I’ve already written about what a bad idea trusted traveler programs are. The basic security intuition is that when you create two paths through security — an easy path and a hard path — you invite the bad guys to take the easy path. So the security of the sort process must make up for the security lost in the sorting. Trusted traveler fails this test; there are so many ways for the terrorists to get trusted traveler cards that the system makes it too easy for them to avoid the hard path through security.
Miller on DRM Lock-in
Ernest Miller on Apple & Microsoft DRM (Digital Restrictions Management) Lock-in:
Look at it from Microsoft’s point of view. Every song you purchase from iTunes with Apple’s proprietary, DMCA-protected DRM is one more bit of lock-in to Apple. When you’ve got a hundred or two hundred or more of your favorite (let’s face it, you buy your favorites first) songs in iTunes format, you’ve got some significant lock-in in the form of very high switching costs. Just the way Steve Jobs likes it.
And that lock-in is growing at a rate of millions of songs every month.
Very useful post, Ernie!
More on GM Janesville
Brian Bull on GM Janesville’s prospects in light of recent statements by CEO Rick Wagner that additional plants would be closed.
The Tax Mess: Sticking It To Us. Presidio Fires Back
Lynnley Browning sort of misses the point of Presidio’s lawsuit against the US Government. Browning focuses on the personalities, rather than the larger constitutional question.
Presidio’s suit is an attempt to test how the tax code’s ambiguities and complexity stand up in a federal court.
It’s easy to find zero sympathy for the wealthy, however, recent tax law changes, including large corporate giveaways supported by our “populist” US Senators Russ Feingold and Herb Kohl demonstrate the problems (and opportunities) that our tax law spaghetti creates.
Growing tax code complexity simply means more opportunities for the wealthy and growing hassle for the rest of us….. Disclosure: One of Presidio’s principals is a good friend of mine.
UPDATE: Andrew Ross Sorkin takes an interesting look at a Wall Street case that NY Attorney General Eliot Spitzer lost. Sorkin digs up quite a quote from a juror:
The jury was split 11 to 1 – with all but one juror prepared to acquit Mr. Sihpol of all charges. The lone juror told reporters that she was convinced of Mr. Sihpol’s guilt because she just could not believe the government would bring a case if there wasn’t something to it.
Having said all that, if Presidio did break the law, then they will deal with the consequences. It’s difficult for me, a laymen, to understand all the nuances of our tax system. Time to start over, I think.
Feingold Introduces a Bill That Requires Data Mining Notification
US Senators Russ Feingold and John Sununu introduced a bill requiring federal agencies to report to Congress on data-mining programs they are developing or using. Ironic, given that our Senator Feingold voted for the National ID Act which will create a juicy data mining target….
KCRW’s Excellent Internet Radio Service
Santa Monica based KCRW continues to do great things with internet music. Listening to Broadband today, I heard some great music and emailed the host, Debbie Adler to discover who she was playing. Within minutes she emailed back a few names and pointed me to this Rachel Yamagata Live, in studio performance. Watch the video here.
Silicon Valley Solar Startup VC Funding
Energy startups are certainly an area worth watching. I hope we have some more activity here. Dan Gillmor points to Matt Marshall’s take on Nanosolar ($20M round) and Miasole ($16M round).
Baby Name Wizard – “The Ultimate Field Guide to Names”
Explore the sea of names, letter by letter…watch trends rise and fall, and dive in deeper to see your favorite name’s place in the historical tides.
Concept Maps
A research institute here is taking software designed in part to preserve scientists’ knowledge and giving it to schools around the world as a tool to help children learn.
The software was designed to literally map out what scientists know in diagram form. The Florida Institute for Human and Machine Cognition is providing the concept mapping software to individual schools as well as training teachers in Panama, the first country adopting Cmaps nationwide.
Does the Harvard Brand Matter Anymore?
UW Madison & Harvard Grad Thomas P.M. Barnett discusses the value of Harvard and mentions that the UW now has more Fortune 500 CEO’s than Harvard (I’m not sure if that’s good or bad).