When they write the account of the 2004 campaign, it will include at least one word that has never appeared in any presidential history: blog. Whether or not it elects the next president, the blog may be the first innovation from the Internet to make a real difference in election politics. But to see just why requires a bit of careful attention. [Wired News]
SunnComm Does Some Thinking, Backs Off
SunnComm CEO Peter Jacobs to the Daily Princetonian: “I don’t want to be the guy that creates any kind of chilling effect on research. I just thought about it and decided it was more important not to be one of those people. The harm’s been done…if I can’t accomplish anything [with a lawsuit] I don’t want to leave a wake.
I don’t want to be the people my parents warned me to stay away from. It’s 10 million bucks, but maybe I can make it back, and maybe [Halderman] can learn a little bit more about our technology so as not to call it brain dead.”
The good Professor Felten: “SunnComm is to be commended for deciding not to interfere with Alex‘s right to speak. I hope SunnComm decides to join the debate now. If SunnComm wants to add anything, or to challenge anything that Alex said in his paper, I for one would like to hear from them.” [Copyfight: The Politics of IP]
Nothing good can possibly come of this..
AT LUNCHTIME TODAY, I moderated a panel discussion on digital downloading and music, featuring a bunch of musicians, songwriters, and industry people from Nashville. Here’s the scary bit: one of the industry guys said that their big legislative priority is to try to create a regime where you have to register with a unique, verifiable ID to access the Internet.
No doubt the next step would be to take away that ID as punishment for “misconduct” on the Internet. [InstaPundit.Com]
All Politics Are Loco!!!
A great Michael Lewis piece in the NYT Magazine on the California Recall (Thanks for the pointer JD)
Fighting the Idea That All the Internet Is Free
The music industry’s campaign against online piracy attacks the idea that everything in cyberspace can be free. [New York Times: Business]
Court Blocks FCC Media Regs
U.S. federal court judges grant a stay order that prevents the new Federal Communications Commission media ownership rules from taking effect. The ruling marks the latest skirmish in the battle over media market reforms. [Wired News]
Security Expert Turns Political
Wired News talks with Richard Forno about his latest book, a departure from his usual computer security work. In it, he warns that ‘the real danger facing America is what we’re allowing ourselves to become.’ [Wired News]
Under Fire, F.C.C. Chief Plans Study of Media Consolidation
“We heard the voice of public concern loud and clear,” Mr. Powell said, “that localism remains a core concern of our public, and thus, I think it is time the commission address it head-on.” [New York Times]
Key FCC broadband rules expected soon
The Federal Communications Commission is poised to release controversial rules that many believe will shape the future of the broadband and telecommunications business.
After six long months of waiting, the Federal Communications Commission is poised to release controversial rules that many believe will shape the future of the broadband and telecommunications business.
In February, the FCC released a bare outline of its vision for the future of the high-speed Net market, as part of a sweeping review of regulations governing competition across the phone industry. Exposing deep-seated divisions within the agency, commissioners split on a host of issues, leaving many companies unsure exactly what was coming. On Monday, Commission Chairman Michael Powell at last indicated that the details of the decision would likely come this week, possibly Thursday. But even if every company in the business is eagerly awaiting the results, analysts say the market certainty that most crave will likely remain elusive. [BusinessWeek Online]
Forget California, It’s Time to Recall Microsoft
Code Red, Love Bug, Slammer, Nimda, Pretty Park, BubbleBoy, Melissa, Code Red II, MSBlaster, and numerous other high-profile Microsoft-sponsored incidents…many view them as “the price of doing business in the Information Age” and cheerfully spend (or lose) increasing amounts of money with each new incident arising from poorly designed software. But rather than face reality by conducting a dollars-and-sense risk assessment of their IT operation to see how much Microsoft’s vulnerabilities cost their enterprise annually, these sheeple – at all levels of government, industry, and society — prefer tolerating mediocrity to efficiency and reliability in their software assets, because they’re either too lazy to investigate alternatives or don’t want to propose changes to the comfortable status quo.
What recourse do you have in such cases? You can’t just sue the software vendor for problems with their product like you can the maker of a vehicle or appliance since you’ve given up those rights by using the product under the terms of its license agreement. The only option you have is continue using the software in question and scrambling to update your systems whenever a new problem presents a danger to your information assets. In other words, when Microsoft says “patch” you salute and say “how soon?”
