answers
Contextualizing the copyright debate: reward vs. creativity
In a post on the declining revenues of the record business, progressive blogger Matt Yglesias wrote
Continue reading »Can Virgin Media DPI spy app ID users?
“Ultimately, given that CView is engaging in network-level intelligence, without correlating IP addresses with a unique signature or code, let alone a subscriber ID, I’m not certain that this system is necessarily ‘privacy infringing’ as it’s presently configured and deployed.” So says Canadian DPI expert Chris Parsons. Virgin Media appears ready to implement what at best can be called a study programme to examine the extent of file sharing . And it’ll use Detica’s CView DPI (deep packet inspection) system to do so.
Continue reading »Could a "Schumer Box" help wireless/broadband consumers?
The Federal Communications Commission wants to know if consumers are getting the advertising and billing information they need to make good choices about their broadband and/or mobile phone plans, and the answers are coming in from trade and reform groups. Not surprisingly, they read like alternate reality documents. To peruse CTIA – The Wireless Association’s 157-page response to the FCC, you might come away with the impression that mobile owners swoon with joy upon the arrival of their monthly statement.
Continue reading »GGF Shareholders Approve Pirate Bay Deal, “Finalize In 8 Days”
Not surprising being that Global Gaming Factory CEO Hans Pandeya controls 63% of the company, but the GGF stock he plans to use as collateral to lure investors is suspended for at least two weeks while it faces possible delisting from the AktieTorget stock exchange. Yesterday Global Gaming Factory held a shareholder meeting to discuss the acquisition of Swedish BitTorrent tracker site the Pirate Bay for 60 million SEK ($8.5 million USD) as expected. It was little surprise that it approved the deal being that CEO Hans Pandeya together with his wife Brigitte Majken Hummel-Gumaelius control some 63% of the company.
Continue reading »Facebook Quiz quiz
Fa$ebook people will be (all too) familiar with the various quizes included among the many totally useless snares the advertising site uses to trap gullible visitors, especially children —- and the younger the better because they take everything at face(book) value. Now, “engaging in some online jujitsu, the ACLU of Northern California is employing a cautionary Facebook quiz of its own to illustrate how quizzes that may seem ‘perfectly harmless’ can release an array of data to the wider world — including users’ ‘religion, sexual orientation, political affiliation, photos, events, notes, wall posts, and groups’,” says the Mercury News . “Ever whiled away five minutes on a Facebook quiz, finding out what cartoon character is your look-alike or how your IQ stacks up?” – asks the ACLU , continuing, ”These quizzes may seem like a perfectly harmless way to spend a few spare minutes.
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