February 2005
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Day February 10, 2005

Entries 7 Total

Nokia: Local Advertising on Your Cell Phone :(

Feb 10, ’05 9:48 PM

Point Server by Nokia (via Geekzone):

Nokia is introducing the Nokia Local Marketing Solution, a mobile solution that brings services to customers’ smartphones via short-range radio technologies, such as Bluetooth. With the Nokia Local Marketing Solution, operators and service providers can easily advertise their own and partner services in relevant places, at relevant times, thereby providing added value service to their customers. The Nokia solution supports multiple languages, and it can be customized according to the service provider’s brand preferences.

The solution is based on the concept of point server, which distributes information to users on a reduced area or environment.

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Philadelphia WiFi: Why are the incumbent telco’s fighting this?

Feb 10, ’05 9:37 PM

Dianah Neff (Philadelphia’s CIO):

Why are Wireless Philadelphia and other city wireless programs such a big threat? More precisely, why do the big boys keep trying to kill our Wi-Fi networks?

Tell me who among incumbent local exchange carriers (ILECs)–have deployed ubiquitous, high-speed wireless networks that support roaming/mobile capabilities. No ILEC. Who provides high-speed, broadband, ubiquitous services at dial-up rates for the underserved populations? No ILEC. Who is working to get equipment and training into the homes of low-income and disadvantaged portions of our community? Again, no ILEC.

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Sensenbrenner Strikes again – H.R. 418: National ID Bill

Feb 10, ’05 8:02 AM

From the taking away our rights to make us safer department, Wisconsin Republican Congressman Jim Sensenbrenner, assured of a safe seat, has introduced a National ID bill (H.R. 418). I wonder if any of his constituents understand or support this initiative.

We remember Sensenbrenner’s earlier efforts on behalf of his Hollywood constituents…

How any of this benefits Wisconsin’s citizens or economy is beyond me. Sensenbrenner is a poster boy for congressional redistricting reform.

Decland McCullagh forwarded this:

You will remember that late last year, Congress passed (and the
President signed) legislation which starts us down the road to a
National ID card. In the name of preventing alien terrorists from
operating in this country, the so-called Intelligence Reform bill gave
federal bureaucrats unprecedented new powers to force changes in
state-issued driver’s licenses — including, possibly, the addition of
computer chip technology that can facilitate the tracking of all
U.S. citizens.

Now, the House will be debating new legislation, H.R. 418, that was
recently introduced by Rep. James Sensenbrenner (R-WI). In
considering this bill, the U.S. House will vote on whether to empower
the federal government to determine who can get a driver’s license –
and under what conditions..

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Apollo 17 Moon VR Panoramas

Feb 10, ’05 7:51 AM

Hans Nyberg has put together a very nice panoramic scene (with audio) from images taken on the moon by the Apollo 17 crew.

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BU: 50% of medical expenses are wasted….

Feb 10, ’05 7:48 AM

Victoria Colliver:

About 50 percent of health care spending is eaten up by waste, excessive prices and fraud, according to a report set for release today by Boston University researchers.

Major sources of unnecessary spending include administrative costs and profit in the insurance industry, high prices of prescription drugs and health services and, to a smaller extent, theft and fraud, according to the study.

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Wisconsin Property Taxes: Doyle Plan vs. Republicans

Feb 10, ’05 6:57 AM

Patrick Marley, Steven Walters & Scott Williams on the two “freeze” (not really) proposals:

But the two proposals are difficult to compare because the approaches are so different, Berry said.

“From the perspective of local government, they would probably prefer Doyle; from the perspective of a fiscally strapped property owner, the Republican plan would probably be preferable,” Berry said.

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Broadcast Flag will Kill Superbowl Commercial Parties

Feb 10, ’05 12:00 AM

Hollywood takes away more fair use rights. Cory Doctorow:

Every year, EFF president Brad Templeton throws a special Superbowl party: they tivo the whole Superbowl, ignore the football, and watch the ads. This might be the last year that they get to do this, though: when the Broadcast Flag kicks in this summer, this kind of shenanigan will require hardware that’s illegal to make and sell:

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