Archive for February 2006
New Google Desktop Puts Personal Info Online
“Google has released a revamped version of its desktop search tool which introduces the ability to search the contents of one computer from another. Previous versions of the tool indexed files on user’s PCs, but using the optional Search Across Computers facility in Google Desktop 3 temporarily stores text copies of searchable items on Google’s own servers for up to 30 days.
“Search Across Computers makes a range of files searchable from other computers. The contents of secure web pages are excluded from the list. Users would log on using their Google password can find data on files they’ve worked on regardless of which PC they used to produce them. Users can also exclude certain file types or locations from indexing.”
John Leyden. EFF Issues Google Desktop Warning. The Register. Feb. 10, 2006.
See also:
Elinor Mills. Google Desktop 3 Criticized. News.com. Feb. 10, 2006.
Electronic Frontier Foundation. Google Copies Your Hard Drive – Government Smiles in Anticipation. Feb. 9, 2006.
Tom Smith. Google Desktop: Friend Or Foe? Information Week. Feb. 9, 2006.
Declan McCullagh. FAQ: When Google Is Not Your Friend. News.com. Feb. 3, 2006.
CopyCense™: K. Matthew Dames on the intersection of business, law and technology. A business venture of Seso Digital LLC.
Blackberry Maker Announces Workaround
“Research In Motion Ltd., maker of the BlackBerry wireless e-mail device, said Thursday it has made good on its promise to develop a software workaround that would keep its service running if a court bars the use of its current system in a patent dispute.
“NTP Inc., a tiny Arlington, Va.-based company, has convinced a federal jury that RIM’s software infringes on its patents, and is now seeking an injunction that would shut down BlackBerry service for private-sector U.S. users. Legal observers have characterized the chance of a shutdown as slim, partly because NTP would benefit more over the long term by exacting royalties from RIM.”
MercuryNews.com. RIM Develops BlackBerry ‘Workaround’ In Event of Injunction. Feb. 9, 2006.
See also:
Heather Green. Inside the BlackBerry “Workaround.” BusinessWeek Online. Feb. 10, 2006.
Marguerite Reardon. RIM’s Workaround Revealed. News.com. Feb. 9, 2006.
CopyCense™: K. Matthew Dames on the intersection of business, law and technology. A business venture of Seso Digital LLC.
Licensing As Personal Finance Strategy
“Holly Baxter was a stay-at-home mom looking for ways to make ends meet when she met Laine Caspi at a parents group. Caspi had recently started marketing a baby carrier that she’d designed, and she offered Baxter a deal: Think of a baby product worth selling, and Caspi would get it to market and give her a percentage of the proceeds.
“Baxter came up with Teeny Towels — all-natural antibacterial wipes small enough to hook onto a keychain. The product is too similar to basic baby wipes to patent, but it’s distinctive enough to package and promote. Last year it paid Baxter $5,000, and the product is likely to produce more in royalties this year because a number of large retailers recently agreed to carry it.”
Kathy Kristof. Parent Inventors Turn Brainchild Into Cash. LATimes.com. Feb. 5, 2006.
CopyCense™: K. Matthew Dames on the intersection of business, law and technology. A business venture of Seso Digital LLC.
Reminiscence on the Communications Decency Act
“The Communications Decency Act, or CDA, was passed by Congress as part of the Telecommunications Act and signed into law by President Clinton on Feb. 8, 1996. The law aimed to extend to the internet the same ‘decency’ standard that applies to broadcast TV and radio.
“E-mailers, newsgroup posters, chat room participants and website operators who produced material judged ‘indecent’ were responsible for ensuring that minors couldn’t see it. Violators faced substantial fines and up to two years in prison.
“The victory in Reno v. ACLU [decided June 26, 1997] was the internet’s legal coming of age, earning it the highest protections of the First Amendment.”
Ryan Singel. They Saved the Internet’s Soul. Wired News. Feb. 08, 2006.
CopyCense™: K. Matthew Dames on the intersection of business, law and technology. A business venture of Seso Digital LLC.
The Small Screen Sells
“Television networks took a leap into the unknown when they started selling their shows on Apple’s iTunes online store, but even in these early days, it’s starting to look as if that faith in digital downloads was well placed.
“Apple CEO Steve Jobs welcomed Walt Disney Co. and Pixar Animation Studios content to the service in October. Now there are 40 different series, each episode of which costs a standardized $1.99 to purchase, and more are on the way.
“Ben Silverman, an executive producer of The Office, praised NBC for its willingness to ‘dive into the iTunes relationship quickly.'”
Chris Marlowe. Networks’ iTunes Gamble Paying Off. Yahoo! News. Feb. 6, 2006.
Update:
Reuters. Cable Programming Heads to iTunes. News.com. Feb. 8, 2006.
CopyCense™: K. Matthew Dames on the intersection of business, law and technology. A business venture of Seso Digital LLC.
Singles Beat Subscriptions, Sinking Napster
“Napster Inc., the name that launched the digital music revolution, is burning through cash and struggling to find an audience as a viable subscription service.
“The company reported a loss of $17 million for its fiscal third quarter — a smaller deficit than Wall Street had expected. Revenue soared 94% to $23.5 million. A year earlier, the company had a profit of $12.8 million, reflecting earnings from discontinued operations.
“The results underscored Napster’s difficulties in persuading music lovers to stop collecting music one song or CD at a time and to instead pay $14.95 a month for access to more than 1 million tunes.”
Dawn C. Chmielewski. Napster Posts Loss Despite Surge in Sales. LATimes.com. Feb. 9, 2006.
See also:
Joanna Glasner. Digital Music Biz Ain’t Booming. Wired News. Feb. 07, 2006.
CopyCense™: K. Matthew Dames on the intersection of business, law and technology. A business venture of Seso Digital LLC.
Commentator Sees Trouble With Google Book Search
“Google sees its mission as organizing the world’s information. That grand statement, however, contains one latent ambiguity that could shipwreck its controversial Book Library Project. Just who is “the world” anyway?
“The latent ambiguity in its mission statement has led Google to adopt two inconsistent strategies for its BLP. First, Google says it will respect the right of each copyright owner to opt out of its Book Project. Next, Google claims that the limited number of snippets (three) that it will display in response to any request for information counts as a fair use under copyright law. These two approaches are both wrong and inconsistent.”
Richard Epstein. Google in Treacherous Waters. FT.com. Feb. 6, 2006.
See also:
Eric J. Lyman. The New Digital Boom. ISN. Feb. 6, 2006.
John Battelle’s Searchblog. University of Michigan President Defends Google Book Search. Feb. 6, 2006.
Mary Sue Coleman. Google, the Khmer Rouge and the Public Good (Address to the Professional/Scholarly Publishing Division of the Association of American Publishers). (.pdf, 180 KB) Feb. 6, 2006. (Editor’s Note: Mary Sue Coleman is the president of the University of Michigan, which controls one of the five libraries involved in the Google Book Search digitization project.)
Elinor Mills. Would Thomas Jefferson Have Googled? News.com. Feb. 6, 2006.
Updates:
Miriam A. Drake. University of Michigan President Distresses Scholarly Publishers. Information Today Newsbreaks. Feb. 13, 2006.
CopyCense™: K. Matthew Dames on the intersection of business, law and technology. A business venture of Seso Digital LLC.
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