   November 2004 ArchiveNovember 19, 2004Poland Pulls Support for EU Patent Directive
According to the Polish government, the current draft is too mushy on the patentability of software programs; it wants a bright line that bans the practice.
Hollywood Drops the Dime on Hundreds of P2P Users
The studios were evidently wowed by the *increase* in file sharing after the RIAA's lawsuits, so they've now begun trying to emulate that success.
"Music Is Not a Loaf of Bread"
Jeff Tweedy, frontman of the amazing, future-friendly band Wilco, talks to Xeni Jardin at Wired News about digital music.
Microsoft Keeps Cracked Xboxes Off Net
And Halo 2 fans in the hardware-hacking community are distraught.
November 18, 2004Bad Copyright Law: Jumping on the Omnibus
Congress is considering an enormous copyright bill that combines a number of the year's most offensive proposals, including increased jail time for copyright infringement.
Perfect 10 Loses Tussle with Credit Card Giants
The adult entertainment company sued major credit card companies because they processed transactions for sites that offered unauthorized copies of Perfect 10's naughty pictures.
The Economist on Patent Reform
Very nice piece on the problems with the patent system.
Prescribing RFIDs
The tiny chips will soon be included in extra-large druggist's bottles, and they're on the way into other consumer goods.
Wal-Mart Special: 460 Terabytes of Customer Data
That's enough data to fill both of the Internets.
Lexmark Makes Spyware?
The printer manufacturer seems to be installing monitoring software on users' computers.
Diebold Pays $2.6 Million in Settlement
For misleading California counties into purchasing shoddy equipment.
Broward Voting Machines Count Down
When some of the Florida county's voting machines reached 32,000 votes, they simply started counting backwards.
November 10, 2004Suing 12-Year-Olds Is *So* 2003
After all, the 2004 version of the War on File Sharing sues 10-year-olds.
Salon on the Indymedia Whodunnit
The servers were seized; the servers were returned. Salon looks at what happened in between.
Canadians Try to Stop US Data-Mining at the Border
Our friends at the Canadian Internet Policy and Public Interest Clinic filed a protest against Abika, a US company that assembles and sells dossiers on Canadian citizens.
Iran Continues Net Crackdown
More journalists have been jailed and sites have been blocked in the government's ongoing campaign to squelch free speech and pro-democracy propaganda.
E-voting Tally: Supersize Me!
One Ohio precinct gave President Bush 4,258 votes to John Kerry's 260. The trouble is that only 638 people voted in that precinct on election day.
Post-Election Pondering About E-voting
Some lost votes and others seemed to pull them out of the air, but this article focuses on how the machines didn't spontaneously combust.
E-voting Machine Loses 4,500 Votes
Good thing that mandate wasn't hanging on the outcome in North Carolina!
A Third of Net Traffic Devoted to BitTorrentHollywood Sues Filesharers
Impressed with the stunning, awe-inspiring success of the recording industry's lawsuits, the major motion picture companies have decided to sue the tens of millions of people who share movies over P2P networks.
Privacy Tips for ISPs
Internet News with a story on our recently published white paper on how ISPs can protect their subscribers' privacy.
UK Artists Protest "Swindle" of the Public Domain
As UK Rocker Cliff Richard puts it, "Many artists rely on one hit record as their sole source of income, but now they will earn nothing. I feel a responsibility to speak out for them." So in other words, if a single hit supports some artists for *five decades,* the public ought to sign up to subsidize them for another two. Wow.
Mexico Takes Lead in Copyright Extension Contest
The country's Congress has extended the term of copyright to life + 100 years.
Japan "Updates" Copyright Law
"Update" is our new favorite word! Here, it means "dials back personal rights and criminalizes common practices like importing legitimate - but cheaper - music from other countries."
iTunes "Update" Breaks Other Apps
The new version disables iPod Download, an application that lets people - *gasp* - take music off of their iPods (very useful if your computer crashes or you simply want to keep your songs on the 'Pod).
Sony BMG to Grokster: Let's Make a Deal
The odd couple have arranged to offer free and paid music on the P2P company's network.
Homeland Security Targets Sales of Fake Rubik's Cube
You know that terrorists are on the run when HSA can send agents to investigate knock-off toys.
"Gone With the Wind" Heirs Target Project Gutenberg
Margaret Mitchell's estate continues its long, sad fight to keep the classic away from innovative public uses.
Bush Campaign Site Blocks Foreigners
Back when elections were all the rage, the Bush campaign blocked non-US IP ranges from accessing its site. Now everyone is free to surf again. We still don't get it.
|
RSS Feeds
|
