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I came across Mr. Krukowski’s article via a post about it on The Candler Blog by Jonathan Poritsky. ↩
UPDATED: Google Acquires Wi-Fi Provider ICOA for $400 Million
UPDATED: Google Acquires Wi-Fi Provider ICOA for $400 Million
Updated: This is not true.
Angela Moscaritolo of PCMag.com reports:
In a statement, Google said it made the acquisition to “further diversify its already impressive portfolio of companies.” The Web giant did not elaborate about its motivation for the deal.
You don’t spent $400 million on something that isn’t strategically important to your business. I predict that Google WiFi will launch in 2013.
The Release Windows Archaism
Frédéric Filloux at Monday Note:
As for the TV shows such as Homeland and others hits, there is not justification whatsoever to preserve this calendar archaism. They should be made universally available from the day when they are aired on TV, period. Or customers will vote with their mouse anyway and find the right file-sharing sites.
I’ve been preaching this line for a while, but Mr. Filloux articulates, by far, the best argument I’ve heard.
USPTO director defends software patents
USPTO director defends software patents
Director of the United States Patent and Trademark Office David Kappos, quoted by Timothy B. Lee at Ars Technica:
In a system like ours in which innovation is happening faster than people can keep up, it cannot be said that the patent system is broken.
Of course, he’s wrong, but what else would he argue?
"The work my directorate does is under-funded and based upon a flawed patchwork of case and statutory law that frustrates our Constitutional mandate!"
Unlikely.
How to Opt out of PayPal's "Agreement to Arbitrate"
How to Opt out of PayPal’s “Agreement to Arbitrate”
It’s worth considering if you’re a PayPal user.
FBI examining HP/Autonomy accounting debacle
FBI examining HP/Autonomy accounting debacle
HP’s got ninety-nine problems, but a recently-acquired pattern recognition company with possibly-dishonest accounting practices ain’t…
…oh, nevermind.
US accused of launching cyberattack against French government
US accused of launching cyberattack against French government
We categorically deny these allegations from unnamed sources, published in L’Express, that the United States government has participated in a cyberattack against France. France is one of our best allies. Our cooperation is remarkable in the areas of intelligence, law enforcement, and cyberdefense. It has never been as strong and essential to our common fight against the threat of extremism.
L’Express is the French publication that first ran the accusations of US involvement in a cyber-espionage attack on the offices of former French President Nicolas Sarkozy (while he was still in office). They asked the US Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano why the US would do such a thing, and she reiterated her French visit’s mission to strengthen the long-standing alliance between the two nations.
I have no reason to doubt the Embassy’s (or Secretary Napolitano’s) sincerity, but it’s an interesting thought experiment to consider that the US Embassy in France, and even the Secretary of Homeland Security, may not be aware of any covert cyber espionage operations the US carries out in France.
H.P. Takes Huge Charge on 'Accounting Improprieties' at Autonomy
H.P. Takes Huge Charge on ‘Accounting Improprieties’ at Autonomy
Michael J. de la Merced and Quentin Hardy, for the Times’ DealBook:
The charge essentially wiped out its profit.
The headline should say “outright misrepresentations,” not “accounting improprieties,” because the former is far more serious than the latter, and both are true.
HP hired Deloitte to review Autonomy’s books during the acquisition’s due diligence phase. Then they hired KPMG to audit Deloitte’s audit of Autonomy. Only after a former Autonomy employee tipped them off did they hire PricewaterhouseCoopers, who discovered Autonomy sold hardware at a loss, despite calling itself a successful software-only company.
Whoops. And it gets worse.
Go read it for yourself. I can’t take any more of this crap.
MG Siegler finally gets a Surface, despite Microsoft's best efforts
MG Siegler finally gets a Surface, despite Microsoft’s best efforts
In hindsight, I now see why Microsoft did not want me to review the Surface. That was probably the right call from a PR perspective. It’s simply not a good product.
Mr. Siegler found the Surface very wanting, but this bit from his intro is the most damning part of his review.
Professor David Post on the Republican Study Committee's prematurely-released-then-removed copyright critique
David Post, writing at The Volokh Conspiracy:
The Report proposes a series of rather radical — in the Jeffersonian sense — reforms, from dramatically shortening the copyright term (a no-brainer, actually) to expanding fair use and limiting the damages from infringement claims.
The report’s recommendations don’t go quite as far as my suggestion that fair use should be assumed rather than merely an affirmative defense, but Professor Post is right to highlight the opportunity for the GOP to differentiate on this issue.
In fact, I’m not sure there is much in there with which I would disagree, excepting the over-the-top (and even italicized) final sentence of the report’s conclusion:
Current copyright law does not merely distort some markets – rather it destroys entire markets.
That’s wrong. The current US copyright regime limits access, hinders creativity, and dampens innovation, thereby frustrating copyright’s Constitutional purpose. That fact, and I do consider it a fact, must be the foundation of the copyright reform we need in this country.
$22.5M FTC fine against Google for Safari tracking
$22.5M FTC fine against Google for Safari tracking
Michael Liedtke, writing for Associated Press:
In the Safari case, Consumer Watchdog argued that the fine amounts to loose change for a company like Google, which generates about $22.5 million in revenue every four hours.
