Dave's News

The New Truth Game..... Which Cup Is It Under ??

noreply@blogger.com (Dave O) — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 03:47:00 +0900

Don't fall for the new 'P4P' Shell Game. Its just Verizon's way of 'out maneuvering' the little FCC problem Comcast has been caught in, and as a vehicle to gain more market share. Expect Verizon to be heavily advertizing the New & Improved P4P this summer.
But don’t worry, AT&T just cut a deal with NSA, MPAA, and the RIAA to inspect every single bit of your ‘pirated copyright data’ that’s coming off your IP Address onto the AT&T backbone. But AT&T won’t slow you down.

While I can not be expected to either condone, nor condemned P2P use, there are two things that I can say about it…
One, Why would I want to lean one way or the other, good or bad, whatever, on subject of P2P use. I would rather remain neutral!
Two, While I have no figures on the subject, I’m willing to bet that as much as 25% of all data flowing on the internet today is P2P traffic!

Just a little background for the uninitiated, (noobs)…
P2P stands for ‘Peer to Peer’. Rather than attempt to replace all the authorities on Wikipedia, if you need any further explanations, click here. However, one thing that Wikipedia won’t tell you is that within hours of installing a P2P Client, everyone from the 14 year old hacker down the street, to your local ISP, to the Zinghow Institute of Higher Learning will be attempting to access that little port you learned how to open, and everyone will have their own nefarious little agenda. Some will be trying to install that shiny new Botnet they just learned to heard. Some will be attempting to execute things like “Polymorphic MBR Rootkit Propagations”. Hey, if you’re running the net with an open port and don’t know what you’re doing, you’re fair game. What do they care! Some relatively legitimate groups will be working toward the protection of intellectual property by causing your PC to crash and loose that precious first download you just finished, and thereby causing you to never install or use a P2P client ever again. For the ‘first timer’, just remember that the first steps are the hardest, emotionally.
The ubergeeks down at the local Starbucks, (you’ve seen them, the twenty- somethings that are always trading newly burned CD’s like they were dealing drugs) will still not respect you. While yes, you have crossed the emotional barrier, you haven’t even touched on the technical barriers. So, after getting a few downloads, don’t go to the local Wi-Fi hotspot and proclaim you’re a level one geek… They will invade your PC and infiltrate your personal bank account. You’re still just a NOOB!! Besides, running a bittorrent via wireless is, well, rather limiting.
After a few restarts, and some research, you’ll discover things like Ethernet, NAT, IP Blocking, Block Lists, and things that usually contain the word ‘peer’ in them. But don’t rejoice just yet there pilgrim. These are just the easy foothills of the technical mountains you’re going to attempt to cross over.
And those mountains will just keep getting bigger as you get deeper into the counterculture of P2P. You’ll have a new found respect for people that do things like maintain and run torrent locators, blocklist update servers, and TOR nodes.
And then, slowly, you’ll begin to understand things you’ve only read in license agreements like reverse engineering and decompiling. You’ll learn why someone would use an ‘nfo file’, and things like ‘unpack, burn, mount’, and you’ll learn to watch how many seeders drop a particular file of interest. You’ll learn to ‘isolate’ and run things your antivirus says you ought not.
And the really neat thing here about this P2P, the real reason that the Phone Company and Government would want you to not use it. Well, you might actually start to begin to learn how to secure a computer.
Who would imagine, something that the majority of PC users perceive as stealing, something that requires that you remove certain safety measures and actually exposes you to dangers, requiring that you ‘coolly and calmly’ manage risks, instead of running from them like a heard of sheep. Something that is labeled as being so bad might in fact have a real positive benefit. Pirates are called that because they ‘pirate software & data’. But ‘pirate’ is a term that is only used by ‘noobs’, and hopefully your computer is not as unsecure as a noobs. Well, enough with the background, and on to the actual diatribe…

First, you have to remember that P4P will be a proprietary code, and that big companies WILL be able to trace users through it, regardless of any promises of anonymity. And if big companies feel that you have violated any rights, they WILL be assisted by Verizon (Comcast too, ~~although AT&T may be able to run interference as they are a Primary Provider~~) in identifying the original seed, as well as stopping the transmission of the data, as it will be packaged within a proprietary packet, easily stopped or corrupted if need be.

It looks as if Bram Cohen & Ashwin Navin are selling out to get rich, and in so, so is BitTorrent. While the application will transform, the protocol is Open Source. The only two clients worth mention are ‘μTorrent’ and ‘Azureus’.

But basically, this whole argument boils down to a simple rationale…
For instance, consider this analogy. “The internet is a milkshake that you just bought down at the local ice cream shop. Your ISP, & all the providers between your PC & anyone else anywhere on the planet, is a simple drinking straw.” Does AT&T have the right to tell you what flavor of milkshake you can use your straw (you paid for it) to drink with? Does Comcast have the right to tell you how large a $150 per month straw will be?

