] A day after developers at America Online's Nullsoft unit
] quietly released file-sharing software, AOL pulled the
] link to the product from the subsidiary's Web site.
]
] The software, called Waste, lets groups set up private,
] secure file-sharing networks. The product became
] available on Nullsoft's Web site on Wednesday, just days
] shy of the four-year anniversary of being acquired by
] AOL. Waste is a software application that combines
] peer-to-peer file sharing with instant messaging, chat
] and file searches. Users can set up their own network of
] friends and share files between each other.

Deja-vu

AOL pulls Nullsoft file-sharing software | CNET News.com

] On Monday the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is
] expected to adopt dramatic rule changes that will extend
] the market dominance of the five media corporations that
] control most of what Americans read, see and hear. I am a
] major shareholder in the largest of those five
] corporations, yet -- speaking only for myself, and not
] for AOL Time Warner -- I oppose these rules. They will
] stifle debate, inhibit new ideas and shut out smaller
] businesses trying to compete. If these rules had been in
] place in 1970, it would have been virtually impossible
] for me to start Turner Broadcasting or, 10 years later,
] to launch CNN.

] If, on Monday, the FCC decides to go the other way, that
] should not be the end of it. Powerful public groups across
] the political spectrum oppose these new rules and are angry
] about their lack of input in the process. People who can't
] make their voices heard in one arena often find ways to
] make them heard in others. Congress has the power to amend
] the rule changes. Members from both parties oppose the new
] rules. This isn't over.

Washington Post | Monopoly or Democracy? (Ted on FCC changes)

"Its all just a game"

Uplink - High tech computer crime and industrial espionage on the Internet of 2010

] Ronneberg, Thomas Cavanaugh of the Forked River section
] of Lacey and Matthew Mercuro of Waretown, all 18, were
] arrested May 21 and accused of entering Popcorn Park Zoo
] and bludgeoning to death three ducks, three emus and two
] rheas with a rake, a piece of PVC pipe and a shovel.

] Ronneberg was assaulted in his cell on Friday after his
] attackers came in through his unlocked door. Many inmates
] have access to a day room during certain periods, and
] their cells are unlocked so they can go there.

] Ronneberg lost a tooth in his lower jaw and needed
] stitches to close a wound on his face. A deep blue bruise
] sagged below his left eye.

] "There is a possibility he could be assaulted again,"
] [Warden] Hutler said. "This is jail, and it goes with
] the turf."

What goes around, comes around!!!!!!!!

] Experienced players of these games are 30 percent to 50
] percent better than nonplayers at taking in everything
] that happens around them, according to the research, which
] appears today in the journal Nature. They identify objects
] in their peripheral vision, perceiving numerous objects
] without having to count them, switch attention rapidly
] and track many items at once.

I knew all that Grand Theft Auto playing would pay off.

] The professor and her student decided to study the
] connection between video game playing and visual
] attention. They carried out four experiments on
] undergraduates, all of them male because no female
] shooter game fans could be found on campus.

Haha..

Video-Game Killing Builds Visual Skills, Researchers Report

] In the midst of negotiating a steep tax cuts package, the
] US government shelved a report that showed the United
] States faces future federal budget deficits of more than
] 44.2 trillion dollars.

] The Financial Times hinted that the decision not to publish
] the report may have been because the White House was
] campaigning for a massive tax-cut package that critics
] claim will expand future deficits.
]
] The study, according to the same source, said that sharp
] tax increases, massive spending cuts or both are
] unavoidable if the US is to meet benefit promises to
] future generations.
]
] "It estimates that closing the gap would require the
] equivalent of an immediate and permanent 66 percent
] across-the-board income tax increase," the Financial
] Times said.

Yikes.

Yahoo! News - Washington shelved report of 44-trillion-dollar deficit

] The city of Munich said on Wednesday it would switch
] 14,000 computers from Microsoft's Windows operating
] system to rival Linux in a deal estimated to be worth
] tens of millions of euros.

] Media have reported that Microsoft's offer of about
] 27.3 million euros ($32.3 million) had been almost
] three million euros below that of the Linux competitor,
] but the city had still chosen Linux for strategic reasons.

If I had to venture a guess, there are three big reasons why Linux won here.. 1) It runs great on older hardware (why wants to buy new hardware if they don't have to?), 2) They did not expect to get such a good price from Microsoft again when upgrade time came around, and 3) They want to use products that put money in their local economy, not Redmond's.

Forbes.com: UPDATE 2-Microsoft loses city of Munich deal to Linux

] WASTE is a software product and protocol that enables
] secure distributed communication for small (on the order
] of 10-50 nodes) trusted groups of users.
]
] WASTE is designed to enable small companies and small
] teams within larger companies to easily communicate and
] collaborate in a secure and efficient fashion,
] independent of physical network topology.

] WASTE is licensed under the GPL.

] # Network architecture: WASTE uses a distributed
] architecture that allows for nodes to connect in a partial
] mesh type network. Nodes on the network can broadcast
] and route traffic. Nodes that are not publicly accessible
] or on slow links can choose not to route traffic. This
] network is built such that all services utilize the
] network, so firewall issues become moot. more information.
]
] # Security: WASTE uses link-level encryption to secure
] links, and public keys for authentication. RSA is used for
] session key exchange and authentication, and the links are
] encrypted using Blowfish in PCBC mode. The automatic key
] distribution security model is very primitive at the
] moment, and may not lend itself well to some social
] situations. more information.

Waste - Nullsoft strikes again

When icons go bad...

Icon War

] Ensure that the Internet continues to provide an open
] platform for innovation: The Internet is different from
] the phone network and radio and broadcast television in
] important ways. It is easier for individuals and small
] organizations to be producers as well as consumers of
] information. The Internet allows for “many to many”
] communication as opposed to the “one to many”
] communication of broadcast television. Innovation can
] occur at the edge of the network. A student, an
] independent software developer, or a small high-tech
] company can come up with an idea for a new application,
] protocol, or kind of content. If enough people find it
] useful or worthwhile, this idea can spread like wildfire.
] Even as the Internet evolves, it important to ensure that
] it continues to provide an open platform for rapid and
] decentralized innovation, and for the exchange of ideas.

Will IP issues get some focus in the political retoric of the somewhat near future? We could use some IP clue in The Senate.. If issues of technology and innovation find they way into poltical retoric, I could picture serious discussion about IP issues following.

I still have a lot of lingering anger over Eldred. And then there are things like the recent SCO fiasco.. And the lumbering media giants who want to own all the infrastructure and content sources.. In general, I fear for the public domain. We have hit this point with our computer technology where we are building technology off other technology, off other technology, etc.. In order to work together, its necessary to place what I call "infrastructure level" technology (OSs, librarys, critical apps, etc) into the public domain. OSS. Its not a hippy-happy-love thing, its pratical. It create an environment ripe for innovation with a very low barrier of entry. It create opportunities for innovation to happen in everywhere from academia, to the corporate world, to the hacker in the garage. Its what we need if we are to live up to the promise of the information age.. I do, honestly, and seriously, fear that the powers that gain their wealth through control, and not innovation, are going to get the upper hand.. And this truly wonderful thing we have happening could be stopped dead in its tracks.. Keep in mind, this is still the beginning.. The Internet "happened" in 1995. It can't be allowed to be killed in its youth. Same think with OSS. That "happned" about the same time. This is all young stuff.

I eagerly hope for more focus on these issues. I guess, this is a good start. "Many to many".. Time to start connecting the dots.

Leiberman's technology plan