Tuesday, January 14, 2003

Eternal Vigilance    (Ed Foster, InfoWorld) It's a new year, but the same powerful interests continue to threaten our diminishing digital rights. "Will 2003 be the year we lose what remains of our digital rights? It's all too possible. Perhaps I'm overly pessimistic, but just from the sheer number of political and legal threats to our rights looming in various and sundry quarters, it's hard not to be. To avoid any nasty surprises, let's look at the most obvious ones. The biggest, baddest bogeyman on the horizon, of course, is the Hollywood lobby and the various bills it is pushing on Congress to control the future of technology products. The new Congress will doubtlessly see the introduction of the same or similar bills that we saw last year. The Berman bill, which would give copyright holders immunity for hacking into file sharing networks, is likely to be reintroduced, and we'll no doubt see one or more forms of the Hollings bill, which would mandate that all digital devices include Hollywood-approved copy protection technology. On the positive side, the Boucher bill, which restores some fair use rights that consumers have lost under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, is also expected to be reintroduced. ... So is this list of potential horrors just my way of keeping you up nights, or is there something you can do about them? As a matter of fact, there is. Consumer and watchdog groups representing your interests are in these fights, but they are few and poorly funded compared to the lobbyists from the software industry, the motion picture industry, the television networks, etc. The groups that represent the customer side need all the support they can get. I'm particularly partial to Americans for Fair Electronic Commerce (AFFECT) (www.ucita.com) for its work on UCITA and the EFF (www.eff.org) for the broad range of digital rights issues it covers. But other groups, such as the American Civil Liberties Union (www.aclu.org), the Consumers Union (www.consumersunion.org), and the Consumer Project on Technology (www.cptech.org), are doing very important work as well. Take a look at what they're doing and decide what you can do to help, whether writing your congressperson or writing a check. After all, it would be nice if in 2004 you still had a few rights worth worrying about." This article is a good overview of a complex subject. Thanks to the Shifted Librarian for the pointer. 4:10:18 PM    comment [] Are Spy Chips Set to Go Commercial?   (ZD Net News) "The generic name for this technology is RFID, which stands for radio frequency identification. RFID tags are miniscule microchips, which already have shrunk to half the size of a grain of sand. They listen for a radio query and respond by transmitting their unique ID code. Most RFID tags have no batteries: They use the power from the initial radio signal to transmit their response. It becomes unnervingly easy to imagine a scenario where everything you buy that's more expensive than a Snickers will sport RFID tags, which typically include a 64-bit unique identifier yielding about 18 thousand trillion possible values. KSW-Microtec, a German company, has invented washable RFID tags designed to be sewn into clothing. The European central bank is reportedly considering embedding RFID tags into banknotes by 2005. That raises the disquieting possibility of being tracked though our personal possessions. Imagine: The Gap links your sweater's RFID tag with the credit card you used to buy it and recognizes you by name when you return. Grocery stores flash ads on wall-sized screens based on your spending patterns, just like in 'Minority Report.' Police gain a trendy method of constant, cradle-to-grave surveillance. You can imagine nightmare legal scenarios that don't involve the cops. Future divorce cases could involve one party seeking a subpoena for RFID logs--to prove that a spouse was in a certain location at a certain time. Future burglars could canvass alleys with RFID detectors, looking for RFID tags on discarded packaging that indicates expensive electronic gear is nearby. In all of these scenarios, the ability to remain anonymous is eroded." 3:36:27 PM    comment [] Super Fast Web Browser Wins Science Prize A student at Saint Finian's College in central Ireland won top prize in a contest for young scientists in that country for a Web browser that he developed. Adnan Osmani, who is 16 years old, spent 18 months writing the code for the browser, which researchers at University College, Dublin found to be as much as five times faster than other browsers over a dial-up connection. The browser features built-in media players that allow users to watch video or listen to audio while surfing the Web. Access to 120 Internet search engines is also included, as is a talking, animated figure called Phoebe that makes the application easier to use. The browser can read Web pages aloud, which Osmani said might