The Latest from Boing Boing

Tim Wu to chair Free Press media reform org Posted: 09 Jun 2008 05:42 AM CDT Tim Wu sez, I just took over as the chair of Free Press, a non-profit that is the largest media reform group in the U.S. -- we just finished the bi-annual conference for Media Reform. Why should Free Press's work matter for Boing Boing readers? The fact is that while media and tech issues have sort of have been thought of separately, they are coming together. People in the media reform movement care about things like growing media consolidation, the many failures of journalism (particularly over the last 8 years) and the general trend of news being turned into entertainment. But here's the trick: as the internet takes over everything (or just about) suddenly all of these problems of media policy are only answerable in a discussion about the internet. That's why the challenge, for me, as chair of Free Press is to try and make sure that the power of the media reform movement gets translated into the internet age. What does this mean in practice? Defending the media's role in the internet age, in my view, begins with defending the ability of bloggers and other small scale critics and journalists to be heard through an open and neutral internet. It almost goes without saying that the media, in the U.S. or anywhere, is the first line check on abuses of public and private power. But figuring out exactly how that's going to work as the mainstream media undergoes a total industry reboot is the big question for the next decade. You'll remember Tim from such Boing Boing posts as: Tim Wu profile in Business Week, Tim Wu to edit Lessig blog, Why wireless carriers should be forced into neutrality, Keep Your Copyrights: helping creators beat abusive contracts, AT&T's Retarded Plan to Filter the Internet, Fair use for the 21st century: if it adds value, it's fair; if it substitutes, it's not, Copyright's Authorship Policy: how to make an art-neutral copyright, Searchable index of Judge Posner's decisions - law for the people, Why JK Rowling will lose her suit against The Harry Potter Lexicon, Which laws don't we enforce and why?, Unlocking an iPhone is legal, Opening up the American lawbooks, A simple prescription for keeping Google's records out of government hand, Network neutrality - why it matters, and how do we fix it?, Google Print -- great debate on Farber's list and Understanding broadband regulation Link (Thanks Tim!)

Speaking in Cambridge, UK on July 22 Posted: 08 Jun 2008 02:58 AM CDT On July 22, I'm coming to Cambridge, UK to give a talk called "Life in the Information Economy" as part of the Cambridge Business Lecture series. It's a free event, but there's limited space, so RSVP now! We made a bet, some decades ago, that the information economy would be based on buying and selling (and hence restricting copying of) information. We were totally, 100 percent wrong, and now the world's in turmoil because of it. What does a copy-native economy look like? How do everyone from barbers to musicians become richer, more fulfilled and more civilly engaged in a real information society. And what do we do about the fact that a couple of dinosauric entertainment companies are determined to screw it up? Link

New Sedaris audiobook is a DRM-free download Posted: 09 Jun 2008 02:26 AM CDT Brian sez, "The new David Sedaris audiobook, When You Are Engulfed In Flames, is available DRM-free from Zipidee (whence I got Little Brother in audio form). Yay!" I love Sedaris's audio stuff -- he's such a great reader, it really brings the work to life. Plus: DRM-free audio! Link (Thanks, Brian!)

Hoarding gas is an explosively bad idea Posted: 09 Jun 2008 02:24 AM CDT High gas prices --> hoarding --> BOOM! A husband and wife living in a second-floor unit at the North Dartmouth apartment complex off Faunce Corner Road kept an estimated 45 gallons in nine plastic jugs, Dartmouth's District 3 Fire Chief Richard Arruda said. The jugs were covered by cloth rags and stacked in a hallway closet that housed the air conditioning system, Chief Arruda said. An investigation suggested they were hoarding the gas in response to skyrocketing prices, according to Ms. Mieth and Chief Arruda. Link (via Consumerist)

UK govt's "What to do about fraud" page "withheld because of exemptions in the Freedom of Information Act" Posted: 09 Jun 2008 02:21 AM CDT The HM Revenue and Customs (UK) web-page for "What to do if you suspect or discover fraud" with National Insurance Numbers consists of the phrase "(This text has been withheld because of exemptions in the Freedom of Information Act 2000)" repeated over and over again, including indented bullets, new paragraphs, etc. You know the Orwell Was Right stickers? Someone needs to make one that reproduces this webpage under the legend, "Orwell was an optimist." NIM39140 - National Insurance Numbers (NINOs): Format and Security: What to do if you suspect or discover fraud (This text has been withheld because of exemptions in the Freedom of Information Act 2000) (This text has been withheld because of exemptions in the Freedom of Information Act 2000) (This text has been withheld because of exemptions in the Freedom of Information Act 2000) (This text has been withheld because of exemptions in the Freedom of Information Act 2000) * (This text has been withheld because of exemptions in the Freedom of Information Act 2000) * (This text has been withheld because of exemptions in the Freedom of Information Act 2000) lINK (Thanks,

Phone-in William Gibson interview Tues, 10-11AM Pacific Posted: 09 Jun 2008 02:15 AM CDT NPR's Rick Kleffel sez, "WIth Lyle Troxell and Sean Cleveland of Geekspeak, I'll be interviewing William GIbson live in the studio and taking your calls on Tuesday, June 10, from 10-11 AM. You can hear us on NPR affiliate KUSP 88.9 FM in central California or live on the web at kusp.org/live. I'll take email questions, and podcast the show the following day. On Monday, the podcast is an interview with Karen Joy Fowler; Tuesday, it's Chuck Palahniuk." Link (Thanks, Rick!)

