Slashdot Mirror

Hi, everyone! I'm David, the author of IM Smarter. I'm glad that people are interested enough in the service to post about it. I'm sorry that I wasn't able to post this earlier, as I was in a (very long) meeting with some folks from the Chicago Beck Foundation to discuss different ways to promote literacy in the third world.

Anyhow, I'm here now, and I'd like to respond to some of the higher-order points that people have made. I think that it's correct that trust is a big issue here. This is part of the reason why we tried to create a privacy policy that would clearly hold your private data as sacred to us. This is also why we took the unusual step of making a privacy promise. The comments in this forum make it clear that we didn't do a good enough job in making it clear that your private data is yours alone. We would be delighted to work, with your constructive feedback, on a privacy policy that does a better job making it clear that your chats are for your eyes only. I actually did ask the EFF to edit and review my privacy policy, but they haven't set up a program for doing that. If any of you know of a consumer-rights organization that would be interested in working with a company on drafting a consumer-focused privacy policy, please do let me know about them.

Let me be very clear here: we will not scrape the content of your IM chats to deliver advertising to you. This is not GMail. We will not sell or otherwise disclose your personally identifiable information to third parties. We are here to use your information for you, not against you. If that makes it harder for me to rake in the big bucks as quickly, so be it. I am here to protect your privacy and improve your IM. (The last time I was on Slashdot, it was because my non-profit had successfully sued Diebold in federal court for infringing free speech rights. We won - thank you EFF!)

There was some concern that our intended deployment of Premium features would suddenly disable currently-available features. This is not true. There are a suite of kickass *new* features planned for Premium - the services that are currently offered as Free will continue to be offered without cost throughout the service's lifetime.

If you have any other questions or concerns about the service, I'd be happy to hear about them. Having launched less than two weeks age we frankly weren't ready for Slashdot with regards to our privacy messaging or site design (which, yes, totally blows but should be fixed in the next week or two). We've got a lot of great features yet to deploy - as I said on the Engadget interview, logging is really only the tip of the iceberg. Logging isn't the *point*. The point is having an agent who can work on your behalf to keep you in the loop about things you want to know about and who can keep away messages you don't want brought to you (at the moment because you're busy, or ever).

This is my baby, the fruit of my labors of a year. I realize my baby's pretty ugly and infantile right now, but my metric for going out of private beta was to launch at the point when I could imagine that at least one random person out there on the Internet could plausibly find the service interesting enough to use on a regular basis. I think we're at that point now, albeit not at the point where we're the service "everyone obviously should use". The service continues to make progress on a regular basis. I can only hope and pray that people will be patient with me as it creaks onwards towards becoming a great, genuinely useful service for people.

Have a great Saturday night, everyone.

Peace,
David E. Weekly

Hi, everyone! I'm David, the author of IM Smarter. I'm glad that people are interested enough in the service to post about it. I'm sorry that I wasn't able to post this earlier, as I was in a (very long) meeting with some folks from the Chicago Beck Foundation to discuss different ways to promote literacy in the third world.

Anyhow, I'm here now, and I'd like to respond to some of the higher-order points that people have made. I think that it's correct that trust is a big issue here. This is part of the reason why we tried to create a privacy policy that would clearly hold your private data as sacred to us. This is also why we took the unusual step of making a privacy promise. The comments in this forum make it clear that we didn't do a good enough job in making it clear that your private data is yours alone. We would be delighted to work, with your constructive feedback, on a privacy policy that does a better job making it clear that your chats are for your eyes only. I actually did ask the EFF to edit and review my privacy policy, but they haven't set up a program for doing that. If any of you know of a consumer-rights organization that would be interested in working with a company on drafting a consumer-focused privacy policy, please do let me know about them.

Let me be very clear here: we will not scrape the content of your IM chats to deliver advertising to you. This is not GMail. We will not sell or otherwise disclose your personally identifiable information to third parties. We are here to use your information for you, not against you. If that makes it harder for me to rake in the big bucks as quickly, so be it. I am here to protect your privacy and improve your IM. (The last time I was on Slashdot, it was because my non-profit had successfully sued Diebold in federal court for infringing free speech rights. We won - thank you EFF!)

There was some concern that our intended deployment of Premium features would suddenly disable currently-available features. This is not true. There are a suite of kickass *new* features planned for Premium - the services that are currently offered as Free will continue to be offered without cost throughout the service's lifetime.

If you have any other questions or concerns about the service, I'd be happy to hear about them. Having launched less than two weeks age we frankly weren't ready for Slashdot with regards to our privacy messaging or site design (which, yes, totally blows but should be fixed in the next week or two). We've got a lot of great features yet to deploy - as I said on the Engadget interview, logging is really only the tip of the iceberg. Logging isn't the *point*. The point is having an agent who can work on your behalf to keep you in the loop about things you want to know about and who can keep away messages you don't want brought to you (at the moment because you're busy, or ever).

This is my baby, the fruit of my labors of a year. I realize my baby's pretty ugly and infantile right now, but my metric for going out of private beta was to launch at the point when I could imagine that at least one random person out there on the Internet could plausibly find the service interesting enough to use on a regular basis. I think we're at that point now, albeit not at the point where we're the service "everyone obviously should use". The service continues to make progress on a regular basis. I can only hope and pray that people will be patient with me as it creaks onwards towards becoming a great, genuinely useful service for people.

Have a great Saturday night, everyone.

Peace,
David E. Weekly

First, my background. I am an Evangelical Christian, as well as a future law student. I vote Republican more often than Democrat (not particularly liking either party), but am also a financial supporter of the EFF.

Do I believe pornography to be morally wrong? Without question. Do I believe pornography should be heavily regulated beyond how it currently is? Not necessarily.

My default position on any issue is "Show love, and respect personal liberty." The first aspect is inviolable, as God incarnated in Jesus directly commanded us to love Him and others, setting this as the most important consideration in any situation.

As to the second aspect, at heart I'm a Libertarian. However, there are many situations where personal liberty should not be respected. Your personal liberty to fire a shotgun should not be allowed when I am standing directly in front of said shotgun. Here, the consideration overriding your personal liberty is the harm done to others. (Our consideration of showing love incarnates itself by respecting human dignity in punishment that is humane and, when possible, rehabilitative.)

So let's apply these two principles to a third. Specifically, Christianity's political-legal struggles are more successful when the Christian stance is argued from the same secular assumptions that are largely shared by the other side.

Beating a Bible may produce (what I hold to be) Truth, but that "evidence" is inadmissable in a court under our current interpretation of the Establishment Clause (a discussion in and of itself). So Christianity needs to divorce the morality play from this and show the secular manifestations of harm produced by pornography. The current tactics fail to show love to the "other side" by, quite frankly, insulting your intelligence.

Coming up with new jargon like "erototoxins" or whatever is worthless without science to back it up. If there is a medical basis, using established tests for addiction, to the argument that pornography feeds into itself and leads to self-destructive behavior and other costs that society is unwilling to absorb, then we need to see that medical basis clearly presented.

A complimentary line of reasoning might be similar to that used against tobacco companies: the product is addictive (to a point society is not willing to tolerate) and individuals are not necessarily aware of that addiction.

But screaming "this leads to masturbation!" is not going to get us anywhere.

I would personally love to see less pornography on the Internet at large, as I know firsthand the destruction to self-control and personal relationships that it can bring.

But we cannot sacrifice personal liberty in the process without a compelling reason. I do not believe that compelling reason has yet been articulated under secular reasoning.

