Link
- This is only the first in an ongoing series, with three other parts as of the moment I published this post.
- You can buy the contract from Peter Jackson’s film adaptation of The Hobbit on Amazon.
- James Daily, who wrote the post to which I link above, bought that prop contract from Amazon and used it in the creation of the article series.
Confessions of a Liberal Gun Owner
Confessions of a Liberal Gun Owner
Novelist Justin Cronin presents a very well-written and reasonable take on why knee-jerk reactions on either side of the gun debate are misinformed and unrealistic:
[…] in the weeks since Newtown, I’ve watched my Facebook feed, which is dominated by my coastal friends, fill up with anti-gun dispatches that seemed divorced from reality. I agree it would be nice if the world had exactly zero guns in it. But I don’t see that happening, and calling gun owners “a bunch of inbred rednecks” doesn’t do much to advance rational discussion.
At Google, Constitution trumps statute
At Google, Constitution trumps statute
David Kravets quotes a Googler:
“Google requires an ECPA search warrant for contents of Gmail and other services based on the Fourth Amendment to the Constitution, which prevents unreasonable search and seizure,” Chris Gaither, a Google spokesman, said.
The Electronic Communications Privacy Act isn’t always as demanding as Google, and their assertion that the policy is based on Constitutional requirements implies that the ECPA does not comport with the same requirements. That’s a bold legal position to take, but as Mr. Kravets explains at Wired, Google isn’t necessarily alone.
Veganism as religious belief
I must admit that I never thought about it in that light, but I’d love to read the plaintiff’s essay.
The 128 GB iPad is official...
…but I’m not interested.
Peter Cohen of The Loop shared this earlier today, but I wonder why he didn’t offer any of his own thoughts on it. Here’s why I’m not interested:
Part of the iPad’s appeal to me is that it isn’t another crufty “filing cabinet.” I rather like that it is exactly what it appears to be: a big, beautiful window into the cloud. Everything I need is in Dropbox or Rdio or Google or Evernote, and when I make something, whether or not I’m connected to the internet, there’s always a way to save it for later synchronization. I also find that limited space makes me more discerning when it comes to installing apps, or choosing what music will sync to the device.
I understand some people lust after the one-terabyte tablet. I will never be one of those people.
'Escape from Tomorrow', filmed in Disney World without permission, debuts at Sundance
‘Escape from Tomorrow’, filmed in Disney World without permission, debuts at Sundance
Steven Zeitchik of the LA Times:
To make the movie, [Randy] Moore wouldn’t print out script pages or shot sequences for the 25 days he was filming on Disney turf, instead keeping all the info on iPhones. This way, when actors and crew were looking down between takes, passersby just thought they were glancing at their messages.
The films plot, such as it is, sounds as intriguing as its method of creation.
If it does get a distribution deal, Disney will most likely brings its formidable legal resources to bear upon it, and they’ll most likely succeed.
But I predict that the company will trigger a Streisand effect, perhaps as much to the filmmaker’s detriment as anyone else’s (to the extent that he hopes to recoup his investment), that will drive people to seek out and, in the era of digital file sharing, inevitably find the film.
Non-interfering citizens should be able to videotape on-duty police
Non-interfering citizens should be able to videotape on-duty police
If someone is videotaping a police incident, but not interfering therewith, there is no lawful justification for police interference. I’m not always in agreement with the ACLU, but this harassment must end. A nation where state surveillance is only increasing must be open to the right of citizens to turn the lens in the other direction.
Panetta Ties Delay of Aid in Mali to Legal Questions
Panetta Ties Delay of Aid in Mali to Legal Questions
As I learned in that international law class I took last semester (for which, in case you were wondering, I earned a very respectable grade), there are Administration lawyers working feverishly behind every such move to ensure that we’re complying with international law, or that we have defensible reasons why we are not so compliant.
Shawn Blanc explores Simplenote alternatives
Shawn Blanc explores Simplenote alternatives
The Simplenote/nvALT sync issues recently scared me away from Simplenote sync. I use Byword on the Mac and iPad, and Epistle on Android to sync notes with my Dropbox account. PlainText is also very good for this. I haven’t had any problems since going Dropbox-only.
