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Help EFF Bust the Clear Channel Patent
As many of you know, EFF has gone into the Patent Busting business. We're closing in on our first target -- the Clear Channel Live Recording patent, but we need your help. We've written up a description of the killer prior art needed to take this patent down; now you need to help us find it. Take a look at the description and send it around to any friends or colleagues you might know who are familiar with sound or video recording technology, especially pre-year 2000 technology that could record multiple copies of media simultaneously. In particular, we are interested in any information about a system called "EDAT" from the Minnesota-based Telex Communications, Inc., but any information on pre-2000 multiple-media recording system can help.

Prior art description:
http://www.eff.org/patent/wanted/CCPatDescription.pdf

Prior art submission form:
http://www.eff.org/patent/wanted/prior.php?p=clearchannel

posted by LoZo 3:36 PM

 

EFF's Legal Guide for Bloggers
[NOTE: If you are a fan of bloging and aren't already connected with the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), you owe it to yourself to take a look at the section of their Web site devoted specifically to blogs. There is a wealth of trustworthy information there. EFF is our first line of defense in the battle to retain freedom in cyberspace. . . . Lorenzo]

EFF's Legal Guide for Bloggers
Version current as of June 8, 2005
Updated July 6, 2005

Whether you're a newly minted blogger or a relative old-timer, you've been seeing more and more stories pop up every day about bloggers getting in trouble for what they post. . . . Like all journalists and publishers, bloggers sometimes publish information that other people don't want published. You might, for example, publish something that someone considers defamatory, republish an AP news story that's under copyright, or write a lengthy piece detailing the alleged crimes of a candidate for public office. . . . The difference between you and the reporter at your local newspaper is that in many cases, you may not have the benefit of training or resources to help you determine whether what you're doing is legal. And on top of that, sometimes knowing the law doesn't help - in many cases it was written for traditional journalists, and the courts haven't yet decided how it applies to bloggers. . . . But here's the important part: None of this should stop you from blogging. Freedom of speech is the foundation of a functioning democracy, and Internet bullies shouldn't use the law to stifle legitimate free expression. That's why EFF created this guide, compiling a number of FAQs designed to help you understand your rights and, if necessary, defend your freedom. . . . To be clear, this guide isn't a substitute for, nor does it constitute, legal advice. Only an attorney who knows the details of your particular situation can provide the kind of advice you need if you're being threatened with a lawsuit. The goal here is to give you a basic roadmap to the legal issues you may confront as a blogger, to let you know you have rights, and to encourage you to blog freely with the knowledge that your legitimate speech is protected. . . . Please note that this guide applies to people living in the US. We don't have the expertise or resources to speak to other countries' legal traditions, but we'd like to work with those who do. If you know of a similar guide for your own jurisdiction or feel inspired to research and write one, please let us know. We can link to it here.

[NOTE: The link above will take you to the Table of Contents page and links to each section.]

posted by LoZo 5:15 PM

 

Sony music CD's install a tracking virus on your PC
(John Borland, CNET News.com, November 1, 2005)
Mark Russinovich was doing a routine test this week of computer security software he'd co-written, when he made a surprising discovery: Something new was hiding itself deep inside his PC's guts. . . . It took some time for Russinovich, an experienced programmer who has written a book on the Windows operating system for Microsoft, to track down exactly what was happening, but he ultimately traced it to code left behind by a recent CD he'd bought [from Sony's BMG music service] and played on his computer. . . . The SonyBMG-produced Van Zant album had been advertised as copy-protected when he'd bought it on Amazon.com, and he'd clicked through an installation agreement when he put the disc in his computer. What he later found is that the software had used a sophisticated cloaking technique that involves a "rootkit" -- a tool often used by virus writers to hide all traces of their work on a computer. . . . Russinovich posted a detailed step-by-step account of his findings on his blog, drawing immediate criticism of SonyBMG's technology from some inside the security software community. . . . A handful of security companies weighed in on the issue, saying the rootkit could present a possible risk to computers. [COMMENT by Lorenzo: Even if this isn't an immediate threat, I find it unacceptable for a MUSIC CD to load tracking software on my PC. . . . FUCK SONY! They are fair game now, as far as I'm concerned.] . . . A SonyBMG representative said the software could be easily uninstalled, by contacting the company's customer support service for instructions. [COMMENT by Lorenzo: The word on the street is that Sony's "fix" is worse than the rootkit itself. If you want your computer to continue running properly it is best that you NEVER use a Sony CD on your machine. BUT there is a temporary work-around if you still want to support Sony's fascist tactics: When you insert a CD in your PC, hold down the SHIFT key. This will disable the autorun feature, where the rootkit virus is hiding.] . . . Rootkit software has been around for over a decade but has recently come to increased prominence as more writers of viruses and the like adopt it for their purposes. Essentially, rootkits are tools for digging deep into a computer's operating system to hide the fact that certain software files exist or that the computer is performing certain functions. . . . Unlike other, less-powerful means of hiding files on a hard drive, rootkits are created to be extraordinarily difficult to uninstall without specific instructions, rooting themselves in an operating systems' deepest recesses in order to prevent their deletion. . . . In the case of the SonyBMG software, trying to remove it manually could shut off access to the computer's CD player, researchers said.

[COMMENT by Lorenzo: IMHO, Sony is engaging in criminal activity by secretly installing this tracking and locking software on our machines. So I ask you, is it immoral to steal from criminals? . . . interesting question, huh?]

posted by LoZo 1:46 PM

 

Fascist propaganda chief quits public broadcasting board
(Reuters, November 4, 2005)
Kenneth Tomlinson, the former board chairman of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting [COMMENT by Lorenzo: This is PBS, the Propaganda Broadcasting System.] accused by critics of trying to politicize public television and radio, has resigned from the board, it said on Thursday. . . . Tomlinson, a Republican, quit shortly before CPB Inspector General Kenneth Konz was to publish a report after investigating his activities, including paying outside researchers to check public programing for liberal bias. . . . Critics, including broadcasters and congressional Democrats, accused Tomlinson of trying to advance his own conservative agenda in public broadcasting, which is supposed to be non-partisan. . . . Details of the investigation have not yet been reported. It also looked into the selection of a former co-chair of the Republican National Committee as CPB president. . . . CPB is a federally funded nonprofit corporation and the largest single source of money for U.S. public television and radio programing, including PBS and National Public Radio. It is governed by a presidentially appointed board. . . . Center for Digital Democracy Executive Director Jeff Chester, a critic of Tomlinson, said his departure was unlikely to stop what he described as behind-the-scenes programing pressure on PBS [Propaganda Broadcasting System] and NPR [National Propaganda Radio]. . . . "Board chair Halpern and vice chair Gaines will continue Tomlinson's legacy to reshape public broadcasting more to the liking of conservatives," Chester said in a statement.

posted by LoZo 8:55 AM