- Neil Wehneman

Dear Anne Campbell,

I'm writing to you on intellectual property, but this time not
specifically in Europe, but rather in the World Intellectual Property
Organization. It appears that the body is not neutrally seeking
informed democratic policy-making, but rather simply attempting to
coerce its members into accepting strong IPR. I do not believe that
this should be the way in which an international body should work,
and I would hope that our government agrees.

Below, I have extracted relevant sections from the linked webpages.

http://www.eff.org/deeplinks/archives/002130.php#0 02130

WIPO: Day 3

November 19, 2004

Today at WIPO saw a flat-out disgraceful cooking of the deliberative
process. The administrators of the meeting -- the chair and secretariat
-- are pushing hard to make this treaty pass, even if no one wants it
to. The solution to the deadlock is "regional meetings" in which
countries that oppose the treaty can be isolated and arm-twisted into
coming into line, and where few or no public-interest NGOs will be
present. Some of the most populous countries in the world -- India and
Brazil -- along with many others called for a better approach: any
region that wants a meeting can have one, but the real action would be
at an "inter-sessional meeting" held in Geneva, with all countries
represented. Even though these countries presented a solution that would
have given regional meetings to those who wanted them, the chair
steadfastly refused to hear from them -- eventually, he used a straw
poll to discard their proposal altogether, and then called it
"democracy."

http://www.eff.org/deeplinks/archives/002117.php

Both yesterday and again today, written statements provided by IP
Justice and the Electronic Frontier Foundation, which were placed on the
table designated for floor papers, were stolen within minutes of being
deposited on the table. Additionally yesterday documents provided by the
Union for the Public Domain were also missing shortly after being placed
on the table.

This morning, many of these documents were recovered from the trash can
in the first floor men's restroom. Another set of IP Justice statements
as well as copies of the alternative NGO Proposal for a Broadcasting
Treaty were recovered from behind a desk on the ground floor. These
documents provided by IP Justice, EFF, and the Union for the Public
Domain were critical of the Broadcasting Treaty. The papers drafted by
the broadcasting industry, urging the treaty's adoption, however, remain
undisturbed on the table for floor papers.

Yours sincerely,

Dear Anne Campbell,

I'm writing to you on intellectual property, but this time not
specifically in Europe, but rather in the World Intellectual Property
Organization. It appears that the body is not neutrally seeking
informed democratic policy-making, but rather simply attempting to
coerce its members into accepting strong IPR. I do not believe that
this should be the way in which an international body should work,
and I would hope that our government agrees.

Below, I have extracted relevant sections from the linked webpages.

http://www.eff.org/deeplinks/archives/002130.php#0 02130

WIPO: Day 3

November 19, 2004

Today at WIPO saw a flat-out disgraceful cooking of the deliberative
process. The administrators of the meeting -- the chair and secretariat
-- are pushing hard to make this treaty pass, even if no one wants it
to. The solution to the deadlock is "regional meetings" in which
countries that oppose the treaty can be isolated and arm-twisted into
coming into line, and where few or no public-interest NGOs will be
present. Some of the most populous countries in the world -- India and
Brazil -- along with many others called for a better approach: any
region that wants a meeting can have one, but the real action would be
at an "inter-sessional meeting" held in Geneva, with all countries
represented. Even though these countries presented a solution that would
have given regional meetings to those who wanted them, the chair
steadfastly refused to hear from them -- eventually, he used a straw
poll to discard their proposal altogether, and then called it
"democracy."

http://www.eff.org/deeplinks/archives/002117.php

Both yesterday and again today, written statements provided by IP
Justice and the Electronic Frontier Foundation, which were placed on the
table designated for floor papers, were stolen within minutes of being
deposited on the table. Additionally yesterday documents provided by the
Union for the Public Domain were also missing shortly after being placed
on the table.

This morning, many of these documents were recovered from the trash can
in the first floor men's restroom. Another set of IP Justice statements
as well as copies of the alternative NGO Proposal for a Broadcasting
Treaty were recovered from behind a desk on the ground floor. These
documents provided by IP Justice, EFF, and the Union for the Public
Domain were critical of the Broadcasting Treaty. The papers drafted by
the broadcasting industry, urging the treaty's adoption, however, remain
undisturbed on the table for floor papers.

Yours sincerely,

The DMCA was used to threaten Ed Felton and his students into silence when they was about to present a research paper on the weaknesses of digital music security. The case sent a chilling tidal wave through the educational system.

With the spirit that Internet2 is designed for educational and research purposes and the precedent set by the Felton case, Hollywood's membership request should be denied in about three nanoseconds.

They are not welcome.

For those that are wondering about the case I mentioned regarding Blizzard vs. bnetd -- bnetd lost. Summary judgement was granted to Blizzard on all counts, and denied to bnetd on all counts. The EFF is appealing the decision.

For those that are wondering about the case I mentioned regarding Blizzard vs. bnetd -- bnetd lost. Summary judgement was granted to Blizzard on all counts, and denied to bnetd on all counts. The EFF is appealing the decision.

Some people have alluded to this already, but this just goes to show that "Digital Rights Management" present more of a violation of digital rights than a management system.

When I pay for a game, I should have access to play the game from the moment I own it until the end of time. The ability to continue playing the game should not rest in the hands of the company from which I purchased it.

Take for example, the current EFF battle against Blizzard Entertainment. If Blizzard decides to discontinue battle.net in the future, should legitimate paying customers be the ones who suffer? After all, they paid for a game with the expectation that Internet gameplay was one of the many features available to increase replay value. Thus, if they want to take matters into their own hands and create custom servers to allow continued online play, that should be their right.

The same goes for Steam. After all, when Half-Life first was released, they used Won.net to host their online gameplay. I cannot count the number of times that I was unable to play (despite having a legitimate CD-Key) because either the Master CD-Key server was down, unreachable, lagged, or just malfunctioning. Now they've moved to Steam and everyone who has the original Half-Life game finds their CD has been rendered obsolete!

For this reason, users should have the right to do more than simply "make a backup copy". They should have the right to crack, break, and generally f*** up copy protection. They should have the right to run private servers for online play. Bottom line -- they should have the right to decide whether or not they can continue normal use of a program which they purchased fair and square. After the money changes hands, the game belongs to me -- not the company. So get your grubby hands off, you greedy bastards.

Some people have alluded to this already, but this just goes to show that "Digital Rights Management" present more of a violation of digital rights than a management system.

When I pay for a game, I should have access to play the game from the moment I own it until the end of time. The ability to continue playing the game should not rest in the hands of the company from which I purchased it.

Take for example, the current EFF battle against Blizzard Entertainment. If Blizzard decides to discontinue battle.net in the future, should legitimate paying customers be the ones who suffer? After all, they paid for a game with the expectation that Internet gameplay was one of the many features available to increase replay value. Thus, if they want to take matters into their own hands and create custom servers to allow continued online play, that should be their right.

The same goes for Steam. After all, when Half-Life first was released, they used Won.net to host their online gameplay. I cannot count the number of times that I was unable to play (despite having a legitimate CD-Key) because either the Master CD-Key server was down, unreachable, lagged, or just malfunctioning. Now they've moved to Steam and everyone who has the original Half-Life game finds their CD has been rendered obsolete!

