Slashback: Oklahoma Spyware, FSF DRM, Lenovo Linux 135
Oklahoma's Spyware Bill dies a quiet death. enforcer999 writes to tell us that the Oklahoma Computer Spyware Protection Act has been pretty much dismantled by the Senate review committee. From the article: "Sen. Clark Jolley, R-Edmond, the Senate author of the legislation, said revisions he had made to the bill were well received by those who had originally opposed it, but that after making the changes, the companies backing the measure -- which had included Microsoft and Symantec Corp. -- opposed it."
Lenovo denies ditching Linux. btornado writes "According to News.com, Lenovo has denied ditching Linux on their notebook computers. Lenovo actually plans to support Linux on its ThinkPads starting in the third quarter, in partnership with Novell. From the article: 'Customers of the recently introduced Lenovo 3000 units still won't have a preloaded option, however, because the small and midsize business customers that are the targets for those units have many different requirements, he said.'"
Mars rover escapes again. An anonymous reader writes "New Scientist is reporting that NASA's Mars Opportunity rover has freed itself from the sandy soil that ensnared it for more than a week. This is the second time the rover has gotten bogged down in a Martian sand trap. Both times, the rover has managed to escape to solid bedrock by churning its wheels in reverse."
RIM CEO speaks out against unlimited wireless. frdmfghtr writes "The president and co-CEO of Research in Motion seems to think that wireless data services providing unlimited data traffic for a flat monthly rate will have a 'devastating effect on wireless innovation.' From the article: '"No matter how you slice it, bandwidth is not free," he said. "If we don't set up economic incentives now, research and innovation for new networks won't happen for the future. We want companies to be encouraged to make efficient use of the network, so we don't cross over and use up all the capacity of the networks." Counters Jeff Pulver, the founder of Pulver Media, saying that (FTA) "unlimited bandwidth use in the wireless world is needed because access to the network is what spurs innovation."'"
Microsoft LiveMail gets ads. Blahbooboo3 writes to tell us BetaNews is reporting that Microsoft will be embedding advertising in their new e-mail client software, Windows Live Mail Desktop. Similar to Google's Gmail, it will serve ads based on the text of your mail messages. Microsoft's Active Search feature, being tested within Windows Live Mail Desktop, scans users' emails and displays potential search terms related to that email as well as text-based contextual ads. The effort is an example of the Windows Live ad-supported software initiative. Contextually relevant ads served by Microsoft-partner Kanoodle will be displayed next to each email message. Also, paid search links will be served by Microsoft adCenter when users conduct searches via a search box that's built into the mail interface.
FSF anti-DRM campaign expands. nanday writes "According to an article on Newsforge (Also owned by VA), the Free Software Foundation's Defective by Design campaign against Digital Rights Management expanded on Saturday, targeting Apple Stores in eight American cities. However, unlike the event outside WinHEC 2006 two weeks ago, this time the police and security guards were waiting when campaign volunteers arrived to demonstrate."
AT&:T calls Wired to task over leaked documents. John Young writes to tell us that AT&T is standing in opposition [PDF] to Wired's recent intervention and the unsealing of documents. AT&T stated that "Wired argues that it has a 'unique perspective in this case.' If that is anything other than hot air, it is a reference to the fact that Wired has leaked eight pages of what it claims are AT&T Proprietary documents--and did so despite actual knowledge that AT&T claims its documents contain trade secrets and the Court had ordered that such documents remain under seal. A 'unique perspective' indeed--that of the scofflaw. [...] Wired maintains that the Klein and Marcus Declarations should be unsealed in their entirety because "the course of events has overtaken the sealing order." The "course of events" to which Wired refers is, of course, its own leaking of subsets of the information that the Court ordered remain under seal. Wired's argument appears to be that because it has openly chosen to disregard the Court's order (not to mention AT&T's rights) the Court should reverse that order. Talk about chutzpah."
Unlimited wireless bad? (Score:5, Insightful)
Unlimited data plans... (Score:5, Insightful)
I went with T-mobile for two reasons. 1) They are the only carrier that has a viable portable device for Internet connectivity and 2) They have an unlimited data plan at a flat rate $20.00 with T-mobile mobile phone service or $29.99 without.
To claim that this somehow creates problems with innovation is insane! Hell, I certainly would NOT be paying per MB charges and I'm sure that many others would agree. People in the US are too used to "unlimited" connections (from the dialup days through today). Per MB/GB transfer charges would fall flat on their faces in areas with competition. Luckily, in the mobile market, there's plenty of that.
Jolley's folly (Score:5, Insightful)
Translation: My corporate masters are not pleased.
RIM would not favor unlimited bandwidth. Of course (Score:1, Insightful)
Re:There IS a limit on wireless bandwidth (Score:3, Insightful)
The point is, the limit should be a specific rate, and unlimited *usage*, as opposed to a per-bit-transferred scheme. People will always be willing to pay for faster connections, but most fear the possibility that some uncontrolled event or fraud will run their bill up to insane amounts - that isn't a factor with a limited rate - all that happens is it will just hit the rate limit and choke.
RIM wouldn't want unlimited networking (Score:4, Insightful)
They prefer to negotiate with the carriers so their users can have unlimited network access, while everyone else pays through the nose.
A little self-interest in limited access to the wireless network. No surprise.
I was one of the LA anti-DRM protestors (Score:5, Insightful)
Personally, I think DBD should continue to target Apple, rather than moving on to movie studios, since the media companies (with the exception of Sony) couldn't impose DRM without the cooperation of companies like Apple.
Lessons learned from the protest:
Re:business weasel-speak lexicon (Score:1, Insightful)
"Would impact our bottom line"? That's PHB-speak too. How about "We wouldn't make as much money as we do now"?
PS: Anybody else read "Mars rover escapes again" and get that song stuck in their head? "Whooo let the dogs out!"
Flat rate unlimited is one cause of innovation (Score:5, Insightful)
The internet started as dialup, and took too different paths in separate parts of the world.
In North America, local calls are free, and dialing a local number for internet access was one reason why the net became so popular and successful, and why lots of innovation happens in the USA as far as the net is concerned.
In most of the rest of the world, local phone calls are not free, and therefore the internet is metered. People using dialup have to be aware of the time they spend on the net, lest they run up the bill (think BBS's in another area code that you call long distance).
So, did unlimited dialup access spur innovation? I think so. Would the same be true for wireless? You bet!
Look at how cell phones are doing in North America vs. the world. The world has GSM where you are not tied to a provider you buy the handset from, and you do not pay for received calls. The contrary is true in North America.
Greed is the barrier to innovation.
Re:Unlimited wireless bad? (Score:2, Insightful)
Re:Oklahoma Priorities (Score:2, Insightful)
But it is possible to have the server tell the client what the latest versions are released and the client-side update application can decide to download it (think just about all linux updaters (apt-get, yum, portage, etc). These corporations choose to collect this information users and quite possibly a lot more.