Category: Uncategorized
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Fritz's Hit List #5
Today on Fritz’s Hit List: the Sony Aibo robot dog. This product, which sends, receives, and digitally processes audio, qualifies for regulation as a “digital media device” under the Hollings CBDTPA. If the CBDTPA passes, any newly manufactured Aibos will have to incorporate government-approved copy restriction technology. Fight piracy – regulate robot pets!
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NYT: Software Diverts Referral Commissions
Today’s NYT discusses software that horns in on referral commissions (like those from Amazon’s affiliates program) meant for others. Based on the article’s description, it looks like the software lurks quietly, waiting until the user’s browser is going to place an order that could generate a commission. Then the software inserts its distributor’s ID into…
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Godwin Article on the "Right to Tinker"
Mike Godwin has a new article at law.com on “the right to tinker.” He mentions my upcoming book on the topic. (Thanks, Mike.)
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Notes on Today's Berman-Coble Hearings
A House subcommittee held hearings this morning about the Berman-Coble peer-to-peer (p2p) hacking bill. I heard the first two hours, but then I had to go give a lecture. The bill would give copyright owners new powers to employ self-help “hacking” measures aimed to prevent infringing file-trading on p2p networks. Everybody agreed that the self-help…
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Misleading Term of the Week: "Standard"
A “standard” is a technical specification that allows systems to work together to make themselves more useful. Most people say, for good reasons, that they are in favor of technical standards. But increasingly, we are seeing the term “standard” misapplied to things that are really regulations in disguise. True standards strive to make systems more…
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Fritz's Hit List #4
Today on Fritz’s Hit List: auto navigation systems. These systems, which display digital maps and compute driving directions, qualify for regulation as “digital media devices” under the Hollings CBDTPA. If the CBDTPA passes, any newly manufactured auto navigation systems will have to incorporate government-approved copy restriction technology. Fight piracy – regulate navigation systems!
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Live On-Line Feed of Tomorrow's House "Piracy" Hearings
Tomorrow (Thu 26 Sept) at 9:00 AM (Eastern time), the House Subcommittee on Courts, the Internet, and Intellectual Property, will hold a hearing on “Piracy Of Intellectual Property On Peer-to-Peer Networks.” A live feed will be available during the hearing. [link credit: Ray Ozzie]
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Fritz's Hit List #3
Today on Fritz’s Hit List: the Philips digital baby monitor. This product, which transmits audio in digital form from one part of a house to another, qualifies for regulation as a “digital media device” under the Hollings CBDTPA. If the CBDTPA passes, any newly manufactured digital baby monitors will have to incorporate government-approved copy protection…
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Finkelstein on Spam-Blocking vs. Censorware
Seth Finkelstein offers interesting comments on my previous post about the spam-blocking of Schneier’s CryptoGram. I wrote I’m amazed at the number of people who scoff at the feasibility of automated Web-porn filtering, while simultaneously putting their faith in automated spam filtering. Seth replies (in part): The distinction between keeping people from something they want…
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Schneier's CryptoGram Misclassified as Spam
Seth Schoen reports that Bruce Schneier’s CryptoGram email newsletter is misclassified as spam by SpamAssassin and Razor. Seth Finkelstein explains why SpamAssassin gets it wrong. Schneier’s worst offense, according to SpamAssassin, is using the phrase “100% free”. Second worst: using the same all-caps word twice on the same line. (The offending word is “BES,” which…