For this reason, users should have the right to do more than simply "make a backup copy". They should have the right to crack, break, and generally f*** up copy protection. They should have the right to run private servers for online play. Bottom line -- they should have the right to decide whether or not they can continue normal use of a program which they purchased fair and square. After the money changes hands, the game belongs to me -- not the company. So get your grubby hands off, you greedy bastards.

Let's git er done...

Rather than cheering on file sharing, the EFF should be presenting us with the details of its alternative so that we can measure it against our current copyright system, and collectively decide which system we prefer.

The person is refering to my article here (click the "free day pass" for the full text -- fwiw, the "coping isn't cool" title itself wasn't written by me, that's by Salon).

Dont forget that the EFF used to suggest that the RIAA should be suing infringers. And their p2p solution hinges on the silly notion that *almost all* rightsholders will all of sudden voluntarily license their work, and *almost all* downloaders will all of sudden volutarily pay.

If you prefer that, then you prefer something that makes even less sense than what we have now.

If you haven't done so already, join the EFF.

If you're lazy like me, you can even set up an automatically recurring donation, such as $25/month.

Indivudals no longer have a voice in this society. You have to make your voice heard by putting your efforts into a group which supports your cause. EFF is the cause for us.

If you want to play devil's advocate, that's fine. The RIAA certainly intimates their view that filesharing needs to be stopped, period. The Induce Act (S.2560) would potentially make hardware or software that can aid in infringing copyright illegal. If the Induce Act passed, a complaint such as this could be filed against anyone who makes something that aids in copyright infringement. What's the RIAA's position on the Induce Act you ask? The "RIAA Applauds Senate 'Inducement' Legislation." Those are the RIAA's words, not mine. Take it as you will.

If you want to play devil's advocate, that's fine. The RIAA certainly intimates their view that filesharing needs to be stopped, period. The Induce Act (S.2560) would potentially make hardware or software that can aid in infringing copyright illegal. If the Induce Act passed, a complaint such as this could be filed against anyone who makes something that aids in copyright infringement. What's the RIAA's position on the Induce Act you ask? The "RIAA Applauds Senate 'Inducement' Legislation." Those are the RIAA's words, not mine. Take it as you will.

I'm a lawyer and I'm not doing anything this evening. I'm sure some FOSS project could use one....But I don't know which or where.

Putting Microsoft between you and your content seems like a mistake... even if the hardware is cheap. You have 233 day and counting to get your broadcast flag free capture cards.

TiVo needs to position themselves as the Google of DVRs and adopt the "Do No Evil" policy.

From http://www.eff.org/IP/P2P/MGM_v_Grokster/

• EFF's Brief in Opposition [PDF 343k] of Petition for certiorari. November 8, 2004
• Computer and Communications Industry Association and Internet Archive's Brief in Opposition [PDF 220k] of Petition for certiorari. November 8, 2004
  
  
• Progress & Freedom Foundation's Brief in Support [PDF 137k] of certiorari. November 8, 2004
• Law Professors' Brief in Support [PDF 219k] of certiorari. November 8, 2004
• States' Brief in Support [PDF 995k] of certiorari. (Brief includes AL, AK, AR, AZ, CO, DE, FL, GA, HI, ID, IL, IN, KS, KY, LA, MA, MI, MO, MS, MT, NE, NC, NV, NJ, NM, ND, OH, OK, OR, PA, RI, SC, SD, TN, TX, UT, VA, VT, WV, WI, Guam.) November 8, 2004
• Omnibus Brief in Support [PDF 230k] of certiorari. (Brief includes Office of the Commissioner Of Baseball, National Basketball Association, American Society Of Media Photographers, Professional Photographers Of America, Directors Guild Of America, Writers Guild Of America (West), Screen Actors Guild, Association Of American Publishers, Association Of American University Presses, Producers Guild Of America, Graphic Artists Guild, Entertainment Software Association, Video Software Dealers Association, Interactive Entertainment Merchants Association And Author's Guild Of America.) November 8, 2004
• NARAS et al's Brief in Support [PDF 787k] of certiorari. (Brief includes National Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences, American Federation of Television and Radio Artists, American Federation of Musicians of the United States and Canada, The Country Music Association, Inc., The Gospel Music Association, the Hip-Hop Summit Action Network, Jazz Alliance International, Inc., and the Rhythm & Blues Foundation.) November 8, 2004
• International Rights Owners Brief in Support [PDF 182k] of certiorari. November 8, 2004
• Artists' coalition Brief in Support [PDF 309k] of certiorari. (Coalition includes The Eagles, Brooks & Dunn, The Dixie Chicks, Bonnie Raitt, Sheryl Crow, Babyface, The Grateful Dead, Jimmy Buffet, Patti Loveless, Stevie Nicks, Gavin Rossdale.) November 8, 2004
• ASCAP et al's Brief in Support [PDF 458k] of certiorari (Brief includes ASCAP, BMI, Broadcast Music, Inc., Association of Independent Music Publishers, Church Music Publishers Association, Nashville Songwriters Association International, Songwriters Guild of America.) November 8, 2004
• MGM et al's Petition for certiorari [PDF 1.07M]. October 8, 2004

From http://www.eff.org/IP/P2P/MGM_v_Grokster/

• EFF's Brief in Opposition [PDF 343k] of Petition for certiorari. November 8, 2004
• Computer and Communications Industry Association and Internet Archive's Brief in Opposition [PDF 220k] of Petition for certiorari. November 8, 2004
  
  
• Progress & Freedom Foundation's Brief in Support [PDF 137k] of certiorari. November 8, 2004
• Law Professors' Brief in Support [PDF 219k] of certiorari. November 8, 2004
• States' Brief in Support [PDF 995k] of certiorari. (Brief includes AL, AK, AR, AZ, CO, DE, FL, GA, HI, ID, IL, IN, KS, KY, LA, MA, MI, MO, MS, MT, NE, NC, NV, NJ, NM, ND, OH, OK, OR, PA, RI, SC, SD, TN, TX, UT, VA, VT, WV, WI, Guam.) November 8, 2004
• Omnibus Brief in Support [PDF 230k] of certiorari. (Brief includes Office of the Commissioner Of Baseball, National Basketball Association, American Society Of Media Photographers, Professional Photographers Of America, Directors Guild Of America, Writers Guild Of America (West), Screen Actors Guild, Association Of American Publishers, Association Of American University Presses, Producers Guild Of America, Graphic Artists Guild, Entertainment Software Association, Video Software Dealers Association, Interactive Entertainment Merchants Association And Author's Guild Of America.) November 8, 2004
• NARAS et al's Brief in Support [PDF 787k] of certiorari. (Brief includes National Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences, American Federation of Television and Radio Artists, American Federation of Musicians of the United States and Canada, The Country Music Association, Inc., The Gospel Music Association, the Hip-Hop Summit Action Network, Jazz Alliance International, Inc., and the Rhythm & Blues Foundation.) November 8, 2004
• International Rights Owners Brief in Support [PDF 182k] of certiorari. November 8, 2004
• Artists' coalition Brief in Support [PDF 309k] of certiorari. (Coalition includes The Eagles, Brooks & Dunn, The Dixie Chicks, Bonnie Raitt, Sheryl Crow, Babyface, The Grateful Dead, Jimmy Buffet, Patti Loveless, Stevie Nicks, Gavin Rossdale.) November 8, 2004
• ASCAP et al's Brief in Support [PDF 458k] of certiorari (Brief includes ASCAP, BMI, Broadcast Music, Inc., Association of Independent Music Publishers, Church Music Publishers Association, Nashville Songwriters Association International, Songwriters Guild of America.) November 8, 2004
• MGM et al's Petition for certiorari [PDF 1.07M]. October 8, 2004

