Grim Net Censorship Report Free Speech6/5/2000; 7:11:23 AM March 27, 2000: "Censorship of the Internet by governments is spreading and may become a threat to traditional media liberty, a report on press freedom said on Wednesday. 'The explosion of news and information on the World Wide Web is tempting governments, developed and developing, politically free and not free, to consider restricting content on the Internet,' said the report conducted by human rights group Freedom House.

DVD Player at Apex of Controversy DVD & DeCSS6/5/2000; 7:10:30 AM March 21, 2000: DVD Player at Apex of Controversy: "Unlike other DVD players, the Apex can play DVD movies created anywhere in the world. Regions are assigned specific numbers so, for example, DVDs created in Region 1 –- the United States -– can only be played in that area. But by accessing a hidden menu in the Apex player, users can turn off regional encoding.

A Security Reminder Humor/Amusing 6/5/2000; 7:11:27 AM March 27, 2000: "It doesn't matter how big a #$%! padlock you put on it when the hasp is made out of cheap metal." This has been a public service announcement courtesy of BirdBrain's Nest.

Write Once, Libel Anywhere Free Speech6/5/2000; 7:10:44 AM March 23, 2000: So what do you get when you allow lawyers to develop technology? Write Once, Libel Anywhere.Until recently, Bethesda author Humayun Mirza never had to think about international libel law. A financier by trade, Mirza spent three decades working at the World Bank in Washington. He only turned to writing in retirement, devoting years to a biography of his father, the first president of Pakistan.

Tagline Update Administrative6/5/2000; 7:10:39 AM March 23, 2000: My tagline for the site (which used to be displayed, and now is again) is "Eternal Vigilance is the Price of Freedom", a famous quote from Thomas Jefferson. I took it out because I couldn't quite articulate what I meant by that on this site, but Tom Nadeau took care of that for me in The Trouble With Technology....In reality, there is a middle ground between the mindless hucksterism of the New Economy and the mindless Luddism of the old.

With redesign, Deja.com drifts from its humble Usenet roots Internet/Weblog Culture6/5/2000; 7:09:35 AM March 19, 2000: "Should this continue, it's entirely possible that this gloriously diverse global party -- the greatest continuous shouting match in the history of computer communications -- will simply fade into irrelevance." All good things come to an end, sooner or later. Perhaps weblogs will fulfill people's need to engage in shouting matches. (On the other hand, those don't tend to work too well in the weblog world.

Another PlayStation2 Flaw DVD & DeCSS6/5/2000; 7:09:33 AM March 17, 2000: "Sony's gamemaking unit, Sony Computer Entertainment, said it had found users of PS2 -- launched two weeks ago in Japan amid huge publicity and frenzied demand -- could manipulate it to watch DVD software sold overseas." Hah! This is funny not because of the flaw; many other DVD players can be easily manipulated to remove copy-protection and watch DVDs from other regions.

Microsoft Patents Ones, Zeroes Humor/Amusing 6/5/2000; 7:09:30 AM March 17, 2000: Microsoft Patents Ones, Zeroes: "REDMOND, WA--In what CEO Bill Gates called "an unfortunate but necessary step to protect our intellectual property from theft and exploitation by competitors," the Microsoft Corporation patented the numbers one and zero Monday."

Software Co. Sues Hackers Censorship6/5/2000; 7:09:28 AM March 16, 2000: "They also offered a small ``cphack'' utility for ``people oppressed by Cyber Patrol'' that, when run on a parent's computer, reveals the password that blocks questionable Web sites - and also discloses the product's entire list of more than 100,000 Internet sites deemed unsuitable for children." Mattel claims "`irreparable harm' from the publication of the bypassing software, which it said sought to destroy the market for its product by rendering it ineffective.

GOP Wants Privacy Commission Privacy from Companies6/5/2000; 7:09:24 AM March 16, 2000: "Two congressmen want to create a federal privacy commission that would decide what new regulations should apply to American companies."A bill introduced Wednesday would give the 17-member panel 18 months to review current privacy laws and make 'recommendations on whether additional legislation is necessary.'"Compare this to yesterday's story on Canada. I think they're way ahead.