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Technorati Profile

 

Online Carpooling Service Fined In Canada

Nov 14th, 2008 · TechDirt is reporting on a disappointing development out of Canada. An Ontario transportation board has fined PickupPal, a Web-based service for arranging carpools, because a local bus company complained of the competition. (TechCrunch apparently first …
see also: Municipal · service · Online · regulator · world · consumer · company

Positive Rights News From Europe

Sep 26th, 2008 · Various readers are sending in good news from Europe on the rights front. First, at the EU level, Mark.J brings word that the European Parliament has canned a number of controversial amendments to its updated Telecoms Package, which could have resulted …
see also: IP · P2P · intelligent · Europe · EU · Music · nation

Positive Rights News From Europe

Sep 26th, 2008 · Various readers are sending in good news from Europe on the rights front. First, at the EU level, Mark.J brings word that the European Parliament has canned a number of controversial amendments to its updated Telecoms Package, which could have resulted …
see also: IP · P2P · intelligent · Europe · EU · Music · nation

Comcast's Throttling Plan Has 'Disconnect User' Option

Sep 22nd, 2008 · Comcast's new people, not protocols scheme may mean high speed for some, but by no means all. It's also created a draconian 'disconnect' option for use against anyone who fails to toe the Comcast line. But, says Robb Topolski, the Net protocol expert …
see also: P2P · corporate · customers · protocol · Expert · draconian · Comcast

Comcast's Throttling Plan Has 'Disconnect User' Option

Sep 21st, 2008 · Comcast's new people, not protocols scheme may mean high speed for some, but by no means all. It's also created a draconian 'disconnect' option for use against anyone who fails to toe the Comcast line. But, says Robb Topolski, the Net protocol expert …
see also: P2P · corporate · customers · protocol · Expert · draconian · Comcast

FISA and Border Searches of Laptops

Aug 5th, 2008 · With the recent attention to the DHS's draconian policy on laptop searches at borders, a blog post by Steven Bellovin from last month is worth wider discussion. Bellovin extrapolates from the DHS border policy on physical electronic devices and asks why …
see also: protection · blog · electronics · laptop · DHS · Policy · Constitutional

Massive Increase in RIAA Copyright Notices

May 2nd, 2008 · According to Wired, universities in the US are experiencing a "20-fold increase" in the number of takedown notices from the RIAA in the last ten days. Indiana University reports 80 notices a day, but they say their traffic hasn't increased significantly …
see also: office · Internet · industry · Public · Tech · copyrighted · Traffic

WGA Under Vista SP1 Is Kinder and Nags More

Feb 10th, 2008 · DaMan writes in with a ZDNet blog entry on Windows Genuine Advantage under Vista SP1. It seems that the draconian features present in Vista RTM have been replaced by nag screens and annoyances such as repeatedly changing the desktop background to black. …
see also: ZDNet · blog · desktop · Vista · background · Replacements · draconian

How Best Buy Tried To Whip The Geek Squad Into Shape

Nov 30th, 2007 · The Consumerist site is featuring a follow-up to their Geek Squad porn collectors story, a feature we discussed back in July. According to Consumerist, Best Buy set up their own rigorous internal investigation to catch the culprits soon after these revelations …
see also: Windows · CD · company · Public · copyrighted · illegal · copies

Admins Accuse Microsoft of Hotmail Cap

Oct 10th, 2007 · The Register is fielding reader tips that Hotmail has placed Draconian limits on the number of Hotmail recipients who can receive an email. The first 10 Hotmail addresses included in a mass email go through just fine, according to these reports. But any …
see also: Microsoft · restrictions · register · violations · RFC · admin · commands

German Police Arrest Admin of Tor Anonymity Server

Sep 16th, 2007 · In a recent blog posting, a German operator of a Tor anonymous proxy server revealed that he was arrested by German police officers at the end of July. Showing up at his house at midnight on a Sunday night, police cuffed and arrested him in front of his …
see also: servers · network · blog · laws · office · research · Traffic

Colleges Wrestle With Thumb Drives

Aug 18th, 2007 · IT managers at colleges and universities are grappling with the problem of finding ways to better secure removable storage media in an environment that encourages information sharing. Draconian security mandates 'may be common in the corporate world, …
see also: service · world · corporate · media · Traffic · environment · Storage

Two US States Restrict Used CD Sales

May 7th, 2007 · DrBenway sends us to Ars Technica for a report that Florida and Utah have placed draconian restrictions on the sale of used music CDs; Wisconsin and Rhode Island may soon follow suit. In Florida, stores have to hold on to CDs for 30 days before they can …
see also: Music · business · CD · restrictions · customers · Florida · copies

NBC Believes They Own Political Discourse

Apr 28th, 2007 · MSNBC has established draconian rules regarding the use of the Presidential Primary Debates on the internet. Some examples: '5. No excerpts may be aired after 8:30 pm on Saturday, May 26th. Excerpts may not be archived. Any further use of excerpts is …
see also: NBC · Internet · Archives · political · satellite · MSNBC · candidate

Vista DRM Cracked by Security Researcher

Jan 29th, 2007 · Security researcher Alex Ionescu claims to have successfully bypassed the much discussed DRM protection in Windows Vista, called 'Protected Media Path' (PMP), which is designed to seriously degrade the playback quality of any video and audio running on …
see also: Hardware · video · DRM · protection · Microsoft · laws · audio

Australia Backs Down on Draconian Copyright Laws

Dec 5th, 2006 · The widely-publicized reforms to Australian copyright — which would turn iPod, camera phone and DVD recorder owners into criminals — have been significantly amended. The amendment bill was passed this past Friday, after the changes were put …
see also: TV · governance · parties · Music · laws · consumer · technology

Draconian Anti-Piracy Law Looms Over Australia

Nov 19th, 2006 · ccozan writes to tell us of a law being rushed through the Australian legislature that would criminalize great swaths of the citizenry. The Internet Industry Association of Australia is posting warning scenarios spelling out how far-reaching this law …
see also: video · laws · Public · piracy · infringements · entertainment · songs

Circuit City Ripping DVDs for Users

Aug 4th, 2006 · Circuit City is offering a DVD transfer service that's sure to enrage the MPAA. For $10 for 1 DVD or $30 for 5, Circuit City will violate the DMCA and rip commercial DVDs for users to put on their mobile players. From the article: 'This should be a viable …
see also: MPAA · software · service · Commercial · consumer · digital · player

Dental School Blogger Punishment Reduced

Jan 6th, 2006 · When a Marquette University Dental School student blogger made some nasty comments about an (unnamed) professor and (unnamed) classmates on his personal blog, the Dental School administration imposed a draconian punishment on him. He was to be suspended …
see also: service · blog · students · blogger · community · personal · University

Card's Intergalactic Medicine Show

Oct 17th, 2005 · Orson Scott Card's Intergalactic Medicine Show, a science fiction / fantasy webzine, went online just yesterday. Card, the editor-in-chief, has stayed true to his ideals: quality stories, author's rights, and trust in people's honesty. New stories are …
see also: Online · business · Science · fiction · rights · copyrighted · artist







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