From http://www.eff.org/IP/P2P/MGM_v_Grokster/

• EFF's Brief in Opposition [PDF 343k] of Petition for certiorari. November 8, 2004
• Computer and Communications Industry Association and Internet Archive's Brief in Opposition [PDF 220k] of Petition for certiorari. November 8, 2004
  
  
• Progress & Freedom Foundation's Brief in Support [PDF 137k] of certiorari. November 8, 2004
• Law Professors' Brief in Support [PDF 219k] of certiorari. November 8, 2004
• States' Brief in Support [PDF 995k] of certiorari. (Brief includes AL, AK, AR, AZ, CO, DE, FL, GA, HI, ID, IL, IN, KS, KY, LA, MA, MI, MO, MS, MT, NE, NC, NV, NJ, NM, ND, OH, OK, OR, PA, RI, SC, SD, TN, TX, UT, VA, VT, WV, WI, Guam.) November 8, 2004
• Omnibus Brief in Support [PDF 230k] of certiorari. (Brief includes Office of the Commissioner Of Baseball, National Basketball Association, American Society Of Media Photographers, Professional Photographers Of America, Directors Guild Of America, Writers Guild Of America (West), Screen Actors Guild, Association Of American Publishers, Association Of American University Presses, Producers Guild Of America, Graphic Artists Guild, Entertainment Software Association, Video Software Dealers Association, Interactive Entertainment Merchants Association And Author's Guild Of America.) November 8, 2004
• NARAS et al's Brief in Support [PDF 787k] of certiorari. (Brief includes National Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences, American Federation of Television and Radio Artists, American Federation of Musicians of the United States and Canada, The Country Music Association, Inc., The Gospel Music Association, the Hip-Hop Summit Action Network, Jazz Alliance International, Inc., and the Rhythm & Blues Foundation.) November 8, 2004
• International Rights Owners Brief in Support [PDF 182k] of certiorari. November 8, 2004
• Artists' coalition Brief in Support [PDF 309k] of certiorari. (Coalition includes The Eagles, Brooks & Dunn, The Dixie Chicks, Bonnie Raitt, Sheryl Crow, Babyface, The Grateful Dead, Jimmy Buffet, Patti Loveless, Stevie Nicks, Gavin Rossdale.) November 8, 2004
• ASCAP et al's Brief in Support [PDF 458k] of certiorari (Brief includes ASCAP, BMI, Broadcast Music, Inc., Association of Independent Music Publishers, Church Music Publishers Association, Nashville Songwriters Association International, Songwriters Guild of America.) November 8, 2004
• MGM et al's Petition for certiorari [PDF 1.07M]. October 8, 2004

From http://www.eff.org/IP/P2P/MGM_v_Grokster/

• EFF's Brief in Opposition [PDF 343k] of Petition for certiorari. November 8, 2004
• Computer and Communications Industry Association and Internet Archive's Brief in Opposition [PDF 220k] of Petition for certiorari. November 8, 2004
  
  
• Progress & Freedom Foundation's Brief in Support [PDF 137k] of certiorari. November 8, 2004
• Law Professors' Brief in Support [PDF 219k] of certiorari. November 8, 2004
• States' Brief in Support [PDF 995k] of certiorari. (Brief includes AL, AK, AR, AZ, CO, DE, FL, GA, HI, ID, IL, IN, KS, KY, LA, MA, MI, MO, MS, MT, NE, NC, NV, NJ, NM, ND, OH, OK, OR, PA, RI, SC, SD, TN, TX, UT, VA, VT, WV, WI, Guam.) November 8, 2004
• Omnibus Brief in Support [PDF 230k] of certiorari. (Brief includes Office of the Commissioner Of Baseball, National Basketball Association, American Society Of Media Photographers, Professional Photographers Of America, Directors Guild Of America, Writers Guild Of America (West), Screen Actors Guild, Association Of American Publishers, Association Of American University Presses, Producers Guild Of America, Graphic Artists Guild, Entertainment Software Association, Video Software Dealers Association, Interactive Entertainment Merchants Association And Author's Guild Of America.) November 8, 2004
• NARAS et al's Brief in Support [PDF 787k] of certiorari. (Brief includes National Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences, American Federation of Television and Radio Artists, American Federation of Musicians of the United States and Canada, The Country Music Association, Inc., The Gospel Music Association, the Hip-Hop Summit Action Network, Jazz Alliance International, Inc., and the Rhythm & Blues Foundation.) November 8, 2004
• International Rights Owners Brief in Support [PDF 182k] of certiorari. November 8, 2004
• Artists' coalition Brief in Support [PDF 309k] of certiorari. (Coalition includes The Eagles, Brooks & Dunn, The Dixie Chicks, Bonnie Raitt, Sheryl Crow, Babyface, The Grateful Dead, Jimmy Buffet, Patti Loveless, Stevie Nicks, Gavin Rossdale.) November 8, 2004
• ASCAP et al's Brief in Support [PDF 458k] of certiorari (Brief includes ASCAP, BMI, Broadcast Music, Inc., Association of Independent Music Publishers, Church Music Publishers Association, Nashville Songwriters Association International, Songwriters Guild of America.) November 8, 2004
• MGM et al's Petition for certiorari [PDF 1.07M]. October 8, 2004

From http://www.eff.org/IP/P2P/MGM_v_Grokster/

• EFF's Brief in Opposition [PDF 343k] of Petition for certiorari. November 8, 2004
• Computer and Communications Industry Association and Internet Archive's Brief in Opposition [PDF 220k] of Petition for certiorari. November 8, 2004
  
  
• Progress & Freedom Foundation's Brief in Support [PDF 137k] of certiorari. November 8, 2004
• Law Professors' Brief in Support [PDF 219k] of certiorari. November 8, 2004
• States' Brief in Support [PDF 995k] of certiorari. (Brief includes AL, AK, AR, AZ, CO, DE, FL, GA, HI, ID, IL, IN, KS, KY, LA, MA, MI, MO, MS, MT, NE, NC, NV, NJ, NM, ND, OH, OK, OR, PA, RI, SC, SD, TN, TX, UT, VA, VT, WV, WI, Guam.) November 8, 2004
• Omnibus Brief in Support [PDF 230k] of certiorari. (Brief includes Office of the Commissioner Of Baseball, National Basketball Association, American Society Of Media Photographers, Professional Photographers Of America, Directors Guild Of America, Writers Guild Of America (West), Screen Actors Guild, Association Of American Publishers, Association Of American University Presses, Producers Guild Of America, Graphic Artists Guild, Entertainment Software Association, Video Software Dealers Association, Interactive Entertainment Merchants Association And Author's Guild Of America.) November 8, 2004
• NARAS et al's Brief in Support [PDF 787k] of certiorari. (Brief includes National Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences, American Federation of Television and Radio Artists, American Federation of Musicians of the United States and Canada, The Country Music Association, Inc., The Gospel Music Association, the Hip-Hop Summit Action Network, Jazz Alliance International, Inc., and the Rhythm & Blues Foundation.) November 8, 2004
• International Rights Owners Brief in Support [PDF 182k] of certiorari. November 8, 2004
• Artists' coalition Brief in Support [PDF 309k] of certiorari. (Coalition includes The Eagles, Brooks & Dunn, The Dixie Chicks, Bonnie Raitt, Sheryl Crow, Babyface, The Grateful Dead, Jimmy Buffet, Patti Loveless, Stevie Nicks, Gavin Rossdale.) November 8, 2004
• ASCAP et al's Brief in Support [PDF 458k] of certiorari (Brief includes ASCAP, BMI, Broadcast Music, Inc., Association of Independent Music Publishers, Church Music Publishers Association, Nashville Songwriters Association International, Songwriters Guild of America.) November 8, 2004
• MGM et al's Petition for certiorari [PDF 1.07M]. October 8, 2004

