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| "I don't think the report is true, but these crises work for those who want to make fights between people." Kulam Dastagir, 28, a bird seller in Afghanistan
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Stratton Sclavos at Red Herring Conference |
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| Topic: Technology |
11:47 pm EST, Dec 10, 2003 |
] Asked about the SiteFinder address redirect trick Verisign
] rolled out. A group of "200 technical zealots" were
] against it and they got all the headlines. Did they
] misinterpret it? Of course. We're not going to let this
] go. It is going to be the point where we answer the
] debate.
]
] He then goes on to say that we need to move the
] complexity back into the center of the Net! He says the
] edge can't be so complex. Get David Isenberg in here!
] Ross Mayfield, sitting in front of me, laughs out loud. I
] am dumbfounded. According to Verisign, the Net should not
] be open to any type of application, only applications
] that rely on single providers of services, like Verisign. There is going to be a hell of a market in alternative DNS systems and in technology that makes it easy for people to live with multiple DNS systems... Stratton Sclavos at Red Herring Conference |
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| Topic: Society |
12:32 pm EST, Dec 8, 2003 |
In an increasingly decentralized world, in which previously insignificant actors and factors can play a decisive role, strategic planning can leave decision-makers flat-footed. In its unidimensional reliance on a single future, strategic planning hardens the "official future" agencies internalize, and thus prepares them poorly for appreciating rapid changes in circumstance and for making agile adaptations. The idea is not so much to predict the future as to consider the forces that will push the future along different paths, in order to help leaders recognize new possibilities, assess new threats and make decisions that reach much further into the future. Seeing the Futures |
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Privacy and Property on the Net: Research Questions |
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| Topic: Internet Civil Liberties |
7:06 pm EST, Dec 7, 2003 |
Perhaps the most interesting quality of Internet and other data transmission networks is their potential to alter power relationships with respect to personal privacy and intellectual property. The idea that government should regulate intellectual property ... is relatively recent in human history, and the details may vary and change. Consider music. Extensive economic research has not conclusively answered the question of whether the patent system really promotes innovation. What is the optimal design for such a multitiered confidentiality system? This essay appears in the December 5 issue of Science Magazine. The author is a division director at the National Science Foundation. Privacy and Property on the Net: Research Questions |
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| Topic: Society |
11:59 am EST, Dec 6, 2003 |
For the last 24 hours, news reports have been soaring into orbit that President Bush and NASA are busy preparing their vision for the future of America's space program. ... the much-ballyhooed "orbital space plane" ... [is] the wrong sort of craft ... [and NASA has] shut the door on some of the most innovative current thinking on space technology. Buzz Aldrin weighs in on the future of NASA. Fly Me to L 1 |
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| Topic: Politics and Law |
11:57 am EST, Dec 6, 2003 |
I and a number of other wealthy Americans are contributing millions of dollars to grass-roots organizations engaged in the 2004 presidential election. My contributions are made in what I believe to be the common interest. George Soros defends his campaign contributions. Why I Gave |
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| Topic: War on Terrorism |
12:35 am EST, Dec 2, 2003 |
] The next six months in Iraq - which will determine
] the prospects for democracy-building there - are the
] most important six months in U.S. foreign policy in a
] long, long time. The Chant Not Heard |
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Patriot Act Author Has Concerns |
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| Topic: Politics and Law |
12:25 am EST, Dec 2, 2003 |
A chief architect of the USA Patriot Act is voicing concern about aspects of the administration's anti-terrorism policy. At issue is the government's power to designate and detain "enemy combatants." After thinking about Jose Padilla, he came to the conclusion that the administration's case was "unsustainable." Another former top official said, "We need to debate a long-term and sustainable architecture." A concerned Harvard Law professor said, "You are talking about overthrowing 800 years of democratic tradition." There isn't much substance to this article, but it serves as a data point. Patriot Act Author Has Concerns |
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Kids are plugged in, parents have tuned out, studies show |
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| Topic: Society |
5:58 pm EST, Nov 27, 2003 |
The Annenberg Public Policy Center of the University of Pennsylvania conducted a study in 2000. It found: Low-income families (less than $30,000 annual income) are less likely to have computers, Internet access or newspaper subscriptions. However, they are equally likely to have a video-game player and their children are more likely to have TV sets in their bedrooms. Family income is an inverse indicator of media use -- children from high-income families spend the least amount of time with media and children from low-income families spend the most time with media. Kids are plugged in, parents have tuned out, studies show |
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Buying and Selling the Little Black Book |
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| Topic: Technology |
1:33 am EST, Nov 26, 2003 |
Can you count your friends? Better yet, can you organize them in a database? There's a lot of buzz about a new breed of software tools that can help people manage their contacts -- or, to make it sound more serious, leverage their social capital. "It's easy to identify candidates these days. The challenge now is selection." At the end of the day we will have private aggregations of data more rich and interconnected and personal than any government ever dreamed of ... and of course this data will be readily available, just as data from credit card companies, merchants and airlines is today. Finally, I have to ask what these tools do to the old, low-tech concept of friendship. In some way, with their numbers and lists and classifications, these services can subtly make a social network into a trophy collection. Technology has made it easier than ever to count your friends -- but that doesn't mean you should. Esther Dyson weighs in on the trends in social networking software. Buying and Selling the Little Black Book |
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E-Votes Must Leave a Paper Trail |
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| Topic: Politics and Law |
9:26 pm EST, Nov 21, 2003 |
California will become the first state requiring all electronic voting machines produce a voter-verifiable paper receipt. The requirement, announced Friday by California Secretary of State Kevin Shelley, applies to all electronic voting systems already in use as well as those currently being purchased. The machines must be retrofitted with printers to produce a receipt by 2006. E-Votes Must Leave a Paper Trail |
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