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We have been living with the Patriot Act for a while now, brought on by the events of Sept 11th. Congress is having a look at it and deciding if it needs to be modified or renewed in it's current format. Freedom in this country has been fought hard for and a lot of blood shed to maintain that freedom
Digital Rights Management (DRM)is a tool that doesn't reflect the general preference of legal music downloaders. Before you read on, hoping that I will advocate for the free distribution of music, let me warn you: I'm a strong supporter of copyright and the protection of intellectual property; I want artists and distributors to make a decent living, but I'm frustrated by the current misuse of digital technology that attempts to thwart illegal distribution. In practice, DRM makes creates compatibility problems that make it excessively difficult, and in most cases, impossible, to listen to music that has been purchased online.
The Federal Election Commission started to extend campaign finance rules to the Internet. According to CNET News.com, the proposed changes would have made any website over 500 readers post government-mandated notices or risk violating campaign finance laws. The original reforms would have imposed Federal rules from decades ago on websites. But at the last minute, the proposals changed.
Parvin Dhaliwal (18), a student at the University of Arizona (UA), is the first person in country to be convicted of a crime under state law for downloading music and movies. Dhaliwal pleaded guilty to possession of counterfeit marks, or unauthorized copies of intellectual property, and was sentenced to a three-month deferred jail sentence, three years of probation, 200 hours of community service and a $5,400 fine. Dhaliwal must also take a copyright class at UA and stop using file-sharing applications. What makes this conviction notable is that copyright protection is normally a federal matter.
Great article and a must read for all of you that are concerned with where DRM is taking us. [BoingBoing]
A report of Internet-related activities, published by Stanford University in 2000, asked 4,000 respondents to select among a list of 17 online activities. The results were not surprising. An updated report is forthcoming next week. By far, e-mail is the most common online activity, an activity of 90 percent of all users; however, e-mail isn't the principal reason most folk
The U.S. Navy is developing a service-wide policy regarding the acceptable use of information technology. The policy will affect approximately 900,000 users, including Navy and Marine Corp service members, civilian employees, and contractors. The policy, which is scheduled to be effective during the first quarter of 2005, is designed to guide users and personnel managers in applying consistent rules of