From the Merc: 10 choices that were critical to the Net's success. Dan Gillmor. <<A series of decisions proved critical -- choices that helped turn data transport into a commodity business and put the power in users' hands, not in the centralized telecommunications companies' controlling grasp.>>
9:30:27 PM  #   your two cents []

New York Times writer Matt Richtel suggest a quiet, thoughtful, tech-free day on the anniversary of 9/11: It's Time to Turn Off Those Bells and Whistles.
7:56:26 PM  #   your two cents []

Lawyer Denise Howell, who blogs at Bag & Baggage, has been sitting in as arguments were presented last week in the California Supreme Court on the DVDCCS DeCCS case, a key case in the area of web publication, physical jurisdiction and internet law. She calls her entries Pavlovich v. Superior Court (or: why you may have to learn to love the California court system if you're posting on the Web), and here's part I, part II, and part III. The third bit has the full argument.

7:52:46 PM  #   your two cents []

Blogging: an economist's view: "To analyze blogging's recent rise and current weaknesses we need to explore why everyone doesn't go the way of bloggers and work for themselves." This is a very interesting piece weighing up the current economic state and likely future of the 'blogosphere' and its writers. I'd be generally of the writer's opinion -- that we are in a golden age of independent blogging, soon to be co-opted by a future in which good bloggers will be part of large media organisations, not solo voices. I think (although this is not explicit to the article) that he thus pinpoints why the supposed battle between blogging & mainstream journalism is overhyped. [from Tech Central Station]

3:22:06 PM  #   your two cents []

Say it, brothers! Cory Doctorow and Danny O'Brien look into the non-research behind this story. From Cory's Boing Boing: <<Wireless FUD: Spammers *could* use WiFi. ZDNet ran a story earlier this week about wireless spammers who drive up to open APs and send "millions of emails." They cited an expert, Adrian Wright. Well, Danny did some research on this (i.e., he asked Adrian), and he discovered that Adrian had said no such thing -- rather, he'd said that spammers could send spam this way. My guess is that as long as you can send spam from home without having to put on pants, there's no reason why you'd go through this stupid business of wardriving open wireless nodes to use as a spam launchpad.

It's amazing how many people really want to believe that open wireless is/will be a scourge on the Internet, an enabler for terrorists and child pornographers and spammers -- yet these same people utter nary a peep about the idea of libraries, Internet cafes, and kiosks in airports and conference centers that offer anonymous wireless access. [Boing Boing Blog]>>

Also, see Danny's blog Oblomovka for more detail.

2:24:41 AM  #   your two cents []

From Slashdot |  A History of the Digital Copyright Struggle. <<"The National Journal has an article detailing the battle between Hollywood and Silicon Valley. An interesting read, it discusses the tech industry's early miscues, and the efforts made to ensure that Hollywood isn't the only voice heard on the Hill.">>
2:21:09 AM  #   your two cents []