The government is allowing ISPs to throw Competitive Capitalism out of the window.
AT&T, Verizon, & Comcast should be in a heated price war rather than price fixing your bandwidth (read freedom). After all, just look up who sits on their board of directors.

ISP’s such as Comcast & AT&T are nothing more than “straws” !! They are not authorities. Yes, people do download copyrighted material over their services, but it’s not their job to act as enforcement, nor should it ever be. That’s the job of the copyright holder & their lawyer exclusively. USTPO & the Library of Congress’s USCO don’t even enforce, they only provide a record of proof.

In summation, the fight for “Neutrality of the Internet” is far from over; it is only just beginning to heat up. Instead of assuring the Democratic Freedom of the Internet in Congress last year, and addressing the real issues, the focus has been shifted. As if in a shell game, the mark (you, noob) is looking elsewhere.

“Phone Companies are not the Internet Police!!”

Hey, wanna’ really have the Comcast van running around the neighborhood all day ?? Can you say “Trunked TOR Node, that’s trunked via HAM packet radio” I knew you could…

I haven’t written in quite a while, but I’ve been very busy over the past year. I’ll be doing an article once or twice a month, so tell your friends, tell your family, and tell those three other subscribers that I lost this year… :^{

Sources:
http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20070613-att-willing-to-spy-for-nsa-mpaa-and-riaa.html
http://www.news.com/8301-10784_3-9893915-7.html?tag=nefd.top
http://developers.slashdot.org/article.pl?no_d2=1&sid=08/03/14/1343215
http://www.eweek.com/c/a/Infrastructure/Comcast-BitTorrent-Reach-Throttling-Agreement/
http://news.google.com/news?hl=en&tab=wn&ned=us&q=Comcast+%2B+%24150&btnG=Search
http://freshmeat.net/projects/n2n/

Courtesy: Penn and Teller, YouTube

The New Internet Caste System & The Fall of the Television Broadcasting Empire

noreply@blogger.com (Dave O) — Sat, 30 Jun 2007 00:05:00 +0900

Get ready for your ISP to reduce both your freedom & accessibility to the real world !!

All the major communication carriers are lobbying to reduce your bandwidth to a censored trickle. Unless you are a major corporation, special interest group, or a major advertiser; your ISP will be throttling your internet connection down to a dribble. Their plan is to have both the end users & the content providers create revenue for a multi tiered internet.

As I remember, early in the 1990's when cellular phone service started to trickle down to the average consumer, there was a promise to create a lower cost solution for lower income individuals to be able to benefit from the technology. But, it never came. Buying a disposable 'Trac Phone' at the local 7-eleven is the only low cost solution available today. And that's not what was promised. The low cost system would have been unreliable, spotty in coverage, & you would have to wait a minute before the connection actually began to ring. But the promise was forgotten as everyone managed to create a new status symbol at the expense of their personal budget. Even today, disposable phones carry a certain stigma attached to them. "Only drug dealers & poor people use them!"

Let me ask you a question, but only if your over 30 years old...
"Remember the UHF channels on old analog TV's? Channels like 22, 45, 67?"
Well, on Feb. 18, 2009, the FCC's Mandate will kick in. Let's review just a small portion of the document.

The Digital Television Transition and Public Safety Act of 2005

In late December 2005, the House and Senate agreed on legislation to speed the nation’s transition to digital television while helping consumers to continue to use their analog televisions, recover spectrum for use by public safety officials and improve emergency communications, and auction off additional spectrum to reduce the national deficit. As of January 2006, the legislation, a piece of a major budget bill, awaits final approval from the House which plans to reconvene just before February. A summary of the legislation follows.

I. Spectrum Recovery
The bill directs the Federal Communication Commission (FCC) to take all steps necessary to require, by February 18, 2009, that full-power television stations stop analog broadcasting, and that Class A stations, whether broadcasting in analog or digital format, and full-power television stations broadcasting in digital format, conduct such broadcasting on channels 2 to 36 and 38 to 51. This enables spectrum now reserved for TV channels 52 to 62 and 65 to 67 to be auctioned, and channels 63, 64, 68, and 69 to be used for public-safety purposes. Among the necessary steps the FCC will need to take are to issue a report and order on the digital television table of channel allotments, and to coordinate those allotments with Canada and Mexico to resolve any international interference issues.

The bill also clarifies that only full-power stations, not low-power stations, must cease analog broadcasting by February 18, 2009. Low-power stations, including Class A stations, may continue broadcasting in analog format after February 18, 2009, subject to future decisions by the FCC on how to complete the digital television transition for such stations. Low-power stations other than Class A stations may also continue such analog broadcasting above channel 51, subject to future FCC decisions, so long as those stations' use of those channels is secondary to the use of those channels by the auction winners and public safety officials.

This 'Spectrum Recovery' is the same electromagnetic real estate that both HAM Operators & Computer Networking groups have been begging the Federal Government for since the early 70's, back when packet radio was a blazing 300 baud !!

