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 Wednesday, August 13, 2003
Al Franken Moves Up To First Place. Al's Number 1 on Amazon.... Lies and the Lying Liars Who Tell Them: A Fair and Balanced Look at the... [TalkLeft: The Politics of Crime]
Just further proof that there is no such thing as bad publicity. Not only will this suit make Fox look stupid. The petulant tone of the suit (particularly in its description of Franken) seemed odd to me. In addition, the complaint about the similarity of Franken's book design to an O'Reilly book reminded me of the row O'Reilly had with Franken at the book fair in June. This is probably the real reason for the lawsuit. In fact, a USA Today report published at the time is the smoking gun. Schroeder [the moderator] said that, backstage, O'Reilly said his photo was used without permission. Franken said it was in the public domain. Later, O'Reilly said, 'Fox lawyers will handle this.' O'Reilly was ticked off and someone decided to retaliate. I guess this is what they decided to do. Since they are not claiming copyright infringement for the cover, just a similarity, the photo of O'Reilly must have been in the public domain. O'Reilly said 'My job is to rattle the cages.' He just does not seem to be able to take it very well when someone rattles his cage. In his own response on his own show, he states that his personal code REQUIRES him to respond to personal insults. Which he did with his own personal insults, calling Franken an idiot, a vicious person beneath contempt. Nothing wrong with lobbing ad hominem arguments against someone using them against you but do not try to claim you are trying to elevate the discussion. All this explains the tone of the suit, which sounds very much like something you would expect to hear on an O'Reilly-like pundit fest. 11:16:13 PM 
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Afghanistan. AFGHANISTAN....There's been a fair amount of coverage of the increasing violence in Afghanistan, but I'm surprised that this development hasn't gotten more attention:The Taliban has wrested control of most of Zabul province in southeastern Afghanistan ? for the first time... [CalPundit]
Afghanistan has been the bane of most modern empires, from Britain and Russia to the US. We are not done there yet. 9:40:18 PM
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Daily Outrage: Fox v. Franken. Claiming legal ownership of the phrase "fair and balanced," Fox News sues author Al Franken. [The Nation Weblogs]
The best publicity for a book is to be sued. The petulant tone of the lawsuit does will not help their case in the court of public opinion. But it keeps the legal people in business. I would be quite surprised to see them prevent its publication. 1:07:13 PM
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Free is the right way to do WiFi. Paul Boutin's written a great piece in the new Wired about the right way to do WiFi: Free.
Sure, leasing a broadband connection with a Wi-Fi base is cheap. But add a billing system - secure login server, transactional database, credit card processing, tech staff, customer service operators standing by - and the outlay skyrockets to $30, $50, even $70 a day, particularly if there are lots of support calls. (Ironically, most of those calls will be about problems with the billing system itself.)
If you want to see the right way to serve wireless access, find a Schlotzsky's Deli. The Austin, Texas-based sandwich chain figured out the secret of making money from Wi-Fi: Give it away. Schlotzsky's lets anyone sign up and use its network free, even if they don't come in for a sandwich. The chain advises its 600 franchise owners to beam Wi-Fi signals through the walls into nearby hotels, parks, and college dorms. Such complimentary access points are popping up everywhere, from Buck's, a roadside restaurant in Woodside, California, to the Portland Harbor Hotel on the Maine coast. And why not? Giving away wireless broadband saves on billing costs, attracts customers, and creates an instant competitive advantage. Buck's owner Jamis MacNiven, who serves buttermilk pancakes to some of Silicon Valley's top venture capitalists, has the perfect rap on the topic: "Charging for online usage would be like charging for salt and pepper."
Link
Discuss
(via WiFi Networking News) [Boing Boing Blog]
Free is the way to go. And I love Schlotzsky's anyway. 12:08:48 PM
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Bailing out Windows users. Another great use for Macs: Bailing out Windows users whose machines are disabled by the Windows virus of the week. From the sounds of two phone calls I have had in the last 30 minutes, the Blaster virus is hitting quite a few Windows users [Mac Net Journal]
Attacks on Windows are getting more malicious and sophisticated as time goes on. The main way people know sommething is wrong is because the machine crashes. At some companies the only way to get online and download the patches is to use a Mac. How ironic. As with any ecosystem, diversity is survival. Monoculture is death. 10:56:50 AM
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A great story and it belies the point that Macs do not get attacked because of their small market share. It has more to do with their better default security. And, in my opinion, it is much easier to update that applying patches to a windows box. 9:36:02 AM
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