It’s a very good deal for Google, especially because they don’t need to admit liability. It’s a decent deal from the FTC’s perspective, as well, because it’s (sadly) the largest fine they’ve ever levied in this context. I’m not sure how effective it’s going to be, but if you’re unnerved by Google’s privacy issues, there’s always DuckDuckGo.
Xbox 720 leak: Blu-ray, Kinect 2.0, new controller
Xbox 720 leak: Blu-ray, Kinect 2.0, new controller
I don’t typically post rumors or leaks, but this stuff is exciting to me, so here it is, for whatever it’s worth to you.
Streaming music to listeners, but not money to artists
Streaming music to listeners, but not money to artists
Galaxie 500 drummer Damon Krukowski1, writing at Pitchfork:
Since we own our own recordings, by my calculation it would take songwriting royalties for roughly 312,000 plays on Pandora to earn us the profit of one— one— LP sale. (On Spotify, one LP is equivalent to 47,680 plays.)
I’m a happy user of Rdio, which is Spotify’s primary competitor. My fiancée and I pay $17.99 per month for Rdio’s unlimited streaming and downloading to our phones. At first glance, Mr. Krukowski’s article calls the morality of that set-up into question, particularly for someone who wishes he could make a living on his own music.
Some streaming subscribers probably buy more records than non-streamers as a result of discovering new musicians or getting so attached to a record that streaming it just isn’t enough. But Mr. Krukowski casts serious doubt on the idea that streaming can, in any way meaningful to artists, replace the CD/vinyl/iTunes mode of music distribution.
Philly is lost-phone central
This includes theft and just plain misplacement. I’m more of a dropper myself. Just ask my twice-cracked Galaxy Nexus.
I’m not proud, but disclosure will help shame me into being more careful.
Sprint buys spectrum and 585,000 customers from U.S. Cellular for $480m in cash
Sprint buys spectrum and 585,000 customers from U.S. Cellular for $480m in cash
Each subscriber Sprint buys from US Cellular in this deal will cost them $820.51.
EFF's pre-emptive prior art defense of 3D printing
EFF’s pre-emptive prior art defense of 3D printing
It’s a great idea, and I hope it yields some useful results.
Twitter and Two-Factor Authentication
Twitter and Two-Factor Authentication
Two-factor authentication is a pain in the ass. Just ask my Google account or my Dropbox account. But it’s a no-brainer. Savvy users will flock to it, seeing the value in the headache. Less-than-savvy users don’t need to be forced into it, but Twitter is as good a platform as any to explain to folks why it’s worth the additional steps to log in sometimes.
Judge blocks California’s new ban on anonymity for sex offender
Judge blocks California’s new ban on anonymity for sex offender
This one is worth watching. With regard to blogs and forums, particularly, there’s a strong analogy with letter-writing and other modes of communication with the “outside” that are typically allowed.
The plaintiffs, two registered California sex offenders, argue that prohibiting their anonymous speech online “even if it pertains to news, politics, and professional activity, and could not possibly be used to commit a crime” violates the First Amendment.
This looks similar to a case I wrote about in October, where a Nebraska federal court tossed a similar law in that state.
I don’t want sex offenders to have access to children online. But these measures do go too far. Maybe registered sex offenders should be required to access the internet via special software that, while it allows anonymity, prevents access to services and sites that reach children.
At the end of the day, the truth is that these laws apply to people who have otherwise served their time, who are “free” in the legal sense, and who no longer labor under the curtailed liberties of institutional imprisonment. That imprisonment is meant to punish them, but also to keep the public safe, to prevent them from moving through public crowds anonymously.
If we have released them from prison, allowing that physical anonymity once again, by what logic do we eliminate their digital anonymity?
I don’t have an answer, but I suspect the issue will reach the Supreme Court sooner rather than later.
The Oxford Guide to Treaties: An Opinio Juris Symposium
The Oxford Guide to Treaties: An Opinio Juris Symposium
If international law interests you at all, particularly the role treaties play, you should click the link above this sentence. Professor Duncan Hollis edited The Oxford Guide to Treaties and is an expert on the topic. I’m currently in his International Law course at Temple Law and his experience and expertise make it a must-take course for anyone considering Temple Law.
Conservatives lambast Romney, vow to take over Republican Party
Conservatives lambast Romney, vow to take over Republican Party
The Hill’s Erik Wasson, quoting Jenny Beth Martin of the Tea Party Patriots:
She described Romney as a “weak, moderate candidate hand-picked by the country club elite Republican establishment […] They didn’t see a clear distinction so they went with what they know,” she said of voters.
"Conservatives" is not an accurate descriptor of Tea Party sympathizers. "Extremists" and "fundamentalists" are better descriptors.
Actually, I think Romney’s farthest-right positions are the very ones that lost him this election. I keep hearing and reading about a growing movement among moderate Republicans (the original and, many would argue, “real” Conservatives) to take back their party.
If that narrative is accurate, and if that movement succeeds, the Republican party has a chance to put someone in the Oval Office in 2016. Those who would prefer a president with an (R) next to their name would do well to show the extremists and fundamentalists in their ranks the door.