I spoke briefly with Tim Michels, Republican candidate for US Senate at today’s bratfest. I asked Tim what his views were on the pending Induce act and similar hollywood backed anti-consumer legislation (the Induce Act would outlaw the iPod…).
Michels was not familiar with this legislation.
Rather than pushing the Patriot Act (not sure it’s working all that well, given this information), Michels would be better served to focus on issues that affect our economic future.
Mayor Dave Cieslewicz, Brats & City Wide Wireless Internet
Mayor Dave took my order today at the semiannual bratfest. I encouraged him to make city wide wireless internet (WiFi) happen. He said that they hope to have it in place by next summer.
I further encouraged him to make sure it was fully 2-way, not the poor upstream performance that the cable services offer. High speed 2-way access means that all users can publish text, audio and video (including VOIP), from anywhere in the city. The service should also be scalable so that we can take advantage of new, faster technologies (802.11g, for example) as they become available.
Email mayor Dave at: mayor at cityofmadison.com or call: (608) 266-4611
Telluride Film Festival
The Telluride Film Festival is underway. Scott Simon talks with Elvis Mitchell about this year’s event.
Telluride is well worth a visit.
Homeland (in) Security….
Crashing the party was surprisingly easy, activists say
Convention floor passes snagged from friends of friends of friends
A must read as we consider the billions spent on security….
Tokyo: Tsukiji Fish Market VR Scene
Ian Orgias shares an interesting Tokyo VR Scene [Quicktime VR]
Bill Clinton’s Bypass & Good Drugs
Dave Winer recalls his own bypass surgery as former President Bill Clinton faces the same procedure.
Thank heaven for good drugs.
Bill Clinton called into the special Larry King roundup on his bypass surgery. He sounded great. Of course I projected my own experience onto his. I sounded great too, at that point in the process. They’re pumping relaxing drugs into your system. I don’t think you could feel anxious, no matter what. Good drugs.
About half a million Americans undergo coronary bypass surgery each year. Vice President Dick Cheney has had the surgery. It’s a low risk procedure, with as little as 1 to 2 percent mortality and chances for full recovery. It is done urgently sometimes, as in the case of former President Clinton, when blockages are found.
Reporting from the Edge
Lara Logan demonstrates the risks of a true journalist: reporting with special forces in Afghanistan on the killing of the Taliban’s “Billy the Kid”.
Interesting interview.
Invention, Refinement and Making Money
The popular Honda Odyssey is often seen at Madison area soccer, swimming, football, basketball and academic events, among others. Honda has introduced a new version for 2005. There’s an interesting fuel saving feature in the new Honda: cylinder “deactiviation”.
The fuel-saving feature automatically switches between 6-cylinder and 3-cylinder combustion, depending on driving conditions.
Interestingly, and typically, this is not a new idea.
General Motors actually pioneered the volume production (there were earlier concepts) of turning off cylinders to save fuel with their variable displacement V8-6-4 engine, available in 1981. Evidently, reliability problems doomed this effort.
Now comes Honda, and others with the same useful concept. They will likely make it work and make money (I imagine that today’s much more advanced computers and software play a big role in the success of these efforts).
Wilde Honda, Rock County Honda and Zimbrick Honda sell them.
Health Care & Windows Risks
I recently observed a health care diagnostic system (made by Milwaukee based GE/Marquette electronics) that used Microsoft’s Windows software. While the system collected data, somehow, another network user took over the screen (!), likely via a terminal sharing tool (PC Anywhere or similar). I wonder what the virus/work risks are?
It sure seems like firms have put a very large tool – windows – into places that it may not make sense, such as atm’s, cash registers and medical devices among many others.
Network world has been looking into this.
Piracy and Kool Aid
Ed Treleven unfortunately passes along some Hollywood Kool Aid regarding file sharing in this article.
I don’t see any mention of our “fair use” rights in Treleven’s article. It’s clearly not right to copy thousands of copyright protected music files (read Janis Ian’s take and Courtney Love Does the Math for a counter argument), however, file sharing has many legitimate uses, significantly reducing the distribution costs of public domain and permissively shared art and speech, as well as reducing the centralized control of that distribution,” Judge Sidney R. Thomas in the recent Grokster case.
What’s next, no photos at the National Constitution Center due to “copyright”?
Actually, it’s worse than that. Democratic Senator Pat Leahy and Republic Orrin Hatch are carrying water for Hollywood by pushing the Induce Act.
Copyright Act (S.2560, Induce Act) would make it a crime to aid, abet, or induce copyright infringement. He want us all to think that the Induce Act is no big deal and that it only targets “the bad guys” while leaving “the good guys” alone. He says that it doesn’t change the law; it just clarifies it.
He’s wrong.
Right now, under the Supreme Court’s ruling in Sony v. Universal (the Betamax VCR case), devices like the iPod and CD burners are 100% legal — not because they aren’t sometimes used for infringement, but because they also have legitimate uses. The Court in Sony called these “substantial non-infringing uses.” This has been the rule in the technology sector for the last 20 years. Billions of dollars and thousands of jobs have depended on it. Industries have blossomed under it. But the Induce Act would end that era of innovation. Don’t let this happen on your watch – tell your Senators to fight the Induce Act!
Senator Herb Kohl sits on the Judiciary Committee, which held hearings on the Induce Act July 22, 2002.
I’ve not seen Kohl take a position on this, so I emailed his office on August 3 and received a reply on 8/30/2004. Contact Senator Kohl and tell him to vote against this Hollywood give away.