Thursday, March 03, 2005

Internet2: Orchestrating the End of the Internet?. [unmediated] 10:22:50 PM    comment []

Video of teacher's outburst is on Web. The Board of Education in Jersey may toughen its policy on use of wireless telephones in schools, after a videotape showing a High School teacher screaming at his students to show respect for the national anthem — and then pulling the chair from underneath one student who refused to stand — was posted on several independent Web sites, reports the Ashbury Park Press and Political Gateway. The New Jersey School Board is considering ban of cell phones (due to the video) in its schools. -- Click here for video - wmv file -- Images from the classrom here A similar incident occured in a junior college in Singapore in 2003, where a student reportedly used a camera phone to film a teacher berating a classmate for a poorly written paper, and tearing up the student's work. [Smart Mobs] 10:22:39 PM    comment []

A Rise in Two-Computer Homes and a Leap for Home Networks. As more Americans introduce second computers into their homes, many are also adding home networks to allow these machines to talk to each another, according to a survey conducted in January by the Pew Internet and American Life Project. By Mark Glassman. [NYT > Technology] 10:22:19 PM    comment []

From BNA News: DELL CEO WARNS AGAINST NEW RESTRICTIONS ON DIGITAL DEVICES Dell CEO Kevin Rollins said yesterday that Congress and the courts should avoid imposing restrictions on ways consumers use computers and other devices to listen to digital music and watch movies. Rollins also said entertainment companies should work closely with technology firms to build new businesses delivering music and movies to consumers. CUSTOMER DETAILS LOGGED AT INDIA'S CYBER CAFES Hundreds of Internet cafes in India's technology hub of Bangalore have started to record personal details of their visitors to comply with a new rule aimed at tracking perpetrators of online fraud, virus attacks and terrorism. Internet users have expressed concern that the law would lead to invasion of privacy and police harassment, while cafe owners feared a drop in customers. KOREA CONSIDERS NEW COPYRIGHT RENTAL RIGHT FOR COMICS South Korea is considering a new amendment to its copyright law that would create a rental right for comics. The proposal has generated controversy since in the comic book publishing market, rental shops account for 60 percent of the buyers, but most of them are struggling and additional fees might cause the whole rental market might collapse. 11:35:10 AM    comment []

MGM v. Grokster: Here's Why P2P is Valuable. Briefs defending Grokster's right to exist were filed yesterday in MGM v. Grokster, from Intel, Creative Commons [PDF], and many others. Among them, 17 computer science professors laid out the case for P2P, beginning with principles: "First, the United States' description of the Internet's design is wrong. P2P networks are not new developments in network design, but rather the design on which the Internet itself is based." Pointedly, the EFF compares this case's arguments to those made over 20 years ago in the Betamax case, which established the public's right to use video-copying technology, because of its "substantial non-infringing uses," even though many used videotape to infringe copyright. We'll soon see whether that right will extend to peer-to-peer software: the Supreme Court takes this up on March 29th. [unmediated] 6:31:55 AM    comment []

Eben Moglen & Co. on Grokster: Look Past the Rhetoric (Donna Wentworth). Rik Lambers of the highly recommended CoCo blog writes: "Eben Moglen has filed his brief on behalf of the Free Software Foundation and New Yorkers for Fair Use. A PDF is available through his blog." Excerpt: "At the heart of Petitioners' argument is an arrogant and unreasonable claim -- even if made to the legislature empowered to determine such a general issue of social policy -- that the Internet must be designed for the convenience of their business model, and to the extent that its design reflects other concerns, the Internet should be illegal. ...Despite petitioners' apocalyptic rhetoric, this case follows a familiar pattern in the history of copyright: incumbent rights-holders have often objected to new technologies of distribution that force innovation on the understandably reluctant monopolist." Thank you, Rik. [Copyfight] 6:24:21 AM    comment []

With Terror in Mind, a Formulaic Way to Parse Sentences. A company has developed a method to parse electronic documents almost instantly, and diagram all of the sentences inside. By NOAH SHACHTMAN. [NYT > Technology] 6:24:06 AM    comment []

NYPD Linguist Program a Success. The NYPD's efforts to fight terrorism with officers who can speak other languages is drawing attention for its success, especially in Washington. [WNYC New York Public Radio] 6:22:25 AM    comment []