From http://www.eff.org/IP/P2P/MGM_v_Grokster/

• EFF's Brief in Opposition [PDF 343k] of Petition for certiorari. November 8, 2004
• Computer and Communications Industry Association and Internet Archive's Brief in Opposition [PDF 220k] of Petition for certiorari. November 8, 2004
  
  
• Progress & Freedom Foundation's Brief in Support [PDF 137k] of certiorari. November 8, 2004
• Law Professors' Brief in Support [PDF 219k] of certiorari. November 8, 2004
• States' Brief in Support [PDF 995k] of certiorari. (Brief includes AL, AK, AR, AZ, CO, DE, FL, GA, HI, ID, IL, IN, KS, KY, LA, MA, MI, MO, MS, MT, NE, NC, NV, NJ, NM, ND, OH, OK, OR, PA, RI, SC, SD, TN, TX, UT, VA, VT, WV, WI, Guam.) November 8, 2004
• Omnibus Brief in Support [PDF 230k] of certiorari. (Brief includes Office of the Commissioner Of Baseball, National Basketball Association, American Society Of Media Photographers, Professional Photographers Of America, Directors Guild Of America, Writers Guild Of America (West), Screen Actors Guild, Association Of American Publishers, Association Of American University Presses, Producers Guild Of America, Graphic Artists Guild, Entertainment Software Association, Video Software Dealers Association, Interactive Entertainment Merchants Association And Author's Guild Of America.) November 8, 2004
• NARAS et al's Brief in Support [PDF 787k] of certiorari. (Brief includes National Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences, American Federation of Television and Radio Artists, American Federation of Musicians of the United States and Canada, The Country Music Association, Inc., The Gospel Music Association, the Hip-Hop Summit Action Network, Jazz Alliance International, Inc., and the Rhythm & Blues Foundation.) November 8, 2004
• International Rights Owners Brief in Support [PDF 182k] of certiorari. November 8, 2004
• Artists' coalition Brief in Support [PDF 309k] of certiorari. (Coalition includes The Eagles, Brooks & Dunn, The Dixie Chicks, Bonnie Raitt, Sheryl Crow, Babyface, The Grateful Dead, Jimmy Buffet, Patti Loveless, Stevie Nicks, Gavin Rossdale.) November 8, 2004
• ASCAP et al's Brief in Support [PDF 458k] of certiorari (Brief includes ASCAP, BMI, Broadcast Music, Inc., Association of Independent Music Publishers, Church Music Publishers Association, Nashville Songwriters Association International, Songwriters Guild of America.) November 8, 2004
• MGM et al's Petition for certiorari [PDF 1.07M]. October 8, 2004

From http://www.eff.org/IP/P2P/MGM_v_Grokster/

• EFF's Brief in Opposition [PDF 343k] of Petition for certiorari. November 8, 2004
• Computer and Communications Industry Association and Internet Archive's Brief in Opposition [PDF 220k] of Petition for certiorari. November 8, 2004
  
  
• Progress & Freedom Foundation's Brief in Support [PDF 137k] of certiorari. November 8, 2004
• Law Professors' Brief in Support [PDF 219k] of certiorari. November 8, 2004
• States' Brief in Support [PDF 995k] of certiorari. (Brief includes AL, AK, AR, AZ, CO, DE, FL, GA, HI, ID, IL, IN, KS, KY, LA, MA, MI, MO, MS, MT, NE, NC, NV, NJ, NM, ND, OH, OK, OR, PA, RI, SC, SD, TN, TX, UT, VA, VT, WV, WI, Guam.) November 8, 2004
• Omnibus Brief in Support [PDF 230k] of certiorari. (Brief includes Office of the Commissioner Of Baseball, National Basketball Association, American Society Of Media Photographers, Professional Photographers Of America, Directors Guild Of America, Writers Guild Of America (West), Screen Actors Guild, Association Of American Publishers, Association Of American University Presses, Producers Guild Of America, Graphic Artists Guild, Entertainment Software Association, Video Software Dealers Association, Interactive Entertainment Merchants Association And Author's Guild Of America.) November 8, 2004
• NARAS et al's Brief in Support [PDF 787k] of certiorari. (Brief includes National Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences, American Federation of Television and Radio Artists, American Federation of Musicians of the United States and Canada, The Country Music Association, Inc., The Gospel Music Association, the Hip-Hop Summit Action Network, Jazz Alliance International, Inc., and the Rhythm & Blues Foundation.) November 8, 2004
• International Rights Owners Brief in Support [PDF 182k] of certiorari. November 8, 2004
• Artists' coalition Brief in Support [PDF 309k] of certiorari. (Coalition includes The Eagles, Brooks & Dunn, The Dixie Chicks, Bonnie Raitt, Sheryl Crow, Babyface, The Grateful Dead, Jimmy Buffet, Patti Loveless, Stevie Nicks, Gavin Rossdale.) November 8, 2004
• ASCAP et al's Brief in Support [PDF 458k] of certiorari (Brief includes ASCAP, BMI, Broadcast Music, Inc., Association of Independent Music Publishers, Church Music Publishers Association, Nashville Songwriters Association International, Songwriters Guild of America.) November 8, 2004
• MGM et al's Petition for certiorari [PDF 1.07M]. October 8, 2004

From http://www.eff.org/IP/P2P/MGM_v_Grokster/

• EFF's Brief in Opposition [PDF 343k] of Petition for certiorari. November 8, 2004
• Computer and Communications Industry Association and Internet Archive's Brief in Opposition [PDF 220k] of Petition for certiorari. November 8, 2004
  
  
• Progress & Freedom Foundation's Brief in Support [PDF 137k] of certiorari. November 8, 2004
• Law Professors' Brief in Support [PDF 219k] of certiorari. November 8, 2004
• States' Brief in Support [PDF 995k] of certiorari. (Brief includes AL, AK, AR, AZ, CO, DE, FL, GA, HI, ID, IL, IN, KS, KY, LA, MA, MI, MO, MS, MT, NE, NC, NV, NJ, NM, ND, OH, OK, OR, PA, RI, SC, SD, TN, TX, UT, VA, VT, WV, WI, Guam.) November 8, 2004
• Omnibus Brief in Support [PDF 230k] of certiorari. (Brief includes Office of the Commissioner Of Baseball, National Basketball Association, American Society Of Media Photographers, Professional Photographers Of America, Directors Guild Of America, Writers Guild Of America (West), Screen Actors Guild, Association Of American Publishers, Association Of American University Presses, Producers Guild Of America, Graphic Artists Guild, Entertainment Software Association, Video Software Dealers Association, Interactive Entertainment Merchants Association And Author's Guild Of America.) November 8, 2004
• NARAS et al's Brief in Support [PDF 787k] of certiorari. (Brief includes National Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences, American Federation of Television and Radio Artists, American Federation of Musicians of the United States and Canada, The Country Music Association, Inc., The Gospel Music Association, the Hip-Hop Summit Action Network, Jazz Alliance International, Inc., and the Rhythm & Blues Foundation.) November 8, 2004
• International Rights Owners Brief in Support [PDF 182k] of certiorari. November 8, 2004
• Artists' coalition Brief in Support [PDF 309k] of certiorari. (Coalition includes The Eagles, Brooks & Dunn, The Dixie Chicks, Bonnie Raitt, Sheryl Crow, Babyface, The Grateful Dead, Jimmy Buffet, Patti Loveless, Stevie Nicks, Gavin Rossdale.) November 8, 2004
• ASCAP et al's Brief in Support [PDF 458k] of certiorari (Brief includes ASCAP, BMI, Broadcast Music, Inc., Association of Independent Music Publishers, Church Music Publishers Association, Nashville Songwriters Association International, Songwriters Guild of America.) November 8, 2004
• MGM et al's Petition for certiorari [PDF 1.07M]. October 8, 2004

