] Meeting notes for the 11th meeting of the WIPO Standing
] Committee on Copyright and Related Rights, 7 June 2004
]
] These notes were collaboratively written by:
]
] Cory Doctorow, EFF
] Wendy Seltzer, EFF
] David Tannenbaum, UPD
]
] Note: These notes were written quickly, in the heat of
] the session, and there may well be some errors and omissions.
] They are by no means verbatim, but on the whole they are a
] comprehensive record of the meeting.

WIPO: The First Day

] Editing documents in groups can be a challenge.
] Versioning systems like subversion or cvs help your group
] to keep a consistent copy of your document, but don't
] provide realtime collaboration. Wouldn't it be great to
] edit the same document, live, in realtime, together with
] everyone in your group?

SubEthaEdit - Collaborative Editing Software for OSX

] Enjoy your iTunes music library in virtually any room of
] your house. Share a single broadband Internet connection
] and USB printer without inconvenient and obtrusive
] cables. Create an instant wireless network on the go.
] Extend the range of your current wireless network. How
] many devices do you need to do all this? Just one.
]
] Presenting AirPort Express.

This does everything a AP/Router should do and is the same size as the Apple power adapter. Not only is this great for the home, but its perfect for travel. I'd much rather have one of these then the AP I carry around..

Apple - AirPort Express

] Not content with asking for an arm and a leg from
] consumers and artists, the music industry now wants your
] fingerprints, too. The RIAA is hoping that a new breed of
] music player which requires biometric authentication will
] put an end to file sharing.
]
] Established biometric vendor Veritouch has teamed up with
] Swedish design company to produce iVue: a wireless media
] player that allows content producers to lock down media
] files with biometric security. This week Veritouch
] announced that it had demonstrated the device to the RIAA
] and MPAA.

Oh yes, this will be very funny. Lets see how the music service that requires your fingerprints does in the marketplace with counterparts such as Apple's offerings, which are decidedly "weak" in their protections and somewhat respectful of privacy. Well, they don't want my fingerprints at the very least..

For that matter, any general authentication platform that might make this worthwhile or attractive, will not be successful if companies hated by tech consumers are driving. Microsoft, for example..

RIAA wants your fingerprints | The Register

] The state's top civil rights official has ruled that
] taverns cannot offer discounts to women on "ladies
] nights," agreeing with a man who claimed such
] gender-based promotions discriminated against men.

Someone should have explained to this guy how it works. I have a feeling he is going to be seriously getting his ass kicked.

Kool and The Gang didn't see this coming..

USATODAY.com - 'Ladies night' nixed in N.J.

] The typical video game calls for shooting aliens, racing
] cars and beating enemies into submission, but publisher
] Ubi Soft Entertainment has decided gamers may also enjoy
] stumping for votes at a nursing home somewhere in Ohio.
]
] The company said on Wednesday it has signed a deal to
] publish "The Political Machine," a new game for PCs that
] puts players in control of the 2004 presidential
] campaigns of either incumbent President Bush (news - web
] sites) or Democratic challenger, Sen. John Kerry (news -
] web sites).
]
] Players will also have the option of creating their own
] Republican or Democratic candidate or managing the
] campaign of a historical figure like Ronald Reagan (news
] - web sites) or Franklin Roosevelt.
]
] The game will allow players to raise funds, barnstorm for
] votes and join candidate debates.

SimPresident

Yahoo! News - Ubisoft to Publish U.S. Election Video Game

] Clear Channel Communications Inc. is under fire from
] smaller rivals worried that it will shut them out of the
] quickly growing business of offering live-concert CDs
] immediately after shows.
]
] San Antonio, Texas-based Clear Channel claims a key
] patent for the technology to offer such recordings, but
] competitors challenge whether that gives the company
] exclusive rights to create and sell instant recordings of
] live performances.
]
] The competing claims comes as Clear Channel, which is the
] No. 1 U.S. radio station owner, faces a trial in August
] over allegations that it abused its radio market clout to
] benefit its concert business.

] "Now virtually all performing artists like the Pixies, Billy
] Idol, and even Bruce Springsteen run the risk that if they
] record their own shows at any venue in the country, then
] sell the CDs that same night, Clear Channel can and will
] go after the artists and make them pay," said Lahr.

[ Rattle Says... ] Don't cry foul, cry bullshit..

Reuters | Clear Channel Rivals Cry Foul Over Live Concert CDs

] One of the cheapest Linux computers you can buy brand new
] (not at a garage sale) is the Linksys WRT54G, an 802.11g
] wireless access point and router that includes a
] four-port 10/100 Ethernet switch and can be bought for as
] little as $69.99 according to Froogle. That's a heck of a
] deal for a little box that performs all those functions,
] but a look inside is even more amazing. There you'll find
] a 200 MHz MIPS processor and either 16 or 32 megs of DRAM
] and four or eight megs of flash RAM -- more computing
] power than I needed 10 years ago to run a local Internet
] Service Provider with several hundred customers. But
] since the operating system is Linux and since Linksys has
] respected the Linux GPL by publishing all the source code
] for anyone to download for free, the WRT54G is a lot more
] than just a wireless router. It is a disruptive
] technology.

WRT54G + Asterisk = ?

The original title contained the word "Inadvertently".. Cringely always has some flaw in place when he is pointing out the obvious.

PBS | I, Cringely | How Linux is Poised to Remake the Telephone and Internet Markets

A study on group weblogs that focuses on Slashdot, Plastic, Kero5hin, and MetaFilter.

When the Audience is the Producer: The Art of the Collaborative Weblog [PDF]

As it happens, several significant new books ... could settle the debate right now -- if people take the trouble to read them.

Most public debates in the US seem to fall into this category.

Those looking for some facts to go along with their "rich people will destroy our future" hypothesis could do worse then to look at this information (and they typically do). The reality that we've accepted a several degree temperature increase over the next 100 years regardless of who is counting, coupled with recent revelations about bifurcations in the equilibrium states of oceanic systems. The worst case realistic scenario is in fact rather troubling. Not "we're all going to die" troubling, but certainly "England is no longer really a hospitable place to live" troubling.

Be Afraid. Be Very Afraid.