iRi

What few excuses they have fabricated ("We're doing it so you don't see the same ad too often...") are totally invalidated in light of this information. I recommend that you look at junkbusters.org and look in to the proxy server they offer...

Richard M. Smith is giving the name 'web bugs' to image tags that track your web usage on sites that use them. He has a FAQ the topic, and guess what? The recent Doubleclick tracking fiasco only tells half the story. It's worse then you think; some sites that aren't affilited with DoubleClick are helping them track you anyhow! (This was actually news to me; check it out even if you've been following DoubleClick in the news.)

Because many of us think in the back of our head that nobody can exert that much control, we are not preparing ourselves for the day when people can. Consumer's rights are being stripped right and left, and hardly anybody even notices. It's a pity.

People like Katz contribute to this misconception: Witness his proud story today. "This week, the Motion Picture Association (MPA) joined China and the music industry, all simultaneously making doomed efforts to stick their fingers in the digital dike. The Net has destroyed the very idea of censorship, but it looks like there are going to be some casualties before that reality sets in." Somebody hasn't been reading his news.

Common misconception: The Internet is such a large place that no copyright laws can ever be enforced. This company demonstrates why that is wrong in a Wired News article. If pirates can find you, so can an intelligent company.

I'd like to open a topic for Discussion: What is a web page? Is it what the user sees? Is it what's on the server? Is it what is sent over the network? All three of these are quite different, if you think about it, esp. in the case of dynamic content. What's protected under the law, and what isn't, if either? I'm planning on posting my call on the issue soon, but I'd like to collect comments.

iCraveTV: SPLAT. Goodbye, ICraveTV.

WASHINGTON 451: Senate bill 486 contains broad and vague language that could affect the Internet. You may not like the pro-drug movement, but this could be too much. Can I get in trouble for supporting an article supporting an article criticizing an anti-drug law? Who knows?

MP3.com Fights Fire with Fire: MP3.com is providing a new service where you "beam" them the contents of your personal CD collection, and you are then allowed to listen to the content of that collection from anywhere on the Internet. The record companies are not amused. Says MP3.com, With each music fan that adds their CDs to My.MP3.com, our position against the record companies grows stronger. "If each of you 'Tell 10' friends about My.MP3.com, we'll have an army of music fans to fight the good fight." Of course, it also massively increases percieved damages... :-)