Thursday, December 05, 2002

Please do this NOW if you love your Tivo. If You Love Your Tivo then Contact the FCC! Even I Did It. If You Love Your Tivo then Contact the FCC!  Even I Did It I see that folks like Dave and Scoble love their Tivos and I hope they make their voices heard by following the directions below.  The FCC has received very few comments which means we could well get digital content controls right in the TV set -- and then it'll be a short time until they hit the PC.  Covered below is what to do.  And, yes, even I bothered to do this (and I'm like the most politically unmotivated person on the planet. DigitalConsumer.org Action Alert: -------------------------------------- Please send a comment to the FCC opposing the "Broadcast Flag" Proposal. The deadline is this Friday, December 6, 2002. Tell the FCC to Serve the Public, Not Hollywood. We are sending you this action alert because the FCC is going to be ruling shortly on a "broadcast flag" for digital television. If you enjoy watching or recording television, this decision will have a large impact on you. You have a chance to make your voice heard, but time is running out. Please send a comment opposing the "Broadcast Flag" proposal. The deadline for comment is Friday, December 6. Click here to make your voice heard. [_Go_] Please forward this alert to any other people who might think that this issue is important. What is happening: ----------------------- Hollywood is pushing the Federal Communications Commission to forcibly implant copy-protection technology in digital television receivers.  The FCC is weighing a plan to mandate this "broadcast flag" which will govern what you are allowed to do with the digital television you receive. According to Hollywood, the goal is to prevent unauthorized retransmission and copying of digital television over the Internet.  Unfortunately, the real impact of the broadcast flag will be much greater than what Hollywood admits. Declan McCullagh, a leading industry analyst, had the following to say about the Broadcast flag proposal: "This is a worrisome plan that, if adopted by the FCC, could lead to increased government regulation of technology and reduced fair use rights. The idea is that digital TV transmissions will include a 'broadcast flag' designating shows that may not be copied freely" The broadcast flag will likely take away many of the fair-use rights you've historically had -- all in the name of preventing piracy. But unfortunately, piracy will not be stopped by the broadcast flag. With file-sharing networks, a TV program that is cracked just one time will propagate freely across the Internet. You are being asked to sacrifice your rights for a technology that will not stop theft. There are several sources of additional information: News.com Article TectTV EFF Blogs Freedom to Tinker CDT Here is the FCC's Notice of Proposed Rule Making: [_PDF_] Please make your voice heard. Sincerely, Joe Kraus, Co-Founder DigitalConsumer.org [The FuzzyBlog!] 9:57:32 PM

This has been making the rounds already, but I wanted to make sure the folks back in ILL see Billy Joel's song We Didn't Start the Fire done in Flash. The great part is that in the morning, I'll know when they start watching it because I'll be able to hear the laughter all the way over in my office.  :-) [The Shifted Librarian] Not only with people laugh, they'll have this song in their heads for the next few hours. Arrrggggh! We didn't start the fire. do do do do do Darn :-( 9:55:02 AM

Television days. My new TiVo rocks my world. (58 words) [dive into mark] Spread the faith, brother. Amen. 9:52:18 AM

He's a Joker, He's a Smoker, He's a Midnight Toker..... "Han Solo. Smuggler. Lover. Hero. Switcher." [Backup Brain] [The Shifted Librarian] This Apple Switch parody is funny because it also makes fun of Ellen Feiss's ad. It's not quite as funny as Will Ferrell's ad parodies. There were some made at O'Reilly's Open Source conference too that were a bit better and I can't find them. Emacs vs. Vi. What a geek! Oh! That's me too. 9:30:41 AM

© Copyright 2003 Paul Leclerc.