If you’re a plaintext geek, read Mr. Blanc’s post to get a good overview of options from someone who knows the subject very well.
Designer Eats Engineer
It’s getting easier for designers to become engineers. That’s a good thing, but it should be even easier. Design should be the hard part.
This is a great post, and something I think about often. I can read and write a lot of HTML and CSS, and can read some JavaScript. I don’t know anything about design, but I’m confident in my ability to avoid ugly mistakes by putting as much consideration into what I don’t include as I do into what I do include.
As an aside, Medium is a beautiful site with consistently solid content by thoughtful and articulate people.
The Verge picks the best reads of 2012
The Verge picks the best reads of 2012
This is a great list, and includes only a few that missed, which probably means I read too much about tech. But what I particularly like about it is that most of the stories would appeal in one way or another to even to “normals”who don’t obsessively follow the technology industry.
More House of Representatives data available in XML
More House of Representatives data available in XML
O’Reilly's Alex Howard reports that both House floor summaries and bulk downloads of all House legislation are now available in XML. It doesn't mean everything Congress does is available yet, but it’s a great progression.
I really hope some enterprising developers make something cool with the newly-available data streams, and future offerings as well. I propose an app that provides push notifications when keywords of your choice are mentioned on the House floor.
Larry Lessig on the suicide of Aaron Swartz
Larry Lessig on the suicide of Aaron Swartz
It’s a tragedy, as suicide always is, but Mr. Lessig asks important questions about one of the undoubtedly myriad experiences that led Mr. Swartz to his final act. The internet can express our condolences, but only Aaron’s family and friends can truly comfort one another, and I sincerely hope they find that solace.
TechCrunch's John Biggs on how to cover the Consumer Electronics Show
TechCrunch’s John Biggs on how to cover the Consumer Electronics Show
John Biggs, in a great post at TechCrunch about how they approached their CES 2013 coverage:
But when you take a step back and look at CES from an innovation standpoint, and with the expectation that the big money here makes the most noise but the small guys here make the most sense, then you’ve got a different show. There’s some really cool stuff here. We tried to celebrate that.
Go give it a read.
Lions Gate abusing DMCA and ignoring fair use doctrine
Lions Gate abusing DMCA and ignoring fair use doctrine
You’ve got to click through and read this Techdirt article by Jonathan McIntosh of Rebellious Pixels.
Also consider reading my article "The Pinterest (Er, Tumblr) Problem, Fair Use, and a Suggestion for Change". I argue that fair use, which is an affirmative defense asserted only after infringement has essentially been admitted to, should instead be an affirmative right requiring dispute by the rightsholder.
UPenn criminologist Richard Berk's recidivism-prediction algorithm
UPenn criminologist Richard Berk’s recidivism-prediction algorithm
Wired's Kim Zetter:
To create the software, researchers assembled a dataset of more than 60,000 crimes, including homicides, then wrote an algorithm to find the people behind the crimes who were more likely to commit murder when paroled or put on probation. Berk claims the software could identify eight future murderers out of 100.
It’s a fascinating concept, but read the article to find out why it may have some critics.
Law and the Multiverse analyzes 'The Hobbit' Contract
Law and the Multiverse analyzes ‘The Hobbit’ Contract
I love several things about this:
Wonderfully fun stuff!
US suspects Iran behind DDoS attacks on banks
US suspects Iran behind DDoS attacks on banks
These look a lot like “feeler” operations, meant to gauge the reaction attackers can expect from victim institutions and nations. The United States (read: Congress) must act immediately to ensure that we’re ready when attackers stop slowing down or blocking bank websites and start trying to steal customer data en masse.
Lawyers on Quora
Former Facebook CTO and Quora co-founder Adam D’Angelo, talking to Om Malik at GigaOM:
The real reward is in the response to your answer and the fact that millions can read it. You already see more people giving and sharing knowledge for free. Lawyers and other professionals are using Quora to build their reputation and build their bonafides.
I haven’t seen many lawyers on Quora yet, but I’ll start looking for them to see exactly what D’Angelo means . I wonder if some use cases implicate ethics rules.