b.cognosco
Where leaping to conclusions is my primary form of forward motion.
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Senate to Consider Roll-back of FCC Decision
Notes from OSCOM3
Automotive Synchronicity
Portals and Port-o-lets
Dems Take FCC Ruling as Campaign Leverage
Petition to Support the Public Domain Enhancement Act
Thursday, June 5, 2003
Getting Secure with Brent Ashley
Brent Ashley provides some of the best tech support on the planet.For the past month I've been using T-Mobile HotSpot WiFi access at Borders stores around the country. At first I didn't worry about security, because I was just experimenting. But after a while, once I realized just how easy and accessible this is, I wanted to do real work. That meant accessing critical e-mails, accessing my desktop in the office, and generally working as if I was wired to my connection.
I gradually started to worry about security and sniffing. As Ray Ozzie says, most people don't have "any concept of how much sniffing is actually occurring out there."
This is all to say that Brent, over the course of two evenings and a couple of short IM sessions, had me up and running with a secure SSH2 tunnel for my e-mail and VPN access. To be fair, I had some experience using SSH2 to login to my hosting servers. I use puTTY, a Telnet and SSH client for Windoze. I also use tightVNC, a VNC-based free remote-control solution for Windoze. But Brent got me started using both of these several months ago.
Brent has a gift for making the technical very accessible. He doesn't talk "down" to people, and he can describe most any problem in 3-4 straightforward steps. He gives you answers and discrete solutions, and he does it quickly. I know he spends most of his time writing code of various types, but he really ought to go ahead and write that book he's been thinking about. He'd make a great O'Reilly author.
In the meantime, if your company needs IT training, development, or support services I can't imagine you could find a better source than Brent. The guy has a gift, and your company could probably benefit from it.
Wednesday, June 4, 2003
Senate to Consider Roll-back of FCC Decision
WSJ (subscription required) is reporting Senator John McCain said the Senate Commerce Committee will consider a proposal to roll back the new media-ownership regs that were approved by the FCC yesterday. I dunno. It's a lot tougher to get a majority in the Congress than in the FCC...Notes from OSCOM3
I went to OSCOM3 in Cambridge last week. It was my first "geek" conference since the old BBSCon (cir 1995 or 1996) put on by Jack Rickard, founder of Boardwatch magazine. It was largely the same, but a little different. I had some interesting conversations with Halley Suitt, Jon Udell, Tony Byrne (CMSWatch) and Simon St. Laurent (from O'Reilly), among others.OSCOM was well-covered by other weblogs and I won't repeat any of that here, but I kept a few notes on things from a non-geek perspective and some of the things I learned. I'll post them as available.
Automotive Synchronicity
WSJ (subscription required) is reporting that DaimlerChrysler will record a billion+ loss due to price competition.
DaimlerChrysler said it will record a $1.18 billion operating loss at Chrysler, the result of a price war in the U.S. auto market. GM, Honda and Toyota posted a rise in U.S. auto sales for May. But sales fell for Ford and DaimlerChrysler's U.S. brands.
This morning I got a call from the dealership where I bought my Dodge truck (almost six years ago) to tell me Chrysler was sending me a $1,000 coupon, and that would apply in addition to a $2,500 rebate currently in effect. Given the cost of new trucks is approaching the $30k mark that's barely more than 10 percent off, but I still found the juxtaposition interesting.
Portals and Port-o-lets
I thought Portlets were those litte outhouses they put at construction sites (and NASCAR races) so the hirelings could relieve themselves. I hope this conference doesn't involve public displays.
Portals and Portlets 2003. Excellent! Earlier today I applied for a place at the Portals & Portlets 2003 workshop and I've just got an e-mail confirmation that I've been allocated a place. According to the programme it should be an interesting four days. [Duncan's Jotter]
Dems Take FCC Ruling as Campaign Leverage
WSJ (subscription required) is reporting this morning on how Democratic presidential candidates immediately seized on yesterday's FCC ruling to allow more media consolidation as a campaign issue:
[...] Nearly every Democratic candidate immediately criticized the Federal Communications Commission decision, portraying it as a harbinger of a dangerous corporate stranglehold on the nation's media. The FCC voted 3-2 along party lines -- Republican commissioners for, Democrats against -- to make it easier for companies to own television stations and newspapers in the same market and for big broadcasters to buy up even more TV and radio stations, a move that fueled strong and unexpected public opposition. [...]
The sound bytes are pathetic -- Sen. John Kerry of Massachusetts called the ruling "institutionalized unfairness". Why does every Democratic issue have to be about "saving the children" or "being fair"? You'd think we were all fourth graders on a playground somewhere. I wish they'd grow up and treat this thing like the adult issue it is. Stop talking down to us, you damn pansies! It makes you seem incapable of leading. Life is not fair (that's the first lesson your mama should have taught you) and I will never be able to bring myself to vote for someone who whines constantly about how unfair everything is. Get over it.
This decision was bad for democracy, it was in opposition to the common good, it was a defeat for the public voice and the public domain. It weakened our ability to speak as individuals and choose as individuals. Even the NRA was against it:
[...] The NRA told its four million members to write or phone the FCC's commissioners for the "sake of our democracy." The group told its members it fears that as media companies grow larger, "gun-hating media giants like AOL Time Warner, Viacom/CBS and Disney/ABC ... could literally silence your NRA and prevent us from communicating with your fellow Americans by refusing to sell us television, radio or newspaper advertising at any price." [...]
But at least people are taking notice. We can hope that the memories of this decision last beyond the next sound byte...
Tuesday, June 3, 2003
Petition to Support the Public Domain Enhancement Act
I have already sent letters to each of my three representatives in the federal government asking that they support the Public Domain Enhancement Act. But they need to know there is widespread support for such an act. Otherwise they tend to get all their information from monied lobbyists for the MPAA, RIAA, and media conglomerates.
reclaiming the public domain. We have launched a petition to build support for the Public Domain Enhancement Act. That act would require American copyright holders to pay $1 fifty years after a work was published. If they pay the $1, the copyright continues. If they don’t, the work passes into the public domain. Historical estimates would suggest 98% of works would pass into the public domain after 50 years. The Act would do a great deal to reclaim a public domain.This proposal has received a great deal of support. It is now facing some important lobbyists’ opposition. We need a public way to begin to demonstrate who the lobbyists don’t speak for. This is the first step.
If you are an ally in at least this cause, please sign the petition. Please blog it, please email it, please spam it, please buy billboards about it — please do whatever you can. And most importantly, please help us explain its importance. There is a chance to do something significant here. But it will take a clearer, simpler voice than mine. [Lessig Blog]
Please take a moment to follow the link to this partition and add your support. If you are so minded, please contact your representative directly. It is time to restore balance to the laws that control intellectual property, and the public Domain Enhancement Act is a good first step.
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