From http://www.eff.org/IP/P2P/MGM_v_Grokster/

• EFF's Brief in Opposition [PDF 343k] of Petition for certiorari. November 8, 2004
• Computer and Communications Industry Association and Internet Archive's Brief in Opposition [PDF 220k] of Petition for certiorari. November 8, 2004
  
  
• Progress & Freedom Foundation's Brief in Support [PDF 137k] of certiorari. November 8, 2004
• Law Professors' Brief in Support [PDF 219k] of certiorari. November 8, 2004
• States' Brief in Support [PDF 995k] of certiorari. (Brief includes AL, AK, AR, AZ, CO, DE, FL, GA, HI, ID, IL, IN, KS, KY, LA, MA, MI, MO, MS, MT, NE, NC, NV, NJ, NM, ND, OH, OK, OR, PA, RI, SC, SD, TN, TX, UT, VA, VT, WV, WI, Guam.) November 8, 2004
• Omnibus Brief in Support [PDF 230k] of certiorari. (Brief includes Office of the Commissioner Of Baseball, National Basketball Association, American Society Of Media Photographers, Professional Photographers Of America, Directors Guild Of America, Writers Guild Of America (West), Screen Actors Guild, Association Of American Publishers, Association Of American University Presses, Producers Guild Of America, Graphic Artists Guild, Entertainment Software Association, Video Software Dealers Association, Interactive Entertainment Merchants Association And Author's Guild Of America.) November 8, 2004
• NARAS et al's Brief in Support [PDF 787k] of certiorari. (Brief includes National Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences, American Federation of Television and Radio Artists, American Federation of Musicians of the United States and Canada, The Country Music Association, Inc., The Gospel Music Association, the Hip-Hop Summit Action Network, Jazz Alliance International, Inc., and the Rhythm & Blues Foundation.) November 8, 2004
• International Rights Owners Brief in Support [PDF 182k] of certiorari. November 8, 2004
• Artists' coalition Brief in Support [PDF 309k] of certiorari. (Coalition includes The Eagles, Brooks & Dunn, The Dixie Chicks, Bonnie Raitt, Sheryl Crow, Babyface, The Grateful Dead, Jimmy Buffet, Patti Loveless, Stevie Nicks, Gavin Rossdale.) November 8, 2004
• ASCAP et al's Brief in Support [PDF 458k] of certiorari (Brief includes ASCAP, BMI, Broadcast Music, Inc., Association of Independent Music Publishers, Church Music Publishers Association, Nashville Songwriters Association International, Songwriters Guild of America.) November 8, 2004
• MGM et al's Petition for certiorari [PDF 1.07M]. October 8, 2004

From http://www.eff.org/IP/P2P/MGM_v_Grokster/

• EFF's Brief in Opposition [PDF 343k] of Petition for certiorari. November 8, 2004
• Computer and Communications Industry Association and Internet Archive's Brief in Opposition [PDF 220k] of Petition for certiorari. November 8, 2004
  
  
• Progress & Freedom Foundation's Brief in Support [PDF 137k] of certiorari. November 8, 2004
• Law Professors' Brief in Support [PDF 219k] of certiorari. November 8, 2004
• States' Brief in Support [PDF 995k] of certiorari. (Brief includes AL, AK, AR, AZ, CO, DE, FL, GA, HI, ID, IL, IN, KS, KY, LA, MA, MI, MO, MS, MT, NE, NC, NV, NJ, NM, ND, OH, OK, OR, PA, RI, SC, SD, TN, TX, UT, VA, VT, WV, WI, Guam.) November 8, 2004
• Omnibus Brief in Support [PDF 230k] of certiorari. (Brief includes Office of the Commissioner Of Baseball, National Basketball Association, American Society Of Media Photographers, Professional Photographers Of America, Directors Guild Of America, Writers Guild Of America (West), Screen Actors Guild, Association Of American Publishers, Association Of American University Presses, Producers Guild Of America, Graphic Artists Guild, Entertainment Software Association, Video Software Dealers Association, Interactive Entertainment Merchants Association And Author's Guild Of America.) November 8, 2004
• NARAS et al's Brief in Support [PDF 787k] of certiorari. (Brief includes National Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences, American Federation of Television and Radio Artists, American Federation of Musicians of the United States and Canada, The Country Music Association, Inc., The Gospel Music Association, the Hip-Hop Summit Action Network, Jazz Alliance International, Inc., and the Rhythm & Blues Foundation.) November 8, 2004
• International Rights Owners Brief in Support [PDF 182k] of certiorari. November 8, 2004
• Artists' coalition Brief in Support [PDF 309k] of certiorari. (Coalition includes The Eagles, Brooks & Dunn, The Dixie Chicks, Bonnie Raitt, Sheryl Crow, Babyface, The Grateful Dead, Jimmy Buffet, Patti Loveless, Stevie Nicks, Gavin Rossdale.) November 8, 2004
• ASCAP et al's Brief in Support [PDF 458k] of certiorari (Brief includes ASCAP, BMI, Broadcast Music, Inc., Association of Independent Music Publishers, Church Music Publishers Association, Nashville Songwriters Association International, Songwriters Guild of America.) November 8, 2004
• MGM et al's Petition for certiorari [PDF 1.07M]. October 8, 2004

From http://www.eff.org/IP/P2P/MGM_v_Grokster/

• EFF's Brief in Opposition [PDF 343k] of Petition for certiorari. November 8, 2004
• Computer and Communications Industry Association and Internet Archive's Brief in Opposition [PDF 220k] of Petition for certiorari. November 8, 2004
  