Here is an excerpt from a popular web magazine, CNET:
In December 2005, the Senate passed a budget bill that calls for over-the-air television stations to cease their analog broadcasts by February 17, 2009. After that date, TVs and other gear with old-style NTSC tuners will be incapable of receiving over-the-air broadcasts. Part of the government's quandary is that the switch-off would cause thousands of TVs to go dark and would deprive many lower-income viewers of their only source of television. To address this issue, lawmakers propose to subsidize converter boxes that would allow people to watch the new digital broadcasts on their old analog TVs. source

Ah, yea right... Just like the cellular phone subsidy !!
If your interested in just your TV reception, stay away from the big sales at your local retailers over the next two years. A good place to begin research in this area is EFF. TV source
By the way, WalMart & Circuit City ARE Supposed To Tell You The TV Your About To Buy Will Not Work In The Future !! Even the FCC will try to point you the right way,(here).

"Keep 'em deaf, dumb, & blind... Then cut off their internets !!"
Well, get ready for the same shell game the Federal Government, Big Industry, & the FCC have always been playing with the public since the end of the second world war. We're taught to call it Competitive Capitalism. But even the public education system is becoming a ruse.

Last year the fight was for 'Net Neutrality'. That fight was never really ratified. It's still up in the air, so expect the Senate to pass a bill on it when nobody is looking, like late December (see above). What's different this year is the investment & interest that the big communication carriers (Verizon, Comcast, Bell South, & ATT) have with the tier system. Last year, they concentrated their efforts on the Neutrality Front, while they developed the new Tier System. Just take a look at the 'White Papers'(here). This year they'll switch over to the Tier Front & push the Neutrality Bill through the Lobby Machine while the public is not looking. Once the internet is no longer a neutral system, the teiring issue will follow easily through congress.

In conclusion...
Here are the choices:

An internet system where anybody can access anything, at an equally standard cost to all; Without issues regarding privacy, habits, or end use.

~OR~

A tiered system where what the end-user pays, the content provider pays, divided by the bandwidth cost efficiency indicator, delimited by the social &/or financial ranking; With the pre-agreed dissemination of the user's mode, system, content, cookies, history, and end use.

I thought I knew what democracy is, but I guess public education will do that to ya' !!

Courtesy: Google Video

Psiphon & the Western World

noreply@blogger.com (Dave O) — Tue, 5 Dec 2006 17:32:00 +0900

A new application may help populations within closed totalitarian societies re-educate themselves, without intervention from local authorities. But, there's a cost !

On Dec. 1st, 2006, the University of Toronto's Citizen Lab, in association with the Berkman Center for Internet & Society of Harvard Law School, & the Advanced Network Research Group at Cambridge University, released 'PSIPHON'.

There have been a few landmark treasures that have had an impact on the 'civilization of mankind' throughout history. Some of the more major ones are:

The Declarations of Ur in 2050BC, is one of the oldest recognized 'legal codes'.
The Cyrus Cylinder of 539BC is the first universally recognized document of 'Human Rights'
The Rosetta Stone created about 196BC enabled the translation of thousands of documents from antiquity, thus expanding mankind's wisdom based on precepts that had been long lost.
The Charter of Liberties of 1100
The Magna Carta Libertatum of 1215
The Works of John Locke, in his writings from 1689-1695, which would have far reaching effects on Voltaire, & eventually Thomas Jefferson, principal writer of,
The Declaration of Independence, 1776(US), ultimately resulting in,
The Constitution of the United States of America, 1787
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights of 1948

If PSIPHON is successfully implemented, it may stand as one of the great milestones of the early 21st century, reaching the status of the above mentioned items.

These documents, & their associated implementation into society are the hingepin that the claim of 'Human Rights' is loosely based on. The internationally recognized 'Basic Human Rights' are:

Right to Life
Right to Marry
Right to Procreate
Right to Raise Children free from unnecessary Governmental Interference
Right to Freedom of Association
Right to Freedom of Expression
Right to Equality of Treatment before the Law (fair legal procedures)
Right to Freedom of Thought
Right to Religious Belief
Right to choose when and where to acquire Formal Education
Right to pursue Happiness
Right to Vote

The Right to Access the Internet may actually become a basic human right, due to the nature of the present day situation. Global Warming, Advancing Technology, Conservation of Natural Resources, & Global Economics will probably be the major factors that persuade Totalitarian & Oppressive Societies to re-evaluate their national position & policy on this issue. On the western side, the concept that telephone companies can charge for a tiered delivery is just plain 'in opposition' of the very precepts that created both their existence & the society they operate in. Closed Societies, do not by nature, support "Public Telephone Systems"! They may be allowed to exist within a closed society, but only serve to facilitate a service that a regime finds desirable, & can use to further its policies by monitoring. Do you really think that any of the western based telephone companies doing business in closed societies enforce 'human rights', or require any of the 'legal processes' that exist in the western world? The new cellular networks are just a means of providing 'State Communications', & the means to monitor the general population with even greater scrutiny.

