flynn23 wrote:
] ] As for new digital cables, the FCC ruling does not
] ] mandate any one copy-control technology, leaving it up to
] ] companies to choose from competing options. But this
] ] competition probably won't happen. Most of the
] ] electronics industry has anointed one system, called "5C"
] ] after the five corporations that developed it (Hitachi,
] ] Intel, Matsushita, Sony and Toshiba) and already approved
] ] for the digital outputs on future cable boxes and
] ] cable-compatible TV sets. The FCC can approve other
] ] copy-control schemes, but 5C-compliant hardware may not
] ] be upgradeable to support these competing mechanisms,
] ] placing them at a disadvantage.
]
] ...
]
] ] You won't be able to make a lower-resolution copy of a
] ] digital broadcast to watch on your DVD player or move a
] ] recording to the laptop or handheld computer you own
] ] today. And by forbidding all Internet transfers, even of
] ] brief excerpts, the scheme steals fair-use rights.

This really stinks.

RE: FCC Deserves a Digital Thanks for Nothing

] Alarmed by the unhealthy choices they make every day,
] more and more Americans are calling on the government to
] enact legislation that will protect them from their own
] behavior.

almost believable. Thanks to Mike Morrison for this one.

Americans Demand Increased Governmental Protection From Selves

] FCC Chairman Michael Powell said his
] agency was taking "an important step toward preserving
] the viability of free over-the-air television."

Dude, you SOOOOO blew it...

FCC Approves Internet Anti-Piracy Tool

I apologize for the cross posting. Hope everyone had a good time @ PN7. Unfortunetly, I could not attend due to a broken left clavicle. The Oxycodone gave me the same effect though. ;-)

In case you've been living under a rock this summer, the fight against the MPAA, RIAA, and monopolistic telecom providers is still raging. We achieved a small victory at the end of last spring's session to have the issue deferred and put into 'summer study session'. We are now _in_ 'summer study session' and hearings are beginning to commence.

What's at risk? Well, do you use MythTv or Tivo? Do you burn DVDs or VCDs of television content? Have a NAT box on your cable or DSL line? Use VPN from home? Or God forbid, do you have a splitter on your cable line in your home? Doing, possessing, or even TALKING about any of these activities could render you a felon in the state of Tennessee if this bill passes. Even better than jail time, you could be sued into bankruptcy without even being convicted. Civil penalties can be assessed at up to $50,000 per DAY per DEVICE in your possession (no need to have used it in the act). That's right kids. If you have 2 splitters on your line for one year and they go after you, the _minimum_ penalty you will receive is $876,000. That doesn't include fines or attorneys fees.

What can you do? Spend a few hours of your life sitting on your ass in a hearing room. Seriously. Just showing up was perhaps THE KEY reason why this bill was not passed last spring. There are two hearings this week. Day 1 is basically the 'Bad Guys'. Day 2 is the 'Good Guys'. Tuesday's agenda is as follows:
Tuesday, October 28, 1:00 p.m.

Stacy Briggs, Executive Director
Tennessee Cable Television Association

Brian Allen, Director of Corporate Security
Time Warner Cable

Todd Flournoy, Counsel and Director of State Legislative Affairs
Motion Picture Association of America

Jeff Yarbrough
Tennessee-based Charter Cable Operator

Jim Spears, Vice-President of Government Relations
BellSouth

Ross Loder
Tennessee Municipal League

Wednesday's agenda is:
Wednesday, October 29 at 9:00 a.m.

Jonathan Band
American Library Association, Association of Research Libraries and the American Law Library Association

Scott Lyon or Scott Kozicki
Tennesseans for Digital Freedom Association (sic) Tennessee Digital Freedom Network)

Arnold Grothues, Vice President of Industry & Government Affairs
Radio Shack Corporation

Both of these hearings should be held in the 12/14 Legislative Plaza hearing rooms, HOWEVER, if they are still under construction, they may be moved. Ask anyone at the Plaza and they should be able to redirect you. For specifics, you can contact Sen. Trail's office for exact instructions: 615.741.1066. Ask about the "Joint Committee on Communications Security" hearing. Yea. We thought it was about cable theft too.

If you wish to be actively involved, please call me or email as soon as possible. 615.429.4502.

Cheers,
Scott

State DMCA Part 2 - Electric Boogaloo

you're a female cashier or a corporate officer at Wal-Mart, age 18 and over, and you're not afraid to shed your inhibitions in front of the camera, Playboy wants you.

Playboy wants Wal-Mart women

] In fact, they're tracking every download and selling the
] data to the music industry. How one company is turning
] file-sharing networks into the world's biggest focus
] group.

This is so obvious. Essentially, the music industry tracks what is being downloaded and where. They heavily promote the respective artists in the respective areas. Brilliant you say? No, just good marketing, and another reason why this is not a THREAT to the industry. It's a catalyst for growth.

I am reminded of a great interview that Peter Gabrial gave. He was asked about piracy, particularly in the third world (where he is heavily influenced and very popular). He said essentially that he viewed piracy as an opportunity. "If people are copying my work, I just go tour there." Peter got it. He realized that there was demand for his work, and maybe he isn't making royalties because of the copying, he has the opportunity to make REAL money by touring and selling merch. Oddly enough, this interview was in the early 80s.

BigChampagne is Watching You

] Unreliable software exposes California recall to fraud

Hack the vote

Dusk shot of the big apple with the lights off, from the New York Times Website.

Everyone in the world shares the same reference point to this moment in time.

Picture of New York City with no power

] SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - Green Party presidential candidate
] Ralph Nader was hit with a pie as he endorsed party
] member Peter Camejo for California governor.
]
] The show of political support at the Green Party's San
] Francisco headquarters took an unscripted turn Tuesday
] when a prankster burst into the room and slammed a cream
] pie into Nader's face. The culprit fled through a side
] door.

Nader Hit With Pie During Calif. Event

] Unabomber Ted Kaczynski has asked the U.S. government to
] return his personal papers and other materials, including
] a bomb confiscated by the FBI seven years ago.
]
] In papers filed at federal court in Sacramento, Kaczynski
] asked that the government ship the materials to a
] University of Michigan archive that already contains more
] than 15,000 of his papers.
]
] Those items include a pipe bomb and tons of documents
] including his voluminous autobiography, according to R.
] Steven Lapham, one of the federal prosecutors who tried
] the case. Also on the list: Kaczynski's tools, a can of
] matches, a pair of tweezers and a hatchet, which were
] confiscated when he was arrested at his Montana cabin.\

"GIMME BACK MY BOMB! Of course I promise not to detonate it in my cell."

Laughing boy

Unabomber seeks return of papers, bomb