  
• Progress & Freedom Foundation's Brief in Support [PDF 137k] of certiorari. November 8, 2004
• Law Professors' Brief in Support [PDF 219k] of certiorari. November 8, 2004
• States' Brief in Support [PDF 995k] of certiorari. (Brief includes AL, AK, AR, AZ, CO, DE, FL, GA, HI, ID, IL, IN, KS, KY, LA, MA, MI, MO, MS, MT, NE, NC, NV, NJ, NM, ND, OH, OK, OR, PA, RI, SC, SD, TN, TX, UT, VA, VT, WV, WI, Guam.) November 8, 2004
• Omnibus Brief in Support [PDF 230k] of certiorari. (Brief includes Office of the Commissioner Of Baseball, National Basketball Association, American Society Of Media Photographers, Professional Photographers Of America, Directors Guild Of America, Writers Guild Of America (West), Screen Actors Guild, Association Of American Publishers, Association Of American University Presses, Producers Guild Of America, Graphic Artists Guild, Entertainment Software Association, Video Software Dealers Association, Interactive Entertainment Merchants Association And Author's Guild Of America.) November 8, 2004
• NARAS et al's Brief in Support [PDF 787k] of certiorari. (Brief includes National Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences, American Federation of Television and Radio Artists, American Federation of Musicians of the United States and Canada, The Country Music Association, Inc., The Gospel Music Association, the Hip-Hop Summit Action Network, Jazz Alliance International, Inc., and the Rhythm & Blues Foundation.) November 8, 2004
• International Rights Owners Brief in Support [PDF 182k] of certiorari. November 8, 2004
• Artists' coalition Brief in Support [PDF 309k] of certiorari. (Coalition includes The Eagles, Brooks & Dunn, The Dixie Chicks, Bonnie Raitt, Sheryl Crow, Babyface, The Grateful Dead, Jimmy Buffet, Patti Loveless, Stevie Nicks, Gavin Rossdale.) November 8, 2004
• ASCAP et al's Brief in Support [PDF 458k] of certiorari (Brief includes ASCAP, BMI, Broadcast Music, Inc., Association of Independent Music Publishers, Church Music Publishers Association, Nashville Songwriters Association International, Songwriters Guild of America.) November 8, 2004
• MGM et al's Petition for certiorari [PDF 1.07M]. October 8, 2004

From http://www.eff.org/IP/P2P/MGM_v_Grokster/

• EFF's Brief in Opposition [PDF 343k] of Petition for certiorari. November 8, 2004
• Computer and Communications Industry Association and Internet Archive's Brief in Opposition [PDF 220k] of Petition for certiorari. November 8, 2004
  
  
• Progress & Freedom Foundation's Brief in Support [PDF 137k] of certiorari. November 8, 2004
• Law Professors' Brief in Support [PDF 219k] of certiorari. November 8, 2004
• States' Brief in Support [PDF 995k] of certiorari. (Brief includes AL, AK, AR, AZ, CO, DE, FL, GA, HI, ID, IL, IN, KS, KY, LA, MA, MI, MO, MS, MT, NE, NC, NV, NJ, NM, ND, OH, OK, OR, PA, RI, SC, SD, TN, TX, UT, VA, VT, WV, WI, Guam.) November 8, 2004
• Omnibus Brief in Support [PDF 230k] of certiorari. (Brief includes Office of the Commissioner Of Baseball, National Basketball Association, American Society Of Media Photographers, Professional Photographers Of America, Directors Guild Of America, Writers Guild Of America (West), Screen Actors Guild, Association Of American Publishers, Association Of American University Presses, Producers Guild Of America, Graphic Artists Guild, Entertainment Software Association, Video Software Dealers Association, Interactive Entertainment Merchants Association And Author's Guild Of America.) November 8, 2004
• NARAS et al's Brief in Support [PDF 787k] of certiorari. (Brief includes National Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences, American Federation of Television and Radio Artists, American Federation of Musicians of the United States and Canada, The Country Music Association, Inc., The Gospel Music Association, the Hip-Hop Summit Action Network, Jazz Alliance International, Inc., and the Rhythm & Blues Foundation.) November 8, 2004
• International Rights Owners Brief in Support [PDF 182k] of certiorari. November 8, 2004
• Artists' coalition Brief in Support [PDF 309k] of certiorari. (Coalition includes The Eagles, Brooks & Dunn, The Dixie Chicks, Bonnie Raitt, Sheryl Crow, Babyface, The Grateful Dead, Jimmy Buffet, Patti Loveless, Stevie Nicks, Gavin Rossdale.) November 8, 2004
• ASCAP et al's Brief in Support [PDF 458k] of certiorari (Brief includes ASCAP, BMI, Broadcast Music, Inc., Association of Independent Music Publishers, Church Music Publishers Association, Nashville Songwriters Association International, Songwriters Guild of America.) November 8, 2004
• MGM et al's Petition for certiorari [PDF 1.07M]. October 8, 2004

He did seem to make some policy regarding the National Information Infrastructure and then the Global Information Infrastructure. There was already an evolution toward such a system, and he may have hoped to guide its course.

From the EFF website:
"At the first World Telecommunication Development Conference in
March 1994, Vice President Gore called upon every nation to help
build the GII by using the following principles as
building blocks:

o private investment;
o competition;
o open access;
o universal service; and
o flexible regulations."

From his perspective he did help 'create' the GII, and like all PHBs, didn't know or care what was under the hood.