PSIPHON is a networking application who's moral character is based in the 'free enlightened democratic dissemination of information' philosophy set of the modern western world. A quick review of the virtues of furthering Human Rights will reveal that promotion of the issue DOES NOT have to respect political boundries, as it is a moral & ethical rather than legal realm (here). Historically, Muslim Countries have opposed the concept in this approach and are sighting religious differences with the basis of the argument that the concept is based on a Judeo-Christian value. The obvious answer here is that religion as a whole, Judeo-Christian, Muslim, Hindu, & Buddhist, need to modernize enough to fulfill their original intent. The world can no longer support war, terrorism, or censorship. Such events attributed to a religious motive are not only in violation of Man, but counter-productive to the actual intent of the respective religion. Any argument against this fact is quite simply, ignorance.

PSIPHON works by acting as a proxy server tool which uses a https protocol to transfer data. With a user name and password, people in countries that use Internet content filtering can send encrypted requests for information to a trusted computer located in another country and receive encrypted information in return. As https protocol is widely used for secure communication over the Internet, governments can not block https traffic without further restricting their ability to use the web, to carry out their day-to-day activities in the Western World.

Closed & Isolated Societies will never stand a chance in the highly competitive, mass consumption, open trade world that exists today. Societies that do not work with the 'Global Community' are doomed to a future of ignorance, starvation, & poverty for its citizens. Mankind has reached a point where we must begin to understand that the 'world functions as an organism'. This is evident in all the major issues that face us & our future generations today. Man's existence on Earth is dependent on a global wide policy of prevention & protection. Global warming or cooling, could be argued over the next decade, but there is no denying it; Weather, in general, has become much more 'extreme' and less 'fair (average)' over the past 50 years. Like it or not, that fact will effect two major locations first:

Areas that are more sensitive to changing climate (Antarctica & Sub-Sahara) by virtue of climate & physics.

Areas that are more sensitive to changing climate by virtue of policy & economics.

PSIPHON is directly aimed at closed societies in order to enable populations to access pure, correct, proven, & true knowledge. Not facts or representations that are determined by a faction after review & manipulation to fit a political, religious, or proactive policy scheme. Closed Societies are not worried about 'Global Warming', they are only worried about getting the harvest in; As such, their populations are completely unaware of the issue.

Closed Societies have strong central governments, & very docile & dependent individuals.

Open Societies have comparatively weaker governments, but stronger and more capable individuals.

In here lies the major issue surronding PSIPHON & the Western World. 'Free Users' are required to be much more active & judgemental of clients using their resource from Closed Countries. 'Free Users' need to always remember that THEY are becoming the first line of defense of the Western World, within this application. THAT'S A BIG RESPONSIBILITY. If you are the type of PC user with an internet connection, allows idle CPU cycles to be utilized by things like SETI, Psiphon will enable your PC to become a 'node' for the network. Expect to be exploited. Expect to be attacked. Yes, it is a very honorable intention, however, the majority of users that utilize access to the application have an entirely different set of concerns & values. I'd watch things REAL CLOSE !! Don't forget where these people come from & the actions of their governments.

A few immediate problems I can foresee is:

That as the first early adopters become filled to capacity, newer 'free' users may not have the trust or commitment needed to allow new 'censored' users the access they wish to utilize.

Sharing of a specific IP Address can be a highway to PC security disaster, on the part of the access point node host. This invites abuse by both unscrupulous individuals, as well as, abuse by unfriendly state organizations in retalliation for the tresspass of their sovereignty.

Abuse by automatated means. This is as in 'spam-bots' directed to exploit PSIPHON as a server point. And yes, spam & viruses DO come from Closed Societies too.

While Canadian citizens may be covered by specific laws concerning abuse of PSIPHON by outside elements, Americans are governed by an entirely different set of priorities. If the federal government can prove your IP Address is connected & aiding someone who's recognized as a 'criminal terrorist', your going to have to provide a pretty convincing argument that PSIPHON is to blame, and not you. After all, how many terraflops do you think it will take 'Big Blue Gene' to decrypt the stream & show investigators that your buddy in the Middle East is involved in a little more than just the forum at Al Jazeera (en).

Courtesy: psiphon.civisec.org Google Video

photo cedit: www.culturalprofiles.org.uk

main source: Wikipedia

WMDRM

noreply@blogger.com (Dave O) — Sun, 8 Oct 2006 04:39:00 +0900

Willful Malicious Data Removal Monster or
"Sure, go ahead & rip out anything you want in my PC !".

I came across this little disclaimer the other day. Gee... I guess its a good thing they still write the subroutine to display it at all! Its my opinion that Microsoft can do everything they can to protect a copyright holders interests. But, once the data is in my PC, that's My Interest. They should not have a right to see it, access it, manipulate it, or remove it. And, they should not threaten or otherwise hold hostage my ability & right to update their operating system.

Now don't get me wrong. I don't have anything in my system that doesn't belong to me. But this little goodie is a bit too draconian.

