Universal Rule

Book Reviews

Monday, January 20, 2003

Using a camera-equipped mobile in a locker room -- Comment()
Warning: use of camera-equipped mobile phones could be hazardous to your health: "That's the message going out from at least one chain of health clubs in Hong Kong, where a new generation of cell phones that can take and transmit video and still photos is raising concerns over a new crop of privacy-related issues. Physical, which operates nine gyms in the former British colony, recently posted signs in its Hong Kong facilities forbidding the use of mobile phones in locker rooms."

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DMCA: Ma Bell Would Be Proud: "In using the Digital Millennium Copyright Act as an excuse to sue third parties that dare to make inexpensive consumables, tech equipment makers also cheat consumers. It's reminiscent of the telcos' fight for dominance in the '50s. A commentary by Lauren Weinstein." [Wired News]

Future of innovation -- Comment()
Will Innovation Flourish in the Future? "MIT physics professor Jerome I. Friedman writes that the future of basic research, which forms the basis of innovation that significantly impacts society and the quality of life, may be in doubt."

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WSIS: Delegates Fail to Agree on Open-Source 'Support': 'Delegates to the Asian Regional Conference, a precursor to the U.N. World Summit on the Information Society to take place in December, failed to agree on language "supporting" open-source software. The final draft instead "encouraged" open-source software and standards to be developed by member nations, a change backed by a U.S. delegation worried about its proprietary software industry. Among the multitude of issues discussed at the conference were information security, intellectual property rights, and the digital divide.'

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Over 50,000 downloads of Down and Out!: "Ten days after the launch of my novel, I've gotten more than 50,000 downloads from my site, plus untold email, p2p and mirrored transfers. I've done so many interviews about the book and the Creative Commons that it's actually cutting into my writing time. Thanks to everyone who helped make this a success." [Boing Boing Blog]

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Czech Proverb: "The big thieves hang the little ones." [Quotes of the Day] [Seb's Open Research]

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Getting to Top of an Internet Search: "Just as it is often difficult for people to find what they are looking for on the Internet, it is frequently a challenge for the people themselves to be found when they want to be." [Google Technology News]

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Microsoft unveils new CD copy protection: "Microsoft announced on Saturday new digital rights software aimed at helping music labels control unauthorized copying of CDs, one of the biggest thorns in the ailing industry's side." [Google Technology News]

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Drivers license spam scam busted: 'The alleged scam artists -- who operated under a variety of names -- charged up to $375 for a license that could supposedly win back suspended driving privileges and make holders immune to speeding tickets or other traffic violations, the watchdog agency said. [...] Legitimate international licenses confer no such privileges, but only translate an existing state-issued license into a number of different languages, said Howard Beales, head of the FTC's consumer-protection division. [...] "These scam artists act as if they have a license to deceive customers," Beales said.' [Privacy Digest]

Sophisticated spam -- Comment()
Spam's getting more sophisticated: "Technology levels are rising in the battle between those working to save you from spam and bulk mailers looking to slip messages through your filters." [Computerworld News]

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Run the same letter to the editor: "An alert Google user noticed that dozens of local newspapers from Boston to Honolulu have run the same letter to the editor under different names nationwide (the Eschaton weblog posted a partial list)." [Paul Boutin]