] At the urging of the Wi-Fi Alliance, the trade group that
] actively promotes Wi-Fi and other 802.11 technologies,
] the FCC is seeking public comment about whether it should
] change the rules to allot an additional 255 MHz of
] spectrum for unlicensed use to the wireless industry.
] (Unlicensed use means that the wireless industry would
] not need to purchase a license the way cellular carriers
] are required to do in order to sell wireless Internet
] service to customers.)

] The change in rules would increase the availability of
] airwaves for wireless broadband by 80 percent.

Wired News: FCC: More Spectrum for Wireless?

] When people ask us from where we draw our opinions on
] everything from free music to fee music, we tell them
] look at the past to see what precedents prior media and
] its relationship with the consumer created. We then to
] compare the similarities and differences between the
] contemporary struggles digital media is faced today.
] George Ziemann's latest articles looks back to the
] earliest days of film and record industries and finds
] some amazing (though not surprising) parallels.

Memeing for later reading.. First of four parts.

Thomas Edison, Intellectual Property and the Recording Industry

] Turns out the Florida woman who is suing for the right to
] wear a Muslim headdress in a driver's license photograph
] has previously been subjected to an, um, unveiled
] government portrait. Following her 1997 conversion to
] Islam, Sultaana Freeman (formerly Sandra Keller) was
] arrested in Decatur, Illinois for battering a foster
] child. Freeman, 35, pleaded guilty in 1999 to felony
] aggravated battery and was sentenced to 18 months
] probation. As a result of the conviction, state officials
] removed two foster children from Freeman's care. The mug
] shot of the felonious Freeman (below left) was taken
] after her arrest in the Illinois case. Freeman returned
] to the dock this week--that's her testifying in the below
] right photo--to challenge Florida rules requiring
] prospective drivers to submit to unveiled photos for
] their licenses. Last year, Freeman sued the state after
] her license was revoked when she failed to allow
] officials to photograph her sans headdress. State
] officials contend that, in light of the September 11
] attacks, it is crucial that all motorists now be
] photographed in an unadorned state.

My personal theory had been that she was horribly disfigured under that thing.. Missing half her face.. Burn scars.. Michael Jackson shit.. Maybe looking just like The Joker, everywhere but the eyes. Maybe she could take a more American approach, get a balakava hood and a visor, and do the Storm Shadow GI Joe thing..

shrug..

The Smoking Gun: Sultaana Freeman Unmasked!

] A report from the front lines of the real culture wars

] Learn how corporations use 'statutory damages' as a
] secret weapon to collect hundreds of thousands of dollars
] from people who are 'guilty until proven innocent'. YOU
] COULD BE NEXT!

] WILLFUL INFRINGEMENT was produced on digital video, is 58
] minutes long, in color and stereo. It is available only
] on DVD and comes with over 45 minutes of bonus material
] including an interactive discussion guide for educators
] and exclusive 'Mickey & Me' sidebar video.

I must see this..

Willful Infringement

] A conservative Republican lawmaker is expected to
] announce a bill next week that would dramatically scale
] back the ability of record labels, movie studios and
] others to use anticopying technology, according to a
] source familiar with the proposal.

Sen. Sam Brownback, Kansas Republican.

] If the Brownback proposal were enacted, the Federal Trade
] Commission would have the power to ban DRM systems that
] limit a consumer's right to resell any "digital media
] product," a category that includes everything from
] computer software and e-books to copy-protected CDs and
] movies. It also says that companies selling such products
] must offer "clear and conspicuous notice or a label on
] the product" indicating the presence of anticopying
] techology that follows FTC regulations, starting one year
] after the law's enactment, unless the FTC determines that
] industry groups have created reasonable "voluntary"
] guidelines of their own.

] • Says the Federal Communications Commission may not
] force companies that create or sell PCs or digital video
] products to include specific copy-protection technology
] in them.
]
] • Requires the FTC to create an advisory committee to
] describe "the ways in which access control technology
] and redistribution control technology may affect consumer,
] educational institution and library use of digital media
] products based on their legal and customary uses of such
] products."
]
] • Says the FTC must prepare a report two years after the
] bill is enacted into law. The report would include
] information about how prevalent DRM technologies are, if
] they allow "consumers, educational institutions and
] libraries to engage in all lawful uses of the product,"
] and how often copyright holders have tried to glean
] subscriber information from Internet service providers.

Senator wants limits on copy protection | CNET News.com

] However, this USL decision is not the final word for SCO.
] Other (newer) parts of the Unix code may still be
] protected by copyright because software is like a
] copyright "layer" cake with each new version being
] protected by a separate copyright. This problem may
] partially explain SCO's approach of avoiding copyright
] claims, but the Novell announcement suggests even more
] serious problems for SCO. SCO's approach is almost a
] textbook example of how not to enforce intellectual
] property rights. First, don't check the scope of your
] rights, so you must keep changing your public position.
] Second, sue on your weakest and most difficult to prove
] rights. Third, keep the "infringements" secret to further
] lower your credibility. Fourth, threaten to sue everyone
] in the known universe before you have a decision
] enforcing your rights. Fifth, trumpet your successful
] license to the major competitor for the targeted product
] (Microsoft) who obviously has other motives for executing
] such a license. Sixth, irritate the other potential
] owners of the rights so that they go public with their
] version of events.

SCO & UNIX: A Comedy of Errors :: AlwaysOn

] The nation's largest intelligence agency by budget and in
] control of all U.S. spy satellites, NRO is talking openly
] with the U.S. Air Force Space Command about actively
] denying the use of space for intelligence purposes to any
] other nation at any time not just adversaries, but even
] longtime allies, according to NRO director Peter Teets.

NeoCons in Spaaaaaaaace.

EE Times - U.S. 'negation' policy in space raises concerns abroad

Justin Frankel, 24, announced his intentions late Monday, less than a week after a file-sharing program called Waste was posted and then pulled from the Nullsoft Web site.

Rogue AOL Subsidiary Leader to Resign

] However, there have also been a number of people who
] claim I'm overstating the case and that it's not possible
] to build a real cruise missile without access to
] sophisticated gear, specialist tools and information not
] readily available outside the military.
]
] So, in order to prove my case, I decided to put my money
] where my mouth is and build a cruise missile in my own
] garage, on a budget of just US$5,000.

Fux0ring 3133t Cruise Missile d00d3s

More unlicenced spectrum or bust!