He definitely invented a new way of padding one's resume. :-P
~~~

Electronic voting, while a neat idea to speed up the vote counting process, seems to have run into a number of glitches (over 1100 nationwide) this November 2nd. In addition to seemingly random problems in Florida [1, 2], Ohio [1], and North Carolina [1], there are allegations of systematic fraud based on statistical comparison of exit polls to final results in precincts with audit trails and those without. It is also interesting that in Florida, the voting patterns do not match the voter registration patterns as they do nationwide. This has attracted the attention of numerous civil rights groups including the Electronic Frontier Foundation that has filed at least two lawsuits since election day, and BlackboxVoting.org that has filed a Freedom of Information Act request to obtain computer logs and documents from 3000 counties and districts across the US. Equally disturbing is the fact that CNN has (since Nov 2) changed its exit polling results to reflect the actual results. This has attracted the attention of Congressmen John Conyers Jr. of Michigan, Jerrold Nadler of New York and Robert Wexler of Florida who have jointly requested that the GAO immediately investigate the efficacy of e-voting machines.

In case you are thinking that this is just sour grapes from Democrats who lost the election, think again. BlackboxVoting.org has been investigating e-voting fraud for years. Likewise, the CEO of Diebold, one of the e-voting machine manufacturers has been quoted as saying "I am committed to helping Ohio deliver its electoral votes to the president." And if that's not conflict of interest enough for you, Republican Senator Chuck Hagel (now resigned) is an owner of the largest e-voting machine company ES&S.

Other numerous problems have been found with the machines from nearly every company in the past [1, 2, 3]. Avi Rubin, a computer science professor at Johns Hopkins University, has been investigating such machines on his own and has found a number of security issues. Swarthmore students stood up to Diebold in November of 2003 after discovering

H.R.2239 and S.1980, discussed further here [verifiedvoting.org], will amend the Help America Vote Act (an act designed to ensure consistent voting systems that meet certain standards be available to ALL voters in ALL jurisdictions), such that there is "a voter-verified permanent record or hardcopy" attached with each and every ballot cast by every voter.

ALL equipment sold before this date in the US that does not respect the Broadcast Flag will be grandfathered in. From http://eff.org/broadcastflag/:

The good news is this mandate doesn't take effect for another year. We have until July 1, 2005, to buy, build, and sell fully-capable, non-flag-compliant HDTV receivers. Any receivers built now will "remain functional under a flag regime, allowing consumers to continue their use without the need for new or additional equipment." [PDF] Any devices made this year can be re-sold in the future.

According to the EFF's, article here, on how to build a PVR, there are no cards to get High Definition Cable or Satellite. Time is running out to get these features into a card before next summer ;).

Anyone know if they've made a card for HDTV cable or satellite?

According to the EFF's, article here, on how to build a PVR, there are no cards to get High Definition Cable or Satellite. Time is running out to get these features into a card before next summer ;).

Anyone know if they've made a card for HDTV cable or satellite?

This is good to see, they've been out of stock, what, going on two months now? I've been (im)patiently awaiting buying one of these to build my Myth box.

The card itself won't be illegal as the headline implies, but it will be illegal to import any card or component that ignores the Broadcast flag. Any cards or tuners built and installed prior to July 1st, 2005 will be grandfathered in and should work just fine.

This is one of they key reasons to support the EFF - visit their HDTV Action Center and and learn more about the Broadcast Flag. The second link about the Broadcast Flag has some great information and links to building a HTPC for multiple OS's and exactly what the federal government is trying to do.

I've very disappointed by the FCC's decision - it shouldn't be up to Hollywood to decide what TV I can and can't record and when I want to watch it. This battle has been fought (and won!) before, and here is the government messing with it again.

Support the EFF and make your voice heard!

This is good to see, they've been out of stock, what, going on two months now? I've been (im)patiently awaiting buying one of these to build my Myth box.

The card itself won't be illegal as the headline implies, but it will be illegal to import any card or component that ignores the Broadcast flag. Any cards or tuners built and installed prior to July 1st, 2005 will be grandfathered in and should work just fine.

This is one of they key reasons to support the EFF - visit their HDTV Action Center and and learn more about the Broadcast Flag. The second link about the Broadcast Flag has some great information and links to building a HTPC for multiple OS's and exactly what the federal government is trying to do.

I've very disappointed by the FCC's decision - it shouldn't be up to Hollywood to decide what TV I can and can't record and when I want to watch it. This battle has been fought (and won!) before, and here is the government messing with it again.

Support the EFF and make your voice heard!

This is good to see, they've been out of stock, what, going on two months now? I've been (im)patiently awaiting buying one of these to build my Myth box.

The card itself won't be illegal as the headline implies, but it will be illegal to import any card or component that ignores the Broadcast flag. Any cards or tuners built and installed prior to July 1st, 2005 will be grandfathered in and should work just fine.

This is one of they key reasons to support the EFF - visit their HDTV Action Center and and learn more about the Broadcast Flag. The second link about the Broadcast Flag has some great information and links to building a HTPC for multiple OS's and exactly what the federal government is trying to do.

I've very disappointed by the FCC's decision - it shouldn't be up to Hollywood to decide what TV I can and can't record and when I want to watch it. This battle has been fought (and won!) before, and here is the government messing with it again.

Support the EFF and make your voice heard!

Second off, before everyone starts ripping on evil corporations and patents... let's not forget that the evil Government creates the environment that breeds bacterial scum like SCO.

In other words, engage in some activism. Help out the EFF, fight software patents in Europe, do whatever it takes to stop this problem at the source: Evil Government...

Why are we introducing the chances for errors into our most important civic institution? This is insanity! As another poster wrote there is no reason that a printout will accurately reflect how the machine handles your input, it's only showing you what was sent to the printer. We have so many other obfuscating problems as well, like magnets and code tampering and using phone lines to transmit results.

The real problem is taking the physical stylus out of the hand of the voter. I would only consider eVoting for disabled persons, and I would think the majority of them have few problems.

1) To avoid fraud, why not submit the ballot into more than one ballot box. One for each candidate on the ticket. If democrats and republicans have their own ballot box - they'll likely have the same number of votes - the incentive to cheat is removed without duopoly.

2) Allow all candidates nationwide to be on the ballot if they garner .5% in the polls. It'll be 10 people and 10 ballot boxes per precinct - tops. Wood is not expensive so don't go there.

Here's a nice page to Federal Contact Information http://www.eff.org/congress/ - tell them what you think - you're on /. so you've got more insight than most folks.

So cheer on the next time you hear about a really stupid, indefensible patent, and think to yourself "We're one step closer to making the whole thing so stupid that it will have to be scrapped."

When I was at Palm, they paid us bonuses for filing for patents, and then extra bonuses for getting the patents. My name is on the patent for the web based calendar. How stupid is that? Apparently not stupid enough. A year later I got a patent for pretty much the same damn thing -- a method of scheduling events over the web. Now when I was doing this, I just wanted the $$$ Palm was paying me to think up stupid ideas, which they would then patent. Then after I left Palm, I felt guilty I had given them all these patents they might use to stifle innovators (namely me). But now I cheer! Because those patents are so dumb that they will fail under challenge, and as more and more patnets fail under challenge, things will start to get better.

Want to help? Apply for more and more stupid patents. See what it takes to get a patent rejected. Break the system.

As an aside, we also just got threatened by Acacia for streaming oggs. Honestly...where DO these people get the balls...

If you are new to this topic, check out Downhill Battle or EFF or my website. By the way, the Xmas season is almost upon us. Time to remind people that CDs make crappy presents.

We need a voter-verifiable paper receipt printed out by these machines that ensures manual recounts and spot-checks can occur without any hint of vote count fraud. The fact that there is any controversy in this area is indicative of just how sloppy we as a country have become in protecting our fundamental processes of government. We've put men on the moon, we have the expertise to put printers in voting machines.

Have you donated to the EFF lately?

If you truly believe that, you're a fool. Have a look at the EFF's summary of the effects that can be felt by the PATRIOT Act.

Don't like the EFF? Okay, what about EPIC's ongoing play by play of the same act? Including events relating directly to it.

These days it seems that more and more people can't be bother to even contact their representative or mayor to voice an opinion on issues that really matter. (examples in DC include lack of voting representation, gun ban repeal, stadium taxes, bad schools, etc). Instead they rely on a vocal minority who *sometimes* do the talking for them. This is the sort of apathy that leads to the atrophying of our civil liberties. When you can't be bothered to protest the Patriot Act (or even pay attention to it) you are basically giving your right to complain without being hypocritical. In the best scenario somebody fights for you, in the worst somebody will suffer trying to regain those liberties later on.

With corporations spending millions of dollars to trump your opinion, a single vote is a powerful thing. Think of it as your way of spending millions in one afternoon. I hope that everyone who votes tomorrow will become more involved in the political process and write your representative about the issues that may matter to you.

Out of the estimated 40-50 million p2p users, the RIAA sues a couple thousand a year. My guess is that the people afraid of getting sued are the ones who can't afford to buy CDs because they spend too much on lottery tickets.

Anyway, here is an interesting EFF article about how to avoid being a target.

• The Daily WTF - A daily look at source code that can make one cringe, laugh, and/or cry (site, feed)
• Astronomy Picture of the Day (site, feed)
• Stupid Security (site, feed)
• Cool Tools - "A cool tool can be any book, gadget, software, video, map, hardware, material, or website that is tried and true." (site, feed
• EFF's minilinks - see tomorrow's Your Rights Online posts today (site, feed
• Your Gmail inbox (atom feed)

• The Daily WTF - A daily look at source code that can make one cringe, laugh, and/or cry (site, feed)
• Astronomy Picture of the Day (site, feed)
• Stupid Security (site, feed)
• Cool Tools - "A cool tool can be any book, gadget, software, video, map, hardware, material, or website that is tried and true." (site, feed
• EFF's minilinks - see tomorrow's Your Rights Online posts today (site, feed
• Your Gmail inbox (atom feed)

Interested people can check the EFF's FAQ about Fair Use for more information...

All the more reason to Build your own PVR (yes it's my site and a blatant plug, but it's relevant)

Yes it can be more expensive than buying a TiVo down at Fry's/Best Buy, but you get more control over your content, at least until the big bad broadcast flag comes to town in July '05. Oh, and no monthly fees =)

*shrug* YMMV, and I do love my TiVo except for when I want to move content off it...

e.