Let's pull it apart a bit, please follow along:

Line 1. Artists & programmers are in a contractual agreement with Microsoft in this DRM deal. So, the artists are at the mercy of Microsoft. Sound familiar ??
Line 2. The data must pass through Secure Content both in PLAY as well as TRANSFER. Isn't your single CPU PC slow enough now after SP2 ??
Line 3. Well, if you disable, or more likely your application changes, has a malformed update, or the WM-DRM becomes corrupted by even one bit, you lose everything !! But, your used to that from all the 'zero-day exploits' over the past two years. Right ??
Line 4. Applications including WMP will appear to be functional & working.
Lines 5, 6, & 7. DRM will update at anytime, not just when you retrieve a license. Content management may revoke ability to use, even if you paid for it. You may be required to accept a DRM upgrade even before Microsoft realizes the software was sufficiently tested for completeness, and then Microsoft writes a supplemental patch two weeks later. And, Microsoft can also amend usability in regard to complications to Line 1, making you a victim of a disagreement that you have nothing to do with.
Line 8. The media requesting an update will cause Microsoft to ask permission ?? Humm... Unless you've turned on 'Automatic Updates', in which case Microsoft is only going through the motions of asking for your permission for something that's now already installed.
Line 9. Content Management can do this maneuver too, without first performing adequate testing, and appear to ask first.
Line 10. If you don't agree, your out of luck !!

Users need to begin to protect their rights against this kind of abuse. If enough people either dropped the OS (an impossibility) or, began to petition against it in numbers, it MIGHT changes things.

Software producers have the right & responsibility to protect intellectual property, both their own & others.
Copyright holders have both the rights of their copyright & to work with software companies.

But neither have the right, nor responsibility to manipulate my data in any way, shape, or form. Nor should my property (PC) be subjected to such inspection & possible damage.

Who do I as a user turn to when a piece of music, photo, video, or software data is mistaken for a U2 or Judas Priest guitar riff. Then the system experiences a fatal catastrophic event from the interrogation & extraction process, then the hard drive starts repeated seeks across the platter, slamming into the hub washer, and POOF. Is Bono going to buy me a new PC when I can prove it was a U2 DRM update that looked like a frame of my waterfall video, or is Rob going to by me a new OS when we realize that the DRM image for 'Troubleshooter' resembles a diagnostic program I had (past tense). When these artists put up a screensaver or wallpaper, will all the far flung code programmers that their talent management employs be able to tell that I went to the site & downloaded it legally?? Can anybody guarantee that DRM won't have this kind of response ?? NO

And DON'T expect ANYTHING from Microsoft...
Your just the guinea pig, so get back on the wheel !!

My PC cringed & drew back in fear at the warning, "Your not going to put that in me, are you ??"
"But, we own everything in you. All the music is from a retail CD. All the pictures came from your cousin the digital camera, & I took them. All the video came from your other cousin the video camera. And all the software I feed you comes from a reliable source & I pay for it!!", I said.
The PC just stood there, humming nervously.

So what happened when I forced myself to commit due to work considerations.
Not anything really.
You see, I have a clean system.
Well, so far for now... And now, the entertainment portion of the program.

Courtesy Google Video Research Channel

Out of Touch

noreply@blogger.com (Dave O) — Sat, 23 Sep 2006 01:10:00 +0900

UPDATE !!!!
Comcast Denying Access to Google Sites in Massachusetts
eWeek - Sept. 27, 2006
Users of Comcast's Internet services in Massachusetts are unable to access Google sites, Google Watch has learned. Internet users woke up this morning to find that Internet access worked fine for all sites ...
Google investigating access difficulties Seattle Post Intelligencer
Google services slow for some WISWAVE - CBS4Boston - Canoe.ca all 58 news articles »

This article originally caught my eye...

Consumer Affairs
Verizon Funded US Government Survey Downplays Net Neutrality
DailyTech - Sept. 20, 2006
In a recent survey conducted by The Glover Park Group and Public Opinion Strategies LLC, 90 percent of Americans said they preferred to have choices for video service providers over net neutrality.
Subscribe to our e-mail newsletters Computerworld
Telecom Reform Hopes Fading InternetNews.com
WebProNews - Washington Post all 23 news articles »
Courtesy Google News & affiliates

It only goes to show you that if people don't start standing up for their right to an internet that is devoted to what it was originally created for (the free & equal dissemination of information & data), that the big telecoms & the government are going to transform it into a revenue generating circus. Let your local rep know how you feel about your rights to the internet. Be sure to include their name, party, & position of public office. Set aside 1 or 2 hours a week to remind then in whatever fashion you decide, & do it EVERY week until the lobby money isn't worth the fallout.
(Remember the scene from 'Shawshank Redemption' where Andy Dufresne writes the state governor for a prison library, every week for years until he got it.)