Virgin Media UK working with record industry to spy on and threaten downloaders Posted: 09 Jun 2008 02:13 AM CDT Virgin Media -- the UK's largest cable-modem provider -- has decided that it will spy on its users to protect the record industry. It is sending out letters to thousands of customers warning them that infringement has been detected on their network connections (Virgin customers who leave their WiFi open -- as I did, when I had their cable-modem service -- will be collateral damage in this fight). Virgin is under no obligation to do this. The law is clear that they bear no liability for downloading on their network, nor do they have any duty to spy on users or send out warnings. This is entirely off their own bat, and will come straight out of the company's bottom line. Of course, the British record industry is ecstatic and sees this as the first step in getting a law passed that will require every ISP to spy on every Internet user in the country and cut off infringers. The campaign is a joint venture between Virgin Media and the British Phonographic Industry (BPI), which represents the major record labels. The BPI ultimately wants internet companies to implement a "three strikes and out" rule to warn and ultimately disconnect the estimated 6.5 million customers whose accounts are used for regular criminal activity. Oh sure -- you download a couple-three songs and we'll come along and cut off the one wire that delivers freedom of speech, freedom of the press and freedom of assembly. Real proportional. Link (Thanks, David!)

Earth from Mars -- photo Posted: 09 Jun 2008 02:06 AM CDT Robbo sez, "Stunning photos of the Earth and the Moon taken from Mars by the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) camera. Akin to the seminal Earth rise photos from Apollo 8 in 1968 - these images made the hair stand up on the back of my neck. That's us out there." Link (Thanks, Robbo!

Broadcasters fight hard against public use of blank spectrum Posted: 09 Jun 2008 02:04 AM CDT The National Ass. of Broadcasters continues to fight tooth and nail against opening up the "whitespace" in the broadcast spectrum. Broadcasters get to use America's spectrum for free. To keep interference to a minimum, the majority of the nation's broadcast-ready spectrum is left intentionally blank, so that broadcast signals face a minimum of interference -- for example, if channel 2 is allocated in San Francisco, it will be left blank in San Jose, so that people halfway between in Palo Alto won't get half of each signal. However, there's plenty of room for use of that whitespace in WiFi-style devices that are smart enough to know where they are and adjust their use of spectrum accordingly. The tiny sliver of spectrum given over to WiFi (and other unlicensed uses) at 2.4GHz has generated untold billions in economic activity and public good. Nevertheless, the broadcasters -- who are squatting on all this beachfront spectrum that actually belongs to the public -- are pulling out all the stops to prevent anyone from lighting up this unused spectrum and doing anything useful with it. For example, rural communities could use their local whitespace frequencies to provide "fixed wireless" links to homes and businesses where no DSL or cable-modems reach. The broadcasters argue that we dirty unlicensed users of spectrum will surely spoil their lovely groomed golf-course of sitcom reruns, sporting events, and reality TV, and the mere possibility of a single bit of interference is too much to countenance, no matter how great the potential rewards. And who are we to disagree? After all, we only own this spectrum that we've loaned to them. White spaces are blank spots in the TV lineup where no stations transmit; they vary in number and location around the country, but even major markets have open slots. Tech companies and digital rights groups have been pushing hard at the FCC to make these white spaces available for broadband access. While the FCC has already approved the idea of fixed transmitters, the more contentious issue is whether millions of consumers should be allowed to install mobile, unlicensed transmitters in homes and businesses. The WIA represents companies like Google, Philips, and Microsoft that are trying to build the devices in question, so it's no surprise that Corbett is bullish on the possibilities, dismissive of interference complaints, and given to talking of white spaces as a crucial battleground. But she's not the only one. Link. T

Rocket car spotted on the streets of LA Posted: 09 Jun 2008 01:58 AM CDT Dwiff sez, "Custom rocket car surfaces in Los Angeles neighborhood Silver Lake, looking like something straight out of Penelope Pitstop." Link (Thanks, Dwiff!)

Bald eagle gets fake beak Posted: 08 Jun 2008 10:42 PM CDT A poacher shot the beak off this bald eagle three years ago, and it was starving to death. But an engineer made her a fake beak and it seems to be working. Nate Calvin, an engineer from Boise in Idaho, designed the new beak, which will eventually be replaced with a permanent tougher one. Jane Fink Cantwell who found the bird scrounging for food and slowly starving at a landfill in Alaska said: "A bullet had to be removed from her curved upper beak, leaving her tongue and sinuses exposed, with a stump useless for grasping food. "Eating with her beak was like using one chopstick. She also had trouble drinking and couldn't preen her feathers." Link (Via Arbroath)

Google News from a better world Posted: 08 Jun 2008 07:11 AM CDT Duncan sez, "A brilliantly done spoof of GoogleNews from a parallel universe where all the world's problems have been solved, from the petty: 'Apple announces unlocked iPhone, built-in VOIP' To the more profound: 'Amnesty International reports massive drop in detainments' and 'Darfur peace process well underway'" Link

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