Yearly Archives: 2003

RIAA Violation?

This entry was posted in Law on by

I’ve said it before and will say it again: all those folks downloading/exhanging unauthorized copies af an artist’s work are stealing. Their parent’s should have taught them better.
The RIAA, though, represents an obsolete industry and much of their current battle is last gasp stuff.
Which is probably why the RIAA appears to have violated the same ethical/legal standard they are trying to enforce:

Makers of the most popular online file-sharing network are suing entertainment companies for copyright infringement, alleging the companies used unauthorized versions of its software to snoop on users in their efforts to battle piracy.

Hoist with their own petard?!
Via Legal Memo-random.

Quicksilver

This entry was posted in Science Fiction on by

You’ll probably see discussion of Neal Stephenson’s new novel Quicksilver all over the blogosphere for a while. It’s thick, it’s supposed to be complex. I’m looking forward to my copy arriving real soon and expect a serious downturn in blogging for however many days it will take me to finish.
To help out folks who want to dig deeper or want to clarify a confusing point Stephenson has created a web site full of annotations. It is based on Wiki and Stephenson has a bunch of annotations already up and is planning more:

In our first phase, we are annotating the ideas and historical period explored in Neal Stephenson’s novel Quicksilver, seeding the Metaweb with an initial base of information. We are currently working on 106 articles, and hope you will expand and relate these and many other entries.

Read and annotate!
Via Boing Boing.

Microsoft to Cut off Millions

This entry was posted in Internet Law on by

MSN is shutting down its chat rooms beginning in the UK:

The software giant Microsoft declared war on internet paedophiles last night by announcing the closure of its thousands of UK-based chatrooms used by millions of people.
It will also restrict access to chatroom systems around the world, allowing only identifiable, adults living in the same country to use them.

It is their business and they can do what they want with it as it is not quite the same thing as a government shutting down a newspaper. Nevertheless this appears to be a case of thowing out the baby with the bathwater.
Yes, some folks used chatrooms to do bad things. They should be punished just like the folks that do bad things with knives, guns, cars, baseball bats, fists, etc. Lots of people are stabbed yet I still get to have a Swiss Army knife. Pedophiles attempt to lure youngsters into their automobiles, sometime successfully. So should everyone be kicked out of their automobiles? I don’t think so.
One of the supporters of this action says:

“Here we have the world’s leading internet service acknowledging open, free, unmoderated chat cannot be made completely safe for consumers and children

Wow, that is a very high bar indeed. “Completely safe!” Let’s just all curl up and die.
As Katherine says in the first comment at Samizdata, just what is the deal with the ‘living in the same country to use them’ thing? To me, if I were an MSN user, his would be a perfectly good reason to ditch the service. One of the great things about the internet is connecting with people around the world. I wonder with Katherine just which governement(s) is up to what here.
Via Samizdata.

bush’s WMDs

This entry was posted in bush Domestic Terrorism Iraq War on Terrorism on by

Some folks had expectations that David Kay would present his report on IRAQI WMDs in September. If he did deliver a report it apparently was not adequate and he is back working in Iraq. The current timetable? Whenever he gets the truth:

HUME: What do you say to the notion — you’re beginning to hear it more and more now — that actually he got rid of them but he didn’t want his neighbors to know that, you see, because he wanted to be able to continue to intimidate them? What do you say to that?
BUSH: I think, like I said, be patient. The truth will be out. I told David Kay to go find the truth and to bring back reports based upon his own timetable that are solid reports about what he has found. We’re analyzing miles and miles of documentation, we’re interviewing all kinds of people in Iraq. Some of the famous cards in the deck of cards, and just average citizens who are bringing information.
We’ve been there for about four months. And David is spending a great deal of time learning the truth. And the truth — we’ll find out the truth.

For some value of truth. What does w believe the truth is:

(more…)

Placing the Class of 2007

This entry was posted in Culture Education on by

Beloit College presents its annual (since 1998) Mindset List for the Class of 2007. It

helps to slow the rapid onset of �hardening of the references,� in the classroom.

A few examples:

3. Iraq has always been a problem.
5. Paul Newman has always made salad dressing.
6. Pete Rose has always been a gambler.
8. An automatic is a weapon, not a transmission.
11. There has always been a screening test for AIDS.
12. Gas has always been unleaded

And, much of what applied to the classes of 2002-2006 applies as well.
Send them suggestions for the Class of 2008.
Via Mark Morford.