Links

Nov 9, 2012 ∞

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.

Nov 8, 2012 ∞

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.

Nov 8, 2012 ∞

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.

Nov 8, 2012 ∞

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.

Nov 8, 2012 ∞

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.

Nov 8, 2012 ∞

"Parallel Thinking in Product Design Will Only Increase"

“Parallel Thinking in Product Design Will Only Increase”

Rain Noe at core77:

When you have an uncomplicated design that’s boiled down to its pure essentials, you approach a kind of universal perfection, and that universality is the tricky part in a world filled with designers.

This is a great point.

Nov 7, 2012 ∞

Marriage rights tide turns decisively against US bigots

I hope this is the beginning of an acceleration in the death of “traditional” marriage in the United States of America. Fear, ignorance, and religion are all equally insufficient and shameful excuses to deny universal marriage rights for one more moment.

Nov 7, 2012 ∞

IMAlive provides online counseling—but at what cost?

Aja Romano of The Daily Dot:

IMAlive sounds perfect for introverts and those who are more comfortable writing than speaking. And anyone can volunteer to be a counselor, as long as they pass the background check. But there’s a hitch. Potential volunteers have to pay the organization $280 up front—before they even have their first IM session.

There is much in Romano’s article that I didn’t know. It’s worth reading if this issue is important to you, and worth paying strong heed to if you’re considering any association with the organizations it discusses.

Nov 7, 2012 ∞

Pandora suing ASCAP for lower licensing fees

Don Jeffrey of Bloomberg:

Pandora also claims that it’s entitled to lower rates because some large music publishers have announced they are withdrawing new media rights from Ascap and negotiating licensing fees directly with Web radio services.

The times, they are a-changin’.

Nov 5, 2012 ∞

When 32GB is really 16GB...

When 32GB is really 16GB…

Microsoft is taking heat for claiming more user-available disk space on its new ARM-based Windows 8-powered Surface tablet than is really there.

But I’ve been thinking about this for a long time. Most companies are lying in their commercials, product pages, and press releases when it comes to how much disk space their gadgets offer users. This isn’t as big a deal for the kind of person who reads Alex Wilhelm at The Next Web. But for my parents, looking to buy a tablet, it is a non-trivial deception.

The deception actually works against the companies that use it: I suggest that many people may consider the larger model if the true size of the smaller model were more apparent.

Nov 2, 2012 ∞

A Map Of America’s 284 Drone Strikes Against Pakistan

Cliff Kuang of Co.Design:

Whatever your stance on drone killings, the fact remains that there’s been very little national dialogue on the topic. Indeed, some would say that’s a direct result of the main problem with the policy: Its complete lack of transparency.

Mr. Kuang points to the New York Times piece from this past June. It’s a good place to start, and taken along with this the infographic, starts to bring the severity of the issue into focus.

Perhaps reasonable people will come to different conclusions, but if you don’t at least have an opinion on this, get one.

Nov 2, 2012 ∞

Nearly all of Omni Magazine at the Internet Archive

Adi Robertson shared this at The Verge and it made me very happy. I loved this magazine.

Nov 2, 2012 ∞

Over 50% of Android phones still run Gingerbread

The greatest argument against Android is that the “Android” I am talking about when I describe the experience on my Galaxy Nexus is still very foreign to a majority of Android users.

Nov 1, 2012 ∞

Google integrating AMBER alerts

Richard Dunlop-Walters’ The Brief is a must-read for those interested in news about how technology affects our lives every day.

Mr. Dunlop-Walters said of Google’s AMBER Alert integration:

whenever you perform a Google search related to an area where a child has been abducted and an alert was issued you’ll see an AMBER Alert on the results page.

This is a great example of how a company can make money and help society, and do both using its core technology (in this case, search targeting). The best part? Google is working on expanding the integration internationally in cooperation with foreign missing children’s advocates.

Nov 1, 2012 ∞

Professor David Post: Copyright is meant to benefit the public

Professor Post, writing at The Volokh Conspiracy about the brief he helped write in the Aereo case:

copyright law does not exist for the benefit of authors; it uses the benefit granted to authors because that is a means to increase the creation and the availability of creative works to the public.

It’s important to note that this is not the Professor’s opinion, it is derived from the Constitution and the ways in which the Supreme Court has interpreted the Constitution (particularly Article I, § 8, clause 8).

The issue in this case is whether it is violative of copyright law for a company, Aereo, to essentially rent small digital television antennae to its customers that enable those customers to stream broadcast channels over the internet. Professor Post and his co-authors on the brief argue that it is not:

the court’s role in construing the statute is not to produce maximum authorial reward, but maximum public benefit. Where that means (as it often does) that it is the copyright owners who must persuade Congress to address the matter and adjust the balance so that it tips more in their favor, they are entitled and well-equipped to do that, as they have done so often in the past.

Read the amicus brief here.

Oct 31, 2012 ∞

Disney buys Lucasfilm for $4.05 billion

Kathleen Kennedy, current Co-Chairman of Lucasfilm, will become President of Lucasfilm, reporting to Walt Disney Studios Chairman Alan Horn. Additionally she will serve as the brand manager for Star Wars, working directly with Disney’s global lines of business to build, further integrate, and maximize the value of this global franchise. Ms. Kennedy will serve as executive producer on new Star Wars feature films, with George Lucas serving as creative consultant. Star Wars Episode 7 is targeted for release in 2015, with more feature films expected to continue the Star Wars saga and grow the franchise well into the future.

I wasn’t a fan of Episodes I, II, or III, and this deal doesn’t increase my hope for some sort of redemption in future Star Wars films. I predict this will lead to a slow, painful death of the franchise in the eyes of geeks and comic store-guys who may have still held out that same hope.

I hope I’m wrong.

Oct 27, 2012 ∞

Marco Arment goes to a Microsoft store

The link above and what it describes are far more damning than any of Microsoft’s shitty advertising and messaging.

Oct 26, 2012 ∞

Samsung shipped a stunning 57M smartphones in Q3 — twice as many as Apple

How many Samsung devices are on the latest version of their respective operating systems?

Many consumers don’t know or care that they’re buying an outdated version of Android, but that ignorance will not last forever. Samsung needs to solve the fragmentation problem if they expect this kind of success to be long-term.

Oct 25, 2012 ∞

More interactive Tweets, in more than 2000 ways

What ever happened to seeing a link and clicking on it? I don’t want garish, heavy embedded crap all over Twitter. But alas, it’s not my company or design to screw up, so I’ll stop whining (but not sulking).

Oct 25, 2012 ∞

Supreme Court Will Address Antitrust State Action Exemption

Steve Semeraro at the Antitrust & Competition Policy Blog:

Government actors are charged with a duty to act in the public interest and thus can generally be trusted to restrain trade only when the public will benefit. Private actors, by contrast, are driven by the desire to maximize profit and will thus restrain trade when it is privately beneficial but harms the public interest. On 26 November, the Supreme Court will reenter the fray, hearing oral argument in FTC v. Phoebe Putney Health System.

This is an interesting part of antitrust law: the exemption from antitrust liability for state actors and, in very limited circumstances, private actors acting under the supervision of the state. These issues are more relevant than you may think if you’re not a law student/lawyer/professor/large-scale businessperson.

Consider my recent Amazon prediction, or the reach of international competition law.

Find more information about FTC v. Phoebe Putney Health System at SCOTUSblog, or read the 11th Circuit’s opinion at Google Scholar.