Circuit Writer Version 5.11 Tim Russert As I write this on Sunday morning, NBC is paying tribute to Tim Russert, the longtime host of Meet the Press. There is no way to tie this into DACS or computing so I won’t try, but Tim has been an important part of my Sunday mornings for many years. In this column, I often try to associate tech issues with the political players who make or influence those decisions. Each week Tim brought those players into our homes in a way that made issues understandable. He got answers to tough but fair questions while holding his guests accountable for past statements. Two things made Tim a standout: his humility, the show was always about politics – not him, and his loyalty to all things Buffalo. Sunday mornings will never be the same. The Browser War Returns The best evidence that Microsoft intended to kill Netscape is
how the intervals between versions of Internet Explorer got longer
and longer once there was no Netscape Navigator with which to
compete. Would there be an IE 7 if there were no Firefox? I think
not. There is some evidence that the next browser war will be over JavaScript, the scripting language (tinyurl.com/6f9uea), however I think the issue of the moment is standards compliance. Microsoft trumpeted IE 7 for better performance against HTML standards. Unfortunately IE 7 retains most of the “quirks” that have driven web developers nuts. The quirks (some would call them bugs) have remained in the product so long as Microsoft thought that developers would code to the quirks rather than the standards. The ever growing market share of Firefox has changed all that. So, again, Microsoft is promising “interoperability and compatibility” in IE 8. Digital Rights in Canada While our Congress does whatever it has been doing (nothing productive lately), the Canadian Parliament is addressing copyrights in the digital age (tinyurl.com/5ca23k). A new bill introduced by Industry Minister Jim Prentice would allow Canadians to copy legally acquired music to a computer or iPod but they must not circumvent any DRM applied by the copyright owner. The new bill continues existing protections for ISPs from liability for their customer’s transgressions and does not require that an accused violating website be taken down immediately as in the U.S. An interesting provision allows consumers to time-shift radio and television broadcasts but prohibits retaining the recordings in a permanent personal library. So basically, the proposed law gives consumers a few ‘privileges’ with the copyrighted materials they purchase and then takes everything away if the content happens to be digital. From the eWeek article:
My reaction is “Ha!” The bill gives everything to any business entity involved and screws the consumer. Another group compares this new bill to the DMCA in the U.S. Reaction to the bill has come from an online group called Fair Copyright for Canada (www.faircopyrightforcanada.ca – many, many fascinating links) which seems to have most of its activity in a Facebook group (tinyurl.com/2r6z6q – you must have a Facebook account to view this page). The social networking model seems to work quite well for this issue. The Facebook group has over 61,000 members and there are many more Facebook groups for local chapters presumably to concentrate lobbying on a particular MP (Member of Parliament). Canadians take pride in being different from their neighbors south of the border (that would be us). They are certainly to be commended for the activity they have generated over this issue. Truly Interesting Department Did you know that on June 17 and 18 there is (was as you read this) a conference in Seoul, Korea, on the “Future of the Internet”? Well, I didn’t either. Several organizations have requested input to this process by way of YouTube. You can begin your YouTube surfing at the video channel (www.youtube.com/futureinternet) created by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD.org), the organization sponsoring the event. No matter what I try to write here, everything seems trite. What is the future of the Internet? I haven’t found anything from John Patrick, yet. The Could This Work Department This morning at breakfast (where I read eWeek and Information Week), I came across an article on Open Source Hardware – yes, hardware (tinyurl.com/55ejw9). Actually, this idea is not new and I’ll tell you why in a moment. The article talks about how the OpenMoko Project (www.openmoko.org) and VIA Technologies have released CAD files for several products. OpenMoko released CAD files for all of its mobile phones. You really need to go to the OpenMoko websites to understand what it is all about. The VIA Technologies release is easier to grasp as the product involved is a prototype ultra-mobile notebook computer. VIA did not release everything needed to make the entire computer but just the design for the outer shell. The idea is that OEM manufacturers can customize the outside to produce a unique version. The author, Serdar Yegulalp, speculates that hardware design could increasingly move to the open source model which would lead to whole market segments based on common, open designs. This could really simplify finding a part for your washing machine and it could lower production and repair costs for many products, both electronic and not. Open source hardware has been around for many years, primarily in sports. My first thought was one-design sailboats. There is a standard basic design. How you implement that design could give you an edge in a race or allow for a lower sales price. Sit for a minute and you’ll think of others. |
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