You can bet that this study is slanted, incorrect, & was based on uneducated people who don't know what allowing the 'tiered' system will end up like. (Think retired elderly who think the internet will limit their choices of TV programs) All through the 60's, 70's, & part of the 80's, the telecoms packed away the money without improving the infrastructure with new existing technologies that were available at that time. This is why the European Union & Asian nations like South Korea, who made cost effective decisions that provided for future bandwidth, when the time was right several years ago, far exceed the United States in internet immersion today. Its both the telecoms' & the government's responsibility to enable the people of the US, whom they are supposed to serve, to better utilize & have free & unhindered access to the internet. For the sake of the nation & its future generations.

Dumb 'em Down, Glue 'em to the Tube, & Keep 'em In the Dark.
Why was Verizon funding a (true, factual, & unbiased) study for the US Government anyway ??
Can you say blatant Conflict of Interest ?? On both parts !!

Google ought to start laying dedicated fiber EVERYWHERE !!
Bet that would change articles like the one above real quick !!
Just a thought...

Courtesy Google Video www.publicknowledge.org

Courtesy Google Video www.spokenring.com Pop-Under Present !!

And an interesting sidenote along the same lines (here)

Fair Use, Microbeast, & the Fairy Godmother of Inevitable Progress.

noreply@blogger.com (Dave O) — Mon, 18 Sep 2006 16:23:00 +0900

"Never mind that ActiveX working behind the curtain, Dorothy!! Hey, your not one of those 'intellectual types', are you ??" said the man in the big white asbestos hood.

- or -

"Do you ever use any of the programs that your ActiveX's destroy ??"
The programer laughed, "That's un-Microsoft!"
"Oh, Of course."

I don't know about you, but everything I make from now on will be an "Experimental Documentary", not that I'm in the habit of violating intellectual rights. I have personal concerns regarding such, but DRM providers that I have corresponded with are unable to guarantee that the code & implementation will remain intact, thus protecting my work.

Anyway, until we as a race reach the point that 'the federation does not use money' & our legislative & judicial systems stop relying on allowing a software company to snuff out our individual civic rights, & actually learn how technology works. Until the time when whatever is in our hearts & minds is not bridled by lines of code & DRM approaches (remember the Sony $sys$), and we as a race are allowed to become more than just a revenue generator. The great appeal of Apple is easily manipulated multimedia, but I don't want to become a serf of my iTunes bill. The appeal of Linux is freedom from monetary constraint, but I don't want to become a 'tester' & be boggled down in the system operating files. And, the appeal of Microsoft used to be functionality & interoperability, but I'm finding more & more I'm having to remove Microsoft ActiveX elements that were never fully explained, as is required by law, right??

Anyone who was lucky enough to read the preload disclaimer that accompanied 'FairUse4WMP' will remember that it was clearly specified that one uses the application as follows:

That it was meant to offer an option of manipulation to enable to share 'bought' music between multiple computers that the person actually owns. (ie. one person, many PC's)
Was NOT meant to be utilized as a DRM cracking or circumventing program.
Was ONLY to be used on legally obtained multimedia that was actually legally owned files of the person using the program.

'Hackers' don't normally write legal disclaimers of intent & use. (but they might) Neither did the major OS software companies, until laptops & cell phones started showing up in caves & deserts.

I feel that I both fit into & would have adhered to the conditions above. I don't 'surf' for music & video. All my music exist in CD form. I have a few computers that I like to listen to music on while I'm working. Oh, 95% of the music were talking about here is pre-1980, so I believe its Public Realm now. I refuse to update my oldest PC's WMP past WMP8 because that when DRM became more important than usability. Nothing past WMP9 allows for file property manipulation that fixes incorrect attributes that are added by people who either do not know how to write them, or must have been using Win3.0. The attribute problem shows up when a file is used in WMP10 & you know you own a copy of something, but its not in the album artist or the contributing artist. Don't hold your breath or ask Microsoft to fix the feature. Their not listening, & WMP works just the way they want it to. Aha, 'cept for the FairUse4WMP issue.

I feel like my rights to my music have been violated. But I have a temporary solution...

Copy approximately 9.6Gb of Public Realm WMF files & a copy of FairUse between drives on multiple systems.
Remove all the Microsoft ActiveX, (heck, just dump the OS entirely) especially the dreaded WGA because my copies are legal & I don't need the undeclared extras. Instructions (here)
Make an extra special copy to an external HDD along with all the other anti-monopoly goodies & keep it under the floor boards.

Remember the last scene from Fahrenheit 451 where everyone is walking around reciting....

I think were already there

While this has nothing to do with DRM, WMP, Music, or your rights, it is along the same lines about how the public needs to recognize & begin to proactively 'Protect Your Rights'.

But first, a little education on the ethics of Fair Use.

NortelLearnIT

And finally a 'Fair Example', albiet a little hard to follow.

Center for Social Media

All coments & videos are offered for educational fair use only. Video material obtained via Google Video. If you feel that your work has been violated, please contact Google to have it removed.

Web 3.0 or The New Internet ??

noreply@blogger.com (Dave O) — Sat, 16 Sep 2006 07:47:00 +0900

MINERVA
Warning: Contains Supper Geekdom (may melt sliderule & fray pocket protector)
The next logical step in internet technology may replace centralized general search engines (Google, Yahoo, AltaVista, etc) with decentralized autonomous Peer To Peer implementations for academic & industry specific searches of data or information.

