- Are reading and writing lessened online?
I would think a literature laureate would embrace reading and writing of all forms. Maybe a call to higher standards in blogging and the internet in general, but it is inherently textual.
- NSF’s contribution to the founding of the internet
This is more about the transition to the commercial internet. Despite a slight lapsarian undertone, the collaborations and risks are interesting.
- Canadian ISP carries out page injecting, alteration for customers
They claim it is only a test but this raises substantial questions around whether this legal and/or moral. This goes way beyond packet inspection and other debatable forms of network management.
- Increasing government transparency
The government is considering adopting a Google developed standard for dealing with dynamic pages. This standard, according to the article, is well received by industry already.
- RIAA reverse of legality of ripping CDs
The AHRA covers format shifting and CDs are not encrypted so this is a dinosaur thrashing hard against the tar.
- Clarification on RIAA reversal, or not, on ripping CDs
What they apparently said was that files ripped from CD are illegal when placed in a P2P shared folder.
- File sharing social network goes legit
An interesting reversal, I wonder how usable the site in question really is. It seems if it was truly useful, it would be grabbing more press.
- Facebook opening up API to other networks
This seems to be all about those annoying Facebook applications and not about portability of the most interesting data, profile and relationships.
- Tiny crack in Kindle’s DRM
A simple hack for converting a common e-book format to work with the Kindle.
- Risks of de-anonymizing data
The risk is that standard data mining techniques coupled with public, non-anonymous data can lead to easily automated de-anonymization of data released for legitimate research, scrubbed of private details.
- House subcommittee hearing on PRO-IP bill
Sounds like Berman has reigned the bill in, somewhat, but the question remains of whether the bill is really necessary, especially the cooption of the DoJ by a proposed white house office.
- Evidence against wireless carriers opening up
Mostly conflicts over uses of SMS, not even dealing with devices or new applications, per se. The carriers are being recalcitrant over normative use of an existing service of their networks.
- Another child’s view of OLPC
The most compelling aspect of the story is the self guided discovery of the child reviewer. He figured out all of these uses, applications on his own.
- Xiph letter to W3C about decision over video tag, Ogg
If a default codec should be in the standard, then the reasons stated in the letter make Ogg a natural choice. I am still not sure about the inclusion of a media tag, though.
- Google starts a human edited knowledge project
Despite comparisons to Wikipedia, the project’s goals seems quite different. There seems to be more room in Google’s work for expert opinions in addition to factual data.
- Real math performed with photonic quantum circuit
A trivial demonstration but one of real application, finding prime factors. No mention of how quickly the 4 qubit computer runs versus a traditional computer performing the same task.
- Free riding a very popular free application
Free software, and I do mean GPLed, has solved this, I would say, with a well craft, if not universally accepted, license whose share alike component is meant a direct defense against free riding.
- RIAA resisting Oregon state’s AG
Not surprising but I hope the state’s AG keeps pushing.
- VT judge protects encryption passphrase under 5th Amendment
The question of whether passphrases are like keys or like self incriminating testimony is hotly debated, so if this decision is appeal, it could have more broadly reaching effects.
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Posted in Links.
By Thomas Gideon
– December 16, 2007
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