program21's Journal: Reach out and punch somebody

I read about the world today (the tech world, at least), and all I want to do is reach out and punch somebody. Actually, numerous people, who I will not name here (although some you can guess, others I just don't know).
Up first, we have the DMCA. Gotta love the fact that it covers things like:

• novelty singing fish
• refrigerators
• baby monitors
• toy cash registers/toilet training toys
• hearing aids

among other things. While it's doubtful that any of those devices will ever arise in a DMCA violation, it's laughable how far-reaching the law is.
Without going into the deeper reasons the DMCA is a bad thing, which most /. readers have seem reiterated time and time again, I will move on to the next thing I want to punch someone over.

Up next we have various representatives of the Voice Of Webcasters (VoW) and the RIAA, for changing HR 5469 from a one-paragraph stay of CARP fees (that was endorsed strongly by the small-time webcasters, into a 30 page monstrosity that saves the larger 'casters affected while still leaving the small-time ones in the same position as before. Except now those that the revised HR 5469 helps are now saying CARP isn't a bad thing.

Then, of course, there's the ubitiquous Microsoft beating. First they rip of Apple's 'Switch' ads, but don't even bother using a real person (well, apparently it's a real person, although the photograph was blantly used from a stock picture archive. Cheaped out too, it was a free photo). Historically, Microsoft has 'borrowed' innovations from Apple when developing it's desktop, now apparently 'embrace and extend' applies to ads too. And it doesn't end there, there's always Palladium looming over our heads. Not much new to report on that front, although I do recommend reading Questions for a Lecture on Microsoft's Palladium? for a general view, and then my comments (questions). Along with that, we have Intel for announcing it'll be including hardware DRM, and a few weeks back AMD announced it will start doing it too. Almost makes it tempting to start using a Mac, at least until Apple announces it will follow suit.

Moving away from tech stuff for a bit, I feel Pres. Bush deserves a nice left hook, for his stance on Iraq. First, he demands that Iraq allow unconditionally allow the return of weapon inspectors. Iraq agrees, Bush accuses them of lying. What does this man want? Given his move to get Congressional support for military action, apparently he only asks for those things to appease our allies. He's got his mind set on a 'regime change' in Iraq, despite a CIA report that Iraq is not the biggest threat. To paraphrase someone's sig here, "When did 'war on terrorism' become a euphemism for 'settle old scores'?".

Lastly (for now), we have anyone who is still using 9/11 as an excuse for anything. Particularly those who are trying to sell something by using people's feelings about it. Fake patriatism, good shallow America. I live in Hoboken, NJ, I'm about 2 or 3 miles away from the WTC site, I saw it all on that horrific day. But I've moved on, everyone else I know has moved on, except advertising departments, it seems. It makes me sick to see 9/11 being used to sell things, or try and influence people.

And with that, I stop for the time being.