Or, you can vote with your pocketbook and move to an alternative software product that works better, costs less to buy and maintain, and won’t burn out your network support staff. Nobody’s saying you must use any one particular product or operating system, and they all tend to perform the same basic functions needed in today’s working society – although some are better at it than others. It may take a little bit of effort to switch and get used to the new product, but the long-term payoff will be worth it. [Richard Forno – Infowarrior]
Me? I’m just glad I use a Mac.
Keeping the Net Neutral
Salon: A coalition of big-name tech companies — Microsoft, Amazon, eBay and others — wants the feds to make sure that cable companies don’t ruin the broadband Internet [JD’s New Media Musings]
“Save our state — vote Terry Tate.”
The slogan for the tongue-in-cheek candidacy of Speight as Tate, as posted yesterday on the Web site, www.terrytate.reebok.com, is “Save our state — vote Terry Tate.” Mr. Speight is an actor and former football player and wrestler who has worn Reebok apparel and shoes to portray Tate since the campaign was introduced during the Super Bowl in January. [New York Times]
Once elected, Mr. Tate will tackle white collar crime: “Y’all suckahs who don’t pay taxes and hang out on your Gucci yachts? With Triple T in charge, you know you gonna get caught.” Terry also commits himself to reducing overcrowding at schools, improving air quality, and eliminating “long-[expletive] coffee breaks— five minutes tops, or y’all gonna get clocked.”
And despite the risk inherent in being the top executive of the state, Terry stands alone among leading candidates in his pledge to realize the hopes and dreams of the voters of California without taking a vacation or a sick day. “Playin’ hurt? Baby, that don’t phase me. The only pain I got time for is the pain I put on fools who don’t know what time it is.”
Most importantly, a vote for Terry Tate is a vote for a better future for California’s children, families, and businesses: “I’m gonna govern the [expletive] out of this state. Believe that, California.”[Terry Tate, Office Linebacker]
Lawmakers to probe RFID technology
Lawmakers in California have scheduled a hearing for later this month to discuss privacy issues surrounding a controversial technology designed to wirelessly monitor everything from clothing to currency. [CNET News.com]
From the what are you thinking file…
Ticketmaster, which holds a lock on ticket sales for many entertainment events, is in the hot seat for an online policy that doesn’t let buyers opt out of receiving e-mail pitches. [CNET News.com]
GREETINGS FROM CRAWFORD, TEXAS
President Bush is off to a month-long vacation at his Crawford, Texas ranch. What is he, French? Americans don’t take month-long vacations – or if they do, they spend them behind the wheel of a Winnebago. [Bill Maher Weblog]
Almost ubiquitous connectivity comes to the FCC…
Federal Communications Commission Chairman Michael Powell has always waxed enthusiastic about WiFi. Now he’s made sure that visitors to the commission will have wireless access to the Internet at the FCC itself. [Corante: Connected]
Battle of the blog
A power struggle erupts over a technology widely used to distribute Web logs, pitting blog pioneer Dave Winer against opponents at IBM, Google and others clamoring for a different format. [CNET News.com]
Are you wanted by the RIAA? EFF can tell you
EFF has launched a service to check whether or not your Kazaa/Grokster/whatever userid is the subject of an RIAA strongarm action against your ISP. It scrapes the PACER subpoena database periodically and indexes all the userids being sought by the recording industry. Link[Boing Boing]
House Votes, 400-21, to Block Media Rule by the F.C.C.
The House of Representatives votes to tighten regulations limiting TV stations, radio stations and newspapers, setting the stage for a possible showdown with the White House. [CNET News.com]
The House voted today to support the reversal of a rule that permits the nation’s biggest TV networks to grow larger. [New York Times: Business]
House Panel Urges FCC Action
Five months after initial vote, agency still has not published final rules providing Bells with unbundling relief. [internetnews.com: Top News]
Although the FCC has not issued its final order in the matter, the agency ruled the regional Bells will no longer have to share their high-speed fiber lines with broadband competitors. The FCC’s ruling provides the Bells with substantial “unbundling” relief for lines utilizing fiber facilities, including no unbundling requirements for fiber-to-the-home loops or hybrid loops that utilize both fiber and cooper.