Something educational for a change.

Web 2.0 vs. Assumed Democracy

noreply@blogger.com (Dave O) — Fri, 1 Sep 2006 16:51:00 +0900

McAfee's SiteAdvisor uses ~~site analysis report~~.^democracy. Why Can't I ??

An example (here) in the event you don't want to download & install. About half way down the report is the User Review Summary.

I thought it was interesting for the product to include a Web 2.0 presence for users. I also though it was rather thoughtful of the developers to leave an option for site owners to leave comments.

It seems that the basic argument today is breaking down as to whether the general public has the 'right' to dispute any entity's 'official statement' or their 'modus operandi'. This can be illustrated by the release of YouTube's Video from Michael De Kort and the subsequent rebuttal from Lockheed's spoksperson. (source: TIME)

"Anybody with a webcam & something to say, regardless of whether it's true or not, can say it on YouTube... "

And yes, that IS precisely the POINT.

Long before it's implementation & use, the Web 2.0 concept was being hailed by both the academic and blogosphere communities that it had the potential to raise the bar on the process of 'democratic debate' & 'user interactivity' on the web. Nobody complained about this issue when it was hidden behind the veil of BBS, Forums, & Private Sites of the late 80's. Remember the Tidal Wave of 2005, and how bloggers & similar means of communication were the very first elements to be utilized until the actual 'recognized authorities' were able to respond !! Remember how the entire blogosphere was praised by the world press, for weeks ??

But today, when it's out in the open, either in print in a blog, or as a video, on such a site that has a million or so users, subscribers, viewers, whatever; Yes, now 'freedom' might be a bad thing.

Let's face it:

Individuals tend to have varying levels of 'common sense' & the ability to determine between 'right & wrong'.

Entities (governments, corporations, organizations, affiliations, groups, etc) however must review & apply policies & procedures that resemble 'common sense' & define 'right & wrong' within their actions. Entities do not have the power of individuality! Nor will they ever.

According to Oxford American Dictionary ISBN: 0-380-60772-7, the definition of 'individualism' is as follows: n. 1. self-centered feeling or conduct. 2. independence in thought and action. 3. a social theory advocating free and independent action of the individual.

My friends (yes, I do get out some) know I have a few blogs & pages. Most of them do not utilize the internet as much as I do. They tend to know that I can be a bit individualistic, within reason at times. Sometimes they disagree with my viewpoint & we discuss it over dinner or a beer. Sometimes, they agree with my viewpoint, & we still discuss it. We have similarities & differences. We know that diversity has some advantages. And we all tend to still get along. "Attention all other drunks in the bar! . . . . . We have assumed democracy."

In minimalistic terms, Web 2.0 is for individuals' within a democratic concept. It allows one to customize their web interfacing experience, customize their homepage, write blogs, distribute videos, distribute art, music, & pictures, publish very specific mapsets, etc . . .

This does not go without saying that there are responsibilities that go in hand, such as not slandering, lying, misleading, or otherwise tarnish the truth.

But hey, if you actually experienced it & you believe in it, well . . .

Every viewer, reader, commentor, and the like are all endowed by their creator with the abilities of judgment, logic, review; & in a truly democratic setting, editorial.

Let's hope we can keep it that way !!

Courtesy Mike WalshFourth Estate Google Video

AOL Agonies Of Late

noreply@blogger.com (Dave O) — Thu, 24 Aug 2006 08:43:00 +0900

Well, it didn't take long for Time Warner to pull Maureen Govern's page on their corporate site.
Don't bother, the AOL stone masons chiseled her very being from both the temple, as well as the rest of the internet that they could manage to get to.

Dr. Abdur Chowdhury, the person actually responsible for posting the data on the internet, according to Slashdot, has retained a lawyer. Actually, I can't wait to get his latest book,

"A. Chowdhury, "Automatic Evaluation of Web Search Services" , ISBN: 0-12-012164-6 Book/Hardback , Advances in Computers, April 2005",

which can be verified on his sitepage.

Bet the meta tag gets updated real soon there too.

Let's review AOL's Button Policy, highlighting their view to your right to free speech:

About Putting a My AOL Button on Your Site

AOL is providing you with an 'add to MyAOL' button to use on your interactive site(s) that will provide your end users with the ability to add RSS feeds distributed on your site(s) into AOL's RSS reader. By using the button, you agree to the following: (a) not to alter the button in any way (e.g., design, size, color, code, etc); (b) not to display the button in any manner that can be reasonably interpreted to suggest editorial or other content on the page has been authored by, or represents the views or opinions of, AOL; (c) not to display the button in a manner that is misleading, defamatory, infringing, libelous, disparaging, obscene or otherwise objectionable to AOL, or that impairs the rights of AOL in its trademarks or logos, in AOL's reasonable opinion; (d) not to violate any law or regulation in connection with your use of the button; and (e) to remove the button from your site(s) promptly upon AOL's request.

