Free Thinkers in the Digital Age Personal Commentary5/2/2000; 4:00:10 PM Jan 24, 2000: I know at first blush this article seems crazy, but think about it for a moment. There are two reasons it seems wacko: First, it talks about the future of cognition and how it will change the world, and second, it advocates complete freedom of cognition.Only the "complete freedom" is a candidate for "wacko-ness". After the Internet enables every possible non-mind-to-mind communication mode, the only place left to go is into the mind itself.

Killer Patents Patents 5/2/2000; 3:57:57 PM Jan 24, 2000: "Fink believes that patents are useless as an offensive weapon, when consumers find out what they lose, they'll penalize any vendor that uses them." I wish I could be that optimistic... that statement tends to assume an informed customer... a novelty on today's internet.

More bad news for DVD defendents DVD & DeCSS 5/2/2000; 3:53:04 PM Jan 24, 2000: The 21 defendants have to take the code in contention down from their sites. Meanwhile, the rest of us aren't under the order. Of course, I don't have a copy...

Heather On Mitnick's Punishment Personal Commentary 5/2/2000; 3:51:47 PM Jan 24, 2000: Kevin Mitnick is banned from using computers for three years. I think my fiance (who's not even a computer person) summed it up the best: "You know, murderers get to hang out with people."

Upstart Says Hello to AOL's ICQ Website Annotation 5/2/2000; 3:51:10 PM Jan 24, 2000: Odigo has been extended to work with ICQ's network. Odigo has earned a "Boundary Breaker" entry, which is pending my completion of my discussion of web pages, and my use of the software. Stay tuned!

Small Win for CA DVD Hackers DVD & DeCSS 5/2/2000; 3:48:56 PM They didn't have to submit code-bearing T-shirts as evidence in the case. I think I want one.

RIAA Sues MP3.com Music & MP3 5/2/2000; 3:47:44 PM Jan 23, 2000: "He [Bob Cohn] said all Internet companies are on the side of the RIAA, including the Digital Media Association, which includes AOL, Real Networks, and Liquid Audio." I hate to say it, but I'm on RIAA's side too. (Ouch... that hurt me to say.)

Pseudonymity Now Privacy from Companies5/2/2000; 3:45:05 PM Jan 21, 2000: '"From an economics point of view, your data is becoming a commodity," said Hill, president of Zero-Knowledge Systems. "All of this is leading the charge for people to say 'I don't want to give up my data.'"' Here's one 'right' that won't be won in the courts... people need to more-or-less decide together that when a company abuses their personal information, not to shop with that company or give it any money.

Wiretapping Unwarrented? Surveillance and Privacy from Government 5/2/2000; 3:42:57 PM Jan 21, 2000: "'The FBI is seeking surveillance capabilities that far exceed the powers law enforcement has had in the past and is entitled to under the law,' said EPIC General Counsel David Sobel."

Schools crack down on Net music software Napster Music & MP3 5/2/2000; 3:39:36 PM You can probably guess Slashdot's reaction. I would point out that the Acceptable Use policy directly addresses this, and that university's don't truly have an obligation to provide any Internet servies. I think the most interesting thing is the primary cited reason is bandwidth, not legality issues. In other words, the university doesn't care that some of the copying may be legal.