Scott Rosenberg on the recent Supernova conference on decentralisation: The geek-driven world of new "decentralized" technologies like Wi-Fi, blogging and Web services is more about cutting out the middleman than finding a business model.
10:56:37 PM  #   your two cents []

Mike Fagan, who has been the head of the Irish national .ie domain registry (IEDR), was in court today as he has brought a legal challenge to the IEDR board of directors' attempt to have him step down. In court, it was said that he has been using two names each with different tax numbers, both registered to the same address. The second name is James Joseph Fagan. More to come in court tomorrow when the case continues.
9:40:05 PM  #   your two cents []

BlogTalk is a European weblog conference set for May 2003, in Vienna, Austria. [Scripting News]
9:29:07 PM  #   your two cents []

Jury Finds ElcomSoft Not Guilty. A U.S. jury acquits Russian software developer ElcomSoft of charges it violated the U.S. Digital Millennium Copyright Act. [Wired News] ...Another key case! I'm sure it will be appealed...
9:26:22 PM  #   your two cents []

NB bloggers everywhere: U.S. court rejects Web libel-at-a-distance lawsuit. Judge takes opposite view from Australian High Court ruling [InfoWorld: Top News]... This is a really critical case for the future of online publishing. If the Aussie court position stands, publishers (and bloggers!) would be subject to the libel laws of every single country that can view the web, not just the country in which a piece is published. I sat in on a legal session in Durban, So Africa, which discussed this subject in some depth. Some of the best business lawyers in the world think this case will establish global liability, completely altering the way we now view libel.
9:25:04 PM  #   your two cents []

German city drops Windows for Linux. Community to build entire IT infrastructure on Linux [InfoWorld: Top News]
9:22:21 PM  #   your two cents []

Lindows heads for store shelves. Lindows, a start-up dedicated to making Linux easy to use for average PC owners, releases the first retail version of its software. [CNET News.com]
9:20:50 PM  #   your two cents []

Excuse me while I sneeze... again. The NYTimes has a very informative article for anyone who lives with sneezing and a stuffy nose all the time (like me), on moves to rethink the causes and treatments of sinusitis:  "According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, chronic sinusitis is the most common long-term illness in the United States, affecting more Americans than asthma, arthritis and congestive heart disease. It strikes women more than men and is most common in the Southeast."
1:28:10 PM  #   your two cents []

RIAA targets small stores' CD copying. The trade association that represents the major record labels launches a new anti-piracy campaign, threatening to sue gas stations and convenience stores that sell counterfeit CDs. [CNET News.com]

...Oh, for heaven's sake. The RIAA is the classic example of the Big Industry body that just doesn't get it and because of this fact, is skating close to damaging its entire industry as well as the artists it claims to defend (with a big 8 cents royalties per release -- that's all the artist gets on average out of the $/€15-20 you spend). The Net and other technologies have irrevocably changed everything about music production and distribution, yet they continue to fight outmoded, rear-guard actions that regress rather than advance their industry and artists.  And they take petty actions that only anger their consumer base rather than listening to the consumers and delivering music to them in the more innovative, less costly ways they want.

All I have to say is that I once bought 2-3 releases a week, but I stopped buying almost any music long ago, because CDs are too damn expensive. Before I fork out now, I want to have a reasonable listen to some songs first (thanks, Napster, for that service) -- not just while standing at a listening station in a music shop. And to see how dizzily the RIAA spins its figures to make its blustery case against 'piracy', see the link to George Ziemann's excellent analysis (and proposal to new acts) below.

11:12:01 AM  #   your two cents []

Limits Sought on Wireless Internet Access. The Defense Department is seeking new limits on wireless Internet access, arguing that it could interfere with military radar. [New York Times: Technology]
10:37:09 AM  #   your two cents []

Creative Types: A Lot in Common. The Internet is teeming with creative people who aren't famous or rich. A new set of licenses from Creative Commons will allow copyright holders to share their work according to conditions they specify -- and boost their profiles. [Wired News] ... Lots of buzz about this on the Net in the past few days. Will it work? I don't think so.
10:33:49 AM  #   your two cents []

Who Wants to Be Hugh Hefner?. Playboy subscribers forked out $300 million for video games in 2001. Now the adult-entertainment empire Hugh Hefner started in 1953 will launch a sim game that lets any joystick-wielding Joe don Hef's silk pajamas. [Wired News]
10:31:44 AM  #   your two cents []

Who Owns Science? [Slashdot] An interesting discussion on the controversial tendency of major science journals to charge steep licenses for access to their contents -- taking scientific research out of the public domain and certainly out of the reach of scientists in poorer countries. The New York Times discusses the issue here: "The two journals are the first of what they envision as a vast electronic library in which no one has to pay dues or seek permission to read, copy or use the collective product of the world's academic research."
10:30:40 AM  #   your two cents []

Philips hears sweet music for PCs. The consumer-electronics company launches software designed to analyze to play music files on PCs at the best sound quality possible by analyzing the file type and hardware involved. [CNET News.com]
10:22:14 AM  #   your two cents []

Millions still searching for BBC. New figures from search engine Google show that viewers are still unfamiliar with the BBC's website, despite heavy promotion by the corporation. [Guardian Unlimited]
10:20:03 AM  #   your two cents []

Will Rogers. "Diplomacy is the art of saying 'Nice doggie' until you can find a rock." [Quotes of the Day]
10:18:30 AM  #   your two cents []