Tuesday, September 14, 2004

IETF deals Microsoft's e-mail proposal a setback. A proposed technology for identifying the source of e-mail messages suffered a blow last week when a group within the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) established to study the proposal sent it back for more work, citing concerns over vague intellectual property claims made by Microsoft Corp. covering some of the technology. [InfoWorld: Top News] 9:56:53 PM    comment []

Is the world ready for SIP?. With Session Initiation Protocol (SIP), the long awaited promise of unified messaging may come true. SIP is the IETF community's response to the problem of a mix of proprietary standards and no clear emerging winner among the vendors. SIP has been lurking under the radar for a few years, but now that it is finally crystallizing as a standard, it is time that it received wider recognition for its capabilities and potential to revolutionize interactive communications technologies. With the push to develop more VoIP, conferencing, and other session-based technologies, SIP will become increasingly important in the next year or two as it is incorporated in more commercially available products. With over 1,000 products and services listed on the industry trade group, SIP forum Web site, there is much development activity already. full article by Beth Cohen on Instant Messaging Planet Columbia University SIP Web site The SIP Center Web site SIP Industry Forum [Smart Mobs] 6:22:35 PM    comment []

Statement by Doubleday Regarding Kitty Kelley Monday September 13, 3:28 pm ET NEW YORK, Sept. 13 /PRNewswire/ -- The following is a statement by Doubleday regarding Kitty Kelley: In an appearance on the Today Show on Monday, September 13, 2004, Sharon Bush repeated a denial she made earlier last week. After telling Kitty Kelley that she had knowledge of President George W. Bush "doing cocaine" at Camp David -- "not once, but many times," Mrs. Bush now denies that statement. This denial has already been utterly discredited by a third party to the meeting at which Mrs. Bush made the statements. Doubleday and Kitty Kelley, author of "The Family: The Real Story of the Bush Dynasty," firmly uphold the accuracy and veracity of reporting on this topic. Further, Doubleday and Ms. Kelley affirm that Mrs. Bush was read her comments on the day following the meeting in a telephone conversation, lasting over an hour, that was witnessed by Random House Vice President Peter Gethers -- that those comments included her remarks on cocaine use at Camp David -- and that she once again agreed that these comments were true. The following are undisputable facts: -- Mrs. Bush confirmed that she was aware of cocaine use by President George W. Bush at Camp David when his father was President -- Mrs. Bush confirmed that such usage occurred on more than one occasion -- Mrs. Bush knew that Ms. Kelley planned on using this information in her book and was read the exact quotes that would be utilized -- Mrs. Bush continued to have a good relationship with Kitty Kelley -- long after the meeting in April at which she confirmed the cocaine report -- Mrs. Bush called Ms. Kelley in May, 2004 after which there was a friendly correspondence. 3:57:48 PM    comment []

Is copyright necessary? By Terrence A. Maxwell, in First Monday. Abstract: Copyright is a legal mechanism for promotion of useful knowledge. However, it is not the only means society could use to encourage information dissemination, and several alternative models have been suggested over the last 200 years. This article provides the results of a dynamic simulation of the publishing industry in the United States from 1800 to 2100, and tests the impact of different protection schemes on the development of authorship, the publishing industry, and reader access. It closes with a discussion of intellectual property information policy decisions that can be currently made, and their likely impacts on domestic and international copyright protection. 3:56:59 PM    comment []

(Gilmore vs. Ashcroft) 9th Circuit to DOJ: No Secret Justice Score one for John Gilmore, who is suing the Justice Department because it has secret laws requiring people to show ID when flying on a commercial domestic plane. Ashcroft tried to file a secret brief to keep the secret law a secret, but the court said no secrets allowed. Bill sez: "The 9th Circuit US Court of Appeals rejected a Department of Justice attempt to file a secret brief in Gilmore vs. Ashcroft, a case that involves secret law. "In a one page order, the Court denied DOJ's motion asking the Court's permission to file their arguments in secret, allowing only the judges to read their full brief. A DOJ motion to suspend the briefing schedule was similarly denied." Link (Here are previous BB posts on the subject) [bOing bOing] 6:55:29 AM    comment []

When the 'Spreadsheet People' Go to Vote (4 Letters). To the Editor:. [The New York Times > Opinion] 6:54:31 AM    comment []

The Right Ear Is From Mars. In a new study, scientists have found that the left and right ears process sound differently. By By ANAHAD O'CONNOR. [The New York Times > Science] 6:54:10 AM    comment []

WSJ on Why We're Not Downloading Movies. The Wall Street Journal Online has a story (subscription required) that does a good job of explaining why movie downloads have a ways to go before they take off. One of the first hurdles is getting the computer hooked up... [Hacking NetFlix] 6:52:34 AM    comment []

Geeks Code for the Gold. Competitors are still going at it in Athens, but this time the teams are trying to write the most elegant code. By Michelle Delio. [Wired News] 6:52:02 AM    comment []