] Like the Segway, Bombardier's Embrio concept--a prototype
] that may or may not make production--uses gyroscope
] technology to balance riders but adds a dash of flair
] absent in the Segway, which we as car nuts find slightly
] nerdy.

me want!

Canadian Segway

] 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.

FCC Deserves a Digital Thanks for Nothing

] Capt. Hornbuckle's name has never appeared in a newspaper
] or on television. He has received no book deals, no movie
] offers, no trips to Disneyland. In September, when he
] went to see his parents in Tifton, Ga., his mother called
] the local Holiday Inn and asked the manager to put her
] son's name -- he goes by Zan -- on the hotel marquee.
] That has been his most public recognition so far.

I thought I was going to be sick when the ads for the TV movie of Jessica Lynch were airing last week. But this makes me more sick.

Why you've heard of Jessica Lynch, not Zan Hornbuckle

As some of you know, I have been heavily involved in fighting the state based DMCA laws (or commonly known as SDMCA or SuperDMCA), specifically in TN. We formed a group called the Tennessee Digital Freedom Network in response to these laws in the TN legislature last year.

One of the things that has come about through my involvement in this process is the idea that there needs to be an active government lobby associated with people who want to preserve and protect digital rights. Everyone knows about the RIAA and the MPAA and the AARP and the NRA. There is not really a group devoted to researching, articulating, or lobbying for issues centralized on technology and digital freedoms.

You could claim that the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) holds this role. Certainly they accomplish some of these goals, but it could be said that they are lacking in the political might and/or activism necessary to truly work an issue at a local level.

Assume that this group would be geared towards three key competencies:

o researching and providing comment and/or solutions to legislators on key issues involving technology or digital themes.
o organizing and applying legislative effort to ensure that key issues remain open, free, and accessable.
o sponsoring legislators who actively serve to protect technology and digital freedoms.

So I have questions to ask of the Memestreams population:

1) Do you feel as though your rights and freedoms are being infringed in the digital realm?
2) Do you feel as though you have adequate power to protect these rights and freedoms?
3) Do you feel as though the EFF is an adequate tool to protect these rights and freedoms for you (or en masse)?
4) Do you feel that another group (or groups) might be necessary to ensure that these rights and freedoms are protected?
5) Would you be willing to contribute financially to such a group? What is the level that you feel you would contribute? $10/year? $10/month? Would you encourage your colleagues to contribute?
6) Would you be willing to contribute your time as a volunteer to such a group? What is the level you feel you would contribute? 1 hour/month? 1 hour/week? Would you encourage your colleagues to contribute?

any response by you is greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance for your time and energy.

Cheers,
Scott

For those of you who love gadgets and progress.

Popular Science - Best of What's New 2003

] 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

] Linda Tripp will get more than $595,000 from the Defense
] Department to settle a lawsuit over the release of
] confidential personal information about her to a
] magazine, her lawyers said.

can anyone say 'irony'?

U.S. Settles With Linda Trip for $595,000

] 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

] Recently released numbers from cable companies and from
] the Baby Bells who provide digital subscriber line access
] make it plain the companies are watching their broadband
] Net businesses flourish.

[sigh]

Broadband numbers show heightened demand

] The Wartsila-Sulzer RTA96-C turbocharged two-stroke
] diesel engine is the most powerful and most efficient
] prime-mover in the world today.

wow... 5,608,312 foot pounds of torque!!! Someone needs to build a muscle car with this engine...

The Most Powerful Diesel Engine in the World