Keeping politicians' hands off the Net & everything else related to technology
Ars highlights an interview with Microsoft executive Jim Allchin about how computer hobbyists are being frozen out of access to the next generation of digital video: Although as a platform Vista has been approved by CableLabs at this point, an important step that will still be necessary for the PC/CableCARD reality is CableLab’s approval for [...]
Patrick Ross calls out DRM critics: During the Grokster debate we always heard how P2P was simply a technology; it wasn’t evil. That’s true; the problem always was with the piracy on P2P, piracy encouraged by P2P software makers. Here a movie label is using P2P as a distribution tool. I’ll say this to all [...]
Ars reports that Amazon.com is planning to roll out a video-download service in April: Amazon’s vision includes a try before you buy model, where you could download or stream a movie for a fee, and apply that fee as a credit towards the purchase price of the corresponding DVD, should the content tickle your fancy. [...]
Google recently created a public-relations firestorm when it unveiled a new search site in China that censors data on behalf of the Chinese government. Though the search giant’s success stems from its birth in a free country, that doesn’t mean the company is strong enough to enforce freedom around the world. Many Americans were horrified [...]
I’ve raved before about the Google’s recent crop of richly interactive applications. The “technology” (really, collection of old technologies that have finally matured to the point where they’re usable) behind these has been christened “Ajax.” So here’s the latest amazing application in the Ajax tool suite: Meebo. Meebo is a multi-protocol chat client like Trillian [...]
Declan wonders if the video iPod will spark a DMCA revolution: In 1998, politicians bowed to pressure from the entertainment industry and voted overwhelmingly for the Digital Millennium Copyright Act. Part of that law made it a federal offense to sell or distribute software that can rip DVDs. In other words, believe it or not, [...]
Via IPCentral, there’s an interesting article over at DRM Watch about the development of DRM standards. The short version is: DRM standards continue to be a disaster. The only “standard” that has gotten any traction is the OMA DRM that’s used to lock content for mobile phones. It’s not hard to see why mobile phone [...]
Leander Kahney of Wired News writes in his Mac column today that Bill Gates is a saint because he gives away his money to charities while Steve jobs is the devil because he keeps his money and his opinions to himself. Here’s a sampling: It’s Gates who’s making a dent in the universe, and Jobs [...]
At the same time Google is digging in its heels against demands by the U.S. government, it has apparently caved in to demands by the Chinese government, agreeing to censor information available from its search engine in China. Google reasoned that the move was necessary to allow it to continue operating in China. (Check out [...]
The battle between Google and the Justice Department has not suffered from a lack of coverage. The short story is that DOJ asked (well, “commanded” actually) that Google and other search engines turn over massive amounts of data regarding searches and websites on their systems, to be used in the government’s defense of the Child [...]
May 25, 2012
The Technology Liberation Front is the tech policy blog dedicated to keeping politicians' hands off the 'net and everything else related to technology.
