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Government

Elizabeth Warren Accuses Advisory Panel For FCC of Corruption (cnet.com) 167

An anonymous reader quotes a report from CNET: A panel that provides policy advice to the Federal Communications Commission is "stacked with corporate insiders," Democratic presidential candidate Elizabeth Warren said Monday. She cited a blog post by the Project On Government Oversight (POGO), which showed more than half of all Communications Security, Reliability and Interoperability Council (CSRIC) members are direct employees of private companies or of industry trade groups. This could lead to allegations that rather than working for American consumers, the FCC is working for "giant telecom companies", Warren, a Democratic senator from Massachusetts, tweeted Monday.

"This is the definition of corruption: industry members writing the rules to benefit themselves & their rich friends," she added in another tweet. Sen. Warren has called on FCC Chair Ajit Pai to "explain the extent to which CSRIC may be corrupted by corporate influence." A letter from Warren and Rep. Pramila Jayapal dated June 27, spotted earlier by The Hill, asks for information (PDF) from Pai on whether the panel is "inappropriately dominated by industry (pdf) insiders." "The industry-dominated personnel on the panel have recommended policies that are directly in line with the wishes of the companies from which their members are drawn," the letter says, adding that POGO says a lack of expertise among FCC members means they rely increasingly on the panel's recommendations.

Classic Games (Games)

Video Game Legends To Be Inducted Into Hall of Fame 94

killdashnine writes "Last year we discussed the creation of the International Video Game Hall of Fame and Museum in Ottumwa, Iowa, and a first event in 2009 which brought 3,500 people to witness it. Since then, there's been much progress toward creation of the museum, including the upcoming 'Big Bang 2010' exhibition. Their first event kicks off with formal induction ceremonies, tournaments, record-setting attempts, and an array of concerts from 8-bit music to modern rock. This serves as the first official fundraiser for this new non-profit. Iowa is positioning itself as the Video Game Capital of the World. While some sneer and scoff at this, pointing to LA or Seattle as gaming giants and rightful heirs to the title, the real goal is not to glorify software developers but rather to memorialize the 'heroes of video games,' from the iconic Pac Man to pioneers such as Ralph Baer." Here's a list of this year's inductees. Who gets your vote for next year?
Security

Adobe's ADEPT DRM Broken 273

An anonymous reader writes "I love cabbages has reverse-engineered Adobe's ADEPT DRM (e-book protection). On February 18, I love cabbages released code that decrypts EPUB e-books protected with ADEPT and followed that up on February 25, with code that decrypts PDF e-books protected with ADEPT. On March 4, I love cabbages was given a DMCA take down notice. And there's plenty of evidence he got it right. DS:TNG (Dmitry Sklyarov: The Next Generation)?"
Security

Government Begins Securing Root Zone File 198

Death Metal notes a Wired piece on the US government beginning the process of securing the root zone file. This is in service of implementing DNSSEC, without which the DNS security hole found by Dan Kaminsky can't be definitively closed. On Thursday morning, a comment period will open on the various proposals on who should hold the keys and sign the root — ICANN, Verisign, or the US government's NTIA.
Television

TiVo PC Could Be a Game-Changer 191

An anonymous reader sends in an article by Andrew Keen (author of "The Cult of the Amateur") about TiVo's new TiVo PC, which he believes could seal the fate of advertising on online videos. Just as TiVo let viewers zap commercials on broadcast TV, TiVo PC — a TV tuner that can be plugged into a PC — will let Net viewers of the likes of Hulu.com and ABC.com skip commercials in the nascent medium of online video. Keen believes that TiVo's business model involves (besides selling lots of $199 boxes) mining and selling the far richer stream of user behavioral data that TiVo PC will enable.

Comment less talk, more action... (Score 2) 393

Instead of whining about the fact that we are losing our fair usage rights, here are five concrete steps that you can take:
  1. Become a member of EFF at https://www.eff.org/support/joineff.html
    They are one of the few folks who are putting their time and money where their mouth is and fighting back.
  2. Buy some "stop the MPAA" stuff at http://store.yahoo.com/2600hacker/a ntimpaa.html
  3. Order a DVD player with country codes disabled at http://www.codefreedvd.com/dvd_dvdpla yers.htm
  4. Write to your Representative in the United States House at http://www.house.gov/writerep
  5. Write to your Senators at http://www.senate.gov
I am reminded about people who complain about politics. I always tell them "If you don't vote, shut the hell up". I guess I am saying the same thing here.

I would love it if people replied to this comment with other action items that people could do.

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