I don’t know, I just felt a compulsion to ‘blog about this article.
September 2005
Publishers have sued to stop Google Print, a search engine for books, on the theory that it’s an infringement of copyright to make digital copies of copyrighted books, even if they never show those copies in their entirety to anyone. The publishers’ position is anti-innovation in a very fundamental way. In the analog world, there’s [...]
. . . When it’s regulated! TechDirt has a post and (first) comment about FCC reform yesterday afternoon that epitomizes a problem with debates about regulation: Speaker complains of practices in a particular industry, posits increased regulation as the solution. Existing regulation is ignored, while “the market” is blamed for problems. Because of various beefs [...]
CNET News.com reports that the vote to create a .xxx top-level domain has been delayed–again. This is the second delay, no doubt for the same reason as the initial delay in voting–political pressure from the U.S. government. In a previous post, I ranted about the dangers of governments getting into the business of Internet governance. [...]
It’s amazing that small companies can compete in today’s regulatory climate. We all know about the way that Steve Jobs and Stephen Wozniak created the first Apple computer in the Jobs family garage . Such small business success (now a big corporation of course) happens despite the disproportionate regulatory burden they share compared to their [...]
In previous posts earlier this year, I warned that efforts by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to block the proposed acquisition of video rental firm Hollywood Video by Blockbuster Inc. would likely lead to the demise of both companies in the long run. Well, excuse me while I toot my own horn for a moment, [...]
. . . paying attention to the Supreme Court nomination of Judge John Roberts or decrying the foremath and aftermath of Hurricane Katrina – or perhaps dissecting the latest draft telecommunications regulation – Congress has been not doing its work. October 1st is the start of the federal government’s new Fiscal Year, and Congress has [...]
[cross-posted from the PFF Blog] The House of Representatives’ Energy & Commerce Committee released draft legislation yesterday aimed a cleaning up the nation’s telecom and cable laws. A revision of the Telecom Act of 1996 has been in the works for some time and is very much needed, so most parties welcomed this news. Here [...]
I would like to draw everyone’s attention to a wonderful new blog on the media industry and media economics. “Rebuilding Media” features the musings of some of the brightest minds in the field of media analysis, including my friend Ben Compaine. Thanks to a link on the “Rebuilding Media” site, I’ve also stumbled upon the [...]
[cross-posted from the PFF Blog] Well it seems that the eBay acquisition of Skype is the hot high-tech issue du jour on the PFF blog, so let me add just a few thoughts to what Kyle and Ray have already said. Specifically, I want to pick up right where Ray left off when he ended [...]
The Technology Liberation Front is the tech policy blog dedicated to keeping politicians' hands off the 'net and everything else related to technology.