• The USPTO granted a patent to Amazon.com for charging for computing resources on an as-used basis.  This is similar to the chargebacks of mainframe computers beginning in the 1960s.  Apparently patent examiners are not familiar with the term “prior art” or “obviousness.”
• White House cyber-security czar Peter Schmidt is considering rules that would put computers with viruses into a “walled garden.”  There is, of course, no discussion of how this will work — agents on your computer?  IDS?  Either way, false positives, SSL, and public wifi hotspots are sure to only make this a headache for legitimate users.
• ASCAP has shown themselves to be ass-hats.  Not only do they want to charge royalties that are crippling to non-profit organizations, but now they want to prohibit artists from using their choice of license for the media they produce.  They won’t be happy until they have control over the entire music market.  Apparently choice and freedom aren’t options for musical artists.

The root access allows tethering from a notebook computer, so I can get 3G internet on something where I can actually read most of the sites. Looks like I might have to consider another platform.

Google: nice way to show how you can use FOSS to choke off an active development community. You should update your site where it says “Do no evil” to be “Do no evil, unless it makes even more money.”

From NetworkWorld: http://www.networkworld.com/community/node/42819

After the Senate’s complete ignorance of anything remotely resembling the American Constitution, they voted 69-28 to grant telecom companies immunity for their role in illegal and unethical wiretaps.  Looks like it’s now okay to monitor communications without a proper warrant.  (The lack of warrant, admittedly, has more to do with the USA Patriot act than the FISA amendment.)

Sen. Obama, the presumed Democratic nominee for President, voted for the amendment.  Looks like his campaign speeches about civil liberties in this country don’t extend quite so far as the Senate floor.  Perhaps he thought that he would be labeled as un-patriotic for supporting the Constitution.  In any case, I had been prepared to support Sen. Obama, however his vote on this issue and changes in his speeches since Sen. Clinton dropped out of the race has made me significantly question that.  Maybe he’d like to use the Constitution for White House toilet paper, if he makes it there.

Also notable is that Sen. McCain couldn’t even be bothered to vote.  I guess he had better things to do, like the never-ending presidential campaign.  Or, perhaps, it just escaped his elderly mind, as things like the Bill of Rights and your job as a United States Senator tend to do once you reach his age.

In any case, it’s a shame that there’s no Presidential candidate who wants to support the people.  Instead, we will continue to have a country driven by a fear of 3rd-world people hiding in caves and remote villages in the Middle East.

It seems that the British were taking notes when they invaded Germany in the 1940s — it’s time to throw civil liberties to the wind and throw people in jail for nothing, just in case they might try something later.  A man was arrested, fingerprinted, and DNA tested because the police are too blind to tell the difference between a gun and an MP3 player.  Additionally, once they realized they had made fools of themselves, they couldn’t even offer a proper apology.  Oh, and in case anyone was missing it, they tracked him on CCTV cameras the whole way.  It wouldn’t quite be a police state if we couldn’t watch everyone at every second, now would it?

Here’s what I had to say to the FCC:

Comments on FCC Docket 07-52:

Network neutrality has been a key part of the internet since its invention. Many technologies have originated from the ability to experiment and try new things on the internet. The most successful economic boom in our country’s history directly derived from the ability to use the internet as one saw fit. Would we have had the economic growth of the late 90s without the ability to innovate new technologies like streaming media, web conferences, and open software development?

The idea that an Internet Service Provider can select what we, as consumers, are allowed to do without our consent is both harmful and insulting to the American spirit of exploration and innovation. ISPs are expected to provide end-to-end connectivity of a certain bandwidth without interference. Having an ISP perform filtering is akin to having roads that are only usable by people traveling to some destinations. Such filtering limits the ability of the individual to communicate and sets a precedent similar to the Internet filtering in countries like Iran and China.

The Internet was built on an open platform based on information exchange and sharing. It is important that the user be able to reap every possible benefit, especially since ISPs rely on the user for their economic lifeblood. In no other industry would such interference with the customer be permissible. The FCC must continue to uphold America’s freedom to innovate, and the consumer’s freedom of expression.

Sincerely,

David Tomaschik