Of course, you don't have to use their button. You can make one of your own as long as you write the code yourself!! Oh, and please don't infringe in any trademark rights they have...
Just be a little more creative. EFF's fine example is on the right.

Rights!! What was I thinking??
"Must be a bit too much preservative in the meat ration. Or too much of that oily gin."

Maybe your thinking of upgrading to AOL 9.0 for all the neat security add-on freebies. Well, you might want to wait until StopBADware.org complets their review & hears back from AOL. If you are intrested, here's the post from their blog. And I found the Pure Software Act of 2006 proposal rather intresting also.

I have a lot of friends that still use the antiquated AOL dial-up, when it works.
People like:

My Brother-in-Law, who is afraid that the local authorities might find out he's been priceing 'buck lure', out of season.

Or, my Mom, who has been researching why Aunt Bea's strawberry shortcake is 'lighter & fluffier' than hers.

And my ex-girlfriend from high school, who has been doing extensive research in high school class reunions & high powered rifles with silencers.

I just assure them that they were not part of the 680,000 or so users that the data defines.
Well, that is, maybe just my Brother-in-Law & Mother.

Anyway, as you know, once something is posted to the vast internet, its there forever!
AOL pulled the database within hours, however, it had been mirrored within minutes.
As a service to those 'AOL users that I know ONLY' I am providing a link to those mirrors so that they & their lawyers might glean if their civil rights were violated & at what depth.

And I thought the video was rather ironic, as its a genuine AOL.UK commercial.

Enjoy, if you are able. (That's until Time Warner pulls it!!)

Courtesy Flame Scape Google Video SITE 1 SITE 2

Update washingtonpost.com 3 AOL Subscribers Sue Over Data Release

Microsoft's Awakening

noreply@blogger.com (Dave O) — Sun, 6 Aug 2006 02:17:00 +0900

Big M's recent attempts to work with their own software.

I'm not a big fan of Microsoft. I,m not totally ecstatic with their products, either. If you want to get anything done today, Microsoft is just a necessary evil. Microsoft was not always greeted with the 'torches & pitchforks' that a majority of opinions on the internet tend to lean toward. Back in the mid 80's, you either worked a Mac or a Microsoft. We're talkin' like back just as Windows 95 was hailed as the last OS you would ever need. For the average PC user today, Linux has a steep learning curve & Apple was, until the Mac mini, out of the reach of most of the market.
I had some exposure to the advertising field back in the 80's, so I had the opportunity to use both Apple & Microsoft. Prior to that, an acquaintance of mine used a Vector Terminal with the old rubber cup modem to access a corporate mainframe. And prior to that, I hand wrote Basic & Unix on an old Atlantis Terminal in high school. That's like late 70's. Thoses machines were not the multi-tasking, multi-function, multi-modifiable, high powered racecars of today. Macs had a specialized purpose, mostly graphics. Microsoft machines' big advantage was that they did a little bit of everything. IBMs were big on database application & deployment. While they all came off an assembly line, as a whole they were much more specialized for specific applications. It was a matter of choosing the right tool for the right job. It was not until much later that manufacturer's product lines had 'something for everyone' & most people outside of the workplace only saw the low-end "Personal Computer" of a particular brand. Hey, even the Radio Shack TRS-80 had its day, just as did flint arrow points when they were the 'cutting edge'!

One old adage that was true then,

"It will work IF you know what you are doing!!"

That brings me to Microsoft's recent start-up, Windows Live Spaces. Now, we all know that all start-ups have some minor kinks in the beginning. But Microsoft was working on this whole 'LIVE' concept as long as a year ago. And with something around half a million software engineers around the world, and a rather modest estimate of 2% of the world's total PC users as 'beta testers', it seems to me that some of the client side issues would have been ironed out already.
MSN Spaces has been around for a while. And it worked fine in IE6. But we all know that browser is old. Then Microsoft got going on IE7 beta 1. Lots of problems & holes there too. Then in March, it was IE7 beta 2. Ever tried to add a Google Groups Subscript Box to your Googlepage or post to your blog at any of the major blog hosting sites in IE7b2? Trust me, unless you build the page as a pure HTML on your own screen first, then 'pop' it into the template, you'll never get the page clean unless you wipe it & start over.
I tried to get some feedback from both companies and hit a brick wall that I'll elaborate on in a future article.
~~As of Wed 8/2/06, Microsoft Windows Internet Explorer Ver. 7 beta 3 is available.~~ OLD SOFTWARE
My suggestion is that "You take a stress pill, & talk this over with your computer" before committing.
Until then, there's always the Official Live Spaces Blog that you can enjoy. Be sure to remember to hit the 'Comments' link on any article.

And the RRS Feed can be found HERE if you are so inclined.

Oh, and I suggest you use IE6 for a more predictable experience.

Keep in mind that all the comments on the Live Spaces Blog are from Registered Microsoft Users using Authentic Microsoft OS Software.

Courtesy CNBC Google Video