August 17, 2004

Brian remarks, of his Journals Survey: A few people have asked me to repost the data from the Journals Survey I took earlier this year. The data got a little lost when TAR moved here from Brown.edu. So here are the data. Results Raw Votes Demographics [Thoughts Arguments and Rants] 10:40:16 PM    comment []

Def ppl luv 2 txt. Sending text messages via mobile phones is helping deaf people to interact with the hearing community, according to Australian research, reports ABC.net.au. "Short message service (SMS) text is also creating new opportunities for deaf people to form relationships, says Associate Professor Mary Power from Bond University in Queensland. Her research was published in a recent issue of the Journal of Deaf Studies and Deaf Education. (Continued at textually.org) [unmediated] 10:28:57 PM    comment []

Would Israel strike first at Iran?. Israel holds the preemptive wildcard, but experts doubt Osirak-style repeat. [Christian Science Monitor | Top Stories] 10:28:45 PM    comment []

Fighting Spyware. If you use Windows and are online, you are statistically very likely to have one or more spyware programs installed on your computer. Spyware is persistent software that does things ranging from annoying to malicious, depending on the source. I recently came across the comprehensive Spyware Warrior Blog, in which "Suzi" tracks spyware news and tools. If you are afflicted (and remember, you probably are), check it out. [Purportal.com Headlines] 5:14:46 PM    comment []

Roll Your Own Netflix Queue RSS Feed. The Stupid Simple Blog decided to write and share the code he wrote to create a RSS feed for his Netflix queue: http://www.stupidsimple.org/blog/index.php/archives/2004/08/15/netflix-rss-experiment/ Definitely not for everyone: I used wget and my mozilla cookies file to grab the HTML for... [Hacking NetFlix] 5:14:07 PM    comment []

How to get something on Boing Boing [bOing bOing] 5:14:03 PM    comment []

A Texan's Race Could Lead to the F.C.C.. A Republican running for Congress has received heavy donations from industry because of expectations over posts she may receive if she loses and President Bush wins. By By STEPHEN LABATON. [The New York Times > Business] 6:57:48 AM    comment []

Wes: Hal Finney found an interesting use for attestation: reusable proofs of work. "Allowing clients to dynamically validate the security of a server turns the concept of Trusted Computing on its head. Rather than a threat to individual privacy, the technology becomes a boon to privacy and an empowering force for end users on the net." Don't get your hopes up that server attestation will be used for anything more than demos, though. 6:57:44 AM    comment []

In-House Advice. A report released last week by the Congressional Budget Office shows an evenhandedness that has been missing in copyright legislation. Revisions to copyright law, the report argues, should be made without regard to the vested interests of particular business and consumer groups. The real test should be the economic efficiency of the marketplace - finding a way to balance the social benefits of a technology, like videocassettes, against the fears of copyright-owning movie studios. The best way to accomplish that is to remember that copyright is an instrument for allocating creative resources, not an absolute, inviolable set of rights to which either creators or consumers are entitled. [The New York Times > Opinion] Also, two other worthwhile editorials at the Times: Misconceived Military Shuffle. The troop redeployment plan announced yesterday by President Bush makes little long-term strategic sense. Interrogating the Protesters. The F.B.I. should focus its attention on real threats, not on protesters planning to exercise their freedom of expression at the conventions. 6:53:50 AM    comment []

Real Bites Apple on Downloads. RealNetworks is selling half-price downloads in its music store -- and they play on the iPod, much to Apple's dismay. Real says digital-music fans should not be locked in to a particular device. By Katie Dean. [Wired News] 6:50:05 AM    comment []

Flight ID Fight Revived. Civil liberties activist John Gilmore, rebuffed by the court earlier, tries again in his battle to board airplanes without showing identification. By Ryan Singel. [Wired News] 6:49:37 AM    comment []

It's Just the 'internet' Now. By changing its style to lowercase the 'I' in internet, Wired News is placing this medium squarely where it belongs: on an equal footing with radio, television and Gutenberg's wonderful innovation, moveable type. [Wired News] Oy, oy, oy. I'm still inclined to treat it as a proper name. We don't say "the Radio," for example (though we do say "the Sinclair Radio network" if referring to some particular broadcasting network by name). I recall disagreeing with Wired style on something else, back in the day. I'm not changing my personal style manual on this one yet. 6:49:27 AM    comment []