be useful for the young or people with disabilities, who otherwise have difficulty experiencing the Web. Osmani would like to attend Harvard University to study computer engineering and thinks that winning the contest will be "a nice boost to my university application." (Edupage)   3:24:57 PM    comment [] Software: MP3Mystic "MP3Mystic is an easy to use web server for MP3 file sharing (or other file types) and streaming. It takes a given directory path on your PC and creates/serves a web page that lists all the files as well as a "download" and "listen" link. It offers additional features like IP address restrictions, file types and an option for visitors to upload files. This is the base version and it is free. An optional advanced version can be purchased which offers additional features for more advanced users (customization, more streams, multiple paths, etc..). The program is very easy to use and setup and requires basically no technical knowledge. Like any server, it will work best with a static IP address." This is shareware, free to try, $29.95 to buy. Thanks to The Shifted Librarian for pointing this one out. 3:12:07 PM    comment [] Down and Out in the Magic Kingdom   (Cory Doctorow) Cory Doctorow's way cool science fiction novel Down and Out in the Magic Kingdom is out. I read it and it rocks! You can buy it from a groovy independent bookseller, read it online or download it for free. Here's one review: "In a world of affluence and immortality, the big battles will be fought over culture, not politics. That's the starting-point of Wired contributor Doctorow's daring novel set in a futuristic Disney World where talent cooperatives vie to run the attractions. One faction wants to convert the Haunted Mansion into a theater that "flash-bakes" sensory impressions into patrons' minds, offering them the thrill without the ride. Few challenges to copyright giants are as entertaining as this book. " (Paul Spinrad, Wired Magazine, January 2003) It's a fun read, and chock full of ideas that lodge in the brainpan: a memetic motherlode of mirth and madcap mayhem. It touches on issues that are even now coming into their own as cyberspace evolves into, well, something else altogether. Smart mobs, reputation based social ecosystems - the concept of whuffie alone was worth the price of admission. Mr. Doctorow is a clever new voice on the science fiction scene. Go. Read. Make it so. 3:05:07 PM    comment [] Citrus Mango Freeze (YUM!)   3 Mangoes, sliced (about 4 cups, or 4 cups frozen mango slices 3/4 cup freshly squeezed orange juice 1/4 cup freshly squeezed lime juice 1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice 1/2 cup ice, crushed or cubes 1/2 cup seltzer water GARNISH 6 fresh strawberries, hulled 1 lime, sliced Put the mango slices and orange juice in a blender. Add the ice and seltzer and blend until smooth. Divide among 6 small martini glasses. Drop 1 strawberry in the middle of each and garnish the rims with a lime slice. Add fancy straws for color and fun. (From The Healthy Kitchen by Andrew Weill and Rosie Daley, 2002, Alfred A. Knopf. ISBN: 0-375-41306-5) 12:01:18 PM    comment [] William Gibson William Gibson has a new novel, Pattern Recognition, a new website and related weblog. He appears to have a good grasp on the nature of blogging, and his posts are effortlessy readable. Here are a few excerpts:   "Today I am of the opinion, experientially, that the supposedly visionary aspects of any drug experience, regardless of how marvelous-seeming at the time (or how cocktail-lounge banal) represent no more than a tweaking of incoming stimuli. "But you're drowning in the waters the mystics walked on," said a saddened theologian to Leary and Alpert, early on, when they had explained the import of Dr. Hoffman's benison. When I first read that, I assumed that this guy was just some sour-faced killjoy. In long retrospect, now, I think he may actually have been trying to tell them something. "   "Downloading a novel from the net is not something I'd ever likely do myself, but mainly because reading novels on the screen of a PDA is something I might get into only if I were incarcerated, with no alternative. And I'm sufficiently (and with good reason) aware of the book > royalty > author chain to want to feed those authors whose work feeds me creatively. I make it a point to buy the books of writers whose work and presence I value. "   "Strange, how differently substances affect different mammals. The physiology of catnip, though only in cats, is such that if it worked that way on humans it would be one of the most widely abused substances in the world. The concentrated essence of one particularly potent Japanese species will cause classic nipped-out kitty-cat reactions in wild, fully-grown African lions. Something I'd love to see." 9:31:30 AM    comment []

© Copyright 2003 Jay Machado. Last update: 5/7/2003; 11:29:01 PM. This theme is based on the SoundWaves (blue) Manila theme.